Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Falling Knife of Capital One Financial

Sector Snap: Credit card stocks slide

Elsewhere in the sector, Capital One Financial Corp. dropped $1.93, or 15.9 percent, to $10.18. Earlier in the session, shares hit a 13-year low of $9.69.

It just sliced through its 52-week low like it was boiling butter.

"Until lenders like Capital One show stabilization followed by trend-bucking improvement over a several-month period, we will continue to remain bearish on credit card lenders, and the U.S. consumer."

Somewhere along the way I must have turned into a permabear.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stag,

Falling knife? That is so dot.com. And what a quaint little bust that was.

This is the falling anvil eCONomy.

I'm not sure anything can stop the fall.

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

I stand corrected. That was probably just my excessive optimism getting in the way again.

Upon further research, 2009 does indeed look to be International Year of the Anvil.

2008
International Year of the POTATO
http://www.potato2008.org/en/potato/economy.html

Fresh potato consumption, once the mainstay of world potato utilization, is decreasing in many countries, especially in developed regions. Currently, more potatoes are processed to meet rising demand from the fast food, snack and convenience food industries. The major drivers behind this development include growing urban populations, rising incomes, the diversification of diets and lifestyles that leave less time for preparing the fresh product for consumption.

2006
China's Potato Economy
http://www.forbes.com/2006/10/12/china-agriculture-mcdonalds-biz_cx_jc_1012potato.html

Hong Kong - If you want to understand China's economy, think of it as a potato.

Whereas a jumble of official economic and financial data spun out by Beijing are prone to official censorship, potatoes, a humble crop that has been a low-cost dietary staple in much of the West, is one of the more illustrative and reliable barometers for the state of the Chinese economy.


Makes me want to break out in song, again.

First was potato
Then came an anvil
Let's write the whole thing off

Anonymous said...

Stag,

I stand corrected. That was probably just my excessive optimism getting in the way again.

Dan Quayle stands corrected too. You spell POTATO
Dan spells POTATO(e).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle

Poor Mr. Quayle. He can't seem to catch a break. Must be excessive optimism.

Dandy Dan is a chairman of Cerberus Capital (mis)Management. Cerberus has certainly had a stretch of dumb luck of late. Just who would have foreseen that the housing mess would lead to a credit bust wherein underwater car owners couldn't borrow more money to buy new Chrysler cars they couldn't afford and didn't need? Not an optimist, that's for sure.

Mr. Quayle is also a member of the uber exclusive Yellowstone Club. The Yellowstone Club was founded by billionaire Tim Blixseth. The club just filed for bankruptcy (another casualty of the housing bust). Bummer man.

http://www.theyellowstoneclub.com/

A testament to optimism:

The future will be better tomorrow - Dan Quayle

It's time for the human race to enter the solar system - Dan Quayle

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

With both Dan "The Potato(e) Man" Quayle AND John "Strong Dollar" Snow both involved with Cerberus, how (much) can investors possibly lose?

Anonymous said...

I think Capital One this is a great strategy for them. No matter it is correct or not to consumers. Let's give our respect to them.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Anonymous,

LOL!