theporkbelly.com http://theporkbelly.com Fri, 08 May 2009 13:34:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 NTY article about big hog business in E. Europe http://theporkbelly.com/?p=75 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=75#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 13:34:53 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=75 We love pork, we have to admit it…NYT has an article today about a giant U.S. pork company in Eastern Europe.

It reads, “Old customs and jobs are dying and the air itself is changing, however, transformed by an American newcomer, Smithfield Foods. Almost unnoticed by the rest of the Continent, the agribusiness giant has moved into Eastern Europe with the force of a factory engine, assembling networks of farms, breeding pigs on the fast track, and slaughtering them for every bit of meat and muscle that can be squeezed into a sausage.”

In other news, Amazon says it is fixing the Kindle’s computerized-voice feature, which had trouble with “Barack Obama.”

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=75 Brokers leaving Wall Street http://theporkbelly.com/?p=72 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=72#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 15:34:20 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=72 In April, more than 2,800 people registered as brokers in the U.S. left the industry, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The total number of departures so far this year stands at 11,600. In 2002, the previous high-water mark for industry exits in the 15 years of data available from Finra, a total of 11,500 brokers left Wall Street.

This news from the WSJ.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=72 ICAP Energy Analyst in WSJ http://theporkbelly.com/?p=68 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=68#comments Mon, 04 May 2009 14:58:04 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=68 ICAP Energy in the WSJ!

In other news, Marketwatch has posted NGR’s quarter results.
And a last note: A friend of ours has a great blog for where he posts his consulting ideas for small business owners.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=68 Defection http://theporkbelly.com/?p=64 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=64#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:43:27 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=64 The recent defection by Arlen Specter certainly has much impact on the energy business as now Obama has the potential 60 votes in the Senate to repel potential filibusters.

In other political news it seems Bush prosecutions seem ever more likely.

Morever, we hear the presentation by Alec and Glenn went over very well for Professor Rogoff.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=64 Can’t we call it Steve? http://theporkbelly.com/?p=61 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=61#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:12:06 +0000 glenn http://theporkbelly.com/?p=61 Pork Belly prices have fallen over 7 percent since the news of the Swine Flu erupted into a 24 hour news cycle panic.  The market reaction is irrational according to agricultural economist Ronald Plain, who told the Financial Times that you cannot get inluenza through consumption of pork.  Israeli health officials have called for a modification in the flu’s adopted name.  The deputy health minister of Isreal, Yakov Litzman, has said that the term swine flu is upsetting to both Jews and Muslims who are forbidden to eat pork products.  He suggested that instead it should be referred to as the Mexican Flu.  That shouldn’t offend anyone.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=61 NPR article about the electrical grid http://theporkbelly.com/?p=58 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=58#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:27:54 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=58 Here is a great read from everyone’s favorite, NPR. It’s about the electrical grid.

From the article:

The U.S. electric grid is a complex network of independently owned and operated power plants and transmission lines. Aging infrastructure, combined with a rise in domestic electricity consumption, has forced experts to critically examine the status and health of the nation’s electrical systems.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=58 Interesting, stock down only 2.2 percent http://theporkbelly.com/?p=56 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=56#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:18:36 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=56 Very interesting news today in Bloomberg about ICAP and the mortage bond trading market.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=56 Sempra Generation Proposes New 48-Megawatt Solar Energy Plant http://theporkbelly.com/?p=53 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=53#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:03:28 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=53 According to Yahoo news via ICAP Energy’s Market Update Watch,  we at the Pork Belly just discovered Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - News), today announced its intention to construct a new 48-megawatt (MW) expansion of its existing photovoltaic power-generation facility near Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=53 ICAP Report on the Obama mandatory CO2 program http://theporkbelly.com/?p=50 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=50#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:52:20 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=50 Icap Energy has posted a great report on their site regarding the mandatory CO2 program and the Obama Administration.

The New American recently posted an informative article about this important EPA report as well.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=50 Options - Upside/Downside http://theporkbelly.com/?p=47 http://theporkbelly.com/?p=47#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:00:49 +0000 Alec http://theporkbelly.com/?p=47 This article explains options and why they may have an advantage over regular trading. Of course, options are volatile too, so the downside can be extreme.

In the end, John Suma suggests: Even though we suggest that the data understates the case for selling because it does not tell us how many of the options that expired in the money were winning rather than losing trades, the data should say enough to encourage you to think of developing selling strategies as your primary approach to trading options. Having said that, however, we should emphasize that selling strategies can involve substantial risk (buyers, by definition, face limited losses), so it is important to practice strict money management and to trade only with risk capital when deploying selling strategies.

]]> http://theporkbelly.com/?feed=rss2&p=47