Posted on 01/18/2011 9:26:39 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Meredith Whitney continues to take it from all sides!
The latest attacker is Charlie Gasparino, who accuses her of causing a muni market panic that caused the recent sell-off, thus costing taxpayers millions.
In a HuffPo column, he demands that Whitney release her gigantic report detailing why, exactly, she expects the market to crash this year.
Of course, its her proprietary research, and it's her right to keep it for her paying clients, but it is interesting since last week on CNBC she said one of the reasons for doing this research was to illuminate the issue of municipal debt.
It's also interesting because during that same interview, Whitney hinted that her main point was to encourage investors to know which states would have weak economies (and not necessarily to short these bonds).
Either way, Gasparino is just her latest opposer. Various individual investors and analysts have called her out for bing way off and alarmist.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
BTW.....she said up to 200 issues would default.
THEre are 42,000 ISSUERS....hundreds of thousands of Issues. Whoopdee do!
How does a know-nothing like me pick the “good” from the “bad” offerings available?
If you have no personal contacts, you can call a brokerage firm directly. I would suggest calling your local Wells Fargo Advisors branch in your state and ask for the broker of the day. Research Muni bonds and ask leading questions. Most FAs concentrate on mutual funds and annuities because they have a larger payout (commission).
Find a fixed income broker that has years of experience with munis, corporate bonds, and federal agencies.
FYI If you are in Arkansas, I'm your guy ;)
Thanks much!
No analyst is right all the time, but Whitney does her homework and has a great track record. Sure, she predicted defaults, but she was quite specific and limited in the failures she was predicting and the why.
I think she faces the same issue that Palin does, which is that it is somehow easier for both the male and female ego to be beat by a man, than by a woman. And yes, Gasparino has a big one.
Ha! Your Wells Fargo Advisors guy, by chance?
Whitney’s track record speaks for itself. Chuckleheads like Gasparino trashed her in 2007 when she told the world the banks were in big trouble and the first step would be Citi cutting its dividend. After the chattering media moutpieces trashed her for about 2 weeks for being an “alarmist”, Citi shocked the world by cutting its dividend which flagged the beginning of the financial meltdown.
She’s spot on about the muni’s as well. An analyst can’t create or destroy value - Gasparino is an apologist for politicians who have created this mess. Analysts can only predict and comment. Seems like Whitney is the only one with foresight to figure out what’s coming down the pipe and the guts to call it like she see’s it.
I know for certain I wouldn’t own any muni bonds right now, though I imagine many from the center of the country will do fine (as Whitney said they will)
Gasparino disqualified himself from serious economic commentay when he proved during the 2008 disaster to be the mouthpiece for market manipulators. His Friday afternoon “exclusive, breaking” stories on Ambac and MBIA became a predictable joke.
Sounds pretty consistent. When she said that Citi was going to have to suspend it’s dividend, and the stock cratered, she got death threats.
Lots of them.
The one thing that makes the recent fraud on Wall Street so outlandish is the lengths to which the supposed “watchdogs” are going to enable any and all fraud and cover-ups of the fraud.
I’m still waiting to see criminal charges brought against the management of Lehman, even as it is now quite clear that they were engaged in securities fraud. I suspect I’ll still be waiting in 10 years, too.
Honestly, WFA is the only one that didn't blow themselves up ala Merrill Lynch, Wachovia, Bear Stearns, Lehman, etc.
I won’t tell a soul...(tip-toe, tip-toe)...but some might consider Wachovia to have blown itself up before Wachovia Securities became WFA...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.