Here’s an article on AXP by Andrew Horowitz, courtesy of the Disciplined Investor.

American Express (AXP): False Sense of Security?

It is no secret that I am no big fan of the bank and financial sector, particularly the consumer credit divisions. The numbers out from American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), show that during Q1 they saw a 6% decrease related to credit card losses and reported a significant increase in total spending and credit usage by customers. So essentially, they are lending more money during a time when they are seeing a higher level of delinquencies and defaults. (Scratching head…)

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
April 24 (Bloomberg) — American Express Co., the biggest U.S. credit-card lender, reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as income rose overseas. The company climbed more than 4 percent in extended New York trading.

Net income from continuing operations at the New York-based company declined 11 percent to $974 million, or 84 cents a share, American Express said today in a statement. That’s 4 c…

Barry Ritholtz discussing the Fed causing the global food crisis, link to an article entitled "Why the Economy is Worse than we know. "

Is the Fed Causing a Global Food Crisis?

Excerpt: "The Federal Reserve’s irresponsible bailout of Wall Street’s most reckless players is having very significant repercussions, both in the US and abroad.

It starts with the US dollar, now off 40% from its highs earlier this decade. This has had a huge impact on commodity prices, and is the prime reason so many countries are considering dropping their peg to the US Dollar.

Overseas, price spikes in basic foodstuffs has led to riots and political unrest. Considering that in many regions of the world most of a family’s income goes to basic survival purchases such as food shelter and energy, it doesn’t take much in the way of price rises to lead to significant turmoil. According to Bloomberg, the average household in India spent 32% of its income on food last year. Compare that with 6% in the U.S., and 43% in Indonesia, or 36% for the Philippines.

Digging deeper into this situation is the cover story of the May 2008 edition of Harpers is titled "Why the Econ…

A little off topic, from Mish, for anyone up late at night having trouble sleeping. If something’s bothering you, this could take your mind off it.

Congress Threatens Oil Producers

Before we discuss Congressional threats on oil producers, let’s first consider the Florida legislature’s move to ban fake testicles on vehicles.

Senate lawmakers in Florida have voted to ban the fake bull testicles that dangle from the trailer hitches of many trucks and cars throughout the state.

Republican Sen. Cary Baker, a gun shop owner from Eustis, Florida, called the adornments offensive and proposed the ban. Motorists would be fined $60 for displaying the novelty items, which are known by brand names like "Truck Nutz" and resemble the south end of a bull moving north.

Some might think that legislators have better things to do than debate "Truck Nutz". Not me. I would like to see state and national legislators spend more time debating "Truck Nutz", flag burning, baseball steroids, the nation anthem, and motherhood and apple pie on the general principle the more time they spend debating frivolous topics of no economic importance, the less likelihood they will do real damage somewhere else.

For example, please consider U.S. arms sales to OPEC at risk over oil.

Democrats in the U.S. Sena…

Thoughts on coolness from Mish. Do the parents out there reading this agree?

Cool to Be Frugal

Changes in behavior begin with changes in attitudes. And there’s no better place to build a proper attitude than in the youth of America.

Cool to Be Frugal

Professor Depew was once again on top of the changing attitudes story with point number 5 of Monday’s Five Things.

We ran across an interesting piece in USA Today this morning playing right into our theme of a growing wave of resentment against consumption and a disassociation from luxury goods and symbols of wealth.

According to the article, "Teens Turn to Thrift as Jobs Vanish and Prices Rise," rising costs of typical teenage indulgences are causing teens to do something they rarely do: be thrifty. As the article notes, "It’s even becoming cool to be frugal."

Let’s take a closer look at the article.

The stalwart retailers of teen apparel, such as Abercrombie, based in the Columbus, Ohio, suburb of New Albany, and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., are reporting sluggish sales, defying the myth…

Trade Energy Now?

Minyanville professor Adam Michael is commenting on the Geopolitics of Peak Oil.

A few weeks ago, I highlighted the fact that the U.S. government was topping off the strategic petroleum reserve at a time when oil prices were over $100 and during an election year. I also mentioned that Vice President Cheney was in the Middle East at the end of March and I would add that President Bush met with Vladimir Putin just a few weeks ago. Something didn’t smell right and based on the trading in crude in the past few weeks, we’re starting to understand why.

This week, we learned that the Israelis did in fact bomb a Syrian nuclear reactor last year and the United States in now claiming that the North Koreans were assisting the Syrians in their efforts. Today, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff accused the Iranians of increasing their efforts to train and arm insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Folks, the saber rattling is getting louder and its no wonder that crude is back to all-time highs. I’m not sure what the agenda is, but it does appear that the Bush administration is trying to 1) force a confrontation or 2) get everyone to the negotiating table. This feels like high-stakes poker to me.

The crude oil market has shown how sensitive it is to every little supply disruption. There simply isn’t enough product to go around and demand has shown no sign of abating.

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Here’s some excerpts from an article written by Jack Yetiv, posted at Seeking Alpha.  He has written previous articles on solar companies, which you can find by clicking on his name. 

Further Musings on Solar Stocks

“Yesterday, my third article on the solar space appeared on these virtual pages. That article built upon my two …

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