Month: January 2024

Fannie Mae List of Fake Companies Providing Fake Employment Verification: Why are these all in California?

Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, has a Mortgage Fraud Program that alerts the industry about frauds and potential frauds.

The organization has come up with a list of over 60 apparently fictitious companies that have provided fake employment verification using fake pay stubs.

Borrowers who are trying to get a mortgage to buy a house would list these companies as their employer and utilize bogus paperwork, such as W-2 Forms and paycheck stubs to prove that they have enough income to qualify for the loan

What I don’t understand is why are all these fake companies based in California?

As a matter of fact, Fannie Mae lists as one of the red flags for potential fraud as:
“California (geographic common denominator)”

How to Get a Free Jim Cramer Mad Money Sound Board

If you enjoy watching Jim Cramer and hearing all the sounds he makes on his Mad Money TV show, then you can have your own Jim Cramer’s Official Sound Board for free.

You can hear Buy-Buy-Buy, Sell-Sell-Sell, Bull, Bear, Hogs, Ka-Ching, Buzzer, and many more. There are a total of 20 sounds altogether.

You just need to go to the Mad Money Cramer’s Soundboard website.

Is the Corporate Gibberish Generator Better Than ChatGPT and Bard?

by Fred Fuld III

Let’s say you run a startup, and are trying to raise money. You want your offering circular to be impressive. Or maybe you are ready to go public and you need to beef up your prospectus.

Yeah, you can go to Bard or ChatGPT and create something usable.

But why do that when you can really impress potential investors with a bunch of corporate gibberish.

All you need to do is go to the Is the Corporate Gibberish Generator™, type in your company name, and click the Generate button.

A great set of gibberish will appear.

Could it be that this generator was originally created with an early form of artificial intelligence?

Crazy Woman Holding Your Money?

by Fred Fuld III

Supposed you asked someone where they put there money and they said Crazy Woman, would you think they were crazy?

Well maybe they wouldn’t be.

There is actually a bank holding company called Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp Incorporated (CRZY), which you can buy stock in, by the way. It was founded in 1936 and is based in Buffalo, Wyoming.

How’s that for stock market trivia?

The stock trades over-the-counter on the Pink Sheets.

It trades at a very reasonable 6.11 times trailing earnings and pays a dividend withy a forward yield of 1.48%.

The company posted the third-best performance in their 87-year history, with an annualized return on equity (ROE) of 10.41%.

The net interest margin at September 30, 2023 of 3.51% is above the state average of 3.31%. 

As of September 30, 2023, the Tier 1 Leverage Ratio was 9.37%, which substantially exceeds the current definition for “well-capitalized” institutions. Also as of that date, the bank had no foreclosed or repossessed assets.

Would I be crazy for owning Crazy Woman shares?

If you want more investment trivia, check out the book.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

30 Years Ago, Kevin Costner Starred in ‘Ancient’ Apple Computer Ad: Wall Street Video of the Week

Does any one remember what a Lisa Computer was? Has anyone ever touched one? (I did, for a couple hours many years ago.) This was one of the first follies of Steve Jobs. Talk about a clunky, unattractive computer. Anyway, when Apple (AAPL), ran a Lisa television commercial long ago, guess who the star was? Kevin Costner, star of Field of Dreams, Dances With Wolves, Bull Durham, JFK, and many other movies.

This Day Today in Business & Investment History: January 4

by Fred Fuld III

The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published in 1875.

The Stock Exchange in Vienna closes due to bank failures, contributing to the severity of the Great Depression in Europe in 1929.

Blackberry phones officially end service after a year-long transition to a software-based business model in 2022.

Wall Street Quotations for January

“Before you invest, investigate.” William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) author, educator.

“With an evening coat and a white tie, anybody, even a stock broker, can gain a reputation for being civilized.” Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Poet & playwright

“Never invest in anything that eats or needs repainting.” Billy Rose (1899-1966) Composer and entrepreneur

“Emotions are your worst enemy in the stock market.” Don Hays, stock market commentator

“I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.” Warren Buffett (1930- ) businessman and investor 

“Everyone has the brainpower to follow the stock market. If you made it through fifth-grade math, you can do it.” Peter Lynch (1944- ) money manager

“Gentlemen prefer bonds.” Andrew Mellon, Businessman & financier (1855-1937)

The Libertarian ETFs

by Fred Fuld III

A few days ago, I published an article titled Democrat Politician Investors Still Outperforming Republican Politician Investors, which discussed the investment returns of Democratic politicians versus Republicans.

The post also included a few other conservative and liberal ETFs.

One of my readers posted a message asking about the returns for Libertarian oriented stocks.

If you have ever watched the TV show Last Man Standing, the character that Tim Allen plays, Mike Baxter, says “drugs and guns. I’m definitely a libertarian.”

So are there any libertarian ETFs?

Up until recently, there was a B.A.D. ETF (BAD), but unfortunately the fund liquidated a couple months ago. The B.A.D. stood for betting, alcohol, and drugs, which covers some of the areas that libertarians believe in.

Last year, while it was operating, the BAD ETF was up only 4.3% versus the S&P 500 which was up over 22%.

It is somewhat similar to the AdvisorShares Vice ETF (VICE), but VICE doesn’t even include drugs, and about broke even last year.

An alternative play is the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) due to the fact that Argentina now has a libertarian president. This fund was up 46.8% for last year, far outpacing the S&P 500.

Finally, there is the Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM) which seeks to invest in countries with higher personal and economic freedom scores. The ETF was up 15.7% last year.

Also, if you are just looking for drugs, you have a lot of ETF varieties to choose from (in no particular order):

AdvisorShares Psychedelics ETF (PSIL)
Roundhill Cannabis ETF (WEED)
Cambria Cannabis ETF (TOKE)
Amplify Growth Opportunities ETF (CNBS)
AXS Cannabis ETF (THCX)
AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO)
Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX)
AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS)
ETFMG U.S. Alternative Harvest ETF (MJUS)
Advisorshares Msos 2x Daily ETF (MSOX)

Maybe some of these suggestions can free up some profits for your portfolio.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

This Day Today in Business & Investment History

by Fred Fuld III

Apple Computer (AAPL) was incorporated in 1977.

The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, is established by the creator of the system in 2009.

The Bell Telephone Company (T) was chartered in Massachusetts by Alexander Graham Bell and his associates in 1876.

The Bank of Italy changes its name to Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association (BAC), solidifying its national expansion beyond its Californian roots in 1928.

IBM Corporation (IBM) introduces the IBM 1401, a pioneering transistorized computer designed for business applications in 1960.

The New York Stock Exchange introduces the Decimalization Plan, shifting stock prices from fractions to whole dollar amounts in 1970.

Sony Corporation (SONY) releases the Sony Walkman TPS-L2, the first commercially successful portable cassette player in 1981.

The Playboy Mansion has Dropped in Value Just Like the Playboy Stock

by Fred Fuld III

Is the centerfold industry now passé ?

At one time, Playboy Magazine was the leading men’s magazine.

The publisher, Playboy Enterprises, was publicly traded for many years and had one of the most popular stock certificates, featuring a vignette of a nude Playboy Bunny, Willy Rey.

It also had a picture of the bunny logo, and Hugh Hefner’s signature printed on it.

Source: Author’s Collection

Hugh Hefner later took the company private.

After Hugh Hefner passed away, the company again began publicly trading through a reverse merger with a SPAC. It now trades as PLBY Group (PLBY).

Unfortunately, the stock hasn’t performed so well, trading at 2.68 at the beginning of 2023 and ending up at a dollar a share by the end of the year, a drop of over 62%.

But what about real estate? The Playboy Mansion?

The former Playboy Mansion, located at 10236 Charing Cross Rd, in Los Angeles, near Beverly Hills, was purchased on August 16, 2016 for $100,000,000. It is now only worth $34,166,291 according to Redfin, a drop of 65%.

This 14,217 square foot home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, and is located on five acres of land.

Which do you think has a better chance of recovering, the stock or the mansion?

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time of publication.