Quoted: Going forward, the divergence from fundamentals has created an extraordinary
opportunity for those investors who are able to withstand the current volatility.

Time to invest in Google?

Quoted: But it bugs me that the stock has been so weak on so little volume lately. It's like nobody on wall street cares about Google anymore. At the same time, Google is acting very strategically toward one of the most important markets (information technology) in the world economy. As Umair Hague puts it:

Quoted: There are two forms of exotic beta. 1) Apply "normal" strategies to "exotic" assets like investing in Namibian and Mongolian equities, timber, shipping freight, wine, uranium, art, movies, violins or footballers. Or 2) apply "exotic" strategies to "normal" securities with new trading styles and finding arbitrages in traditional markets. Personally I prefer alternative strategies for any security ("normal" or "exotic") but then as a risk averse, conservative investor I am not prepared to speculate on traditional OR exotic beta. They are too hazardous for my risk tolerance. Alpha is safer.

Quoted: The fund likes asset-intensive companies that are adopting clean technologies like the Honda Motor Company (NYSE:HMC) and utility companies.
...
GLW is a Pickens Plan stock from Carey's point-of-view partly because they create fiberglass for wind turbine blades, cars, and insulation. Insulation, as Carey pointed out, saves almost half of residential energy consumption that would otherwise be lost. Energy efficiency is by far the most cost effective way to cut back on energy waste.

Though generally regarded as an economic conservative, Ben Stein acknowledges the need for improved regulation of Wall Street.

Quoted: It looks to me as if the inmates are running the asylum. One truth, that deregulation is sometimes a good thing, has been followed down so long and winding a road that it has led to an immense lie: that deregulation carried to an extreme will not lead to calamity.

Historically, macaroni and cheese sales go up in a down economy. No difference this time around:

Quoted: Double digit revenue growth from the relaunch of Kraft pourable salad dressings and continued momentum of Kraft macaroni and cheese, as well as strong growth in Jell-O dry packaged desserts, was partially offset by pricing-related volume weakness in spoonable dressings such as Kraft mayonnaise and Miracle Whip.

Quoted: The Oregonian reported Friday morning that it obtained a copy of an internal JPMorgan Chase (“JPMC”) memo titled “Zippy Cheats & Tricks” that provides step-by-step instructions on how to enter false data into a loan approval system called ‘Zippy.’ (Hat tip to Calculated Risk.) In essence, an in-house guide to committing mortgage fraud. Here are pertinent excerpts of the Oregonian report:

Microsoft is down 6% in after hours. I'm a little surprised since the results look reasonably good.

Quoted: Microsoft's revenue rose 18 percent for both its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter and year, but the company's Online Services Business (OSB), under scrutiny due to heated negotiations to purchase Yahoo's search business, continues to falter.

Microsoft is way down, too.

Quoted: Google announced their Q2 results today after the market had closed. Shares are down by as much as 12% as earnings growth reported was below analysts expectations. Net income for the quarter was $1.25B, up from $925M. The company reported a profit of $4.63 per share, which was slightly below the $4.72 average expectation from Wall Street analysts.