economy ← Reverse Merger & SPAC Blog

More on Dow Jones as it Flirts With All-time High

Feb

2013

On October 9, 2007, most of us in the finance world were riding pretty darn high. We had watched a frothy market runup that had been unprecedented. On that day, the Dow Jones hit its still all time high of 14,164. From there it rode its way all the way down to the 6000s range ...

Dow Jones Hits Five Year High

Jan

2013

Yes the economy keeps hobbling along. But the stock market has been very strong. The bellwether Dow Jones industrial average of 30 large cap stocks hit a five year high the other day, highest it’s been since Halloween of 2007. My 22-year old was still in high school, my 10-year old in kindergarten. That’s just ...

New Year’s Wishes for Smallcap World for 2013 1

Dec

2012

For now the 6th year in a row I’m happy to throw out my wish list for the small and microcap world and those into alternatives to a traditional IPO to go public. As always I want to give special thanks to my faithful blogees especially in this, a challenging year for many of us. The ...

SEC Chair-Designate Elisse Walter Could Remain for a Year or More

Dec

2012

There has been a minor hubbub about what exactly SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter was appointed as following the planned resignation of current Chair Mary Schapiro. First the White House said she would be the “designated” Chair, not interim or acting, while the President looks for someone else (he has the right to appoint the Chair). ...

The (Good?) Old Days Part VI – Speech Recognition

Nov

2012

As I try to be slightly ahead of the curve I am here to say that much is about to change in the world of technology in the 10 or so years to come. Namely: thanks in part to Apple’s dive into the speech recognition software world with the introduction of Siri in iPhones, I think ...

M&A Remains in Doldrums

Jul

2012

The New York Times reports today that the first half of 2012 has been pretty dismal in mergers and acquisitions. Total dollar volume is down almost 22% from the same period last year, and the number of deals is down 17%. Oil and gas was the busiest sector but was also down 5% from last ...

About that Healthcare Decision

Jun

2012

My favorite band, the Supremes (aka the US Supreme Court) tomorrow will release the most important decision they have rendered in decades, maybe only other than the seminal Bush v. Gore decision which determined the 2000 Presidential election. They are ruling on whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, better known as ...

House Oversight Chairman asks SEC Chair for Info on IPOs

Jun

2012

Last week, Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, delivered a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro. The focus of the letter: requesting information about initial public offerings (IPOs). Issa’s big thoughts: following the Facebook IPO debacle, we should look at IPOs under the nearly 80 year old Securities ...

Barely Half of 2011 Law Grads Have Full Time Jobs

Jun

2012

Get ready gang. I’m starting to expand the coverage of this humble blog beyond just IPO alternatives, the economy and the smallcap markets. We will be talking more about things like Wall Street in general, the legal industry, entrepreneurship (the subject of my next book which I’m writing) and other things of interest to both my ...

The New Phone Book’s….Not Here 1

Jun

2012

In the classic 1979 Steve Martin movie “The Jerk,” his naive character Navin Johnson, upon getting a job for the first time, can’t wait to see his name in print in the new phone book. When it arrives he runs outside screaming, “The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!” For anyone under ...