Portfolio Update – It’s Time to Leave

Call it what you will…why sell at the end of a selloff? I’m out of reasons to doubt that a crash is not right around the corner. There’s much more I need to say, and most of that is below. I sold everything and lumped 100% of the portfolio into gold. Until the GDP, holiday shopping numbers, OPEC output and most importantly, the full extent of losses from CDOs are booked (Citi-logic be damned), I’m watching this ship sink from the stands.  (Links to previous updates: 11/8/07, 9/6/07, 7/19/07, “Buy Gold – Junk Bonds” 9/17/07, “Banking” 6/28/07,  “Why Gas Prices Are High” 5/19/07, “Exxon Loves You” 1/7/07, “Robert Nardelli – Home Depot” 1/4/07, “Bush’s Gift to CEOs” 12/27/06)

SELL – GOOG $666.00 (<– is that a sign?) 415 shares / ORCL $19.70 5468 / PBR $94.50 3782 / RMD $44.71 2400 / CNQ $71.76 1765

IAU $81.35 – 16,337 shares – avg price $77.70 Total Value – $1,329,020.80 – 20.16% gain since February

I’m absolutely amazed that Citi is making the argument that they can keep $40 billion plus worth of CDO paper off of the books. Shouldn’t the government step in and clarify the rule?  I think that one way to avoid a catastrophe would be to force the sector to take its medicine, so that we know where we actually stand heading into 2008. Allowing for there to be wiggle room here is even more dangerous than a poor holiday.

The uncertainty is what’s causing a worldwide hemoraging of capital out of our markets. We don’t have our shop in order, and it is pretty obvious to me at this point that Bernake & Paulson are hoping to paper over way too much at way too crucial a moment.  Dropping rates further at the expense of the dollar is something that makes me want to cry.  What we’re doing now is the equivalent of shooting up dope with borrowed needles…it’ll catch up with us sooner or later. The answer isn’t to keep getting high, but to get clean!