Money and Markets: Free Investment Email Newsletter » Mike Larson

Top Stock Picks ‘09: SEF

Adam Shafer — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:25:28 +0000

This post is part of a special annual report — Top Stock Picks ‘09 — in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

For those comfortable with a short position, Mike Larson looks to ProShares Trust Short Financials (NYSE: SEF) as his top 2009 pick. In Money and Markets, he looks at the inverse ETF.

“ProShares Trust Short Financials is an inverse exchange-traded fund. The ETF is designed to rise in value when the underlying index it references, the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index, declines.

“As of September 30, the Dow index was weighted 42.5% in banks. General financial firms were the next highest weighting at 23.4%, followed by Real Estate Investment Trusts at 13.4%, non-life insurers at 13.1%, and life insurers at 6.9%.

“The top companies in the index were JPMorgan Chase (8.1%), Bank of America (8.1%), and Wells Fargo (5.9%).

“Despite the best efforts of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, the credit markets remain in disarray. Credit spreads are high. New lending opportunities are few and far between.

“Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are already the highest in history, while default rates on commercial real estate loans, credit cards, and auto loans are climbing fast.

“Banking sector profits overall plunged 94% to just $1.7 billion in the third quarter, according to the FDIC, while failures climbed to the highest in 15 years.

“The ProShares Trust Short Financials ETF is a great hedging vehicle if you have exposure to the financial sector. And it’s a great profit vehicle if you believe, as we do, that the worst declines for the financials and the U.S. market overall are ahead, rather than behind, us.”

Steven Halpern’s TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation’s leading financial newsletter advisors.

Mike Larson’s Factoids

Kilani — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:20:01 +0000

Mike lives with his wife, Stacey, and his two daughters in sunny South Florida. He enjoys swimming, traveling, and most of all, the smell of grilled turkey burgers and hot dogs at sunset in the summertime.

Mike Larson’s Page

Adam Shafer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:36:13 +0000

Mike Larson has seen a little bit of everything in the decade he’s been following the interest rate, housing and mortgage markets …

» The 1998 bond market meltdown, which forced the Federal Reserve to step in and help bail out Long Term Capital Management.

» The great surge in interest rates of the late 1990s … and the colossal collapse that began in 2001.

» The biggest housing bubble in modern U.S. history, aided and abetted by some of the most reckless mortgage lending ever.

Mike got his start tracking the financial markets at Bloomberg News while still in college. He graduated from Boston University with a B.S. degree in Journalism and a B.A. degree in English in 1998, and went to work for Bankrate.com. There, he learned the mortgage and interest rates markets inside and out.

"There’s always something new going on in interest rates. And because rates impact virtually every corner of our financial lives, you simply have to stay abreast of the latest developments."

Mike then joined Weiss Research in 2001, and has worn a number of hats at the company: Analyst. Writer. Trader. Editor. He shares his insights with subscribers like you as a contributing editor at Money and Markets, and an associate editor of Safe Money.

Mike’s views can also be found in major media outlets. He has been quoted by the New York Sun, Washington Post, Reuters, Dow Jones Newswires, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post and Sun-Sentinel, and he has appeared on CNN, Bloomberg Television and CNBC.

Mike Larson

Kilani — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:43:56 +0000

Name: Mike Larson
Title: Interest Rate and Real Estate Analyst

Mike Larson’s Page » | Mike Larson’s Blog »

Mike Larson joined the company in 2001, and has more than 10 years of experience researching and writing about personal finance, investing, and the housing and mortgage industry. In March of 2006, Mr. Larson was named associate editor of the company’s monthly Safe Money. In this role, he is responsible for writing and editing as well as analyzing trading opportunities for clients. Mr. Larson is also a regular contributor to the company’s daily e-letter, Money and Markets and editor of three of its premium trading services.

Before joining Weiss Research, Mr. Larson was a personal finance reporter for Bankrate.com, where he wrote extensively on mortgage lending, banking, residential real estate, and Federal Reserve Board policy. His responsibilities included analyzing economic data and interest rate trends for a weekly column and developing rate forecasts for a regular index feature. Previously, Mr. Larson held positions at Bloomberg News and the Boston Herald.

Recognized as an interest rate and mortgage market expert, Mr. Larson’s views have been quoted in numerous publications nationwide, including the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Dow Jones Newswires, Associated Press, Reuters, CNNMoney.com, Sun-Sentinel, Tampa Tribune and the Palm Beach Post. His in-depth analysis of the housing and mortgage market and accurate forecast of the subprime crisis has lead to frequent appearances on CNBC, CNN, Fox Business News, and Bloomberg Television, as well as many nationally syndicated radio shows. Mr. Larson’s understanding of the U.S. real estate market has also been recognized overseas, having recently been featured in a documentary on the subject produced by a Barcelona-based television station. In addition, his writing has been acknowledged by both the National Association of Real Estate Editors and the Massachusetts Press Association.

Among the first analysts to call the housing slide, Mr. Larson’s policy paper, “How Federal Regulators, Lenders and Wall Street Created America’s Housing Crisis: Nine Proposals for a Long-Term Recovery,” received broad media coverage following its July 2007 submission to the Federal Reserve and FDIC. In the paper, Mr. Larson accurately predicted the long-term impact of the deepening subprime mortgage crisis on the broader economy that the nation faces today.

Mr. Larson holds B.A. and B.S. degrees from Boston University.