'Fast Money' Recap: A Bailout That Makes Sense
Wall Street struggled Tuesday to continue a record two-day rally.
Despite moves by the
Fed
and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to ease the credit markets, the results were mixed. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
closed up 36.47 points, or 0.4%, to 8479.86 and the
S&P 500
was up 5.6 points, or 0.7%, to 857.41. The
Nasdaq
fell 7.29 points, or 0.5%, to 1464.73.
Unlike previous bailout plans in the financial industry, Dylan Ratigan said on the "Fast Money" show on Tuesday that the new plans actually look as if they may have an impact. He pointed out that Fannie Mae's 30-year mortgage bond rate dipped today on the news.
Other members of the trading panel also found the plans encouraging. Karen Finerman said she thought it was a good thing for the housing market to get lower rates. And Guy Adami said it would be encouraging if the dip in the 30-year fixed rate loans is sustainable.
Still, Finerman had her doubts, saying the scale of the relief effort --- $200 billion in consumer asset-backed securities --- was small in the context of the bigger picture.
Ratigan and others expressed fears that the pumping of so much money into the system could lead to inflation and the devaluation of the currency. Finerman, though, said, "We're not seeing inflation yet," and even if it does arrive, "it's the less of other evils."
The panel's discussion then shifted to whether the three-day rally could signal a time for trading opportunities. Adami thought so, noting the rise in
ConocoPhillips
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as evidence that fundamentals are playing a bigger role in the market.
Pete Najarian agreed, noting the sharp rise in the shares of
Chevron
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,
Exxon
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and
Freeport McMoRan
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indicate the volent swings in the market are creating trading opportunities and providing handsome returns of investments.
Finerman wasn't so sure that trading opportunties are at hand yet. She said there has been just a "diminution of fear and craziness" in a volatile market.
Najarian thought there could be some great opportunities in
Cisco Systems
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, which announced a five-day shutdown to cut costs.
Macke, though, was skeptical that a turnaround is at hand for these names.
Ratigan asked Lyle Gramley, former Federal Reserve governor to comment on the moves by the Fed today. Garmley defended the actions, saying the Fed is going "into high gear" using non-traditional monetary policies to get the economy moving again.
Gramely wasn't certain whether these plans would work, but he said it's better than doing nothing. "You can't let the economy implode," he said.
Ratigan then shifted the discussion to Robert Rubin's involvement in the fall of Citigroup. Charlie Gasparino, who has been critical of Rubin's role, said he has been told by knowledgeable sources that Rubin provided counseling and advice about taking on additional risk.
Gasparino, though, said these sources told him that Rubin provided parameters for that risk-taking and that he wasn't involved in the management of operations.
At this point of show, Ratigan read a statement from Barton Biggs, manager partner at Traxis Partners, who said we are "setting up for the mother of all bear market rallies."
Asked to comment, Zachary Karabell said he thought the phrase was overused but did acknowledge that the market was definitely oversold and that he was a buyer.
Adami said he thinks the market wants to go significantly higher. And Najarian said the "shorts are feeling the move to the upside."
Ratigan asked Whitney Tilson, managing partner for T-2 Partners, to comment on the recent controversy over the $5 billion that Warren Buffett has made in derivative bets tied to the equities market.
Tilson defended Buffet's bets, saying they were relatively safe given the long-time frame. He was also bullish about
Berkshire Hathaway's
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, operating business despite the recent falloff in the company's stock.
Finally, John Bollinger, president of Bollinger Capital Management, said he believes telecom will be the "first sector out of the box" when the market rallies.
This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.
