These blog posts originally appeared on RealMoney Silver on March 27.

Three Days Until Quarter-End

7:18 a.m. EDT

We have three trading days until the end of 2008's first quarter.

While the Lehman Brothers EPS cut of

Google

(GOOG) - Get Report

and the disappointing

Oracle

(ORCL) - Get Report

sales release will weigh on the Four Horsemen today, I would not be surprised to see some modest strength (read: markups) into Monday.

That said, the conference call at Oracle was revealing in the sense that it exposed the potential for a broader slowdown in capital spending than is generally expected.

And, meaningfully, what was stated was that the near-term slowdown was not restricted to the chaos in the financial industry.

Kudlow 101 -- Pearls of Wisdom From Larry

7:36 a.m. EDT

Yesterday, I

argued

that the political storm clouds are gathering -- and with it will likely come higher tax rates, the politics of trade protectionism and a more burdensome regulatory environment.

Upon waking up at my usual time of 4:15 a.m. EDT, I watched "Kudlow & Company" as I wanted to see what my friend/buddy/pal Barry Ritholtz had to say. What I saw was an excellent rejoinder to my column yesterday, in which Sir Larry Kudlow detailed a case for potentially growing and challenging market headwinds over the intermediate term. (Implicitly, Larry made an excellent case for my asset class, short-selling, or at least he made the case for hedging.)

Kudlow 101

explains

that, historically, several factors -- Larry calls them "prosperity killers" -- when violated, have served to impair investment returns, and these issues might loom ahead.

Prosperity killers include the following:

  • High inflation/low dollar.
  • High tax rates.
  • Heavy regulation.
  • Trade protectionism.

As Larry

chronicled

on his show last night, the prosperity killers are legitimate threats that could weigh heavily on equities over the intermediate term -- just as they have retarded investment returns in the past.

Larry's show on Wednesday evening was terrific -- instructive, balanced and objective. Kudlow 101 represented a valuable lesson for serious investors.

Kudos.

My mildly bearish market stance remains unchanged.

Credit Suisse Downgrades BLK

8:41 a.m. EDT

There was a big downgrade of asset manager favorite

BlackRock

(BLK) - Get Report

out of Credit Suisse today.

Thought you should know.

Saul the Jeweler

8:49 a.m. EDT

Saul the Jeweler just called to ask me, what's the difference between the Diamond District and the Titanic?

The Titanic had an orchestra.

Business is at a standstill.

Merc Raises Margin Requirements for Grain

8:55 a.m. EDT

The Merc has raised margin requirements for grain this morning, which could take the wind out of crude and other soft commodities.

Crude was up a beaner and is now down.

One of my favorite longs is in the

UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares

(DUG) - Get Report

.

A Great Trading Environment

10:16 a.m. EDT

With all this volatility, the

S&P 500

is about 1% higher for the month.

A real yawner.

Not!

Just one of the greatest trading markets if you buy the dips and sell the rips.

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Lots of Put Buying in LEH

10:18 a.m. EDT

I am seeing large put buying (over 10,000 contracts) in the

Lehman Brothers

( LEH) July 40 puts this morning.

Looks Like a Put Spread in LEH

10:43 a.m. EDT

The Lehman Brothers option trade looks like a put spread to me.

Taking In Some Trading Shorts

10:48 a.m. EDT

I am taking in some of my trading shorts based on the proximity to quarter-end markups now.

Doug Kass is the author of The Edge, a blog on RealMoney Silver that features real-time shorting opportunities on the market.

At the time of publication, Kass and/or his funds were long the UltraShort Oil & Gas ProShares and short Oracle, although holdings can change at any time.

Doug Kass is founder and president of Seabreeze Partners Management, Inc., and the general partner and investment manager of Seabreeze Partners Short LP and Seabreeze Partners Short Offshore Fund, Ltd.