Today is the beginning of another story. Visual storytelling of some kind or another has been around for centuries, since cavemen were drawing on walls.

The story of Mr. Volatility is going to fill up the cave walls of cyberspace. This story, like the computing cloud, has so many layers, that, at the highest level, it is seen as layerless. Just like The Singularity.

I am broadcasting aboard The Errol Flynn. For now the Volatility Don is signing off. It’s time to celebrate. I leave you with the following.

Why do you think the old stories tell of men who set out on great journeys to impress the gods. Because trying to impress people just isn’t worth the time and effort.
-Henry Rollins

From time to time in the sciences a true genius will emerge. I am not referring here to a genius in technical power–that can be remarkable but sometimes quite superficial. A genius is someone who, like the ancient prophets, has a pipeline to the Godhead. It is a kind of madness, but it is correct.
-Heinz Pagels

Peace

As I write, Apple, Inc. ($AAPL) has reported earnings and the stock is trading higher.

What will be interesting is the conference call. Earnings conference calls are Wall Street productions. The dial in number for the conference call is passed around to the bankers and the insiders, hedge funds, etc.

The internet feed is promoted by the company as a way to listen to the conference call.

The Sting

If you listen to both the phone call and the internet feed, you’ll notice a delay in the internet feed. It runs behind the telephone wire feed. Once you’ve established a delay in information to some and not others, you have created statistical arbitrage. Casinos refer to this statistical arbitrage as house advantage. If you’d like to question Wall Street on this, they’ll use the Socratic Method and answer your question with a question. How could we have known!?

Listen to both feeds sometime and watch price movements. You will see interesting behavior.

These are things that you can learn from reading me.

Mr. Volatility.

Peace

Thu Mar 19 09:21:48 2009 EDT:
($ARE) 7 Million share Secondary priced at $38.25.

The deal size was increased to 7,000,000 shares from 4,500,000 shares.
Merrill Lynch & Co. ($MER), Citibank ($C) and J.P.Morgan ($JPM) were the dealers.

6:32 PM Mar 20th from web Mr. Volatility tweets:
It’s sad to think about all the poor shareholders that are now stuck with 7 million shares of ($ARE).

This morning ($ARE) lowered their dividend from 80 cents to 35 cents and announced a senior convertible debt offering.

In response to inquiries, management and the dealers will likely respond: How could we have known?

Peace

My paradox

I walk my walk
I talk my talk
And therein lies
My paradox

Don’t live in a box
My doors don’t have locks
And therein lies
My paradox

In the streets I hear the talk
I’ve had some hard knocks
And therein lies
My paradox

I’m funny as can be
I know a lot about stocks
And therein lies
My paradox