WallStreetOasis.com Newswire

Vahan Janjigian (Forbes) submits: There has been a lot of talk lately about the Volatility Index commonly called the VIX. Investors often look at the VIX to determine how much fear there is in the markets. For a prolonged period, 2004-2006, the VIX traded at very low levels. For most of those years, it traded well below 20, suggesting not only that investors had little fear of risk, but also that they were complacent. However, the VIX started rising in 2007.

Market Folly submits:This is the 1st Quarter 2009 edition of our ongoing hedge fund portfolio tracking series. Before reading this update, make sure you check out the Hedge Fund 13F filings series preface.

Gregor Macdonald submits: Recently I had occasion to watch an online debate between a clean-coal advocate and a robust, articulate green-energy blogger. The debate followed predictable contours. In one corner, the clean-coal advocate repeated a series of rather inflated achievements, supposedly gained over the past 30 years in coal-fired power generation. In the other corner, the green-energy blogger appropriately deflated these claims, but then went on to paint pictures of shiny happy people living in a peaceful and clean world. A world portrayed, it should be added, as easily attainable. I patiently read through to the final jousts, and then sat back in my chair to watch oil make its climb above 60.00.

David Goldman submits: Now that the US market is settling comfortably into a statist torpor, it is time to call attention to the fact that America faces challenges of an entirely different kind than it ever has in the past. This generation of Americans simply doesn’t know what’s going to hit it. Shanghai Composite Index vs. S&P 500Complete Story »

John Browne submits:Although well off their all-time highs, American stocks are now marginally up for the current year. In the past two months, the markets have recovered over 30 percent from last year's lows.But something just does not add up. In the first quarter of 2009, average U.S. corporate earnings were down over 30 percent. There is once again a serious disconnect between stock prices and economic reality. Perhaps these sleepwalking investors think that the 50 percent sell-off in 2008 was overdone and great bargains are now available. To believe this is to misunderstand the economic hurricane of last October, and the gaping holes in America's hull that it exposed.

Market Folly submits:Fresh off of our unofficial 'John Paulson' day on the blog Wednesday, we're back again to announce that Paulson will be going forward with his Real Estate Recovery fund. The fund will be aimed at investing in distressed assets.

Mark J. Perry submits:

Greg Feirman submits: There is actually a federal “corporation” that guarantees private sector pensions. Private sector employees with defined benefit pension plans pay an insurance premium to the PBGC which it invests and uses to pay pensions when private companies can’t do it.

Dividends4Life submits: So far in 2009, the Dividend Aristocrats have under-performed the S&P 500. However there are several dividend stocks that have done quite well and beat the S&P 500 index, and some of those companies just might surprise you!Complete Story »

New opposition to Chrysler's restructuring plan emerged as Indiana pension funds holding Chrysler senior debt filed objections to the plan.