Barry Ritholtz, The Big Picture

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

At the worst, the shorts just pile on to a dying corpse. In that sense, they weren't very different from other banks, like Citi and JPMorgan, which were calling for more collateral as Lehman was drowning. "What actually kills the patient," Barry Ritholtz asks at The Big Picture, "the disease that ravages the body, destroys its naturally ability to fight off invaders, and leaves it totally vulnerable? Or whichever random infection finally does them in?". 

Citigroup Inc. (C) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Earlier in the day, Fox Business News said the government has met with investment bankers to discussing plans to sell its 27 percent stake in Citi as early as this spring. The network did not cite its sources, and a Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment to The Associated Press, as did a Citigroup spokesman. "These things kind of feed on themselves," said Barry Ritholtz, CEO of the financial research firm FusionIQ "The typical trader, they don't care if it's true or not. They care about: Can I get in and out of this for a profit." 

Research In Motion Limited (RIM) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

As noted some time ago, Verizon has been very obnoxiously spraying unwanted services and icons on my Blackberry desktop. I am sure somewhere in the unreadable fine print we gave permission for this garbage, but that doesn't make this any less obnoxious, and it doesn't make Verizon any less of a giant telecom douchebag for doing this. At the time we last mentioned this, the solution was to hide the icon. 

Apple Inc (AAPL) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

But the equity dollar relationship typically isn't sustainable when it hits historical extremes, meaning investors may need to look beyond the currency markets for hints about the stock market's next move. "Amazon's MP3 store hasn't done much to weaken Apple's grip on the digital music business," MediaMemo blogger Peter Kafka reports . "But that doesn't mean Apple isn't paying attention.". , Since there are no assurances that new regulations will prevent a future financial crisis from occurring, regulators should take the next best step and break up the nation's biggest banks, James Kwak says . "Politically, breaking up TBTF banks is something that should on paper be able to attract a bipartisan majority.". , A consumer finance protection agency is a great idea, but it's a shame that a simple mandate in the original plan — compare all mortgages to plain vanilla 30 year fixed contracts — was rejected, FusionIQ CEO Barry Ritholtz says . Millions of homeowners haven't benefited from lowest mortgage rates in nearly a half century because they can't or won't refinance, WSJ reports . Auto veteran Bob Lutz plans to retire from GM after four decades in the business and a career that included executive positions with each of the big three Detroit automakers 

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Here's another fascinating reads — its a nice takedown of Goldman Sachs via McClatchy. The article implies that GS and others knew they were selling paper that was going to create a giant loss to the buyer. McClatchy: "When financial titan Goldman Sachs joined some of its Wall Street rivals in late 2005 in secretly packaging a new breed of offshore securities, it gave prospective investors little hint that many of the deals were so risky that they could end up losing hundreds of millions of dollars on them. 

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Mar. 1 2010 | 8:50 AM[10:11] Legendary investor Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, talks to CNBC about the economy and politics. ~~~ . Buffett on Currencies, Market Lessons & More Mon. 

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

And speaking of nuance: Too many reporters still don't seem to fully understand what killed Lehman, AIG, Bear, etc. Paragraphs like this in today's NYTimes are simply wrong: "Echoing the kind of trades that nearly toppled the American International Group, the increasingly popular insurance against the risk of a Greek default is making it harder for Athens to raise the money it needs to pay its bills, according to traders and money managers. These contracts, known as credit default swaps, effectively let banks and hedge funds wager on the financial equivalent of a four alarm fire: a default by a company or, in the case of Greece, an entire country. If Greece reneges on its debts, traders who own these swaps stand to profit." . 

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (BZH) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Still, homebuilder stocks are reaping the benefits of the better than expected data Standard Pacific (SPF) was recently up more than 6%, while Beazer (BZH) adds 301% Dow Jones builder index gains 08% Gains overshadow two new studies by John Burns Real Estate Consulting and S&P's Financial Services that show increasing foreclosures will keep home prices depressed throughout the next several years "Studies keep showing what we have known for a long time: Fighting foreclosures is a futile — and counter productive — use of resources," FusionIQ CEO Barry Ritholtz says 

Standard Pacific Corporation (SPF) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Still, homebuilder stocks are reaping the benefits of the better than expected data Standard Pacific (SPF) was recently up more than 6%, while Beazer (BZH) adds 301% Dow Jones builder index gains 08% Gains overshadow two new studies by John Burns Real Estate Consulting and S&P's Financial Services that show increasing foreclosures will keep home prices depressed throughout the next several years "Studies keep showing what we have known for a long time: Fighting foreclosures is a futile — and counter productive — use of resources," FusionIQ CEO Barry Ritholtz says 

American Capital, Ltd (ACAS) - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Triage for Financials FusionIQ's Barry Ritholtz believes banks and mortgage lenders need selective surgery Buy North American Oil Billionaire John Catsimatidis's United Refining Company secures its crude oil close to home Rebuilding Financial Markets Lloyd's chairman Peter Levene advocates common sense over regulation 

Red Apple Group, Inc. - Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture

Triage for Financials FusionIQ's Barry Ritholtz believes banks and mortgage lenders need selective surgery Buy North American Oil Billionaire John Catsimatidis's United Refining Company secures its crude oil close to home Rebuilding Financial Markets Lloyd's chairman Peter Levene advocates common sense over regulation