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On a technical basis we doubt we are dipping into a recession  (2 successive quarters of negative growth)---yet.  While the 1st quarter was weak with negative growth of .7% we think that we will likely have positive growth in the 2nd quarter, although we think it is more likely a 1-2% growth instead of the 2.5-3% the smart people are forecasting.…

Associated Banc-Corp (ticker:ASB), a large Wisconsin regional bank, has sold a non cumulative offering which should be trading today on the OTC grey market.  If you are not aware of how to buy preferred stocks 'wholesale' you can look at the discussion here.The issue has a 6.125% coupon and is redeemable in 5 years.  The issue is investment grade (ASB preferreds…

Date Issued  6-1-2015Shares Issued    2,600,000    Overallotment Shares    NoneS&P Rating   NR   Moodys Rating   Baa3Security Ticker Symbol   ASB-C   OTC Temporary Ticker  ASCTPMarket Traded ON   NYSEDividend Payment Paid on the 15th of March, June, September and December beginning on 09/15/2015Quarterly Dividend   .383   Annual Dividend   1.531Securities may be redeemed, at the issuers option, as early as 06/15/2020 for a…

We were able to 'harvest' the profits from our Canadian holding, Premium Brands Holdings yesterday.  Premium Brands Holdings is a specialty food company which has been active in purchasing small specialty brands and integrating them with their holdings, which include dozens of brands, expanding distribution and lifting profits nicely.  It is interesting that we were able to harvest a profit…

We have determined that we will go ahead and put on a short position--protecting against major falls. With todays weak equity market open we will wait for the next bounce (today or tomorrow most likely) and then purchase Proshares SP500 UltraShort shares (ticker:SDS).  We will purchase 1500 shares which will protect the equivalent of the common shares we currently hold.The…