Reality Starts To Settle In

Except in the banking where the GAAP and Mark to Market seem to have been suspended forever; it seems like reality is finally starting to show up.

See for yourself:

• Apple is down $100 from its peak a few weeks ago.
• This is the second consecutive quarter in which sales have shown signs of deterioration. Likewise, with company’s net income experiencing a shortfall, this ends its streak of year over year profit growth, which spanned four quarters. As disappointing as these numbers were, they weren’t all that surprising, as the Street had anticipated weakness in IBM’s hardware business, which fell 12% from the year ago quarter. (source)
• Google shares plummeted as much as $79.49 per share and CNBC immediately devoted their entire coverage for hours on end to the Google pre-report. The reason for the drop had to do with Google missing by a mile on both the top and bottom lines due to a slowdown in advertising, a fourth consecutive cost-per-click decline, and a whopping $151 million loss from its Motorola Mobility purchase. Pretty much every concern I've listed over the past month or so regarding Google came to light during this report. Tablet sales are hurting Google's ad margins. No defined mobile ad platform is in place yet (source)
  
• Intel posted relatively soft numbers earlier this week, largely in part to overall weakness in the broader PC market, longtime partner-in-crime Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) is following suit with its own uninspiring figures ahead of one of its most important product launches in years.
• AMD shares settled lower by 16.8%. (source)
• Marvell Technology slid 14.3% after lowering its third quarter guidance.

Yet, sentiment doesn't seem to be affected much - the VIX is higher, but not in anyway showing any fear, and bullish news flow seem to be unabated:

• Did Google Just Become the Best Buy in Tech? at Motley Fool (Fri, Oct 19)
• GOOG: Hilliard Cuts to 'Long Term Buy,' $840 2-Yr Target at Barrons.com (Fri, Oct 19)

On the other hand, even banks show that they are reaching the limits of falsification and accounting massages, and shareholders are also showing signs of exhaustion, as Vikram Pandit realised recently. See the massive gap between the losses shareholders had to endure, and the personal profits of Mr. Pandit, which undoubedtedly is perhaps one of worst CEOs ever, but also one of the best con man ever:

(Bloomberg) Citigroup will have paid him about $261 million in the five years since he became CEO, including his personal compensation and about $165 million for buying his Old Lane Partners LP hedge fund in 2007 in a deal that led to his becoming CEO. The bank shut Old Lane soon after Pandit took the post, causing a $202 million writedown.

During the 5 year period where Pandit increased his personal wealth by $261 million (gross), shareholders have lost 91% of their capital. Well done!