By Brandon Matthews

Sirius XM reported exceptional subscriber growth for its second quarter, which has led to some speculation by many, that its certified preowned programs are beginning to take hold. That very well may prove to be true, yet apparently it is not happening at the dealer level.

Over the last week or so, I have visited both my local Chrysler & Ford dealer for some assorted parts. The salespeople of course were the first people to greet me and asked if they could help. Each time I asked about Sirius XM Radio. All agree that over 90% of the vehicles in their respective inventories are equipped with Sirius XM.

When I asked about the preowned programs however, I was a little surprised by the answers I received. As I had assumed, the salespeople have no real incentive to promote the pre-owned programs … opting instead to sell cars. This makes perfect sense to someone like myself with a background in sales both as a former broker, and car salesman. Their job is to sell cars, not radios or subscriptions. What surprised me is that the people I spoke with had no idea that there was any such thing as a preowned program between Sirius XM, Chrysler or Ford. As one salesman stated; “… if someone asks for it, we just give them the 800 number.”

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By Brandon Matthews

10 year Mattel chart

Recently, I commented that Wall Street has a very simple mission that is similar to that of the government. That goal is simply to turn your money, into their money. They accomplish this through various means, one of which is a buy and hold philosophy that quite frankly too many people have been sold on.

When I first became a stockbroker, we sold individual stocks based on quality research. Somewhere along the line, things changed. In today’s world, the powers that be have not just created a buy and hold mentality but also a “buy, hold and keep buying more” philosophy. This can be seen through the idea of long term financial planning that the industry now promotes, or in 401K or IRA plans. College planning, retirement planning or estate planning can tie up your money for decades. Yet how many typical investors have seen their 401K’s become 201K’s? Or worse?

While the dollars of hardworking Americans are pumped into the financial system and give a boost to stocks resulting by institutional inflows of mountains of cash, the trading programs on Wall Street have been set to take advantage of this. In Tom Dorsey’s book on Point & Figure charting, I recall that in the beginning he writes of Mattel. Over the last 40 years or so, Mattel has had an average price of about $19.00. If you bought and held the stock, inflation has eaten away at the value of your investment. Yet as Tom Dorsey pointed out, there were many, many trading opportunities along the way. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

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By Brandon Matthews

You won’t hear about it anywhere in the financial press. CMKM Diamonds was just another victim of illegal naked short selling. As it’s share price tumbled from counterfeit shares flooding the market, the SEC turned a blind eye as investors in the company were wiped out. Ironically, the SEC used CMKM Diamonds as part of a sting operation in order to trap the perpetrators of the crimes, yet prosecuted no one.

In the end, the SEC itself decided not to prosecute any of the criminals and instead cut deals with them after the company had been wiped out. CMKM however, did not go away quietly. The company filed a 3.87 Trillion dollar lawsuit against the SEC, Mary Shapiro and a host of former SEC commissioners. Sources close to the matter indicate to me that a settlement will be announced this week, which could result in radical changes in naked short selling laws and have a drastic affect on Sirius XM going forward.

Sirius XM shareholders are all too familiar with naked short selling, which was the topic for the documentary “stock shock,” which I took part in. It is the primary reason that Sirius XM’s share price sits where it does today. The stock continues to be cellar boxed and the SEC continues to allow such illegal activities to persist. Just look at any equity listed on the Reg Sho list such as SNSS. That stock has lived on that list for some time now, as it continues to be counterfeited and sold. The SEC simply doesn’t get it. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

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By Brandon Matthews

I must admit that I thought the days of discussing a reverse stock split for Sirius XM were long behind us. Unfortunately, Sirius XM’s stagnant sub one dollar stock price, once again has the hot topic issue at the forefront of discussion.

As most of you are aware, I personally would not lose a moment of sleep if Sirius XM was to execute a reverse split. The immediate advantages of lowering the float, increasing the reported earnings per share and removing shares from the market that can be used for shorting the stock would certainly be beneficial to all, even if investors feel differently. That said, I see no real reason for the company to even begin discussing the matter at this time.

Wall Street has a mission that is very similar to the government. They want to separate you from your money. They want to make your money, their money and much like the government; by the time you figure it out, it’s too late. The price action of Sirius XM lately has investors throwing fits, which of course plays into the hands of those that would like to separate you from your money. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

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NEW YORK, July 23, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) today announced that it plans to release second quarter 2010 financial and operating results on Wednesday, August 4, 2010.

SIRIUS XM will hold a conference call at 8:00 am ET on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 to discuss these results. Investors and the press can listen to the conference call via the company’s website, www.sirius.com, and on its satellite radio service by tuning to SIRIUS channel 126 or XM channel 90.

A replay of the call will be available on www.sirius.com.

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