iconSeekingAlpha

Consolidation in Services-Oriented Architecture Continues
Dana Gardner submits:SOA Software, a provider of governance solutions for services-oriented architecture , has acquired LogicLibrary, a leading SOA repository and governance vendor. The acquisitionof the Pittsburgh, Pa.-based LogicLibrary by Los Angeles-based SOASoftware creates a more comprehensive SOA governance and
Interview with Jim Datin, Executive VP & Managing Director of Safeguard Scientifics
Douglas Cress submits:Safeguard Scientifics (SFE) is aholding company that invests in growth-stage life sciences andtechnology. In addition to capital, Safeguard provides strategic,operational and management resources to its portfolio companies. As apublic company, Safeguard is not subject to the limits ofthe
UK Stagflation Fears Begin to Mount
John J. Phillips IV submits:In equity newsovernight Arch Capital (ACGL) added $500M to its existing buyback programovernight. Finmeccania announced an official deal to acquire DRSTechnologies (DRS) for $81/share for a total of $5.2B. The offer represents a4.9% premium to yesterday’s
World Market for Biofuels Expected to Double
Research Recap submits: World demand for biofuels will expand at a nearly 20 percent annual pace to 92 million metric tons in 2011, despite recent concerns about the impact of biofuels on the environment and food supplies, according to Freedonia
Cablevision Batting First Quadruple-Play
Ken Doctor submits: Ive long compared the cable and phone companies, on the one hand, to the newspaper companies, on the other. Newspaper companies saw their business being upended by the internet, made small bets and have lost out on
A Look at Satellite Radio Earnings, Subscribers
Tyler Savery submits: Sirius (SIRI) and XM (XMSR) both reported earnings Monday, and while the resultswere not stellar, there are many metrics which are scaling in a
China Medicine: Revenues, Profits Climb Again
ChinaBio Today submits: China Medicine Corporation (CHME.OB)of Guangzhou said Q1 results show a 54% increase in net income ($1.2million) on revenues that were 39% higher ($7.1 million) than
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iconBlogging Stocks

With Nucor, scrap is part of the product mix
Filed under: Industry, Nucor Corp (NUE), Stocks to BuyReaders of this space know that the investment bias is toward large-cap companies with demonstrated business models and who have a competitive advantage in established markets, preferably with a favorable global trend
Irvine Robbins' taste for business success
Filed under: Small businessWith more than 5,800 locations in 34 countries, Baskin-Robbins is a powerhouse in the retail industry (the company is now part of Dunkin Brands). But like many great businesses,
Commodity inflation pushing up nuclear plant construction costs
Filed under: International markets, CommoditiesThe rise in commodity prices is set to complicate the growth plans for yet another sector. Projected costs for a new generation of nuclear power plants on the drawing boards are increasing at an enormous rate
Futures data indicate sentiment turning bullish toward dollar
Filed under: International markets, Other issuesActivity in the futures market may be pointing to a dollar rally, but that rally is off to an inauspicious start.The dollar Monday fell about 1.2 cents versus
Will conservative investor Barack Obama be a fiscal conservative president?
Filed under: Personal finance, Politics, Presidential electionsAnyone looking for insights into Barack Obamas economic policy might want to take a look at how he has handled his personal finances. According to Slate.com,
Option Update: Hewlett-Packard calls active; shares sell off on report of EDS talks
Filed under: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Electronic Data Systems (EDS), OptionsHewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is closed down $2.48 to $46.65. The WSJ reported HPQ is in advanced talks to acquire Electronic Data Systems (NYSE: EDS) for between $12
IndyMac earnings: Cuts loss by 64% and looks to stay independent
Filed under: Major movement, Earnings reports, Management, IndyMac Bancorp (IMB)Today IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: IMB) reported that its quarterly loss was cut by 64% leaving investors with a small glimmer of
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iconThe Kirk Report

Buy The Dippers Return
After last weeks pullback, the buy the dippers got busy. Once the S&P held its 20 day moving average (now support), confidence surged as buyers moved back into internet, real-estate, consumer services, retail, regional banking, and technology. Merger talk surrounding...
Searching For Direction
Is the U.S. in recession — yes or no? Recession odds tick lower Inflating our way out of trouble is tempting but its another buy now, pay later strategy, both for the economy and investors. - James Saft Why all...
Awaiting New Catalysts
Good morning. We start the new week with some M&A news between Cablevision (CVC) & News Corp. (NWS), some mixed news from financials (see MBI & HBC), and lowered earnings guidance at Fedex (FDX). The dollar is up amid chatter...
One Week Pullback
After three straight weeks of gains, the market lost its mojo this week as trouble stirred in the financials, oil prices set a new highs, and there were few positive catalysts to keep the worst is behind us rally going....
Questions From Members
As always, thank you for sending in your questions to my mailbag! I had a lot of good questions to choose from and there were many I did not have time to answer but will keep them for the next...
More Bad News From Financials
Good morning. As oil prices hit fresh new highs, more bad news from the financials are bringing out the sellers this morning. As we head lower, traders will be watching whether any support can be found at the 20 Day...
Stay Tuned
White Houses economist sees no recession Happy days arent quite here again Oh, the doubts begin to creep back in More jobs report analysis The housing crisis is over Why $120 oil is good! SEC to require banks to disclose...
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iconFootnoted.org

Pier One gives its directors a big raise…
One of the last filings to come over the wire on Friday was this proxy filed by Pier One (PIR), which according to the SEC, was filed at 5:22. As footnoted regulars know, anything filed late on a Friday almost
Reading between the lines at the NY Times…
On Wednesday, the New York Times announced that it didn’t get enough volunteers who were willing to leave the paper voluntarily and that as a result, there would be “relatively small numbers of layoffs”, prompting the Writer’s Guild to file
Viva la Revolucion at Furniture Brands…
Last week, on May Day no less, investors in Furniture Brands International (FBN), the furniture company whose brands include Thomasville and Broyhill, appear to have elected three directors proposed by activist investors, Sun Capital, which owns about 9.5% of FBN’s
Bodies in Copenhagen…
Last week, I was in Copenhagen and it was hard to miss the banners for Bodies The Exhibition attached to light posts around the city, especially near Tivoli, a major tourist attraction. I didn’t go to the exhibit — there’s
A Warm Welcome at Choice Hotels…
It must be nice to get a raise before you even start your job. Congratulations to Stephen P. Joyce, who received one the day before his official arrival at Choice Hotels International (CHH). Back in March, Choice announced that Joyce would
Rite Aid, Revisited…
Back in January, I wrote this post about Rite Aid Corporation (RAD), noting how the Rite Aids in my neighborhood seemed incapable of keeping in stock mundane items like cleaning supplies and toilet paper.  In its former life, one of these neighborhood stores had
FBR: Old dog, old tricks
Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) is still up to the same shenanigans as always. We first spotted their family ties way back in 2004, when the in-laws were feeding at the FBR trough.This time, it’s CEO Eric Billings’ sons who are
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iconTraderFeed

Eternal Truths About Trading Success
A portfolio manager lent me an interesting small book from the late 1800s written by Dickson G. Watts and reprinted by Traders Press. Entitled Speculation as a Fine Art and Thoughts on Life, the book begins with a description of
Indicator Review for May 12th
My Technical Strength measure is a quantification of trending behavior over an intermediate-term time frame. The measure tracks five highly weighted stocks within eight
Stock Picking and the Value of Sub-Sector Perspectives
The Importance of Stock Picking
What the Cumulative NYSE TICK is Telling Us About Market Psychology
Recall that the NYSE TICK is a measure of very short term sentiment across the broad universe of NYSE issues. When a stock trades
Shady Proprietary (Prop) Trading Firms
I just received a call asking about a nearby proprietary trading firm that trains their traders. The catch is that they charge tens of thousands of dollars for the training. We got a taste of this particular scam when Devon
Worthwhile Readings to Kick Off the Weekend
Self-Efficacy - Its difficult to achieve something if you dont experience yourself as capable of achieving. Thanks to trading coach Doug Hirschhorn for pointing out this excellent Wall St. Journal article on self-efficacy. Heres one of my posts on self-efficacy
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iconRandom Roger's Big Picture

Mid Morning
The global slump of 2008-09 has begun as poison spreads - TelegraphThe above article is incredibly gloomy but it brings up a couple of points that are worth considering regardless of whether the outcome is as dire as posited in
The Best Way To Capture A Country?
A reader asked about the best way to capture a country for an investment portfolio.Well sorry to disappoint but there can be no single best
Sunday Morning Coffee
I referred the following quote in the comments during the week but in a video on Bloomberg Stephen Roach said that no country has ever
The Big Picture For The Week Of May 11, 2008
No description.
Mid Morning
In the last few days I have heard several comments on the network from on air personalities saying how ticked or mad comments when the
Country Fund Mania
Country funds often get a bad rap from MSM even though any S&P 500 index fund is also a single country product. The utility of country funds is that they allow access into an investment destination without having to pick
This Might Come In Handy
World Interest Rates Table
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iconTicker Sense

May 12th Blogger Sentiment Poll
This weeks results are split, but there are more bears than bulls. Blogger Sentiment Poll Participants:24/7 Wall Street (-) Carl Futia (+) Crowder
S&P 500: Yet Another Cause for Concern
Those traders active in the market yesterday may have noticed that the S&P 500 did not open on time.  In fact, it was not priced yesterday until about 10:14 am.  Birinyi Associates has been concerned with systematic changes in modern
May 5th Blogger Sentiment Poll
This weeks poll continues with bullish results.Blogger Sentiment Poll Participants:24/7 Wall Street (-) Carl Futia (+) Crowder Blog (-) Crossing Wall Street  Daily Dose
Birinyi In the News
Laszlo Birinyi will appear on Bloomberg TV tonight (April 30th, 2008) at 7:30pm to discuss the market, strategy and his view going forward.
S&P 500 Index & Sectors vs 52-Week Highs
The chart below highlights the percent different between the market and sectors current prices and their 52-week highs.  As shown, financials have declined the most since their peak on 5/23/07, down 29.7%.  Also shown is the number of days from
GDP: Down but not Out
The annualized GDP number came in slightly better than expected this morning (0.6% growth vs 0.5% expected) which was taken as a positive by futures traders (S&P futures promptly traded up 9 points).  Oil inventories at 10:30 and the Fed
Birinyi ReminiscencesNewsletter: Priced to Win
Published monthly, Mr. Birinyis newsletter, Reminiscences, highlights key views on the market, changes in sentiment, updates on sector information and earnings, in addition to a 30 year market veterans views and commentary.  This week only we are running a RARE
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iconGannon On Investing

Reading List - 29 March 2008
Some Posts Worth ReadingValue Discipline: Recurring Revenues and IndustrialsBill Rempel: Fundamental Portfolio Struggling YTDCheap Stocks: Premier Exhibitions (PRXI) – Value Not Without ControversyCheap Stocks: Net/Net Index In Positive Territory Some Books Worth ReadingInvesting The Templeton WayThe Little Book That Builds
An Email on Economic Catastrophe
I don’t usually write on macro topics; however, I do get lots of emails asking me about the economy, markets, etc. I try to respond to these emails. Here are some excerpts from an email response I sent out tonight
On Ignorance Admitted
In finance, liquidity is not a physical state it is a psychological state. Liquidity is a state of mind. Worse yet, liquidity is in the eye of the beholder. That is not merely to say that liquidity is subjective. Liquidity
Is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Worth More Dead or Alive?
Alive – definitely alive.This question – more than any other – dogs every discussion of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B). It isn’t immediately visible to those arguing on either side (“Berkshire is overvalued”, “No! Berkshire is undervalued”) but it underlies their arguments
Gannon to Barron’s: Berkshire Fairly Valued…As a Buffettless Empire!
Warren Buffett’s face graces (or disgraces) the cover of this week’s Barron’s. In big, bold print the weekly stock market mag says “Sell Buffett”. Inside, the message is equally gloomy: “Sorry, Warren, Your Stock’s
Announcing the Gannon On Investing Book Store
Books are an important part of value investing and an important part of this site. They were an important part of value investing right from the beginning – when Benjamin Graham and David Dodd published Security Analysis
Value Blog Review Posts Stellar Year-End Results
Steven Rosales of Value Blog Review writes most of the book reviews that appear on this site. Steven is relatively new to investing. He posted his year-end results for 2007. Envious bloggers are hoping it’s a simple case of beginner’s
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iconValue Discipline

An Interesting Screen-Deteriorating Operating Margins and Increasing Capital Intensity
As one would expect, deterioration in operating margins will occur in economic slowdowns. Marginal competitors frequently will try to clear inventories at ever lower margins in order to generate cash flow. I am particularly interested concerned if a company exhibits
Recurring Revenues and Financial Services- The Competitive Moat of Fiserv
In our last post, we discussed the notion of recurring revenues as it pertains to companies in the industrial sector. The genesis of this idea was a reaction to the prevailing wisdom of many investment strategists to find recurring revenue
Recurring Revenues and Industrials
Economic uncertainty generally steers investors toward steady eddy businesses such as foods, consumer staples, healthcare and utilities. But what investors should be seeking is recurring revenues, predictable and stable revenues with a high degree of certainty.Recurring revenues are highly desirable
A Lemons Market- Information Asymmetry and Bear Stearns
Asymmetric information gets to the root of todays market problem in Bear Stearns. George Akerlof, Michael Spence, and Joseph Stiglitz won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics for their work in this area.Akerlof, who wrote the earliest paper in this
Beliefs, Perceptions and Reality-Semiconductor Capital Equipment
Growth has a seductive charm. There is a widespread belief that momentum drives growth and that a succession of knocking down challenges and consequent victories is what characterizes a successful business. But sustained growth is seldom straightforward. Sustained growth frequently
Renaissance and Revival
It has been an extraordinarily long time since I last published thoughts here for which I truly apologize. Needless to say, capital markets have been challenging and clients prefer a higher level of care and attention when markets are rocky.
Warren Buffett Speaks
Janet Lowe has authored a completely revised version of her Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the Worlds Greatest Investor. In order to provide complete disclosure, let me advise that John Wiley & Sons, the publisher, sent me a
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iconNO DooDahs!

Aggressive and Personal Trades for May
In its initial version, Aggressive was an equal-weighted portfolio derived from two different quantitative stock screens, based on companies that trade on U.S. exchanges. Each screen produced an exceptional trading plan by itself, but when the two were combined, the
Do You Really Need More Information?
One thing I’ve tried focusing on, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, is simplification. It’s an extension of Occam’s Razor, wherein if two explanations for a phenomenon are viewed to be equally explanatory, the simpler explanation is the “best” one. This
The Big Picture
Worth 1,000 words.
Eight Notes on the End of the Recession Trade
1. Separate the economy from what happens in the speculative markets, because historically, they don’t track together 100% of the time.2. The speculative markets definitely had a stagflation/recession trade on until the last month.3. That trade was being unwound over
The “Recession Trade” Is Over
In last month’s review of the Rotational system, I wrote The current trends are consistent with the theme of a U.S.-led “economic slowdown” with high inflation, and the “recession trade” has been in effect for a few months so far.
Don’t Be Fooled By Obama
Obama out with a statement this weekend about America’s foreign policy consisting of “bluster and saber-rattling.” Don’t be fooled by Obama. He’s no more anti-war or anti-MidEast-meddling than Clinton or McCain is. Remember that “Shrub” ran in 2000 on rhetoric
No Substitute for Brute Force
Sometimes, there is just no substitute for brute force. After all, if you have 41 different possible strategies, that only equates to 1,640 possible blend-pairs to evaluate. Be back in a while.
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iconModernGraham.com

How I Became a Value Investor
A writer’s conference that I attended last week gave me a new idea for the site. The idea is that people enjoy reading feature articles written in a narrative format much more than the enjoy those written in a news
Change in Growth Calculation
Yesterday while speaking with our new contributor, Aaron Horvitz, the topic of calculating growth came up.  The calculation of a forecasted growth rate is one of the most significant variables in any company valuations.  Growth is often miscalculated, leading to
Introducing Aaron Horvitz
Many of our frequent readers may recognize our latest edition to the staff, Aaron Horvitz.  Aaron has been contributing as a commentor on a regular basis and we recently decided to extend a position to him as a regular contributor. 
Valuation: American International Group (AIG)
Over the next few weeks, I hope to do an individual valuation of each of the components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  For a brief overview of the Dow, please see our Glance at the Dow - a snapshot
Valuation: American Express Company (AXP)
Over the next few weeks, I hope to do an individual valuation of each of the components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  For a brief overview of the Dow, please see our Glance at the Dow - a snapshot
Who are you, Reader?
We currently have over 1100 subscribers to our RSS feed, and almost 300 subscribers to our daily email of posts.  But we don’t know who anyone who reads our work is.  Please take a moment to leave a comment and introduce
Valuation: Alcoa Incorporated (AA)
Over the next few weeks, I hope to do an individual valuation of each of the components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  For a brief overview of the Dow, please see our Glance at the Dow - a snapshot
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iconStock Market Beat

CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: Mark Travis said he likes “redneck stocks.” On April 24, The CIO o(...)
Mark Travis said he likes “redneck stocks.” On April 24, The CIO of Intrepid Capital Funds recommended:Comcast (CMCSA)Anheuser Busch (BUD)Speedway Motorsports (TRK)International Speedway (ISCA)Sponsor: Financial Education Everything you need to know about finance
RCII: Rent-A-Center Could Benefit From Consumer Credit Squeeze
My latest column is up at RealMoney.I think Rent-A-Center (RCII) can benefit from the slowdown in consumer spending and the tightening of credit standards.If Rent-A-Center were to receive the same price-to-book multiple as Aaron Rents, it could trade above $28
CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: On April 25, Tech Check’s Jim Goldman blogged on Microsoft’s Yahoo (...)
On April 25, Tech Check’s Jim Goldman blogged on Microsoft’s Yahoo bid. How did he describe Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s “rule” ?Goldman speaks of Steve Ballmer’s decade-long, iron-fisted rule of the world’s largest software maker
CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: On Monday, April 28, James Altucher of Formula Capital recommended whi(...)
On Monday, April 28, James Altucher of Formula Capital recommended which food-inflation trade to CNBC viewers?Picks included Sysco (SYY) and Sadia (SDA) while pans included General Mills (GIS), McDonald’s (MCD - Annual Report) and Kellogg (K).
CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: In his Trader Talk blog, Bob Pisani talks about which company?
Tuesday April 22, Hot Fertilizer, mentions both CF Industries (CF) and Intrepid Potash (IPI).
ITRI: Smart Meter Competition for Itron
The latest Fortune Magazine has an article titled: Can this man save the grid? According to the Edison Electric Institute, utilities over the next 20 years will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure improvements, including computers, sensors, and
CLS: In Today’s Electronics Manufacturing Market, I’d Choose Celestica over Jabil
My latest column is up at RealMoney.I examine the electronics manufacturing industry, and say that if I had to choose I would buy Celestica (CLS) and avoid or short Jabil (JBL).Cisco (CSCO) is the largest customer for both companies, but
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iconBerkshire Ruminations

Fox Business Network Buffett Special
I received an email from a representative of Fox Business Network telling me about the special they are doing at the meeting this weekend. I agreed to publicize it for them, but have to wonder why Liz Claman didnt request
Wrigley Deal and the Annual Meeting
I have been hesitant to jump to many conclusions about the Wrigley deal because I think there are still a lot of unanswered questions about Berkshires involvement in it. Hopefully many of the details will be explained this weekend at
Another Hilarious Screen Capture
Could someone tell me how this headline ended up on Google Finance?
To Whom it May Concern:
This blog is not dead. I am just taking a break. Lots of personal stuff going on, including the recent birth of my first son. Anyway, dont give up on me. I will post again soon.
Buffett Videoconference at MU on Friday
I thought I might help publicize the University of Missouri Trulaske College of Business 2008 Forum on Emerging Issues & Trends in Real Estate. That is mouthful. What it means is that on Friday as part of a symposium on
A few thoughts on the Bear Stearns situation
The first lesson that came to my mind when I heard about this debacle was straight from Buffett: Don’t buy what you can’t understand. Was Bear a simple and understandable business? Of course not. Their investments were so complex that
Empirical Finance Research Blog
If you are interested in financial research you may want to check out a new project I am starting with a friend of mine who is a PhD student at the University of Chicago. It is called Empirical Finance Research:http://empiricalfinanceresearch.blogspot.com/Our
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