If 2008 is remembered as the year that a new generation of on-demand services, including Software-as-a-Service and cloud computing, gained widespread acceptance and accelerated adoption, then I think 2009 will be the time when winning channel partners will become more
Greg Feirman submits: Intel (INTC) kicked off third quarter tech earnings after the close on Tuesday and the company did it in style (INTC Q3 Earnings Release). The company reported EPS of $0.35 a share compared to estimates of $0.34 and
Seeking Alphas Housing Tracker reviews housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.Overview GEs enormous commercial real estate
Dividends4Life submits: I am not a stock trader; I am a dividend and value based long-term buy-and-hold investor. When I add a stock to my dividend portfolio, it is my intention to hold the stock forever. I am not smart
David I. Templeton submits: Consumer credit outstanding declined by 3.7% in the month of August. This is an obvious sign that the credit crunch has spilled over into the consumer segment of the economy. According to Argus Research:The decline was
Saj Karsan submits:A few months ago, we considered the discounts to net asset value that a few closed-end mutual funds were trading at. Basically, this means that these funds could be purchased for less than the value of what they
Zacks.com submits: That question is a vital one right now, even though every time it is asked, I think of Laurence Olivier asking it to Dustin Hoffman in "Marathon Man." Clearly there has been some very important progress on the
Zubin Jelveh submits: While Felix likes Paulson and Bernankes capitalization plan much better than their asset acquisition one, he sees this issue: JP Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC), who dont need the money, have seen their stocks fall. The
Christopher Holt submits: As the Wall Street Journal pointed out earlier this week, “It may be premature to write the epitaph for funds of hedge funds”. Maybe so,
Tech Confidential submits: It looks like International Rectifier Corp. (IRF), for the time being at least, will continue its 51-year history as an independent company.Chipmaker Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (VSH) on Monday gave up its chase of the power management component maker, saying it would abandon
Investment U submits: An old Pennsylvania Dutch farmer friend once told me, "Put another way, every new beginning comes from an old beginnings end…" What were witnessing today in the markets is the end of an old beginning (the housing
Greentech Media submits: By Michael KanellosServers and computers technically aren’t one of largest consumers of electricity in America. In Northern California, datacenters account for only 2.5 percent of the electricity consumed. By contrast, lighting accounts for about 22 percent of
Todd Sullivan submits: Dear Charles, this isnt the best answer, it was the easiest.Here is Senator Charles Schumers WSJ Op-Ed on Tuesday:Complete Story »
Greg Newton submits: Yet another bud should soon be nipped from the senior ranks of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, with David Nelson, head of its Miami
Tim Iacono submits: Having long thought that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is an exceptionally bright fellow and an excellent writer (if not the best economic forecaster, as seems to be the
Roger Ehrenberg submits: Lets say, for the moment, that the US Treasury, the Fed and their European counterparts have fired a shot across the bow: we will not
Dean Bubley submits: There seem to be two clear trends:- An increasing % of PCs will have 3G radios, either with internal modules or external dongles.- A small number of PCs now have integral WiMAX and there are also dongles
Investment U submits: Im expecting a lot of nasty e-mails on this column, but the truth needs to be told. Short-term traders, especially short sellers, are often blamed erroneously for manipulating stock prices, forcing them down far below their real
Filed under: After the bell, Earnings reports, Dell (DELL), Coca-Cola (KO), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC)Between today and yesterday, it is almost as if Mondays massive rally never happened. US markets
Filed under: Private equityWhen getting the pulse on the credit markets, the private equity firms have a good sense of things. Credit is the lifeblood of the business. And, of course, the
Filed under: Indices, Technical Analysis, S and P 500, DJIA, Recession, Financial CrisisIs it time to rein-in expectations regarding the Dow? Indeed it is, if technical analysis and historical p/e ratios mean anything.Those with visions of a Dow of 11,000
Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Internet, Competitive strategy, Microsoft (MSFT), Entrepreneurs, Personal financeOnline bill paying is nothing new. Consolidated bill payment services online arent very new either. However, as I
Filed under: Politics, Presidential elections, Recession, Financial CrisisWith unemployment rising and the signs of slowdown all around, is a second tax rebate or second stimulus check from Congress up ahead?The U.S. economy
Filed under: Personal finance, Politics, Recession, Financial CrisisGeorge W. Bush has been an exceptional leader. Setting aside the foreign policy legacy, no president in the last sixty years has left a comparable economic record. Hell be the first leader in
Filed under: Private equityIn late 2005, Apollo Management Group agreed to pay $1.3 billion for Linens n Things, taking the company private. It proved to be horrible timing, as the housing market
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)A report released by SearchIgnite yesterday concluded that U.S. paid search increased almost 27% in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Forecasts, Bad news, Industry, Options, Technical Analysis, Liz Claiborne (LIZ)Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ - option chain) shares are dropping today after the company
Filed under: Launches, Target Corp. (TGT)Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) bucked the retailers in the dump news this past weekend by opening up 45 new stores across the U.S., including its first two
Filed under: Major movement, International markets, Earnings reports, Good news, Products and services, Competitive strategy, Coca-Cola (KO), RecessionIts another tough day on Wall Street, but for Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) its looking
Filed under: Commodities, Oil, Recession, Financial CrisisOPEC again cut its forecast for 2009 global oil demand, the cartel announced Wednesday in its monthly report, raising the specter that hawkish cartel members will
Filed under: Bad news, Consumer experience, Economic data, Recession, Financial CrisisRetail sales fell 1.2% in September, a much larger drop than the 0.7% expected by economists. The numbers were released today by
Filed under: Citigroup Inc. (C), OptionsNational City (NYSE: NCC) closed at $3.10. NCC is scheduled to report Q3 EPS on October 21. NCC November 3 straddle is priced at $1.55 according to Track Data, suggesting
Filed under: Earnings reports, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), Union Pacific Corporation (UNP)CSX (NYSE: CSX), a transportation company whose competitors include Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI), Norfolk
Filed under: International markets, Forecasts, Federal Reserve, Financial CrisisThe credit market thaw continues. Interest rates for three-month loans in dollars fell again early Wednesday, after three major central banks offered lenders unlimited dollars for the first time.The London three-month rate
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Deere and Co (DE)Investors tend to forget that some of the world largest PC companies are based in China, lead by Lenovo and Acer. The two companies run behind Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ)
Filed under: Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Financial CrisisThe financial crisis is not over. If things were back to normal, banks would be
Filed under: Management, Google (GOOG), Altria Group (MO), Financial CrisisBig US companies must not think much of their own prospects. With many stocks at multi-year lows, firms are not stepping up to buy their own shares. That seems odd because
U.S. pulls the trigger Statements by Paulson, Bernanke, Bair Kashkari leaps from obscurity to lead role in rescue A momentous power shift toward Washington and away from Wall Street Democrats as well as Republicans expect more government regulation of the...
In a time when most feel, if not truly believe, that passive index investing has absolutely no place in this market any longer, I encourage you to visit the new tracking section for lazy portfolios at MarketWatch. Because Ive covered...
Good morning. Yesterdays surge in optimism over the latest efforts by governments around the world to rescue the financial markets is still with us today in spite of chatter that the so-called smart money is staying on the sidelines. The...
Stocks soar on rescue plans The Fed and others flood financial markets with dollars European leaders agree to bank rescue plan Who has faith in the regulators? U.S. bailout is vulnerable to widescale conflicts of interest The U.S. will lose...
Good morning. Markets are in rally mode following new efforts by governments around the world to ease the credit crisis. Along with loan guarantees between banks through 2009 and the measure to allow governments to buy stock in distressed financial...
For better or worse, we just survived one of the the worst weeks in market history. For the week, the S&P 500 crashed -18.20%, Dow -18.15%, the Nasdaq -15.30%, and the Russell 2000 -15.65%. And, the damage we saw is...
Although I dont normally turn on CNBC during the trading day, I made the mistake of doing so this morning. Frankly, I couldnt believe what I was hearing since so many people were making the call that were near or...
Good morning. With stocks headed for their worst weekly drop since 1933, markets around the world are crashing. Not only do we have trading halts in several countries, but those which are open are under significant sell pressure and are...
Although the market spent most of the day searching for stability, the sellers swamped the tape in the final hour pushing us to new multi-year lows. With these losses, weve moved far away from just a mere correction or nasty...
Good morning. As markets around the world attempt to stabilize, premarket futures indicate well see some buying interest return at the open. Premarket futures currently indicate a +1% to +2% gain at the start of trading. Theres a lot of...
We all knew there would eventually come a day when even emergency rate cuts by the Fed wouldnt help the market. Today was that day. Were now down six days in a row and tomorrow is October 9th, which has...
What’s happening is people are crawling into a bunker and pulling an iron sheet over their heads because they think the sky is falling. - William Ackman No end in sight So, will coordinated rate cuts do the trick? Sadness...
Good morning. With markets around the world falling precipitously and investors clamoring for rate cuts, this morning the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, Sveriges Riksbank, Swiss National Bank, and U.S. Federal Reserve finally gave...
While Bernanke and the plunge protection team fiddle, the bears burn down Wall Street and waste no time taking prisoners. Fear leads to panic and panic leads to selling and were seeing that shock and awe on a daily basis....
Good morning. Much like we saw late last week, speculation has intensified over worldwide rate cuts after Australia surprised the world by cutting its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points. Meanwhile, many investors remain skeptical that additional rate cuts...
For a while it was denial, then it turned to anxiety, and now its closer to fear. I wouldnt call it panic, but there is some evidence of the beginning of a race to the exits. - Hugh Johnson The...
Good morning. Markets around the world are under heavy selling pressure this morning and premarket futures indicate were set for an approximate -2% gap down at the open. Over the weekend, Europe didnt reach an accord on bailouts and instead...
In spite of every hope and effort to the contrary, we closed them out at our lows. Not even the passing of the bailout bill and rampant rumors of rate cuts over the coming weekend was enough to save this...
Its been a couple of weeks and it is time to open up the old mailbag. Topics Ill cover in this weeks mailbag are: The TED Spread How Ive Been Protecting Investments A Data Mining Tool For Those With Deep...
Late Friday, Lawson Software (LWSN) filed this 10Q and one of the things that jumped out at me was the number of times that Lehman Brothers was mentioned in the filing: 91 times. Compare that to the 10K that Lawson
One of the many things that no doubt slipped through the looking glass last week was this 8K filed by Disney (DIS). The 8K, filed late Wednesday in the midst of the market meltdown, includes employment agreements for two veteran
Halloween’s just three weeks away (and I’m sure after four weeks of market mayhem, we can all use some sickly sweet treats). But just in case you forgot, Rite Aid (RAD) issued this press release on Wednesday to remind people
People may disagree about whether a kiss is just a kiss or a sigh is just a sigh, but Footnoted readers know very well that words in SEC filings are never just words.As Michelle highlighted in a post last week
On Monday, during the House Oversight Committee grilling of former Lehman Chairman and CEO Richard Fuld, Chairman Henry Waxman made note of Fuld’s impressive personal art collection. But it was the extensive collection owned by the company that popped up
Late Friday, the SEC announced that the short-sale ban that it had put in place on Sept. 19 would end at midnight tomorrow night. So imagine my surprise when I checked the list that came out last night to see
On Friday, Abraxis Bioscience (ABII) filed its proxy and one of the things that jumped out at me was the hefty increase in security expenses for Chairman and CEO Patrick Soon-Shiong: $1.06 million, compared with $727K last year.What potential threats
On Wednesday, the same day that General Electric (GE) announced a $3 billion infusion from Warren Buffett, it filed a three-sentence 8-K about the deal.But it was the exhibit attached to the 8K that caught my attention: new sharply worded
This financial crisis is painful, but everyone seems to be enjoying the blamefest. Choose your culprit: Wall Street, the White House, Congress, candidates, lobbyists, Fannie, Freddie, FASB, mortgage bankers, borrowers. Or all of the above.Then there are the regulators. On
Only in Washington can something grow so quickly. Just 10 days ago, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson released this $700 billion 3 page plan for saving the economy. A few days later, it had morphed into a 110-page plan. And by
Yesterday, Sovereign Bancorp (SOV), a 750-branch bank focused on the Northeast corridor that’s had its share of troubles, announced a series of management changes, including the departure of its CEO, Joseph P. Campanelli by the end of the day. The
Just a quick note of thanks to everyone who voted for the site in Business Week’s annual “Best of the Web” contest. That footnoted — with its tiny staff — can be listed in the same group as these other
Yesterday afternoon, after the $700 billion bailout legislation failed, Hank Paulson came out of the White House and said, “We have experienced significant turmoil in our financial markets in the last few days, including the collapse of Washington Mutual and
Two months ago, I took some hits from Apple fans who belittled the subtle change I had picked up (and footnoted) in Apple’s most recent 10-Q. One of those commenting — someone not brave enough to use their own name
Over the past few days, there’s been lots of talk about making the scoundrels who got us into the type of mess that requires a $700 billion bailout, pay for their actions, which of course, makes for good man-on-the-street outrage.
Less than three weeks after WaMu CEO Kerry Killinger “retired” from the bank, it was seized by federal regulators, making it the largest bank failure in this nation’s history. What remains was sold to JP Morgan Chase (JPM), which wasted
When the companies that serve the well-off start sweating the economy, does that mean it’s time for the rest of us to worry? Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus, which because it’s private doesn’t provide as much detail as other companies, filed
Scary events like Lehman’s fall and AIG’s takeover are inspiring what you might call “Prozac disclosures,” intended to soothe anxious investors. For example, on Friday Constellation Energy Partners (CEP) reported to investors that it had no bad news to report. In this
Back in February, this article in Fortune noted how Alvarez & Marsal, a well-known restructuring firm that’s worked at Arthur Andersen post-Enron and HealthSouth post-Richard Scrushy. While Lehman (LEH) wasn’t mentioned in the story, the article did note that “in
Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform just issued a statement on his take on the bailout. Here’s a snippet:The Administration’s plan completely eviscerates the concept of moral hazard. It would enrich the Wall Street
Theres a story that the financial media is missing entirely, and its about the segment of the banking system that is working just fine. These are not the largest banks, and--for the most part--they dont operate in the largest markets.
Its never easy going through a trading slump, but its especially frustrating and difficult when markets are moving and youre missing out on so much seeming opportunity. Ive received quite a few calls and emails from traders in slumps lately,
The old saying indicates that fear and greed are the emotions that dominate markets. If the conversations and emails Ive had with traders during the recent market crisis are any indication, Id say that the dominant emotions have been fear
One of the noteworthy qualities of recent markets has been their herd-like qualities: as I noted in a post a while ago, were getting an unusually large portion of days closing near their highs or lows. Todays historic rally was
Last week, the indicator review concluded, In sum, weakness has expanded this week, not dried up. As long as this is the case, it remains premature to conclude that a durable bottom is at hand. In retrospect, that was the
I was interested to see that the two most emailed articles from the NY Times were entitled Those With Sense of History May Find Its Time to Invest and Switching to Cash May Feel Safe, But Risks Remain. This fits
Ive noted a number of times that traffic on this blog has increased significantly during periods of market downturns, frequently topping out just as markets bottom. Traffic is currently running roughly 33% above normal, with Thursday setting a record.I decided
A few commentators have been particularly insightful during this time of wrenching declines across stock markets; its a pleasure to pass along their thoughts.Henry Carstens has posted an interesting chart that captures a 10% drift channel in stock market prices
Among individual investors I talk with, sentiment is as uncertain and anxious as any time I can recall. One comment I hear over and over is, I dont look at my account statement any more. The question I encounter repeatedly
Over the last few days, Ive had the opportunity to talk with everyday investors as well as my usual contacts with prop traders and portfolio managers. One of the distinguishing themes in these talks has been stubbornness versus flexibility: the
I recently noted that it has been rare historically to find over 50% of all listed stocks making new 52-week lows on a given trading day. When we have seen such occasions, such as May, 1970 and October, 1987, it
* Continued Weakness - Across the NYSE, NASDAQ, and ASE, we had 3188 issues make fresh 20-day lows and only 75 new 20-day highs. The Cumulative NYSE TICK and intraday advance-decline lines have done an excellent job of highlighting the
One of the most common concerns I hear from traders at the end of a difficult day is that they didnt trade the way they had wanted to trade. This is particularly the case for active traders who get so
A quick scan of data suggests that slightly over half of all NYSE-listed stocks made fresh 52-week lows on Monday, continuing the expansion of weakness described in the recent indicator update. Such broad weakness is not common. Indeed, since 1965,
Things are still going poorly in Iceland. According to Bloomberg the ICEX 15 Index reopened on Tuesday after a three day trading halt. The result was a one day 77% drop. Of course YTD the ICEX was down a little
From John Hussman;Word to the wise - dont accept advice or analysis about this crisis from anyone who failed to anticipate it in the first place. The people warning about Depression now (or even talking about it casually on the
Here is an interesting quote from Jeremy Grantham in Barrons.So although the fair value of the S&P today may be about 1025, typically bubbles overcorrect
Im wondering (maybe that should be hoping) that yesterdays action revealed some selling exhaustion.After a lot (a ridiculous amount really) of selling we know that
Yesterday fear/concern/whatever else kicked up a big notch based unscientifically on many conversations I had with all sorts of people I know (I heard from
So I was trolling the Glintir Bank website (the same Glitnir that was saved by the government of Iceland) and found an index for fishery stocks, most of which are Norwegian. Theres almost enough Norwegian fishery stocks to create an
FT Alphaville has this quote by Jim Cramer that I am guessing is from the Today Show;Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now, this week. I do
Even though the market rallied 11% yesterday, the S&P 500 is still oversold! As shown below the S&P remains more than two standard deviations below its 50-day moving average.
As a result of technical troubles we were forced to re-poll our bloggers yesterday during the trading day. Yesterdays near 1000 point gain has all the bears running for cover. Even Roger Nusbaum (Big Picture) is a bull, which I
After yesterdays unprecedented move in the US markets there were, surprisingly, several stocks that were down. The largest percentage gainers and losers are highlighted below, but there was also a direct correlation between the largest movers yesterday and other group
September 29th was the day we view as having begun the market mess that characterized the beginning of the month. The S&P 500 was down 8.8% that day, sending the market into a further tailspin over the next two weeks.
GE, traditionally thought of as the safest of havens, the quintessential anchor for any portfolio, may have disappointed a lot of investors today. On a day when the market was up over 11%! the best day in stocks since the
As part of a new earnings season series Birinyi Associates will publish analysis of all the important S&P 500 stocks earnings estimates and how they trade after reporting. Johnson and Johnson reports tomorrow morning, how does it typically trade after
Due to technical difficulties the Blogger Sentiment Poll will be published tomorrow before the open, or as soon as results can be re-tabulated. We apologize for any inconvenience.
With nearly every S&P 500 stock being oversold traders can through that measure out the window for now. Below is a list of the only S&P 500 stocks that are either in their normal trading ranges or, as is the
With unemployment the highest in six years, GDP growth struggling to remain positive, and ISM numbers repeatedly below 50, we continue to wonder why a recession has not been declared. Traditionally recessions are not declared until after the fact, in
After the worst week in stocks, at least since the Dow 30 has been calculated in its present form, we highlight below some of the S&P 1500 stocks that were actually up last week. As shown, there were no stocks
the next CRASH was written and distributed to Birinyi Associates clients in August of 2007. In it Mr. Birinyi questioned the rational behind structural
As of this mornings current levels (8270 on the DJIA), the DJIA is down over 40% from its peak on 10/9/07. Below we have highlighted similar declines since in the Dow since 1900. The chart highlighting these significant declines could
the next CRASH was written and distributed to Birinyi Associates clients in August of 2007. In it Mr. Birinyi questioned the rational behind structural
As of this mornings current levels (8270 on the DJIA), the DJIA is down over 40% from its peak on 10/9/07. Below we have highlighted similar declines since in the Dow since 1900. The chart highlighting these significant declines could
According to Birinyi Associates most recent bottoms up analysis on the S&P 500, a consensus of analysts covering those stocks expect the market to rally over 31% within the next year. (This is calculated as if every stock were to
Most people trading yesterday may have noticed any number of market irregularities occurring in GOOG, ROG, GE or other stocks about five minutes before the close. Take a look at the tic-by-tic chart of Google shown below.
It might not feel like it, but yesterday marked the Dow’s return to normal. Normal valuations that is. A little under two years ago (December 2006), I wrote a series of posts on normalized P/E ratios. In my most important
There are two recent pieces on morality and credit worth reading. One is written by David Brooks; the other by Jim Grant.Brooks piece is good; Grant’s is better. Brooks takes the matter as far as he can. He sees the
Jeff, author of Circle of Competence, is a young and learning investor not yet out of college. He derives his investing framework from Superinvestors ranging from Ben Graham and John Maynard Keynes to Joel Greenblatt and Eddie Lampert. Jeff believes
Note: My continuing weekly commentary on Benjamin Graham’s Security Analysis is being bumped for this roundtable; the commentary will appear here tomorrow morning. Sorry for the inconvenience.This is a new format for Gannon On Investing – a pseudo-roundtable, where the
This book is intended for all those who have a serious interest in security values. It is not addressed to the complete novice, however, for it presupposes some acquaintance with the terminology and the simpler concepts of finance. The scope
Its no longer a rumor; its now news. IndyMac (IMB) has failed.From Reuters:The FDIC said the estimated cost of the California-based banks failure to its insurance fund is between $4 billion and $8 billion. The regulator said it will operate
According to this post at Seeking Alpha, Whitney Tilson is short Hanesbrands (HBI). I mentioned Hanes (which was then my favorite stock) during a roundtable discussion on October 20, 2006:However, there are many situations (and here is usually where you
GetSecurity Analysis: The Classic 1940 EditionThe Interpretation of Financial StatementsReadSecurity Analysis: Preface to the Second Edition, Preface to
Reading a thread over at GuruFocus reminded me of a common problem people have:Have you actually read Security Analysis cover-to-cover? Has anyone on here?I have. Several editions, several times. A lot of people haven’t. I don’t think it’s a matter
I wrote a response to Jason Zweig’s column on Ben Graham and bank stocks. Now, Tom Brown of Bankstocks.com has done the same. I have to admit, Tom’s article is better than mine. Both take Zweig to task for his
Welcome to the ninety-eighth Festival of Stocks. The Festival of Stocks is a weekly blog carnival dedicated to highlighting the best recent posts on stock market related topics. I am proud to present this weeks best entries to the Festival
They say you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.I don’t know who they are; but I know of what they speak.I recently lost a coffee place (not a Starbucks). It was a traumatic experience.Last year, my eye doctor
Jason Zweig writes the Intelligent Investor column for The Wall Street Journal. I’m sorry to say this week’s column is especially unintelligent. When asked whether Graham would be buying financial stocks today, Zweig says no, and gives the following reason:
The introduction to Security Analysis is a treasure trove of Grahamian thought. It is impossible to fully plumb the depths of this Grahamian gold mine in a single post. Therefore, I have separated my comments into two posts. This post
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.
Happy Thanksgiving wishes to our American readers! Certainly, no matter what the circumstances that life may bring you, there is always much for which to be thankful.It has been said that the hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables
Whitney Tilson is the founder and Managing Partner of T2 Partners, a hedge fund, as well as a mutual fund operation. He has co-founded a terrific newletter and established a semi-annual investment conference, Value Investing Congress, where he features a
There is an interesting dichotomy that exists in capital markets. Not so many months ago, pre-August, there was a widespread perception that we were running out of stocks. Private equity interests were gobbling up anything that had a reasonably steady
Cisco Systems (CSCO)s results of last night have cratered a lot of tech stocks today, particularly hardware. IBM. EMC, Network Appliance (NTAP) have all had a good drubbing in todays marketplace.Though the sector has exhibited standout performance relative to most
As some of you know, I am an occasional contributor to Shai Dardashtis Reflections on Value Investing. I think you will be impressed with the quality of serious contributors to the investment thinking that characterizes this blog. I commend it
Interesting goings on in the financials. UBS got the ball rolling (and a few heads) with the announcement of a write down of SFr 4 billion resulting in a forthcoming loss for the third quarter. Credit Suisse (CS) also taking
Here as we approach the 20th anniversary of the crash of October 19th, 1987, the academic world is starting to read the entrails of the hedge fund crash of 2007 as it relates to the sub-prime crisis.In August, the financial
Interesting how badly politicians can screw up supply-demand imbalances. As a Canadian who endured Canadas National Energy Policy of the early 1980s, it worries me to see the proposed royalty changes that the Alberta government panel has recommended. Our American
I am a complete sucker for investment books. My wife accuses me of owning several thousand books that have essentially the same title, usually some variant of Value Investing, valuation, or intrinsic value, or securities analysis. Of course, I have
Sir John Templeton passed away yesterday. He died, much as he spent his life, peacefully.Geoff Gannon (and it is great to have him back in the blogosphere) has an extensive list of articles outlining Templetons life as well as a
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
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
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
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
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
In a recent post about Value Creation or Destruction, we had highlighted Angelica (AGL) as a company that in my opinion, was failing to create shareholder value and was consequently, subject to shareholder activism. We had cited Pirate Capitals involvement
Here we are again in earnings season. Eddy Elfenbein at Crossing Wall Street took Moodys to task yesterday for its recent report that suggested an advantage of a company going private was that it was freed from quarterly earnings reports
About a month ago, I wrote a post on Ecolab (ECL) describing it as a model of consistency. As I quoted Dmitry Siulverstein who covers specialty chemical research at Longbow Research: I think the biggest appeal of Ecolab is predictability.
Corrections happen. They are painful, come up spontaneously and unexpectedly, frequently take your breath away and replace your confidence with fear. It is important , at least in my view, to remember at times like these, all of those factors
I wouldn’t get cute with the technicals. All of the oversold indicators are broken. TWO stocks in the S&P 500 above their 50 dma? SEVEN above their 200 dma? And the VIX isn’t showing panic (trust me on this) because
Who died today? SOMEbody passed into the great beyond today - you just don’t get selling that large and that desperate without margin calls. The only question is who?
I know the recent market volatility seems like “the worst ever” - but it still ain’t. Updated numbers for the year just past - 1.61% standard deviation on the S&P 500, and 16.27% of days with moves of 2% or
Somewhat appropriate, considering everything. Very well done and enjoyable! Two minor quibbles come to mind … 1) Most of the Austrians tend towards using MZM or M2 as their definition of “money,” and this doesn’t capture credit impacts - and
Here’s a stupid regulatory idea: regulate credit default swaps (CDS) as “insurance” if the purchaser owns the underlying security. This is the “brainchild” of NY Governor David Paterson.The first obvious problem is that, as a tradable instrument, CDS are categorically
The Hartford Financial Group (HIG), a.k.a. “The Neutered Stag,” took one on the … chin today, hitting a 10-year low.Why “The Neutered Stag?” In a fit of political correctness over a decade ago, they trimmed their logo’s … equipment. Apparently
Strategery Capital Management LLC: “Putting your money where our mouth is.”About StrategeryStrategery is a unique hedge fund. It is the largest in the world, with expected initial capital of $700 billion. It has a free and unlimited credit line should
Regular readers are aware that I do a monthly column for the MarketThoughts newsletter, as well as participate in their forum.This month’s column is about Tracking Error in Double-Inverse ETFs; it might be useful and is probably real timely. Keep
Jeff over at Dash of Insight had an amusing take on the bailout plan, comparing it to a popular “asteroid apocalypse” movie. I told him that he missed two points – first, such asteroids tend to strike with alarming frequency,
These are my personal trading returns as of month-end September 2008.Current Month Return: -11.5%Year To Date Return: -11.3%3 Month Return: -7.1%6 Month Return: -5.6%12 Month Return: -11.1%24 Month Return: 1.4%24 Month Annualized Return: 0.7%36 Month Return: 25.8%36 Month Annualized Return:
Listen to Michelle Caruso-Cabrera’s and Steve Liesman’s comments here, starting at 1:40 into the tape:CNBC video - Awaiting Bailout Plan, Pt. 3 - Sept 29, 2008Obviously, anybody who questions the bailout and the rapid expansion of Federal power is like
I have to say that I am amazed by the House voting down the Paulson Plan. My cynicism got the best of me, and I fully expected it to go through – regardless of its merit or lack thereof –
First, let me be clear that I have very little respect for either of them. Just to set the record straight.It should be interesting, however, to perform the following experiment:Find Cramer’s first call of a bottom in this stock market
This is the Morgan Stanley’s publication, “Structured Credit Insights - Instruments, Valuation and Strategies” (PDF). Link is to the 2006 version, which was the second edition. The second edition contains 34 new and numerous revised chapters focused on several topics.
I do not like this bailout plan.I do not like it here or there.I do not like it anywhere.The Fed Reserve is “in a box”But Henry Paulson’s like a foxThe proposal that is in the HouseShould make him feel just
Company Profile: NCI Building Systems Inc. (NCS) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)NCI Building Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets metal products for the nonresidential construction industry in North America. The company’s Metal Coil Coating segment consists of cleaning, treating, and painting various
Company Profile: Olin Corporation (OLN) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)Olin Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of chlor alkali products to commercial and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Chlor Alkali Products and
Company Review: EnPro Industries, Inc. (NPO) Company Profile: EnPro Industries, Inc. (obtained via Yahoo Finance) EnPro Industries, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of engineered industrial products. It operates through three segments: Sealing Products, Engineered Products, and
Company Profile: Sykes Enterprises (SYKE) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated provides outsourced customer contact management solutions and services in the business process outsourcing arena. Its solutions include customer assistance, healthcare and roadside assistance, technical support, and product sales. The
We have just created the ModernGraham Value Investing Search Engine, powered by Google Search. Using this search engine, you can search through a number of websites that are focused on value investing. We believe this will be a very useful
Company Profile: NCI Building Systems Inc. (NCS) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)NCI Building Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets metal products for the nonresidential construction industry in North America. The company’s Metal Coil Coating segment consists of cleaning, treating, and painting various
Company Profile: Olin Corporation (OLN) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)Olin Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of chlor alkali products to commercial and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Chlor Alkali Products and
Company Review: EnPro Industries, Inc. (NPO) Company Profile: EnPro Industries, Inc. (obtained via Yahoo Finance) EnPro Industries, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of engineered industrial products. It operates through three segments: Sealing Products, Engineered Products, and
Company Profile: Sykes Enterprises (SYKE) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated provides outsourced customer contact management solutions and services in the business process outsourcing arena. Its solutions include customer assistance, healthcare and roadside assistance, technical support, and product sales. The
We have just created the ModernGraham Value Investing Search Engine, powered by Google Search. Using this search engine, you can search through a number of websites that are focused on value investing. We believe this will be a very useful
Company Profile: Graham Corporation (GHM) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)Graham Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells vacuum and heat transfer equipment worldwide. Its products include steam jet ejector vacuum systems; surface condensers for steam turbines; vacuum pumps and compressors; various types of
A question came in regarding our use of a weighted average. lppm05 wants to know how we calculate the weighted average when determining our figure for EPSmg. What we do is use a sum-of-the-years-digits method for the average. For example,
This week I was having a conversation with one of our readers, and the topic of smaller companies came up. He questioned why we don’t cover more small companies on our site. To be honest, a lot of people have
We are introducing a new feature! Each Tuesday, we will be posting an analysis of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In this analysis, we will show all components which pass our tests for the defensive and/or enterprising investor, our current
Our Mid-Cap Company of the Week…View the AEO WikiChart on WikinvestCompany Profile: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) (obtained via Google Finance)American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is a retailer that operates under the American Eagle Outfitters, aerie by American Eagle and MARTIN + OSA
Company Profile: U.S. Concrete Inc (RMIX) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)U.S. Concrete, Inc. produces and sells ready-mixed concrete, precast concrete products, and concrete-related products in select markets in the United States. It operates in two segments, Ready-Mixed Concrete and Concrete-Related Products,
Each Tuesday, we will be posting an analysis of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In this analysis, we will show all components which pass our tests for the defensive and/or enterprising investor, our current valuation, and the previous day’s
Company Profile: Graham Corporation (GHM) (obtained via Yahoo Finance)Graham Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells vacuum and heat transfer equipment worldwide. Its products include steam jet ejector vacuum systems; surface condensers for steam turbines; vacuum pumps and compressors; various types of
Each Tuesday, we will be posting an analysis of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In this analysis, we will show all components which pass our tests for the defensive and/or enterprising investor, our current valuation, and the previous day’s
Thank you to Eric Ahab for your comment. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the site.David had a number of questions about our post regarding our valuation method. First, we did record the buy and sell transactions that occurred during back-testing
According to the American Trucking Associations: The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.3 percent in July, marking the first month-to-month drop since April. The seasonally adjusted tonnage index equaled 116.2 (2000 = 100) in
This is a reprint of my 25 August 2008 RealMoney column.Owens & Minor (OMI) is the nation’s leading distributor of medical and surgical supplies to the acute-care market. It’s also a health care supply-chain management company and a national direct-to-consumer
Econoday has an article out today showing the relationships between the durable goods accounts: shipments, new orders, backlog and inventory. They note that there are now some signs of order cancellations, which demonstrates that the apparent strength shown by strong
The following article is a reprint of my 26 August 2008 RealMoney column.Since 2001, hospital stocks have been looking green around the gills. Shares of LifePoint (LPNT) , Universal Health Services (UHS) and Community Health (CYH) have pretty much gone
This article is a reprint of my August 19 2008 RealMoney column.Can a market leader in clothespins hang short-sellers out to dry? Investors in Jarden (JAH) may soon find out. The company has acquired a portfolio of leading brands in
The following article is a reprint of my 26 August 2008 RealMoney column.Since 2001, hospital stocks have been looking green around the gills. Shares of LifePoint (LPNT) , Universal Health Services (UHS) and Community Health (CYH) have pretty much gone
This article is a reprint of my 14 August 2008 RealMoney columnI know, I know … the construction industry should not be touched with a 10-foot pole right now. But the depth of conviction investors have in that belief sends
This article is a reprint of my August 12 2008 RealMoney column.Sometimes you have to wait for a bit of bad news to get a stock at the price you want. I think that is the case with Chattem (CHTT)
This article is a reprint of my 7 August 2008 RealMoney column.Crown Holdings CCK - Annual Report) looks to me like the type of boring stock Peter Lynch would love. The company’s primary products include steel and aluminum cans for
This article is a reprint of my 5 August 2008 RealMoney column.With consumers under duress, it is likely wise to avoid consumer-discretionary stocks, especially those in companies that sell goods that cost thousands of dollars. But few fortunes are made
This article is a reprint of my 31 July 2008 RealMoney column.On July 23, J.D. Power & Associates cut its 2008 forecast for new light-vehicle sales and said it now expects U.S. sales to hit a 15-year low this year.
It was a glorious evening yesterday when the U.S. Senate passed its version of H.R. 1424, the package of legislation representing Congress’ half-hearted attempt to stabilize the economy. It was glorious for all those of us who have striven so
As the day has worn on, I am getting convinced this is political because here is what Ive been told. Hedge funds are evil. Short sellers are evil. Even the SEC is evil - and that was before it decided
Nothing surprises me these days. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t concern me. This short selling ban is, without question, the scariest thing to come out of the whole mess.And it is not that I don’t have perspective. The meltdown
CNBC is airing a new show about Warren Buffett in which I may appear tomorrow, November 30 at 8:00pm central time. Here is a link to CNBCs listing for it.Several weeks ago, a crew from CNBC visited our college and
I was asked this question during a job interview I had some six years ago with a St. Louis-based brokerage firm. I bombed it. And it has haunted me ever since. How could I fail to articulate a coherent response
Yeah, I realize this is a financial blog, but this is just too exciting for me to neglect to mention. The Missouri Tigers beat the #2 Kansas Jayhawks last night and for the first time since 1960 are the #1
Sometimes the cleverest ideas are the ones that initially seem the most preposterous. Such was the case with a paper I recently heard presented by Yale Law Professor Ian Ayers, coauthored with Yale Business School professor Barry Nalebuff.These authors contend
I would like to start by making the following disclaimer so all the rabid Google bulls won’t start threatening my family:Google is one of the greatest growth stories in corporate history. There is absolutely no doubt about that. It’s a
I have to admit this is not the best market for a long-term value investor like me. This is a trader’s market. Nevermind the enormous volatility the market has experienced in the last six months or so, there seems to
I have always had warm feelings towards Anheuser Busch. Growing up in the St. Louis area I couldn’t help it – afternoons at Grant’s Farm, countless Cardinal games at Busch Stadium and the occasional brewery tour. AB is all around
There was a good article recently in USA Today about Warren Buffett that quotes me, among others. http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2008-06-04-warren-buffett_N.htm
As some readers may know, I recently started writing a couple of new blogs. One is called RBP Investing. RBP stands for Required Business Performance and was developed by a company in New York called Transparent Value. RBP is a
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
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
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. I had hoped to work out a combination of names such that his initials would
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
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
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
I captured the following screenshot from Yahoo Finance shortly after the market closed today:This was kind of surprising to me given the performance of
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements
Guest blogger: Larry Schutts, vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the
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