John Jagerson submits: In the prior two segments we looked at the yield curve from a fundamental perspective. This is very useful and provides context for what drives short term and long term yields over time. However, we can also
Stockerblog submits: Nevada is more than Las Vegas. Its banking and finance industries are very strong, as is also the construction industry, but there is yet a lot more. Check out the following interesting facts:Nevada is a state without usury
Eddy Lahens submits:Stating that the ethanol business is a challenge is an understatement! But could it be that a cross-over operating point is at hand at Pacific Ethanol (PEIX)?3Q Operating profile:Complete Story »
Otto Rock submits:1) Show them a 1923 Silver Dollar (I have one right here). 2) Ask them how much silver is contained in the coin. 3) Congratulate the first
Dan Schmeidler submits:This week’s debt offering by Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE) sparked an intense rally in the stocks of the two companies.There is not much good happening right now in the business of Fannie and Freddie. They have sold
China OTC Player submits:On Wednesday, China Education Alliance (CEUA.OB) announced that it had appointed The Ruth Group as its new investor relations firm. The New York-based IR firm, which was founded by Carol Ruth in 1999, is known for its
Michael Steinberg submits:The Wall Street Journal “Ranks of Uninsured Fell in 07, Census Says” reports that the number of Americans without health insurance dropped to 45.7M in 2007 from 47M in 2006 due to an increase in government insured of
Markham Lee submits:In the earlier post we discussed the health of the institutions insured by the FDIC, now lets discuss the health of the FDIC itself:From the WSJ: Complete Story »
Frugal Millionaire submits: From Reuters: “I would not rule out the possibility that at some point we may need to tap into (short-term) lines of credit with the Treasury for working capital, not to cover our losses,” Chairman Sheila Bair
Larry MacDonald submits: “The risk of a full scale run on U.S. banks … is all too real,” states Nandu Narayanan in his July commentary. Narayanan has a PhD in finance
Carl Dincesen submits:MBIA (MBI) announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Muni Bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Company to reinsure $184 billion principal amount of public finance bonds insured by FGIC. The agreement is subject to the approval
Joel West submits: On Tuesday, HP (HPQ) closed its $14 billion acquisition of EDS (Electronic Data Systems), the former powerhouse of IT services founded by Ross Perot. The acquisition is the 2nd largest for HP,
Contrarian Profits submits: By Irwin Greenstein So you’re watching the Olympic Games and the usual suspects appear as advertisers. There’s Visa (V) , Coca-Cola (KO), McDonald’s (MCD)…and BHP Billiton (BHP)? Who are those guys, anyway?Complete Story »
Brandon Matthews submits: As expected, on the heels of three separate positive analysts’ reports this week that included Citigroup (C), Stifel Nicholas and Barrington Research, Jim Cramer has come out again to bash Sirius XM (SIRI) and its shareholders. In this
Ockham Research submits: For shareholders of Pfizer, Inc. (PFE) stock, it has been a pretty barren decade. Like many large pharmaceutical stocks, Pfizer shares have done virtually nothing in years. Admittedly, the stock pays a generous dividend (6.5%+) which appears
Management shake-up at Fannie. Fannie Mae (FNM) announced broad changes to its top financial management in an attempt to create an executive team that can stem growing credit losses
Money Morning submits: by Jennifer YousfiConocoPhillips (COP) is selling its remaining company-owned gas stations in the latest example of the changing face of the retail gas station business.Complete Story »
Contrarian Profits submits:By Irwin GreensteinSoaring sales of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 3G in Latin America reveal an investment opportunity with one of the most overlooked telecom providers in the world. America Movil (AMX) already has a waiting list of consumers waiting
Money Morning submits: by Jason SimpkinsAfter declining for 15 years, U.S. natural gas production is finally on the rise, thanks to new technological developments that make it possible to draw large amounts of gas from deposits previously thought to be
Filed under: Starbucks (SBUX)Out of the generosity of their hearts, top management at Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) will take no raises next year. According to Reuters, U.S. workers at the vice president level and higher
Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Coca-Cola (KO), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market matters, Tiffany and Co (TIF), Sears Holdings (SHLD), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Economic data, Gilead
Filed under: Products and services, Ford Motor (F) Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) will refit an existing truck plant in Michigan to manufacture smaller cars. Cost: $75 million. This comes on the
Filed under: International markets, Newsletters, Commodities, Oil, Stocks to BuyWe are moving headlong into oil, notes John Reese, who analyzes stocks based on the criteria used by legendary investors such as Buffett, Graham and Lynch.In his Validea newsletter, he says,
Filed under: Forecasts, Economic data, Housing, RecessionThere is an old axiom among lobbyists inside Washington, D.C.s Beltway that goes: Dont just do something, stand there!Its a policy wonk truism arguing that when
Filed under: General Motors (GM), Nissan Motors (NSANY)Sometimes, its hard to determine if major investors are being overly optimistic, outright daffy, or are simply seeing something that the rest of us just
Filed under: Other issues, Bad newsWind and solar, two renewable energy sources with a promising future, nevertheless face a bottleneck of sorts in the United States: the electric power grid. The existing grid can not handle the new demands, The
Filed under: After the bell, Major movement, Market matters, Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), UAL Corp (UAUA)There was a bit of a move up in the market today, but there was very little news
Filed under: Earnings reports, RecessionThe economic downturn has meant lower sales for retailers such as department store chain Dillards Inc. (NYSE: DDS) and apparel retailer Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB). On Wednesday both
Filed under: Products and services, Launches, Google (GOOG)Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) unveiled its Ad Manager advertising management platform this week after a beta release in June. This platform allows website operators to
Filed under: IndustryThe auto industry is deep in the weeds right now, particularly in the United States. American manufacturers are hemorrhaging money -- General Motors (NYSE: GM) alone has lost $30 billion
Filed under: Products and services, Newsletters, Stocks to Buy, Housing, RecessionHome prices are becoming affordable again, so the decline in prices is likely more than half over, say Dr. Marvin Appel and Gerald Appel of Systems & Forecasts.Meanwhile, the technical
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Analyst initiationsAnalyst upgrades: Goldman upgraded shares of British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to the Conviction Buy
Filed under: International markets, Forecasts, Other issues, Federal Reserve, RecessionThere are lines of reasoning, and then there are lines of reasoning. European Central Bank board member Axel Weber said Wednesday theres no plan for interest rate cuts and policy makers
Filed under: Earnings reports, Gap Inc (GPS), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF)J. Crew Groups (NYSE: JCG) stock is not a thing of beauty. The retailers shares have been weak for a long time, and the latest quarterly numbers did nothing to
Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD)Very few companies had a decrease in the size of their shares sold short as Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) had. The numbers compare data from July 31 with figures
Filed under: Earnings reports, Yahoo! (YHOO), International Business Machines (IBM), Merck and Co (MRK), Technical Analysis, Stocks to BuySkillSoft PLC (NASDAQ: SKIL) provides on-demand Internet-based training courses for professionals in business and
Filed under: Bad news, Lilly (Eli) (LLY)Every time the FDA turns around, a few more people have died from the diabetes drug Byetta, a product developed and marketed by Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN). It has
Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Intel (INTC), Research in Motion (RIMM), OptionsResearch in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) closed at $127.18 Tuesday. RIMM October option implied volatility of 53 is near its
Following my plea yesterday evening, members sent in quite a few chart requests. In fact, 14 stocks received more than one request: AAPL, AGU, BKE, CF, CHK, DRYS, HAS, NOV, NVDA, POT, RIG, SID, TRA, & USO. My plan is...
The positive bias following this mornings durable goods report carried over to the regular trading session providing for a positive day for the market. Trading volume was still very low although relatively higher at the Nasdaq. Ultimately, it was another...
That uncertain feeling Will economys path be shaped like a U, V, W, or L? Third quarter earnings are expected to look like the second quarter Are current estimates too lofty for the S&P 500? The market hopes for an...
Good morning. The market remains on hurricane watch as Gustav is currently on track to hit Louisiana early Monday as a category four hurricane. Fortunately, a better than expected durable goods report and dovish commentary by the Feds Lockhart have...
With Jim Cramer having proclaimed that weve hit bottom and we will not take out the July 15th low, Im curious to see which ETFs have been the raw performance leaders and laggards since that specific point. Here are the...
Good morning. Without any new data ahead if the opening bell, premarket trading has been quiet. Overseas markets are lower and oil prices are down while the dollar rallies. The key talking points seem to be a Citigroup survey which...
The bullish bias we saw at the end of last week disappeared today and the market gave back those gains in another low-volume trading day. Weakness was widespread but the financials led the way lower and weve yet to see...
Its been an interesting summer. A time that Im sure well look back upon in the years ahead with both gratefulness and wonderment. Since Memorial Day, heres just a brief overview of what weve been up to: The outside of...
This year, the late summer market action is anything but limpid Stocks are stuck in a typical late-summer environment Driving to Disney World is now less expensive View of economy is somber from Fed mountain retreat Bernanke wants regulators to...
Good morning. Were set for a slow start to the trading week amid a number of lackluster headlines. As doubt grows over the Lehman takeover widely reported last week, bankers are concerned that the summer lull will continue past Labor...
Good morning. Premarket trading suggests a positive day following news that Korea Development Bank is open to a potential acquisition of Lehman Brothers and oil prices pull back. In other news, negative comments by Goldman Sachs that the worlds major...
Good morning. Rising oil prices, elevated weekly jobless claims, more analyst downgrades of the financials, some relatively good earnings reports from some retailers, and speculation that the Treasury will soon take over Fannie & Freddie are in focus this morning....
Good morning. Premarket futures are pointing to a slight positive open following a big rally in Shanghai upon hopes the government would soon introduce a large stimulus package to boost their slowing economy. As for the U.S. equity market, this...
Good morning. The market remains under pressure this morning following yesterdays low volume sell off. In terms of economic data, the July PPI came in hotter than expected while July housing starts fell 11% to the lowest in 17 years....
Good morning. Premarket futures suggest a positive start to the new trading week. The newswires are on the quiet side and the lone economic datapoint will arrive at 1PM with the Housing Market Index as economists anticipate an unchanged reading...
Good morning. The market looks primed to try for additional gains today after oil prices continue to fall, the dollar rallies after Goldman Sachs declared the dollar has bottomed, and several retailers reported better than expected earnings. Later this morning,...
Good morning. Premarket trading has been volatile ahead of the opening bell as investors digest a better than expected report from Wal-Mart with a hotter than expected Consumer Price Index. First-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 in...
Good morning. The market remains under pressure this morning as investors sort through a number of mixed earnings reports & data. Namely, higher oil prices, surging import prices, and disappointing retail sales are in focus. Premarket gainers: LDG, CREE, NVDA,...
Good morning. After another positive day where the bulls recaptured S&P 1300, this morning well see if lower oil prices as the tension in Russia declines can once again provide the magic potion for higher equity prices. More bad news...
Good morning. We start the new trading week with relatively quiet newswires as earnings season begins to wind down. Moreover, this weeks economic calendar starts off slow with no reports of significance both today and tomorrow. Premarket gainers: CHIP, FEED,...
When it comes to reading SEC filings, like Dante’s Inferno, there’s definitely levels of hell. And bylaw changes clearly qualify as being close to the center of the earth because of the legalistic language that takes more than a few
The stock price of GFI Group (GFIG), an interdealer broker, took a bounce when the firm announced on July 31 that it was in merger talks with UK-based Tullett Prebon plc. (If the two companies do hook up, I guess someone will have
Last week, InfoGroup (IUSA) announced that CEO Vinod Gupta was stepping down, but would remain a director of the company. As various news outlets reported the resignation was part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by hedge fund Dolphin
Now that the SEC has embraced Twitter and issued new rules on the use of corporate web sites, you’d expect all sorts of companies to be jumping in with both feet. But that’s not exactly the case at Pionner Drilling
Two weeks ago, Ruby Tuesday (RT) staged a mock demolition to drive the point home that the restaurant chain was changing. But the demolition, which was a big hit on YouTube, judging by this long list of people who filmed
As footnoted regulars know, we love to poke at corporate-speak almost as much as we like to poke at accounting and legal-speak — the three languages used most often in corporate filings. So when struggling electronics chain Circuit City (CC)
Two weeks ago, Ruby Tuesday (RT) staged a mock demolition to drive the point home that the restaurant chain was changing. But the demolition, which was a big hit on YouTube, judging by this long list of people who filmed
As footnoted regulars know, we love to poke at corporate-speak almost as much as we like to poke at accounting and legal-speak — the three languages used most often in corporate filings. So when struggling electronics chain Circuit City (CC)
At 11 am, SEC Chair Chris Cox plans to announce some big changes and lay out a path for the implementation of XBRL, which today’s Washington Post is describing as “Financial Data on Steroids”. In addition to streaming the press
Today marks the fifth anniversary of footnoted.org. So instead of our usual trawl through the filings, I’ve decided to finally answer the question that I get asked the most often by making a short video:To celebrate the site’s 5th anniversary,
We’re still digging out from a heaping pile of Qs here at footnoted, but didn’t want to let this one from Key Corp. (KEY) filed last Friday slip through the cracks. It’s not so much the Q, but the exhibit
Shortly before CVS Caremark (CVS) announced that it was buying Longs Drugs (LDG) for $2.9 billion on Tuesday, I spotted this story, which had Credit Suisse analyst Edward Kelly downgrading the stock because it was overvalued, in part due to
Except for that nasty skirmish with the SEC a few years ago, Martha Stewart’s got it pretty good. In exchange for showing us how to make Chicken Pot-au-Feu and silk-flower ring pillows, she earned more than $2 million last year.
Except for that nasty skirmish with the SEC a few years ago, Martha Stewart’s got it pretty good. In exchange for showing us how to make Chicken Pot-au-Feu and silk-flower ring pillows, she earned more than $2 million last year.
Yesterday, was a big deadline for Qs and lots of big companies, including several banks, jostled to see who could file closest to the deadline. Among those on my radar are Wachovia (15:49), Washington Mutual (16:52), and Och-Ziff (16:54). But
Last week, we learned that Paris Hilton has a strong sense of irony. And on Friday, during a conference call following Sally Beauty’s third quarter earnings, we learned that Paris has some other hidden talent as well. Here’s what Sally
This week Novell Inc. (NOVL) and other distributors of Linux-based software announced a venture with IBM to offer PCs that will be, as the press release puts it, “Microsoft-free.” You gotta kinda like that.But you don’t gotta kinda like the
So far, I’ve managed to avoid picking up a Twitter habit, the popular micro-blogging platform that many of the cool kids use. It’s not because I’m stubborn or unwilling to adapt new technology. It’s because most of my updates —
In a little less than two weeks, footnoted will celebrate its fifth anniversary and in all of that time writing about odd disclosures at all sorts of companies, I’ve managed to avoid writing about Overstock (OSTK). It was definitely a
Last week, Vonage (VG) named Cingular marketing executive Marc Lefar as its new CEO. Lefar had left Cingular in April 2007, just before the company was renamed AT&T Wireless and had been doing consulting work for his own firm, Marketing
In my last post, I suggested that much of trading performance hinges on implicit learning and that psychological factors impair performance to the degree that they interfere with access to what we know (but dont necessarily know that we know).
In my books, Ive described pattern recognition as fundamental to trading, with patterns learned through a process of implicit learning. Implicit learning occurs when we are exposed to multiple examples of patterns and thus become sensitive to the rules or
* Wonderful City, Wonderful Hosts - Many thanks to Ana Wang and Ray Barros for their gracious welcome to Singapore. You can tell a lot about a country and city by how it maintains and develops its infrastructure, and Singapore
Think about reading a market like reading a person: youll listen for the communications of the market--what its doing--but also for the metacommunications: how its expressing itself. Lets take yesterdays market as an example. * How did markets in Asia
With increasing globalization, every asset class is related to every other one. This makes it useful for understanding how these relationships shift over time. Many times, movements in one asset class will anticipate movements in others. With an understanding of
The week ended with a bounce in stocks and a drop in crude oil prices. Heres how the eight S&P 500 sectors that I follow are faring in Technical Strength (trending; a positive figure denotes uptrend and a negative figure
* Options Strategy - Condor Options shares their strategy for making money from iron condors. See the iron condor links on that page, including trading rules.* The Learners Focus - Henry Carstens on what learners should focus on--and its not
* Forex Trading Expo in Las Vegas - Just a quick reminder that Ill be delivering a keynote address at the conference on Saturday, September 13th at 8:45 AM. My topic will cover some of the themes from my new
* Tough Trading - Quantifiable Edges looks at the challenges of trading a choppy market environment; see the commentary also from Afraid to Trade.* No Decoupling in an Information Age - Excellent perspective from Paul McCulley, contributing to The Big
One gauge of Fed sentiment are the yields on short-term Treasury bills and notes. These are sensitive to anticipated Fed easing and tightening, providing
A number of traders have commented to me on how choppy the market conditions have become. A strong movement seems under way, and then it just as strongly reverses. As a way of looking simply at recent trading conditions, I
A while back I wrote several perspectives on achieving greatness as a trader. There are many traders who want to do well, and many who want to make money. Few of us, however, think of ourselves greatly. That, were told,
I meant to get to this earlier in the week but the reader question posts and flying on Wednesday got in the way of it.On Monday on European Closing Bell the guest investor was Juerg Zingg from Q Investments. Mr.
A reader asked me to expand on my thoughts about investing in surplus countries or other types of themes where money appears to be flowing. He says that Laszlo Birini has also mentioned investing along these lines and lastly the
In an ongoing thread there was a question about covered call funds. I used to write about these more. I am a believer in the concept but many of the CEFs have done poorly through the market events of the
Wise Investing: No Substitute for Saving - Finance Blog - Felix Salmon - Market Movers - Portfolio.comIve put up a lot of posts on this point. It is crucial to understand.
Several great questions came in over the weekend. Ill tackle one the first one today.First up, a reader asked a follow up about shipping stocks (mentioned in passing in this past weekends video). I mentioned in the video that one
A few stray items.This weeks interview in Barrons was with Byron Wien. There were several interesting nuggets including this comment; ...whenever a category in the
Well, someone figured out how to use the Microsoft Office Picture Manager to make photos smaller to fit bloggers very narrow profile photo requirements.The old picture was from 2003, the new one is from 2007, four years and Im no
Im not gonna take this! Wormer Freddie? Hes a dead man. Marmalard Lehman? Dead! NIEDERMAYER FANNIE? Dead!!Sometime yesterday I saw a graphic showing Lehman Brothers
Last week I disclosed going back into China with a small purchase for most, but not all, clients. Relative to a day or three the timing was poor. The big macro is that at down about 60% from the peak
FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Rogoff: The world cannot grow its way out of this slowdownPart of the above article delves into whether there is too much supply of financial institutions and whether impeding the natural market
Dr. Doom - Profile - Nouriel Roubini - Predicting Crisis in the United States Economy - NYTimes.comA couple of money quotes;We have a subprime financial system not a subprime mortgage market.andThis might be the beginning of the end of the
Laszlo Birinyi appeared on Bloomberg TV this morning to discuss the US equity market with focus on financial and energy stocks. Click here to read Bloombergs report.
Between 7/15 and 7/23 the S&P 500 financial sector rallied 30% over 8 days and marking the beginning of a new bull market after its 54% decline from 2/20/07 to 7/15/08. Birinyi Associates defines bull and bear markets based on
There are more bulls than bears in this weeks poll.Blogger Sentiment Poll Participants:24/7 Wall St. (N) Carl Futia (+) Controlled Greed (N) Crowder Blog
Below we highlight the 30 Dow members with respect to their various trading ranges. After the recent volatility in the markets (S&P 500 +2.9% on Tuesday, -1.8% today) some of these stocks are on the move. BAC had traded at
There has been much talk recently of firms unwinding their long commodity and short financial strategies. The energy sector experienced a quick 20% decline and financial stocks began to look attractive, for a minute. Below we look at selected sectors
This weeks poll results are mixed.Blogger Sentiment Poll Participants:24/7 Wall St. (N) Carl Futia (+) Controlled Greed (-) Crowder Blog (-) Crossing Wall Street
This mornings initial jobless claims number in conjuction with higher than expected CPI was disheartening as S&P 500 futures saw a prompt 10pt drop. The US job market continues to weaken, there were 450k new jobless claims last week and
There has been much talk recently of firms unwinding their long commodity and short financial strategies. The energy sector experienced a quick 20% decline and financial stocks began to look attractive, for a minute. Below we look at selected sectors
This weeks poll results are mixed.Blogger Sentiment Poll Participants:24/7 Wall St. (N) Carl Futia (+) Controlled Greed (-) Crowder Blog (-) Crossing Wall Street
This mornings initial jobless claims number in conjuction with higher than expected CPI was disheartening as S&P 500 futures saw a prompt 10pt drop. The US job market continues to weaken, there were 450k new jobless claims last week and
There are more bulls than bears in this weeks poll.Blogger Sentiment Poll Participants:24/7 Wall St. (N) Carl Futia (+) Controlled Greed (N) Crowder Blog
Below we highlight the 30 Dow members with respect to their various trading ranges. After the recent volatility in the markets (S&P 500 +2.9% on Tuesday, -1.8% today) some of these stocks are on the move. BAC had traded at
Between 7/15 and 7/23 the S&P 500 financial sector rallied 30% over 8 days and marking the beginning of a new bull market after its 54% decline from 2/20/07 to 7/15/08. Birinyi Associates defines bull and bear markets based on
Laszlo Birinyi appeared on Bloomberg TV this morning to discuss the US equity market with focus on financial and energy stocks. Click here to read Bloombergs report.
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
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.Office of Thrift Supervision Shuts Down IndyMac (AP)IndyMac Seized (Bloomberg)IndyMac Taken Over By Regulators (Reuters)Federal Regulators Take Control of IndyMac (LA Times)IndyMac Bancorp Is Seized By Federal Regulators (WSJ
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 seem to 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
Articles and ObitsBloombergTelegrpahWashington PostGlobe and MailBooksInvesting the Templeton Way: The Market-Beating Strategies of Value Investings Legendary Bargain HunterTempleton Plan: 21 Steps to Personal Success and Real Happiness
No links – just headlines. If you subscribe to The Wall Street Journal in print, online, or by Kindle and don’t have time to read the whole paper, here’s a list of some of today’s articles you shouldn’t miss.GM Weighs
John Bethel of Controlled Greed has posted that blogs latest results. He gives the individual performance of every stock pick.Dont be surprised if you see posts from me on some of these stocks, especially note Whirlpool (WHR), American Eagle (AEO),
As discussed in the previous post, Nuveen has created an interesting Benjamin Graham based index. Here is a look at the Graham Small Cap Index constituents for the Benjamin Graham Small Cap Value ELEMENTS portfolio:A O Smith CorpAdministaff IncAdtran IncAlon
Exchange traded notes (ETN) are a fairly new investment product that share some characteristics of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. They are simply direct debt obligations issued by a bank or investment firm rather than an interest in a pool of
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
Maximizing the compounding rate of equity is only equivalent to minimizing the risk of ruin under the following two conditions:(1) certain MATHturbational assumptions about the distributions of returns hold true, and (2) “ruin” is defined strictly as losing 100% or
In January 1991, the S&P 500 had a Price/Earnings ratio in the mid-teens. The yield differential on corporate bonds, compared to long-term Ts, was about average, and had been rising to that point.Meanwhile, the yield curve (long-term T’s to 3moTs)
Rotational is a trend-following system that believes there’s always a bull market somewhere, and in previous downturns this year, the portfolio has been able to ride it out OK because it was in “what was working.” Not this time. Good
I track a variety of different trading systems, and post my own trades - before I take them! - as I personally trade my own systems. It’s called accountability, and it’s called “eating your own cooking.”One thing I’ve been meaning
Aggressive is a very low-beta, but very high-volatility, trading program for U.S.-market equities. Non-correlation and total return are valued by this system far more than reduction in volatility is, and the system was optimized with a specific, aggressive retail trader
I’ve updated the model portfolio changes for the Fundamental strategy; Fundamental is a moderately low-beta, moderately low-turnover trading plan for stocks traded on major U.S. exchanges, which takes its name because it does not reference any technical analysis factors or
Yesterday I looked at the upper end of scalability, today I take a simple look at the lower end, again with my “strategy X.”In the hands of a fund using all qualifiers, it holds 344 stocks on average, with 18%
In an effort to resolve the question mentioned yesterday, Testing for Scalability, I pulled a random sampling of U.S. stocks to look at their volume turnover rates. I pulled the sample in different groups, with market caps above $10 billion,
Here’s a MyBlogLog page where a post about going long gold at $871.70 is shown. For those who may not be familiar with it, the MyBlogLog page shows community members, recent posts, and other information about sites maintained by members.
As it relates to the testing of trading systems, I use “scalability” to describe a concept, although that concept is something I have difficulty testing directly.The concept of scalability is the general question of how the amount of money managed
Beta is a metric, a measurement of one return stream as it relates to a relative benchmark. Beta is not “exposure to a market.”Beta is not “correlation to a market.”Beta is not a measure of “volatility.”If one takes a return
Added … Noiseless Return wants to separate noise from signal through their quantitative trading signals.Stock Picks by Noiseless Return provides daily picks and market commentary based on their proprietary quantitative systems.Very Smart Investing provides frequently updated market commentary and news.
The mechanical Timing portfolio is an attempt to generate slightly above-market returns — it has a relative benchmark — with significantly lower-than-market volatility, while being as simple and slow-moving as possible. Simple? It uses inputs from only three variables. Slow-moving?
Re: Is Value just a big bet on Financials? via Abnormal Returns.The answer is either “yep,” or “it depends.” Let’s define some terms.There are three types of analysis: Technical, Fundamental, and FundaTechnical. “Value investing” uses FundaTechnical analysis as it’s bedrock,
This post is not an endorsement; it is for informational purposes, an update to my previous post on this newsletter.The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII), a site that I’m fond of for their stock screens, among other things, is
On eve of Games, Bush raps China on rights:“We press for openness and justice not to impose our beliefs, but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs,” he said.I would love it if the official Chinese reply were along
The answer to why aggregators are able to find a continuous stream of willing suckers may be contained in this article, “When Play Becomes Work” by Shankar Vedantam. External rewards and punishments are counterproductive when it comes to activities that
The lead suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks has now apparently killed himself. The sad sack of shit out of all of this is, savvy readers of the news (and Antiwar.com in particular) knew way back in 2001 that the
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
Two years ago today, we launched this site. To celebrate this exciting event, we thought we’d share some statistics with our readers who have supported us. Here are some of the amazing and interesting things that our traffic analysis shows
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
Two years ago today, we launched this site. To celebrate this exciting event, we thought we’d share some statistics with our readers who have supported us. Here are some of the amazing and interesting things that our traffic analysis shows
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)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
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
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.
This article is a reprint of my 29 July 2008 RealMoney column.These are tough times for office furniture makers, which have seen their shares fall 20% to 50% over the last year. A difficult economic environment and poor showings from
My latest column is up at RealMoney.Chart Industries (GTLS) is a leading independent global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment used in the production, storage and end-use of hydrocarbon and industrial gases. As an infrastructure supplier to the energy industry, Chart
My latest column is up at RealMoney.General Dynamics operates through four business groups: aerospace, combat systems, marine systems and information systems and technology. The way I see it, the sum of these parts is greater than the whole.The aerospace division
In the feature, “Sucker’s Rally? Stock Gains Likely to Be Short-Lived” which analyst used the phrase, “sucker’s rally”?“It’s a sucker’s rally,” Kathy Boyle, president of Chapin Hill Advisors, says of this week’s market move.
In the Fast Money post, “No Guts No Glory - Pt. II” what animal metaphor is used to describe value investing?For her latest amazing feat Finerman puts her head directly into the lion’s mouth.Sponsor: Financial Education Everything you need to
As a fundamental investor, I think it is important to read a company’s regulatory filings before investing. This is a big reason why Stock Market Beat has partnered with the Annual Report Service to bring you free access to download
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. Anyway, dont give up on me. I will post again soon.
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
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
As usual, Mr. Buffett touches on both classic and contemporary issues in this year’s letter. Two stand out to me as worth quickly addressing.The classic issue most interesting to me is his discussion of See’s Candies (see page 7). It
It sure seems Mr. Buffett is more willing than ever to appear publicly. Next week he will be on CNBC discussing the new letter to shareholders. Here is a link to details on that:http://www.cnbc.com/id/23359277On March 14 (which is coincidentally my
Here is another sports-related post…To me, the biggest justice of the Patriots’ losing of the Super Bowl was not that Tom Brady had snickered with overconfidence at Plaxico Burress’ ultimately accurate prediction or even that Bill Belichick had stormed off
Have you heard about this? Cleveland Indians minor league pitching prospect Randy Newsom is securitizing his future earnings in the major leagues by selling off 4% of any future major league earnings he may realize. For $20 you can buy
I don’t claim to be a macroeconomist, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. And I am certainly not a market prognosticator, so please don’t interpret what I say as a prediction for the direction
Today I choose to write about something that I don’t know.I cannot, nor can anyone, predict what this turbulent market will do in the short term. The nonsense that is going on in the lending industry may turn in to
Well it turns out US News & World Report is stealing my thunder. I promised a few weeks ago to devote a few posts to “alt-Berkshires” and will continue today anyhow, but it turns out this is exactly the topic
If there is one cliché that I hear value investors (including me) use more than any other it has got to be “Company XYZ is the next Berkshire Hathaway” or maybe “XYZ is a miniature Berkshire Hathaway.” Everyone wants to
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
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