As the baby boomers come to retirement age, one has to wonder where all their wealth will flow. Though most are likely still largely invested in equities, eventually the time will come that they move to fixed income. When that will be, we don’t know, nor do we know if the selling pressure will break the markets. Read more…
Just when I thought the stock market couldn’t get any dirtier, it did. A hostile takeover bid by Alimentation Couche-Tard to buy Casey’s General Stores was interesting…especially in this business enviroment. The bid, something fresh in this business environment, is made even more interesting by the fact that Couche-Tard front ran its own hostile takeover. What?! Read more…
After the Troubled Asset Relief Program, stock warrants, not options, made a comeback. The US Treasury infused bailout dollars into large corporations in exchange for warrants, similar to stock options, which allow investors to buy a certain stock at a certain price at a certain time in the future. There are some differences, however. Read more…
This past memorial day weekend, I got a call from a friend. He had called to ask me for advice on what he described as “a serious problem.” Of course, I was interested, and knew that if I were to get a phone call from this person it had to be serious. Read more…
Just five years the Toys R Us brand was taken off the market by a collection of private equity firms. With the brand refreshed, the operations streamlined, and the company ready again to take on the deep discounters, this one is interesting. Read more…
Every company has its pot of gold, that one product that absolutely decimates the competition and brings in most of its profit. For Google, that one product is Adsense, a contextual advertising product that allows businesses to advertise both on Google’s search results and millions of different websites around the world. Read more…
The administration is arguing for greater transparency in the financial markets, and I couldn’t agree more. These bankers on Wall Street need a new PR person. They need to come around and realize that even a little transparency would go a long way in improving their image. Read more…
I’m a big believer in dividend investing. Stocks that can bring your the best of both worlds, income and growth should be embraced in everyone’s portfolio. But dividends also bring another benefit, they help keep stock prices up when others are suffering. Read more…
We all know that economic uncertainty sends money into Treasuries and another forms of government debt, but I’ve been wondering, what does it do to our trade balance. Recessions reduce our consumption, and naturally our imports, but I’m thinking now that post-recession bankers and institutions own more treasuries as a percentage and by dollar than foreign nations. Read more…
I’m not too surprised to see the mainstream media quick to call out “program trading” as the cause of the Dow’s temporary 1000 point fall. Their weakest claim is that computers, unlike humans, have no emotion and no way to actually know what stock prices should be. Um, duh? Read more…
In the modern economy, bankruptcy should be embraced, not diverted. As Greece and Spain plunge into insolvency, the world should know that bankruptcy is not an end, but merely a means to an end. Here’s my view on bankruptcy, and why it should be embraced. Read more…
I can’t figure out what I can see and what government can’t see. A regulated derivatives market will absolutely reek havoc on the financial markets as a whole. Here is why… Read more…
We’ve seen the headlines, we’ve read the news…wealth has gone extinct. With $11 trillion seemingly vanishing from the economy, and the savings of Americans, we can’t do much but ask “Where did all the wealth go?” Read more…
If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time you should know by now that I appreciate Ford, both for standing up and saying “nay” to a bailout just as Henry Ford would have, and for being generally well managed. Its new concept car, the Ford Start, is another great product that I believe will lead Ford in the right direction. Read more…
The SEC case against Goldman Sachs is lining up to be both a political and economic showdown as the Wall Street regulator looks to take on what is often considered on of America’s dirtiest investment banks. The SEC alleges that Goldman committed fraud by selling securities as a solid investment, even when the counter-party was betting against them. Read more…
I’ve always wondered, what is the true value, in marketing, of listing a company to go public? Between full page write-ups, segments on TV, and ringing the opening bell, there has to be some kind of marketing benefit to taking a company public. Read more…
It was just a few hours ago that I rebalanced my sister’s 401k after not taking another glance at it since 2006. Luckily, together we averted most of the fallout from the recession, avoiding real estate, small caps, and having only a tiny portion in bonds. However, as I relooked her 401k it was time to make a big switch, a really big switch, she needed more small cap stocks. Read more…
A change in the tax code and laws has made it easier for investors to rollover a 401k into a Roth IRA. Instead of the old two step process of opening two IRAs, investors should now be able to make the rollover in one fell swoop. Read more…
I’ve long said that I don’t want to turn this blog political. My first love, of course, is in the markets, but to avoid what is happening in Washington DC is nothing more than a poor investing strategy. More than ever the government plays an important role in business, generating 25% of the economic output of the nation and making rules and regulations that affect the other three-fourths. Read more…
Be careful, 2010 corporate earnings may be unusually weak due to new taxes and higher costs thanks to health care reform legislation passed last weekend. Several large companies have already gone public, forecasting charges ranging from $100 million to as much as $1 billion. Read more…
The physical products space is being taken over. Not by a new competitor, not by some heavily branded super-retailer, and not by online delivery. Nope, digital products are taking the world by storm! Can physical delivery of data survive the oncoming onslaught? Read more…
I’ve long been a proponent of using frequent flier miles, cash back cards, and even super low balance transfers to the advantage of your personal finances. However, this guy is taking it to a whole new level. After being laid off his executive job, and having amassed millions in frequent flier miles, Jim Kennedy is now using his frequent flier miles to cover his expenses. Read more…
General Motors may be down, but its not out. After telling some 2000 dealers it would not renew their franchise agreements last October, the company will bring back 600 dealers to its network. Looks like good news following Toyota’s huge recall problems… Read more…
Though Warren Buffett certainly earns respect for his impressive returns at the helm of Berkshare Hathaway, the double speak on the topic of bailouts and speculative investing shows the kind of guy he really is. Read more…
Just as I had written a few days ago, it wasn’t until the Fed began locking up or calling back its inflationary programs that it would have any affect on monetary policy. However, just a few days later, the Fed has done just that, securing $200 billion worth of reserves in Treasuries in an effort to calm investors worried about inflation. Read more…
