Something Someday Will Kill Facebook, But We're Not There Yet [View article]
Really enjoyed this article.
Perhaps there's something intrinsically self-destructive about the social networks. To succeed in the short run, they want to maximize the network effect by getting you to connect to and share with as many people as possible. But in the process, they turn themselves from being a platform for real social interaction to one where you interact with people you barely know. At some point, that opens up an opportunity for a platform where you interact with your real friends.
On the other hand, perhaps that already exists, and is called "email".
Dividend Payers In The S&P 500 May Become More Scarce In 2013 [View article]
One factor leader to increased demand for dividends is the large wave of people entering retirement. They are increasingly opting for dividend paying stocks (you can see that clearly on Seeking Alpha). My guess is that many companies will respond to that by maintaining their dividend, even if the tax regime changes.
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
Wireless Tech,
Wasn't the author arguing that 4G is a threat to ALU, whose strength is in 3G, and for that reason the companies whose products and services might increase the adoption of 4G are a threat to ALU?
That's not quite the same as saying they are direct competitors.
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
AlbionWood,
Agree -- it's hard to see how a case can be made for any stock without addressing valuation. Stock price, market cap or enterprise value in isolation tell you nothing.
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
It's fascinating how investors are so drawn to low price stocks, when in reality the share price is irrelevant - it's the market cap (or more accurately the enterprise value) which matters. You see this on websites which have newsletters like "Stocks Under $10!", as if that proves they're a bargain.
The psychology is fascinating. If the title of this article had been "Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At A $2.27 Billion Market Cap", it wouldn't have been nearly as alluring.
Thinking more about this: Perhaps low stock prices do tell us something valuable, namely that the stock is beaten down, because no company does an IPO or a stock split intending its stock to be below $10. A low stock price therefore means that something has gone wrong, and that's attractive trawling ground for bargain hunters.
Interested to hear others' thoughts - do low stock prices tell investors anything useful?
Nokia: A $3 Bargain On Mobile Phone Hyper Growth [View article]
I'm always baffled by investor interest in low price stocks, when the price is irrelevant - it's the market cap (or more accurately the enterprise value) which matters.
I wonder how this would have read had the title been "Nokia: A $10.4 Billion Bargain On Mobile Phone Hyper Growth".
Yield Is The Last Refuge Of Scoundrels [View article]
Dave,
I understand your frustration, but I think it's misplaced. We republish articles by some authors who don't want to reply to comments on Seeking Alpha since they want to concentrate their efforts on their own blogs. In some cases, like Felix Salmon, it's because they work for another company (in his case Reuters) which doesn't want them taking the time to reply to comments on any site other than their own. I'm not sure what the reason is in David Merkel's case, but it shouldn't be read as lack of respect for those who comment.
I see our job as to win them over to the value of the readership, community and discussion on Seeking Alpha. They already tend to get a lot more high quality comments on their articles here than they do on their own sites. I hope that we'll continue to raise the value we deliver to our contributors, even those who are skeptical or have corporate interests. As you yourself have shown, replying to comments and treating your readers with respect leads to a devoted readership and far larger exposure. In David Merkel's case, I suspect it would also result in more customer leads for his money management business.
In the meantime, I think it's wrong to dismiss David Merkel as "slanted". He's a money manager whose core interest is to do the best for his clients. From my interactions with him, he's also an outstanding person. I wish he was more rather than less engaged with Seeking Alpha.
Yield Is The Last Refuge Of Scoundrels [View article]
"When governments do not allow savers to earn rates exceeding inflation, savers turn to all manner of products that could harm them, both legitimate and illegitimate."
More on Amazon (AMZN): Q3 loss includes a $0.37 per share hit from LivingSocial related to impairment. Product revenue +23.1% Y/Y to $11.55B. Service revenue +51% Y/Y to $2.26B Company expects Q4 net sales of $20.25B-$22.75B. Shares -6.5% AH. Conference call at 5:00 ET. (PR) [View news story]
How was revenue and EPS guidance vs. expectations?
"...changing old age security from a personal issue to a collective issue has this problem: there is no reason for any husband and wife to have more children."
People Who Think They Are Conservative Investors [View article]
Balanced and wise article.
Perhaps a good antidote to "religious-like devotion" is being able to ask yourself the question "Is this stock / asset class overvalued?"
To their credit, many of the most prominent dividend growth authors on Seeking Alpha were prepared to entertain seriously the question whether dividend stocks have become overvalued. Here's one of the articles which addressed the issue, which contains links to other articles on the topic and also shows articles which subsequently linked to it: http://seekingalpha.co...
However, I suspect that some of the commenters on dividend articles are less open to the possibility that dividend stocks may become overvalued, and their devotion is a bit more "religious-like".
Jehuda, methinks Steve Jobs would never have allowed a product to be named "the new iPad", knowing there would be subsequent versions, and the name would cause product confusion:
"I have an iPad2. Which iPad do you have?" "I have a new iPad. The previous model." "Huh?"
November 16, 2012 -- Quote Of The Day [View instapost]
Something Someday Will Kill Facebook, But We're Not There Yet [View article]
Perhaps there's something intrinsically self-destructive about the social networks. To succeed in the short run, they want to maximize the network effect by getting you to connect to and share with as many people as possible. But in the process, they turn themselves from being a platform for real social interaction to one where you interact with people you barely know. At some point, that opens up an opportunity for a platform where you interact with your real friends.
On the other hand, perhaps that already exists, and is called "email".
Dividend Payers In The S&P 500 May Become More Scarce In 2013 [View article]
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
Wasn't the author arguing that 4G is a threat to ALU, whose strength is in 3G, and for that reason the companies whose products and services might increase the adoption of 4G are a threat to ALU?
That's not quite the same as saying they are direct competitors.
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
Why I'm Short Turkey [View article]
http://bit.ly/5oNXxD
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
Agree -- it's hard to see how a case can be made for any stock without addressing valuation. Stock price, market cap or enterprise value in isolation tell you nothing.
Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At $1 [View article]
The psychology is fascinating. If the title of this article had been "Buy Low, Sell High: Alcatel-Lucent Is A Steal At A $2.27 Billion Market Cap", it wouldn't have been nearly as alluring.
Thinking more about this: Perhaps low stock prices do tell us something valuable, namely that the stock is beaten down, because no company does an IPO or a stock split intending its stock to be below $10. A low stock price therefore means that something has gone wrong, and that's attractive trawling ground for bargain hunters.
Interested to hear others' thoughts - do low stock prices tell investors anything useful?
Nokia: A $3 Bargain On Mobile Phone Hyper Growth [View article]
I wonder how this would have read had the title been "Nokia: A $10.4 Billion Bargain On Mobile Phone Hyper Growth".
Yield Is The Last Refuge Of Scoundrels [View article]
I understand your frustration, but I think it's misplaced. We republish articles by some authors who don't want to reply to comments on Seeking Alpha since they want to concentrate their efforts on their own blogs. In some cases, like Felix Salmon, it's because they work for another company (in his case Reuters) which doesn't want them taking the time to reply to comments on any site other than their own. I'm not sure what the reason is in David Merkel's case, but it shouldn't be read as lack of respect for those who comment.
I see our job as to win them over to the value of the readership, community and discussion on Seeking Alpha. They already tend to get a lot more high quality comments on their articles here than they do on their own sites. I hope that we'll continue to raise the value we deliver to our contributors, even those who are skeptical or have corporate interests. As you yourself have shown, replying to comments and treating your readers with respect leads to a devoted readership and far larger exposure. In David Merkel's case, I suspect it would also result in more customer leads for his money management business.
In the meantime, I think it's wrong to dismiss David Merkel as "slanted". He's a money manager whose core interest is to do the best for his clients. From my interactions with him, he's also an outstanding person. I wish he was more rather than less engaged with Seeking Alpha.
Best Wishes,
David
Yield Is The Last Refuge Of Scoundrels [View article]
Superbly put.
More on Amazon (AMZN): Q3 loss includes a $0.37 per share hit from LivingSocial related to impairment. Product revenue +23.1% Y/Y to $11.55B. Service revenue +51% Y/Y to $2.26B Company expects Q4 net sales of $20.25B-$22.75B. Shares -6.5% AH. Conference call at 5:00 ET. (PR) [View news story]
Higher Taxes, Inflation, Default (Choose One) [View article]
Fascinating.
People Who Think They Are Conservative Investors [View article]
Perhaps a good antidote to "religious-like devotion" is being able to ask yourself the question "Is this stock / asset class overvalued?"
To their credit, many of the most prominent dividend growth authors on Seeking Alpha were prepared to entertain seriously the question whether dividend stocks have become overvalued. Here's one of the articles which addressed the issue, which contains links to other articles on the topic and also shows articles which subsequently linked to it:
http://seekingalpha.co...
However, I suspect that some of the commenters on dividend articles are less open to the possibility that dividend stocks may become overvalued, and their devotion is a bit more "religious-like".
Why Apple Is Down From $700 [View instapost]
"I have an iPad2. Which iPad do you have?"
"I have a new iPad. The previous model."
"Huh?"