James Cullen

Moody’s a Short on Rating Agency Regime Change?

If you wanted to be really cynical, you'd say that bankers and regulators don't even bother with valuation -- just with the letter grade assigned by Moody's/S&P. Yup, not much need to think beyond that.


On Jul 13 05:58 PM Moon Kil Woong wrote:

> I'd love to buy the stock based on profitability. I realy would,
> but doing so really bothers my conscience. It would help if they
> weren't so obviously peddling garbage. Oh well, I guess all that
> matters is what bankers and regulators use for valuation huh? No
> wonder we are in such a mess.

Doug Kass's Killer Shorts - Barron's

Isn't it possible that his #2 point - avoid stocks already heavily shorted - precluded him from shorting many of the most troubled companies?

I'm not saying it worked this time, but in general he seems to be looking for a "variant" view (he often uses that term)... in this case, where there's minimal chance of a squeeze. Part of it is risk management....

Memo to Warren: AmEx Preferred at 15%, Warrants at $12

Utterly vacuous.


On Nov 16 08:02 AM apppro wrote:

> Here's my memo to Warren:
>
> Hey Mr. Bigshot,
> If you had just not been such a wise guy 1 year ago and had just
> invested in Ambac and MBIA without some absurd limits, maybe just
> maybe, this entire financial mess could have been prevented.
> Think about it!

Warren Buffet, The Ultimate Dividend Investor

sr9,
Buffett has shown an ability to reinvest capital at a higher rate than people receiving the dividends could, so that isn't really self-serving, it's value maximizing (especially when you consider dividend taxation). Plus, if Berkshire authorized a huge dividend, a huge portion would go to their largest shareholder - Buffett - and you'd probably complain about that.

Compare Berkshire's behavior with that of the many companies which continue to pay dividends, and then need to raise capital at usurous interest rates later. Who has better corporate governance and financial policies?

5 Reasons to Ignore Buffett

I guess if you don't really have good reasons, you can try a sensational headline to grab attention.

I'll venture that you're wrong about the problem being "Buffett isn't us" - it's the other way around. If people were like Buffett and had his patience and perspective, took smart risks, etc., their portfolios would be much better off.

Berkshire: Bond Market Not Always Omniscient - Especially Lately

Buffett's derivatives quote applies to highly leveraged, long-lived, or exotic instruments like total return swaps. I suggest actually reading his letters...

collegeanalysts.com/20.../

Dow Ignores Top Tech Stocks at Its Own Peril

You could never add Berkshire to the DJIA and keep it price-weighted...