Comments on Violent Capitalist's articles RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/violent-capitalist/articles http://seekingalpha.com/article/134131-options-to-capitalize-on-the-sun-buyout?source=feed#comment-604100 604100 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:22:10 -0400 ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-542125 542125 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:40:40 -0400
www.reuters.com/articl...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-540463 540463 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:38:18 -0400
everyone knows they HAVE to use the cash somehow, even if they don't pull the trigger - stakeholders will inevitably make cause for an acquisition (employee defects, shareholder activism, analyst reports, etc)

businessweek, barrons, wsj, and others are all writing about it now as Dell ponders which acquisition to make. Look for a deal to happen within the next year.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/138612-why-lampert-invested-in-acxiom?source=feed#comment-512590 512590 Thu, 21 May 2009 08:52:15 -0400
nevertheless, i dont think the economy will rebound that strongly anytime soon - you should look towards asia for those type of opportunities where companies still trade close to cash on their books (CGA, CFSG as examples - AOB is one that hasn't budged much yet)]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/138612-why-lampert-invested-in-acxiom?source=feed#comment-511949 511949 Wed, 20 May 2009 16:27:55 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-511331 511331 Wed, 20 May 2009 11:23:24 -0400
The dividend may get cut - but not by 50%, just doesnt make sense, they may pare it back 20% (to reflect the resulting dilution), they'll have enough cash to cover dividends, and with debt at $138 mil + their claim to potentially increasing their credit lines, I'm sort of confused about what exactly is going on here at this present moment.

this may have been a deal in the making since early in the year, and PSEC may have thought it still better to raise cash if possible?

Still by selling puts at a 10 strike, I can watch this unfold on the sidelines...

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/138612-why-lampert-invested-in-acxiom?source=feed#comment-511138 511138 Wed, 20 May 2009 09:53:29 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-508843 508843 Mon, 18 May 2009 17:42:44 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-505486 505486 Fri, 15 May 2009 13:07:34 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-503424 503424 Thu, 14 May 2009 09:23:05 -0400
btw, book values on all these guys' balance sheets are probably overstated currently..]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-502871 502871 Wed, 13 May 2009 20:05:19 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-501842 501842 Wed, 13 May 2009 09:27:39 -0400
that sucks, but its not terrible - there will probably be some weakness in the shares for the rest of 2009. Nice to sell puts to lock in a lower price (risk reduction). $7.50 will be way too low of a share price for these guys and I'll look to that end to open another short puts position during the rest of 2009.

stickto - ARCC is not of the same level, their capital structure is not more conservative - I dont' like the fact that their leverage is 80+% of net assets, forced to reduce their dividend, and a history of paying higher dividends than net interest income - i just can't fathom why that's a good long-term policy!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-500800 500800 Tue, 12 May 2009 14:17:22 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-500242 500242 Tue, 12 May 2009 09:45:57 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-500153 500153 Tue, 12 May 2009 08:58:05 -0400
it sounds like it, but they arent the same and thats why these guys have only lost about 30% of their value-]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/137114-prospect-capital-a-relatively-safe-dividend-yield?source=feed#comment-500142 500142 Tue, 12 May 2009 08:48:44 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-486983 486983 Sat, 02 May 2009 21:56:17 -0400
But, truth be told, we haven't seen any sign of DELL actually doing anything useful with all that cash, have we?

I would rather invest in Dell when they announce a strategy for using their cash that I consider to be a suitable one, rather than on the expectation that they may one day come up with a strategy that I may or may not like.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/134131-options-to-capitalize-on-the-sun-buyout?source=feed#comment-485418 485418 Fri, 01 May 2009 09:57:00 -0400
if the bid price goes up and the spreads widen more, i'll be happy to place another arbitrage trade in!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/134131-options-to-capitalize-on-the-sun-buyout?source=feed#comment-485294 485294 Fri, 01 May 2009 09:02:59 -0400
By buying SUN, Oracle not only acquired a major computing hardware platform and acquired their primary competitor in the small computer space (MySQL), they also acquired a major storage vendor in STK. Put SUN hardware and STK storage (disk, tape, and storage software) together with Oracle DB and Oracle applications and they will have an unstoppable data warehouse and data archiving platform in a couple of years, if not sooner.

That was the main point of the Oracle acquisition of SUN, and it was brilliant. If there is a bidding war from here, Oracle will probably be willng to pay much more for JAVA because if the do not, they will never be able to play in the data warehouse space with a box of their own. That would mean they would be under the thumbs of IBM and HP.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-483955 483955 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:24:51 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-483202 483202 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:35:06 -0400 What is this .... a evening cake walk where MaDell can come in the beginning and then take a back seat and then come back again to do the 'steve jobs' type of stuff ?
Today it is a race, if you are left behind not only your competition will zoom ahead, they will make sure that you never come close to them.
Numbers on the side --- What product, What service, What value Dell has today (and even had in last 2 years) to provide to customers ? Why are customers leaving and not coming back to Dell ? I am just questioning the basic fundamentals over here i see missing in Dell. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-482926 482926 infinite and dell is hell, > > i agree but a lot of that is past looking - > > dont forget how $7 billion in net cash can change the picture of > a company.. and change it fast - the same things we are arguing about > now with Dell happened with IBM, HPQ, Emachines, Gateway, and every > other major mainstream hardware supplier]]> Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:16:06 -0400
With respect, I completely disagree.

While cash "helps to calm the nerves", to borrow a time honored French expression, without fundamental management/structural change the cash will find its way somewhere and be of no real benefit in the end.

There are a lot of former Dell customers out there because of their problems. I do not think that is backward looking. Without change it is forward looking. The past IS prologue to the future.

Dell's original business plan was to enter markets that were in the process of being comoditized and "work the (profit) margins". It has become one where they "make up the losses in volume" to borrow a tired joke. Competition need not be a suicide pact.


On Apr 28 11:22 PM Violent Capitalist wrote:

> infinite and dell is hell,
>
> i agree but a lot of that is past looking -
>
> dont forget how $7 billion in net cash can change the picture of
> a company.. and change it fast - the same things we are arguing about
> now with Dell happened with IBM, HPQ, Emachines, Gateway, and every
> other major mainstream hardware supplier]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-482806 482806 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:02:57 -0400
pure rubbish talk. $7billion is PART of the picture already, it cant change anything.
If you were talking about a magic $7billion that say Gates just gifted to dell for free and grossed up the tax, then sure that would change the picture.
But existing cash is part of the current picture. Sure they have money to invest, if they didnt they would be worth less.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481977 481977 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:22:24 -0400
i agree but a lot of that is past looking -

dont forget how $7 billion in net cash can change the picture of a company.. and change it fast - the same things we are arguing about now with Dell happened with IBM, HPQ, Emachines, Gateway, and every other major mainstream hardware supplier]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481910 481910 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:14:39 -0400
There is a special place in hell for Michael Dell allowing his company to become this way.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481838 481838 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:56:09 -0400
In the short-run Economies of Scale will create larger margins, which Dell enjoyed once upon a time. But in the long-run Returns to Scale will squeeze those once coveted margins to razor thin levels which Dell is currently faced with. How much lower can margins go and still be considered a viable business model?

Here is my question to you that I ask all my students: Where does Dell go from here?

I have yet to get a reasonable response. Thus my short in Dell and subsequent 100% ROI.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481820 481820 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:26:45 -0400
Smoking crack is very bad for you.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481534 481534 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:08:47 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481419 481419 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:10:42 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/133540-why-i-m-investing-in-michael-dell?source=feed#comment-481229 481229 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:37:03 -0400