MA - News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha 'MA' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ma Evaluating S&P 500's Top Ten CEOs http://seekingalpha.com/article/172723-evaluating-s-p-500-s-top-ten-ceos?source=feed 172723 The Applied Finance Group (AFG) is an independent equity research provider that has partnered with CEO Magazine in recent years to give investors insight into which CEOs do the best job of creating value for its shareholders; after all, that is what they are hired for.

The AFG/CEO Wealth Creation Index, which relies upon AFG’s corporate performance metric Economic Margin (EM), provides a better understanding of wealth creation than traditional accounting measures such as EPS and ROC. The link below will take you to the complete list of rankings of CEOs from S&P 500 companies that have held their current position for at least 3 years, based on their wealth creation abilities. Topping the rankings in 2009 is MasterCard’s (MA) Robert W. Selander, up from third place last year. Both Selander and runner-up Federated Investors’ (FII) J. Christopher Donahue run very high EM companies (24.5 percent and 20.6 percent three-year averages, respectively). Interestingly, both have been able to improve in a bad economy.

]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:41:53 -0500 Value Expectations Value Expectations submits:

The Applied Finance Group (AFG) is an independent equity research provider that has partnered with CEO Magazine in recent years to give investors insight into which CEOs do the best job of creating value for its shareholders; after all, that is what they are hired for.

The AFG/CEO Wealth Creation Index, which relies upon AFG’s corporate performance metric Economic Margin (EM), provides a better understanding of wealth creation than traditional accounting measures such as EPS and ROC. The link below will take you to the complete list of rankings of CEOs from S&P 500 companies that have held their current position for at least 3 years, based on their wealth creation abilities. Topping the rankings in 2009 is MasterCard’s (MA) Robert W. Selander, up from third place last year. Both Selander and runner-up Federated Investors’ (FII) J. Christopher Donahue run very high EM companies (24.5 percent and 20.6 percent three-year averages, respectively). Interestingly, both have been able to improve in a bad economy.


Complete Story »]]> AMZN CHRW ECL FII GILD LO MA MON MSFT STZ Value Expectations 23 Bullish Breakouts on Big Volume http://seekingalpha.com/article/172437-23-bullish-breakouts-on-big-volume?source=feed 172437 Here is a list of stocks which traded higher Monday November 9, 2009, on unusually higher volume. I will keep an eye on these stocks Tuesday to see if there is continued buying pushing the stocks higher. This method is just one of the ways I use to pick stocks to structure particular option trades. This post requires the knowledge of stock options. To learn more about the option strategies outlined in this post, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

The table below shows the company, ticker, per share % increase, and volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average). For your convenience I have ranked the stocks in order from greatest to least volume % change.

]]> Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:57:05 -0500 Marco Hickey Marco Hickey submits:

Here is a list of stocks which traded higher Monday November 9, 2009, on unusually higher volume. I will keep an eye on these stocks Tuesday to see if there is continued buying pushing the stocks higher. This method is just one of the ways I use to pick stocks to structure particular option trades. This post requires the knowledge of stock options. To learn more about the option strategies outlined in this post, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

The table below shows the company, ticker, per share % increase, and volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average). For your convenience I have ranked the stocks in order from greatest to least volume % change.


Complete Story »]]> ABV ASIA BBBB BUCY CPA DIA ECPG ENZN EWBC FSYS GG GLD GLRE HDB HMIN IWM MA MSTR MXB NTY NUS PCLN QQQQ REV SPY TLT TSU UIS WMS Marco Hickey Consumer Credit Decline Continues http://seekingalpha.com/article/171910-consumer-credit-decline-continues?source=feed 171910

Consumer credit fell again in September actually picking up pace from the August decline. The total decline was 7.2% year over with revolving credit increasing its decline to 13.3%. De-leveraging continues as consumers continue to fix their balance sheets. The stock market, of course, could care less.

cc

]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:24:49 -0500 The Pragmatic Capitalist

Consumer credit fell again in September actually picking up pace from the August decline. The total decline was 7.2% year over with revolving credit increasing its decline to 13.3%. De-leveraging continues as consumers continue to fix their balance sheets. The stock market, of course, could care less.

cc


Complete Story »]]> AXP BAC COF DFS MA NCC V The Pragmatic Capitalist JPMorgan Leads October Sentiment for Financials; Citi and BoA Gain Ground http://seekingalpha.com/article/171435-jpmorgan-leads-october-sentiment-for-financials-citi-and-boa-gain-ground?source=feed 171435 October ended last Saturday October 31, 2009. As many people analyze the performance of securities for the month, I’d like to look at sentiment and change in sentiment for the financial services sector.

Sentiment is a measure of how people feel a stock will perform and is captured by a voting mechanism that indicates a strong buy, buy, neutral, sell, and strong sell. The value of sentiment is based on the ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ where the many will in most cases make better decisions than the individual. Higher sentiment stocks are considered higher quality stocks, while lower sentiment stocks are considered lower quality stocks.

]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:42:24 -0500 Jett Winter Jett Winter submits:

October ended last Saturday October 31, 2009. As many people analyze the performance of securities for the month, I’d like to look at sentiment and change in sentiment for the financial services sector.

Sentiment is a measure of how people feel a stock will perform and is captured by a voting mechanism that indicates a strong buy, buy, neutral, sell, and strong sell. The value of sentiment is based on the ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ where the many will in most cases make better decisions than the individual. Higher sentiment stocks are considered higher quality stocks, while lower sentiment stocks are considered lower quality stocks.


Complete Story »]]> BAC C GS IYF JPM MA MS WFC XLF Jett Winter Washington Should Let Credit Card Issuers Do Their Job http://seekingalpha.com/article/171431-washington-should-let-credit-card-issuers-do-their-job?source=feed 171431

Ok, Washington crowd, here is a quick lesson on how credit card rates should work. Looking at rates and knowing the Fed Target Rate is not merely an oversimplification, it ignores the reality of the business. Sure there are villains to be exposed, incarcerated or fined. Unfortunately, our elected officials are once again leaning towards throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Step one is factoring the cost of money which is quite low right now. Step two is calculating a fair profit (yes, I will come back to this topic). Step three is the administration of lending. This includes the time value of money paid to merchants until the credit card company collects. Step four is client acquisition costs such as advertising, mailings etc and maintenance such as statements and customer service. You get the picture.

]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:13:30 -0500 Andrew Corn Andrew Corn submits:

Ok, Washington crowd, here is a quick lesson on how credit card rates should work. Looking at rates and knowing the Fed Target Rate is not merely an oversimplification, it ignores the reality of the business. Sure there are villains to be exposed, incarcerated or fined. Unfortunately, our elected officials are once again leaning towards throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Step one is factoring the cost of money which is quite low right now. Step two is calculating a fair profit (yes, I will come back to this topic). Step three is the administration of lending. This includes the time value of money paid to merchants until the credit card company collects. Step four is client acquisition costs such as advertising, mailings etc and maintenance such as statements and customer service. You get the picture.


Complete Story »]]> AXP DFS MA V Andrew Corn MasterCard Q3: Substantially Beats on Pricing and Costs http://seekingalpha.com/article/170946-mastercard-q3-substantially-beats-on-pricing-and-costs?source=feed 170946 MasterCard Incorporated (MA) reported third quarter 2009 net income applicable to common shareholders (excluding special items) of $456.0 million or $3.48 per share, compared to $322.0 million or $2.46 per share in the prior-year quarter. Results were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.93.

Better pricing, an increased number of processed transactions, lower operating expenses as a result of continuous cost-cutting initiatives and a lower tax rate contributed to the upside.

]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:07:24 -0500 Zacks.com Zacks.com submits:

MasterCard Incorporated (MA) reported third quarter 2009 net income applicable to common shareholders (excluding special items) of $456.0 million or $3.48 per share, compared to $322.0 million or $2.46 per share in the prior-year quarter. Results were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.93.

Better pricing, an increased number of processed transactions, lower operating expenses as a result of continuous cost-cutting initiatives and a lower tax rate contributed to the upside.


Complete Story »]]> MA Zacks.com Tuesday Options Recap http://seekingalpha.com/article/170939-tuesday-options-recap?source=feed 170939 Sentiment

The major averages opened lower following weakness in overseas markets and, after a move back to positive territory midday, are under water again late Tuesday. Bank stocks led benchmarks lower across Europe after RBS announced plans to participate in an asset-protection plan with the UK Treasury. Lloyd's opted not to, but the concern is that some European banks are still holding bad assets.

UK's FTSE lost 1.3 percent. France's CAC 40 dropped 1.5 percent and Germany's DAX gave up 1.4 percent. Losses were suffered across the Asia/Pacific as well. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.8 percent and India's Sensex tumbled more than 3 percent.

]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:53:28 -0500 Frederic Ruffy Frederic Ruffy submits:

Sentiment

The major averages opened lower following weakness in overseas markets and, after a move back to positive territory midday, are under water again late Tuesday. Bank stocks led benchmarks lower across Europe after RBS announced plans to participate in an asset-protection plan with the UK Treasury. Lloyd's opted not to, but the concern is that some European banks are still holding bad assets.

UK's FTSE lost 1.3 percent. France's CAC 40 dropped 1.5 percent and Germany's DAX gave up 1.4 percent. Losses were suffered across the Asia/Pacific as well. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.8 percent and India's Sensex tumbled more than 3 percent.


Complete Story »]]> ABX ADM ATVI ETFC HL IAG MA OSIR RGLD UNP WFC WFR Frederic Ruffy Buying Facebook Before It IPOs http://seekingalpha.com/article/170894-buying-facebook-before-it-ipos?source=feed 170894 By Brandon Clay

Technology stocks have done well this year. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) bottomed out in March and by late October was up more than 60%. Tech has performed better than any other sector year-to-date – up 33.7% as of Friday’s close.

]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:28:15 -0500 Invest With An Edge Invest With An Edge submits:

By Brandon Clay

Technology stocks have done well this year. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) bottomed out in March and by late October was up more than 60%. Tech has performed better than any other sector year-to-date – up 33.7% as of Friday’s close.


Complete Story »]]> AMZN EBAY GOOG MA XLK Invest With An Edge MasterCard Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript http://seekingalpha.com/article/170889-mastercard-q3-2009-earnings-call-transcript?source=feed 170889 MasterCard Incorporated (MA)

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 3, 2009 9:00 am ET

]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:02:51 -0500 MasterCard Incorporated (MA)

Q3 2009 Earnings Call

November 3, 2009 9:00 am ET


Complete Story »]]> MA Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News http://seekingalpha.com/article/170780-wall-street-breakfast-must-know-news?source=feed 170780

  • Buffett buys Burlington for a cool $44B. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) announced it will acquire the 77.4% of Burlington Northern (BNI) it doesn't already own for $100/share in cash and stock - a 30% premium to Monday's close of $76.07. The transaction is worth $44B, including $10B in outstanding debt. Here's what Warren Buffett had to say: "Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system. Conversely, America must grow and prosper for railroads to do well. Berkshire's $34B investment in BNI is a huge bet on that company, CEO Matt Rose and his team, and the railroad industry. Most important of all, however, it's an all-in wager on the economic future of the U.S. I love these bets."
  • Stocks slide; futures fall. Global stock markets painted a gloomy picture Tuesday, with bourses in Asia and Europe taking 2%-plus losses as risk appetite took a breather and investors clamored for safe-haven assets, sending the dollar and U.S. Treasurys climbing and futures tumbling (see data below in Today's Markets). "The basis for the correction seems to rest on three legs," Merrill economist Bill O'Neill said. "Worries over prospects for holders of equity in banks; concern that interest-rate hikes are imminent; and paradoxically, that recovery in 2010 will be crippled by a U.S. consumer unwilling or unable to open his or her wallet." Others took the recent downturn as a sign equity prices had gotten ahead of real improvements in the economy.
  • Stanley, B&D craft $8.4B merger. Stanley Works (SWK) agreed to buy rival Black & Decker (BDK) for $4.5B in stock, the culmination of a courtship that spanned 27 years and three other attempts. The bid values B&D at about $57.57/share, a 22% premium to Monday's close. "The more we talked, the more we felt like these were two very complementary and unique companies," BDK CEO Nolan Archibald said, adding both CEOs were "totally swayed" by potential synergies of $350M. Stanley shareholders will own about 50.5% of the combined company; B&D shareholders will get 49.5%.
  • Lloyds, RBS diverge on aid. Lloyds (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) unveiled agreements with the U.K. Treasury over their participation in its program to insure toxic assets, and detailed the divestments they will need to make to satisfy EU regulators. Lloyds opted out of the expensive U.K. asset-protection scheme, saying it would raise £21B, including a £13.5B rights issue; the government will maintain its 43% stake in the bank. The move subjects Lloyds to more modest EU demands: Lloyds said it will dispose of "a retail banking business" with a 4.6% market share and about 19% of its mortgage portfolio; sell £180B in noncore assets; and limit acquisitions over the next 3-4 years. RBS will enter the asset-protection scheme to insure £282B of its illiquid loans, with the first £60B in losses borne by RBS. The government will inject another £25.5B into RBS, raising its stake to 84.4%. RBS will sell its RBS retail network in England and Wales and NatWest branches in Scotland; RBS insurance; Global Merchant Services; and its stake in RBS Sempra Commodities. LYG +2.8% premarket. RBS -8%.
  • Outflows continue to plague UBS. Shares of UBS (UBS) are -7% premarket after the Swiss bank said it doesn't expect client inflows to recover anytime soon due to its mangled reputation as a result of its tax dispute with the IRS. UBS posted a fourth straight quarterly loss of 564M francs (-$552M), worse than the 207M loss expected by the Street. Total client outflows rose to 36.6B francs ($35.8B), led by a doubling of outflows at its Americas wealth-management division. On a media call, CFO John Cryan cited UBS's "residual reputational issue" along with "some morale issues among advisers" that it needs to face, and said UBS expects "modest outflows from Swiss clients until we return to profit."
  • EU sees gradual recovery. The EU lifted its 2010-2011 growth forecast to 0.75% and 1.5% respectively, but cautioned its outlook is "highly uncertain" given that "significant fiscal and monetary policy measures" are supporting the recovery. Predicting government deficits will swell to 7.5% of GDP, the Commission said a "protracted period of fiscal consolidation will have to follow at some stage to put public debt back on a sustainable footing."
  • RBA hikes rates again. Australia's central bank, the first G-20 member to break from super-loose monetary policy, raised interest rates for the second time in two months - to 3.5% - amid a rapidly improving economic outlook. The bank hinted it may not boost rates again in December, saying the rises in October and November would work to temper inflation and ensure a sustainable upswing in the economy, which sent the Aussie dollar (ETF: EWA) lower. The central bank has never hiked rates three months in a row.
  • CRE breaks death spiral. Prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose 4.4% in Q3, according to the MIT CRE's transaction-based index, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral. "One quarter does not a trend make and we are still well below normal trading volume," David Geltner, director of research at MIT/CRE, said. "Nevertheless, this is the strongest sign of a bottom that we've had in two years." The positive news comes in stark contrast to gloomy remarks from the Fed's John Greenlee, who said Monday (.pdf) that regional banks building up "unprecedented concentrations of CRE loans" will suffer the impact of worsening conditions in real estate markets, and warned, "Poor loan quality, subpar earnings, and uncertainty about future conditions raise questions about capital adequacy for some institutions."
  • Hat trick of upside surprises. U.S. manufacturing activity hit its highest level in 3.5 years and pending home sales contracts unexpectedly surged, reducing fears the economy's budding recovery would falter. ISM's manufacturing index climbed 3.1 points to 55.7 (vs. 53.3 consensus) as companies began rebuilding inventories. "Overall, it appears that inventories are balanced and that manufacturing is in a sustainable recovery mode," ISM said. Pending home sales rose for the eighth straight month, the longest streak on record, with NRA's index gaining 6.1% (vs. +0.7% consensus) to 110.1. The index is now at its highest since Dec. 2006. And construction spending (.pdf) rose 0.8% (vs. -0.3% consensus) to an annual $940B, though the gain was offset by a large downward revision to August's number.
  • Pensions bulge while market caps shrink. Pensions rose an average of 19% for top executives in 2008, even as their companies' stock prices fell by 37% amid a global downturn, according to an analysis of SEC filings. The growth was largely due to arcane pension formulas that have received little scrutiny.

Earnings: Tue. Before Open

  • Alpha Natural Resources (ANR): Q3 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $729M (+5.9%) in-line. Shares -0.9% premarket. (PR)
  • American Tower (AMT): Q3 EPS of $0.17 in-line. Revenue of $444M (+8.5%) vs. $430M. (PR)
  • AmerisourceBergen (ABC): FQ4 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $18.27B (+9.7%) vs. $18.06B. Shares +5.5% premarket. (PR)
  • Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): FQ1 EPS of $0.77 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $14.9B (-29.5%) vs. $17.9B. Shares +0.1% premarket. (PR)
  • Cameron International (CAM): Q3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.23B (-18.1%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): Q3 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $853M (+16.2%) vs. $806M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.45 vs. $0.42 and revenue of at least $880M vs. $830M. Shares +6.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Emerson Electric Company (EMR): FQ4 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $5.32B (-20.5%) in-line. Sees 2010 revenue of $19.45-19.87B vs. $20.21B. "We are well positioned for economic recovery, but the shape and speed of the recovery remains unknown and we expect weakness to continue in the near-term." Shares -1% premarket. (PR)
  • Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD): Q3 EPS of $0.27 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $1.04B (-33.7%) in-line. "There certainly were significant challenges during the latter part of this quarter as both air and ocean carriers imposed capacity reductions in order to implement very aggressive price increases. While we wouldn't call it 'The Perfect Freight Storm,' the rapidity of these carrier moves created a pricing environment that resulted in our experiencing single digit airfreight yields out of Asia during the first several weeks of September. Ocean yields were also significantly impacted." (PR)
  • Frontier Communications (FTR): Q3 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $527B (-5.6%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Gaylord Entertainment (GET): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $199M (-12.2%) vs. $202M. (PR)
  • IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): Q3 EPS of $1.18 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $256M (+27.3%) in-line. Shares +0.2% premarket. (PR)
  • Marathon Oil (MRO): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $14.48B (-37.9%) vs. $13.7B. Shares +1.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Marvel Entertainment (MVL): Q3 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $106M (-42.1%) vs. $92.5M. Disney (DIS) is due to acquire Marvel by year-end. (PR)
  • MasterCard (MA): Q3 EPS of $3.48 beats by $0.54. Revenue of $1.36B (+1.9%) in-line. Gross dollar volume +0.3%. Purchase volume +0.4%. Shares +3.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Medco Health Solutions (MHS): Q3 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $14.79B (+17.8%) in-line. Shares +2.5% premarket. (PR)
  • Northgate Minerals (NXG): Q3 EPS of $0.03 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $120M. (PR)
  • Oshkosh Truck (OSK): FQ4 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $1.49B (-19.8%) vs. $1.4B. "We expect to be solidly profitable in fiscal 2010, led by significant revenue growth in our defense business, which should more than offset anticipated low demand at our construction-related businesses." Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)
  • Petroquest Energy (PQ): Q3 EPS of $0.07 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $50.3M (-35.8%) vs. $52.2M. Shares -6.5% premarket. (PR)
  • Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): FQ2 EPS of $1.75 beats by $0.44. Revenue of $1.37B (-3.8%) vs. $1.31B. "We are raising our sales expectations for the remainder of the year, but we continue to be cautious with our outlook and are planning accordingly." Shares +2.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Rockwell Collins (COL): FQ4 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.19B (-7%) in-line. Shares -2.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): Q3 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.8B (-14.5%) in-line. Sees "a slight loss" in Q4 vs. consensus of +$0.04. "Like many other travel companies, we saw more strength than we expected during our peak season but have been experiencing more pricing pressure on some of our traditionally softer fall season sailings." Shares -3.2% premarket. (PR)
  • St. Joe Company (JOE): Q3 EPS of -$0.08 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $43.2M (+30.1%) vs. $28.9M. (PR)
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA): Q3 EPS of $0.89 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.55B (-7.6%) vs. $3.63B. Shares -2% premarket. (PR)
  • Viacom (VIA): Q3 EPS of $0.69 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $3.32B (-2.7%) in-line. Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Vornado (VNO): Q3 FFO of $1.25 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $671M (-0.7%) vs. $637M. Shares -0.5% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Mon. After Close

  • Anadarko (APC): Q3 EPS ex-items of $0.40 may not compare to estimate of -$0.33. Gains that may affect comparability, including reversed accrual and unrealized derivatives loss, of $0.51/share. Revenue of $2.7B (-55%) vs. $2B. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
  • Avis Budget Group (CAR): Q3 EPS of $0.54 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.5B (-14%) vs. $1.6B. Shares +6.5% AH. (PR)
  • Axis Capital (AXS): Q3 EPS of $1.05 beats by $0.33. Revenue of $452M (-29%) vs. $581M. (PR)
  • Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Q3 EPS of $0.70 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.8B (-76%) vs. $2B. Shares -1.1% AH. (PR)
  • Forest Oil (FST): Q3 EPS of $0.48 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $177M (-50%) vs. $252M. Shares -1.8% AH. (PR)
  • Hecla Mining (HL): Q3 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $95.2M (+39%) vs. $68.7M. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Kinross Gold (KGC): Q3 EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $582M (+16%) vs. $578M. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
  • MannKind (MNKD): Q3 EPS of -$0.42 beats by $0.06, on no revenues. "While we continue to be fully engaged in the task of navigating our NDA through the FDA review process, we are continuing to run additional studies of AFRESA." Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
  • Republic Services (RSG): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $2.07B (+149%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.46-1.48 vs. $1.46. Shares -0.2% AH. (PR)
  • Principal Financial Group (PFG): Q3 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.3B (-9%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
  • St. Mary Land (SM): Q3 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $186M (-43%) vs. $187M. (PR)

Today's Markets

China was the lone gainer on an otherwise dismal Tuesday in Asia. Europe shares are getting pummeled. Stock futures are under severe pressure. Treasurys and the dollar are up strongly.

]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:19:43 -0500 SA Editor Eli Hoffmann

  • Buffett buys Burlington for a cool $44B. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) announced it will acquire the 77.4% of Burlington Northern (BNI) it doesn't already own for $100/share in cash and stock - a 30% premium to Monday's close of $76.07. The transaction is worth $44B, including $10B in outstanding debt. Here's what Warren Buffett had to say: "Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system. Conversely, America must grow and prosper for railroads to do well. Berkshire's $34B investment in BNI is a huge bet on that company, CEO Matt Rose and his team, and the railroad industry. Most important of all, however, it's an all-in wager on the economic future of the U.S. I love these bets."
  • Stocks slide; futures fall. Global stock markets painted a gloomy picture Tuesday, with bourses in Asia and Europe taking 2%-plus losses as risk appetite took a breather and investors clamored for safe-haven assets, sending the dollar and U.S. Treasurys climbing and futures tumbling (see data below in Today's Markets). "The basis for the correction seems to rest on three legs," Merrill economist Bill O'Neill said. "Worries over prospects for holders of equity in banks; concern that interest-rate hikes are imminent; and paradoxically, that recovery in 2010 will be crippled by a U.S. consumer unwilling or unable to open his or her wallet." Others took the recent downturn as a sign equity prices had gotten ahead of real improvements in the economy.
  • Stanley, B&D craft $8.4B merger. Stanley Works (SWK) agreed to buy rival Black & Decker (BDK) for $4.5B in stock, the culmination of a courtship that spanned 27 years and three other attempts. The bid values B&D at about $57.57/share, a 22% premium to Monday's close. "The more we talked, the more we felt like these were two very complementary and unique companies," BDK CEO Nolan Archibald said, adding both CEOs were "totally swayed" by potential synergies of $350M. Stanley shareholders will own about 50.5% of the combined company; B&D shareholders will get 49.5%.
  • Lloyds, RBS diverge on aid. Lloyds (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) unveiled agreements with the U.K. Treasury over their participation in its program to insure toxic assets, and detailed the divestments they will need to make to satisfy EU regulators. Lloyds opted out of the expensive U.K. asset-protection scheme, saying it would raise £21B, including a £13.5B rights issue; the government will maintain its 43% stake in the bank. The move subjects Lloyds to more modest EU demands: Lloyds said it will dispose of "a retail banking business" with a 4.6% market share and about 19% of its mortgage portfolio; sell £180B in noncore assets; and limit acquisitions over the next 3-4 years. RBS will enter the asset-protection scheme to insure £282B of its illiquid loans, with the first £60B in losses borne by RBS. The government will inject another £25.5B into RBS, raising its stake to 84.4%. RBS will sell its RBS retail network in England and Wales and NatWest branches in Scotland; RBS insurance; Global Merchant Services; and its stake in RBS Sempra Commodities. LYG +2.8% premarket. RBS -8%.
  • Outflows continue to plague UBS. Shares of UBS (UBS) are -7% premarket after the Swiss bank said it doesn't expect client inflows to recover anytime soon due to its mangled reputation as a result of its tax dispute with the IRS. UBS posted a fourth straight quarterly loss of 564M francs (-$552M), worse than the 207M loss expected by the Street. Total client outflows rose to 36.6B francs ($35.8B), led by a doubling of outflows at its Americas wealth-management division. On a media call, CFO John Cryan cited UBS's "residual reputational issue" along with "some morale issues among advisers" that it needs to face, and said UBS expects "modest outflows from Swiss clients until we return to profit."
  • EU sees gradual recovery. The EU lifted its 2010-2011 growth forecast to 0.75% and 1.5% respectively, but cautioned its outlook is "highly uncertain" given that "significant fiscal and monetary policy measures" are supporting the recovery. Predicting government deficits will swell to 7.5% of GDP, the Commission said a "protracted period of fiscal consolidation will have to follow at some stage to put public debt back on a sustainable footing."
  • RBA hikes rates again. Australia's central bank, the first G-20 member to break from super-loose monetary policy, raised interest rates for the second time in two months - to 3.5% - amid a rapidly improving economic outlook. The bank hinted it may not boost rates again in December, saying the rises in October and November would work to temper inflation and ensure a sustainable upswing in the economy, which sent the Aussie dollar (ETF: EWA) lower. The central bank has never hiked rates three months in a row.
  • CRE breaks death spiral. Prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose 4.4% in Q3, according to the MIT CRE's transaction-based index, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral. "One quarter does not a trend make and we are still well below normal trading volume," David Geltner, director of research at MIT/CRE, said. "Nevertheless, this is the strongest sign of a bottom that we've had in two years." The positive news comes in stark contrast to gloomy remarks from the Fed's John Greenlee, who said Monday (.pdf) that regional banks building up "unprecedented concentrations of CRE loans" will suffer the impact of worsening conditions in real estate markets, and warned, "Poor loan quality, subpar earnings, and uncertainty about future conditions raise questions about capital adequacy for some institutions."
  • Hat trick of upside surprises. U.S. manufacturing activity hit its highest level in 3.5 years and pending home sales contracts unexpectedly surged, reducing fears the economy's budding recovery would falter. ISM's manufacturing index climbed 3.1 points to 55.7 (vs. 53.3 consensus) as companies began rebuilding inventories. "Overall, it appears that inventories are balanced and that manufacturing is in a sustainable recovery mode," ISM said. Pending home sales rose for the eighth straight month, the longest streak on record, with NRA's index gaining 6.1% (vs. +0.7% consensus) to 110.1. The index is now at its highest since Dec. 2006. And construction spending (.pdf) rose 0.8% (vs. -0.3% consensus) to an annual $940B, though the gain was offset by a large downward revision to August's number.
  • Pensions bulge while market caps shrink. Pensions rose an average of 19% for top executives in 2008, even as their companies' stock prices fell by 37% amid a global downturn, according to an analysis of SEC filings. The growth was largely due to arcane pension formulas that have received little scrutiny.

Earnings: Tue. Before Open

  • Alpha Natural Resources (ANR): Q3 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $729M (+5.9%) in-line. Shares -0.9% premarket. (PR)
  • American Tower (AMT): Q3 EPS of $0.17 in-line. Revenue of $444M (+8.5%) vs. $430M. (PR)
  • AmerisourceBergen (ABC): FQ4 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $18.27B (+9.7%) vs. $18.06B. Shares +5.5% premarket. (PR)
  • Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): FQ1 EPS of $0.77 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $14.9B (-29.5%) vs. $17.9B. Shares +0.1% premarket. (PR)
  • Cameron International (CAM): Q3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.23B (-18.1%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): Q3 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $853M (+16.2%) vs. $806M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.45 vs. $0.42 and revenue of at least $880M vs. $830M. Shares +6.9% premarket. (PR)
  • Emerson Electric Company (EMR): FQ4 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $5.32B (-20.5%) in-line. Sees 2010 revenue of $19.45-19.87B vs. $20.21B. "We are well positioned for economic recovery, but the shape and speed of the recovery remains unknown and we expect weakness to continue in the near-term." Shares -1% premarket. (PR)
  • Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD): Q3 EPS of $0.27 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $1.04B (-33.7%) in-line. "There certainly were significant challenges during the latter part of this quarter as both air and ocean carriers imposed capacity reductions in order to implement very aggressive price increases. While we wouldn't call it 'The Perfect Freight Storm,' the rapidity of these carrier moves created a pricing environment that resulted in our experiencing single digit airfreight yields out of Asia during the first several weeks of September. Ocean yields were also significantly impacted." (PR)
  • Frontier Communications (FTR): Q3 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $527B (-5.6%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Gaylord Entertainment (GET): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $199M (-12.2%) vs. $202M. (PR)
  • IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): Q3 EPS of $1.18 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $256M (+27.3%) in-line. Shares +0.2% premarket. (PR)
  • Marathon Oil (MRO): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $14.48B (-37.9%) vs. $13.7B. Shares +1.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Marvel Entertainment (MVL): Q3 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $106M (-42.1%) vs. $92.5M. Disney (DIS) is due to acquire Marvel by year-end. (PR)
  • MasterCard (MA): Q3 EPS of $3.48 beats by $0.54. Revenue of $1.36B (+1.9%) in-line. Gross dollar volume +0.3%. Purchase volume +0.4%. Shares +3.3% premarket. (PR)
  • Medco Health Solutions (MHS): Q3 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $14.79B (+17.8%) in-line. Shares +2.5% premarket. (PR)
  • Northgate Minerals (NXG): Q3 EPS of $0.03 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $120M. (PR)
  • Oshkosh Truck (OSK): FQ4 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $1.49B (-19.8%) vs. $1.4B. "We expect to be solidly profitable in fiscal 2010, led by significant revenue growth in our defense business, which should more than offset anticipated low demand at our construction-related businesses." Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)
  • Petroquest Energy (PQ): Q3 EPS of $0.07 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $50.3M (-35.8%) vs. $52.2M. Shares -6.5% premarket. (PR)
  • Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): FQ2 EPS of $1.75 beats by $0.44. Revenue of $1.37B (-3.8%) vs. $1.31B. "We are raising our sales expectations for the remainder of the year, but we continue to be cautious with our outlook and are planning accordingly." Shares +2.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Rockwell Collins (COL): FQ4 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.19B (-7%) in-line. Shares -2.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): Q3 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.8B (-14.5%) in-line. Sees "a slight loss" in Q4 vs. consensus of +$0.04. "Like many other travel companies, we saw more strength than we expected during our peak season but have been experiencing more pricing pressure on some of our traditionally softer fall season sailings." Shares -3.2% premarket. (PR)
  • St. Joe Company (JOE): Q3 EPS of -$0.08 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $43.2M (+30.1%) vs. $28.9M. (PR)
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA): Q3 EPS of $0.89 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.55B (-7.6%) vs. $3.63B. Shares -2% premarket. (PR)
  • Viacom (VIA): Q3 EPS of $0.69 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $3.32B (-2.7%) in-line. Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
  • Vornado (VNO): Q3 FFO of $1.25 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $671M (-0.7%) vs. $637M. Shares -0.5% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Mon. After Close

  • Anadarko (APC): Q3 EPS ex-items of $0.40 may not compare to estimate of -$0.33. Gains that may affect comparability, including reversed accrual and unrealized derivatives loss, of $0.51/share. Revenue of $2.7B (-55%) vs. $2B. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
  • Avis Budget Group (CAR): Q3 EPS of $0.54 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.5B (-14%) vs. $1.6B. Shares +6.5% AH. (PR)
  • Axis Capital (AXS): Q3 EPS of $1.05 beats by $0.33. Revenue of $452M (-29%) vs. $581M. (PR)
  • Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Q3 EPS of $0.70 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.8B (-76%) vs. $2B. Shares -1.1% AH. (PR)
  • Forest Oil (FST): Q3 EPS of $0.48 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $177M (-50%) vs. $252M. Shares -1.8% AH. (PR)
  • Hecla Mining (HL): Q3 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $95.2M (+39%) vs. $68.7M. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
  • Kinross Gold (KGC): Q3 EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $582M (+16%) vs. $578M. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
  • MannKind (MNKD): Q3 EPS of -$0.42 beats by $0.06, on no revenues. "While we continue to be fully engaged in the task of navigating our NDA through the FDA review process, we are continuing to run additional studies of AFRESA." Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
  • Republic Services (RSG): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $2.07B (+149%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.46-1.48 vs. $1.46. Shares -0.2% AH. (PR)
  • Principal Financial Group (PFG): Q3 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.3B (-9%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
  • St. Mary Land (SM): Q3 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $186M (-43%) vs. $187M. (PR)

Today's Markets

China was the lone gainer on an otherwise dismal Tuesday in Asia. Europe shares are getting pummeled. Stock futures are under severe pressure. Treasurys and the dollar are up strongly.


Complete Story »]]> ABC ADM AMT ANR APC AXS BDK BNI BRK.A CAM CAR CHK COL CTSH DIA DIS EMR EXPD FST FTR GET GLD HL ICE JOE KGC LYG MA MHS MNKD MRO MVL NXG OSK PFG PQ QQQQ RBS RCL RL RSG SM SPY SWK TEVA UBS USO VIA VNO SA Editor Eli Hoffmann Earnings Preview: MasterCard http://seekingalpha.com/article/170572-earnings-preview-mastercard?source=feed 170572 MasterCard (MA) is expected to report Q3 earnings Tuesday, November 3 before market open with a conference call scheduled for 9 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of $2.94 on revenue of $1.35B. The consensus range is $2.60-$3.12 for EPS, and $1.30B-$1.40B for revenue, according to First Call. Positive trends for MasterCard that may drive earnings in Q3 include the secular shift from cash to plastic, and the cost-cutting initiatives that MasterCard initiated last year. Negative drivers for the quarter include most notably a global slowdown in consumer spending and a high global unemployment rate.

]]> Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:40:34 -0500 theflyonthewall.com MasterCard (MA) is expected to report Q3 earnings Tuesday, November 3 before market open with a conference call scheduled for 9 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of $2.94 on revenue of $1.35B. The consensus range is $2.60-$3.12 for EPS, and $1.30B-$1.40B for revenue, according to First Call. Positive trends for MasterCard that may drive earnings in Q3 include the secular shift from cash to plastic, and the cost-cutting initiatives that MasterCard initiated last year. Negative drivers for the quarter include most notably a global slowdown in consumer spending and a high global unemployment rate.


Complete Story »]]> MA theflyonthewall.com Consumer Credit: Precipitous Drop in Credit Card Offers http://seekingalpha.com/article/170223-consumer-credit-precipitous-drop-in-credit-card-offers?source=feed 170223 The latest Mintel data on credit card direct mail offers to consumers showing Q3 of this year against the preceding few years. The drop is ... precipitous, from 2.1 billion a quarter in 2006 to 391 million in the most recent quarter.

ccards-mintel

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:49:28 -0400 Paul Kedrosky Paul Kedrosky submits:

The latest Mintel data on credit card direct mail offers to consumers showing Q3 of this year against the preceding few years. The drop is ... precipitous, from 2.1 billion a quarter in 2006 to 391 million in the most recent quarter.

ccards-mintel


Complete Story »]]> AXP BAC COF DFS MA NCC V Paul Kedrosky Earnings Will Sink Blue Nile's Stock http://seekingalpha.com/article/169101-earnings-will-sink-blue-nile-s-stock?source=feed 169101 I woke up this morning and went cruising in search of the next BIDU, i.e. a stock with growth but an insanely high P/E that is too high for the earnings growth. Instead, I found a stock that has zero or negative growth and still an insanely high P/E.

Pull up a 2 year chart of NILE showing the rolling EPS. You will see yearly EPS of $0.70 - $1.00. You will also notice that when their trailing EPS was $1.00 the stock traded between $20 and $55 a share.

]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:39:22 -0400 Stock Yid Stock Yid submits:

I woke up this morning and went cruising in search of the next BIDU, i.e. a stock with growth but an insanely high P/E that is too high for the earnings growth. Instead, I found a stock that has zero or negative growth and still an insanely high P/E.

Pull up a 2 year chart of NILE showing the rolling EPS. You will see yearly EPS of $0.70 - $1.00. You will also notice that when their trailing EPS was $1.00 the stock traded between $20 and $55 a share.


Complete Story »]]> AMZN BIDU LNN MA NILE V Stock Yid More Reasons to Break the Plastic Habit http://seekingalpha.com/article/168775-more-reasons-to-break-the-plastic-habit?source=feed 168775 More reasons to hate big banks and to do whatever it takes to get your credit cards paid off as quickly as possible and never, ever again carry a balance are provided in this column by David Lazarus in the LA Times.

Ed Myska works as executive vice president of El Segundo's Bank of Manhattan, so it's pretty fair to say that he knows a thing or two about keeping his financial house in order.

]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:16:04 -0400 Tim Iacono Tim Iacono submits:

More reasons to hate big banks and to do whatever it takes to get your credit cards paid off as quickly as possible and never, ever again carry a balance are provided in this column by David Lazarus in the LA Times.

Ed Myska works as executive vice president of El Segundo's Bank of Manhattan, so it's pretty fair to say that he knows a thing or two about keeping his financial house in order.


Complete Story »]]> BAC C MA V Tim Iacono Julian Robertson: Bearish on Gold and Bonds, Bullish on Credit Cards and Galleon Arrests http://seekingalpha.com/article/168659-julian-robertson-bearish-on-gold-and-bonds-bullish-on-credit-cards-and-galleon-arrests?source=feed 168659 He doesn’t have much company among his peers, but hedge fund legend Julian Robertson is decidedly bearish on gold.

Many other hedge fund managers have made big bets on the precious metal this year, including John Paulson, Daniel Loeb and David Einhorn. But Robertson called the enthusiasm for gold “certifiably crazy” at the Value Investing Congress in New York this week.

]]> Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:32:29 -0400 FINalternatives FINalternatives submits:

He doesn’t have much company among his peers, but hedge fund legend Julian Robertson is decidedly bearish on gold.

Many other hedge fund managers have made big bets on the precious metal this year, including John Paulson, Daniel Loeb and David Einhorn. But Robertson called the enthusiasm for gold “certifiably crazy” at the Value Investing Congress in New York this week.


Complete Story »]]> GLD GOOG INTC MA V FINalternatives 21 Breakout Stocks to Watch, And How to Generate Income with Apple LEAP Options http://seekingalpha.com/article/168437-21-breakout-stocks-to-watch-and-how-to-generate-income-with-apple-leap-options?source=feed 168437 Here is a list of 21 stocks which traded higher Thursday on unusually higher volume. I have added all 21 of these stocks to my watch list (and invite you to as well), but chose only one to write about in detail in this post. This post requires the knowledge of stock options. To learn more about the option strategies outlined in this post, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

The table below shows the company, ticker, Thursday's per share % increase, and Thursday's volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average). For your convenience I have ranked the stocks in order from greatest to least volume % change.

]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:02:40 -0400 Marco Hickey Marco Hickey submits:

Here is a list of 21 stocks which traded higher Thursday on unusually higher volume. I have added all 21 of these stocks to my watch list (and invite you to as well), but chose only one to write about in detail in this post. This post requires the knowledge of stock options. To learn more about the option strategies outlined in this post, risks, pricing, calculations, other strategies, and options in general, click here.

The table below shows the company, ticker, Thursday's per share % increase, and Thursday's volume increase (% increased compared to 50 day average). For your convenience I have ranked the stocks in order from greatest to least volume % change.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL ALXN AXP BAC BQI CAT CHRS DIA ECTX EW EWBC FFIV GE GLD GOOG GR GS IWM JCG JEF LEI LZ MA MDY NVLS NYT PNC QQQQ SKX SPY TLT TMRK TNB TNS V XLE XLF XLK Marco Hickey Julian Robertson Likes Mastercard, Visa, Intel and Google Stock http://seekingalpha.com/article/168125-julian-robertson-likes-mastercard-visa-intel-and-google-stock?source=feed 168125

Julian Robertson is the former head of Tiger Management Corp., one of the first hedge funds. He is best known for turning $8MM in seed capital into $22B at the peak of his company’s existence in 1998. Ironically, his refusal to buy into the tech bubble proved to be the cause of his downfall. He was of course, ultimately proven right. Today, he spends his billions in philanthropic efforts.

Robertson made waves in a late 2007 when he called for a “doozy of a recession”. At the time, it seemed like a rather shocking statement as the slow-down in the economy appeared to be relatively benign. We all know what happened next. Robertson had shorted CDS and sub-prime securities and made millions in the downturn. Robertson was unfazed by the downturn as he then turned bullish on certain equities and was a dip buyer in late 2008 and early 2009. He has proven prescient throughout his career and the last few years are nothing more than the cherry on top.

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:38:43 -0400 The Pragmatic Capitalist

Julian Robertson is the former head of Tiger Management Corp., one of the first hedge funds. He is best known for turning $8MM in seed capital into $22B at the peak of his company’s existence in 1998. Ironically, his refusal to buy into the tech bubble proved to be the cause of his downfall. He was of course, ultimately proven right. Today, he spends his billions in philanthropic efforts.

Robertson made waves in a late 2007 when he called for a “doozy of a recession”. At the time, it seemed like a rather shocking statement as the slow-down in the economy appeared to be relatively benign. We all know what happened next. Robertson had shorted CDS and sub-prime securities and made millions in the downturn. Robertson was unfazed by the downturn as he then turned bullish on certain equities and was a dip buyer in late 2008 and early 2009. He has proven prescient throughout his career and the last few years are nothing more than the cherry on top.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL GLD GOOG GS INTC MA V The Pragmatic Capitalist Following the Smart Money in Hedge Fund Land http://seekingalpha.com/article/168097-following-the-smart-money-in-hedge-fund-land?source=feed 168097 Apple (AAPL) announced a great quarter and was up almost $9 Tuesday to nearly $200, an all time high. Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) are also at 52-week highs (Julian Robertson just mentioned he still likes them at the recent VIC conference). Why do we mention these three stocks?

These three stocks are the top three most popular stocks in the World Beta clone. If you are a long time blog reader you know what that this, if not, a little background…

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:16:24 -0400 Mebane Faber Mebane Faber submits:

Apple (AAPL) announced a great quarter and was up almost $9 Tuesday to nearly $200, an all time high. Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) are also at 52-week highs (Julian Robertson just mentioned he still likes them at the recent VIC conference). Why do we mention these three stocks?

These three stocks are the top three most popular stocks in the World Beta clone. If you are a long time blog reader you know what that this, if not, a little background…


Complete Story »]]> AAPL MA V Mebane Faber Credit Card Companies Gone Wild and Other Economic Happenings http://seekingalpha.com/article/168075-credit-card-companies-gone-wild-and-other-economic-happenings?source=feed 168075 Plenty of stories running out there. I will try and take a look at a few.

Credit Card Companies Gone Wild
I really have no real explanation for the lengths credit card companies are going to try and go to alienate their customers. The immediate blow up of credit card rates (depending on lour start point, maybe 50-100% higher!) is a puzzling move (via Clusterstock):

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:58:35 -0400 Economic Disconnect Economic Disconnect submits:

Plenty of stories running out there. I will try and take a look at a few.

Credit Card Companies Gone Wild
I really have no real explanation for the lengths credit card companies are going to try and go to alienate their customers. The immediate blow up of credit card rates (depending on lour start point, maybe 50-100% higher!) is a puzzling move (via Clusterstock):


Complete Story »]]> C MA V WFC Economic Disconnect Notes from the Value Investing Congress: Day 1 http://seekingalpha.com/article/167752-notes-from-the-value-investing-congress-day-1?source=feed 167752 The Value Investing Congress is finally here and it's time to hear some investment ideas from some of the most prominent hedge fund players in the game. Yesterday marked the first day of the 2-day extravaganza and attendees heard from David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital and Julian Robertson of Tiger Management among other notable speakers. Let's jump right into their thoughts.

David Einhorn (Greenlight Capital)

]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:57:09 -0400 Market Folly Market Folly submits:

The Value Investing Congress is finally here and it's time to hear some investment ideas from some of the most prominent hedge fund players in the game. Yesterday marked the first day of the 2-day extravaganza and attendees heard from David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital and Julian Robertson of Tiger Management among other notable speakers. Let's jump right into their thoughts.

David Einhorn (Greenlight Capital)


Complete Story »]]> GLD GOOG INTC MA V Market Folly