texalope

A Contrarian Take On the Countrywide Acquisition

I believe this acquisition will create the opportunity to restructure a large number of mortgages EFFICIENTLY. This will ultimately reduce pressure on real estate prices and help increase sales. With mortgage rates so low and pent up demand building, the last part of the equation is firming up real estate prices. If the government or Fed were involved in supportung this transaction, I rhink it was a smart move.

A Rare Opportunity To Buy AmEx On The Cheap

Ben graham used Book Value as a metric to determine a company's value. He believed anything above 30% over book leave you hostage to the vagaries of the market.
On a historic basis this stock is at the higher end of its book value ranges. From a classic value perspective there is no margin of safety in this price.
I agree it's a great franchise. I believe it has distince competitive advantages and great earnings power value. I also think that the replacement value of it assets is much higher than book which doesn't accurately reflect the investment made to create this company reputation over its long history. I agree that the stock is depressed from what it was. I don't think there is a margin of safety.

Another Gift of Debt Securitization: 6 Year Car Loans

The lenders and car dealers are very savvy when it comes to car loans. They make sure their loan to value ratios are large enough to cover themselves in the event they have to reposes. Many of the car loans they make, will never be repaid and they expect it. In sub prime area which is largely used cars, they often resell the same car over and over.