mkreisel

Death Comes to Wal-Mart China

One of Baidu's security guard raped and killed an employee, and it didn't stop BIDU from being the bull of the year.

The 15 Most Cash Rich Companies

If we include debt, things look very differently:

Ticker, debt, net cash
XOM, 9425, 22582
CSCO, 6848, 22683
AAPL, 0, 25647
BRKA, 36882, -11343
PFE, 17283, 7272
TM, 118626, -95745
MSFT, 0, 20298
GOOG, 0, 15846
RDSA, 23269, -8081
WYE, 11739, 2806
IBM, 99925, -21018
JNJ, 11825, 957
INTC, 1988, 9855
HPQ, 20458, -9203
ORCL, 10238, 408

Now things look quite different!

In addition, many companies are burdened with massive pension obligations, the stuff that did GM and Bethlehem Steel in. For example, IBM has 19452 million on its balance sheet; XOM 20729 million.

BRKA also has a maximum of 67 billion derivatives exposure, including 37 billion in equity index puts, 19 billion in CDS, and 18 billion in muni bond insurance.

PFE has just squandered its cash horde on that panic deal with WYE. When the deal closes for good, PFE will have a monstrous debt load and very little cash left.

So if you really like company with lots of cash, AAPL, CSCO, MSFT, GOOG, INTC, and XOM are your best choices.

Ten Worthy Technology Stocks

If Bill Gates is selling like there is no tomorrow, why should you buy?

Who understands MSFT better than Bill Gates?

Ten Worthy Technology Stocks

WDC is cheaper in valuation, has more cash than debt, and is eating STX's market share for lunch!

Six Stocks Still Worthy of Investment

During the 1973/1974 bear market, oil price went up 3 fold, and XOM lost at least 40%.

From 1985-1987, when oil price dropped from 27 to 15, XOM more than doubled.

From 1997-1998, when oil price crashed from 25 to 10, XOM gained more than 50%.


XOM has much higher correlation with DJIA and S&P 500 than the crude oil price.

The Bull Run Begins This Week

The RBS news is very scary. Who knows what monstrosities are lurking within the banking sector? If things were really that bright according to the author, why would banks need to stash almost a trillion dollar of excess reserves at Federal Reserve?

I'm staying mostly in cash right now, and wish the author good luck in his endeavor.

Firefox Browser Share Tops 20% in November; Microsoft Still Number One

Microsoft is the IBM of 1988. The day of reckoning will come in a few years.

Bill Gates knows this, and he's bailing out before his own creation destroys his legacy. That's also why he's selling MSFT like there is no tomorrow.

When was the last time Microsoft delivered any decent product? One can feed off a monopoly only for so long.

Cash Is Not Yet King When it Comes to Market Performance

I think linking one month stock performance with any fundamental metrics is quite bogus. The number you quoted for BRK.A is also wrong: the 106 billion number must include all equity investments that went down the drain during Q4.

If the author can't get this kind of basic facts right, I have to question the entire premise of this article.

Is the Microsoft Empire Cracking?

MSFT in 2008 is more like IBM in 1988.

Is the Nasdaq the New Dow?

In the tech sector, disruptive startups are usually the biggest threats to incumbents and long term investments.

But after a depression, most of these outfits should be wiped out and incumbents with large cash hoard should be able to pick best talents and technologies at very low cost.

Is It Time for Apple to Buy Back Some Shares?

Usually when analysts are clamoring for share buybacks, it means their clients (usually big fund managers) want to unload their shares.

Share buybacks only make sense if the stock itself is dirt cheap. Is AAPL cheap?

Apple & Google: A Detailed Comparison

Google's biggest concern: keyword advertising matures and no new successful ventures => growth slows, valuation collapses, and good employees bail out.

Apple's biggest concern: Steve's health and resurgent competition. Windows PC had already squashed Apple's dominance once, so there is no guarantee that they wouldn't do it again. I have noticed that Dell has improved a lot over the past year or so.

Apple & Google: A Detailed Comparison

You can't compare Apple and Google, it's just as silly as comparing Dell to Washington Post.

Foreign Markets Power Top Tech's Growth

This is a terrible fund.

Apple's Leap from Mediocre to Marvelous

I fear for Steve's health.