tizod

Why Research in Motion Is a Takeover Target

I think MSFT cannot buy RIM. It kills the OEM biz for them, and they do not want RIM OS going forward. But MSFT has made dumber moves.
The company that could use RIM right now is Dell. In trying to get more enterprise business and also in brining out a new phone (offering multiple OS's if they add RIMM) they make a compelling case to corporate IT. Dell needs help, and this helps.
MSFT? doesn't add up for me, no matter how crazy Ballmer can get.

Hansen Medical: A Stock to Make Any Investor's Heart Happy

I bet you are glad you don't own any shares. I assume you are not planning on buying any either. HNSN has many issues that you glossed over. It also has not been so well received in the marketplace. As with many medical companies it is easy to make a case the stock will go through the roof, but the vast, vast majority do not. HNSN has about proven it will not. And I expect the big boys will not buy it out for the liability it brings. I own no HNSN and sold out of STXS a while ago. But I still follow the advancements in the industry, as I am looking for the next ISRG.

Betting on Natural Gas, Part II: Investing Ideas

What I would like to know is who is a BIG user of gas as part of their COGS? I would want to buy a stock where the drop in gas price will boost the bottom line. I would want a company that has had some financial strain, using this to assume they did not hedge a large portion of the gas price. I really have no idea who someone like this might be, but a name that comes to mind is Calpine (they may have other issues, so no recommendation). CPN is mostly nat gas production. They were in bad financial straights not long ago. I have no idea how to find out how "hedged" they are.

Anyone research companies that will see a boost to earnings off a low nat gas price?

Top Ten Best Global Brands

I'm sorry, but Apple has to be one of the top 5 global brands. It is known to all and the buying power of the brand itself is not in question. Nokia? Intel? Yes everyone knows Intel inside, but do they care? Intel in other markets cannot carry the brand name very successfully, and many market extension of the brand have failed. I could say the same about Microsoft - the brand is established for OS and Office, but it has not carried any respect for Zune, Mobile and you could argue the Xbox. Every company has it's share of good and bad products, but the BEST GLOBAL BRANDs creates respect and buying power. Some of the companies above have a brand, but it is far from the best.

LCD Panels Flat; OLED to Drive Display Growth

OLED has a long way to go. LCD keeps getting better, and OLED only gets more expensive and complicated as it try's to keep a differential over LCD. OLED has supposed to have been replacing LCD for a long time. CAGR of 140% over such a small number just means no company will have a critical mass for OLED, and it will die off. My investment dollars will not go into OLED. Companies like PANL and others have a difficult license model and expensive raw materials. I believe LCD will continue to be the play until a totally new technology arises. OLED might have a play in lighting, but again, it will not get my investment dollars for many years yet, if at all.

Apple: Great Products = Great Investment?

Jobs knows better than to let the money out of the company. Look at the history - he went from top of the world to almost bankrupt once already, and saw how opinions and markets can change in a flash. The remain innovative means to take risks and expect some failures. To stay strong through these failures it is good to have a solid bank account. For instance, to open your OS to the world is an option that makes 20 billion chump change...if you fail. Apple is already challenging MS on the OS platform, but doing it by it's own rules, via defined, incremental hits. Gorilla warfare. To go full out vs. MS is not so smart...he's been there, done that and found it hurts. End arounds, like iTunes, are sucessfully nibbling while MS gets weaker on it's own....

ATP Oil & Gas: Both Value and Momentum

I agree with this but I also think in fairness the debt payments must be considered and should have been noted. These payments pose more of a risk than a hurricane. Debt payments could stress ATPG if the access to new capital is cut off, and it is why it sells for less than cash on hand - things could quickly run dry. With credit a bit better (than when ATPG was at 3) and some asset sales that were made, I do think the debt could be expected to be manageable if things do not turn significantly worse in the credit/oil market than they are today. I predict oil and gas are safe - credit I have no idea.

If that holds true, ATPG is a great play. I for one held shares that dropped a fair amount, and added recently.

How the iPhone and Poor Management Contribute to Apple's Downfall

The article does not make sense to me. Yes, Apple could have registered big one time gains with the iPhone. If the product had issues they could have crashed just as hard as the blip up. Apple released the iPhone very smartly - both marketing and accounting wise. Any investor (heck even a rookie) knows Apple has money in the bank, continuous cash flow with few new ORDERS, and less risk of crash than most companies - especially other consumer electronics stocks. Job's health and the overall economy have pressured the stock. But that is proportional to the price. If Apple hit the stratosphere and then bad news hit, the crash would be harder.

Be happy you feel the price is misrepresented and buy. This is investment opportunity. Why complain others "don't get it". Now is the time a Buffett would get into Apple.

The article is good to justify Apple is sound and undervalued. But to say the accounting Apple used was a detriment is crazy. The accounting practice was an announced program by Apple, is known to all, and by design smoothed what could have been rough waters. And since the waters did not end up rough, all it does is give them a constant growth baseline to continue to build the business under. I submit this is a stroke of genius and great luck.

Jobs Has Sold His 10 Million iPhones

It is easy in hindsight to say the 10 Million phones forecast was sandbagging. But there were alot of folks that said "no way" - where are they now? They are quiet because he made it - but if he did not there would be a thousand experts telling us now they KNEW it was not possible to enter the saturated market and get 10M. I think Jobs knew his product was good, but that does not assure market success. Just look what happened with Windows and Betamax.

He did not sandbag, but he knew he might hit a home run. But you only do that 10% of the time when you are lucky. OK, Jobs is a star and his ratio is much better...but there was no assurance.

Why is LDK Solar Constantly Beaten Down?

I watched the LDK Utube and noticed there are no solar panels providing electricity to their fab. I wonder if they believe in the product being cost effective?