R. Richard Schweitzer

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152 Comments

    • Sun Mar 9th 10:06 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Is Wal-Mart Actually 'More Evil' Than Google?
      Excellent overview.

      However, on employee benefits, without being paternalistic, the employer (or employment arrangements such as via a credit union, etc.) can provide advantages of "group" buying power (e.g., Employee Paid Group Life Insurance) payroll deductions (to lower costs). Some tax benefits could be devised to cover employer costs of payroll deduction administration; better yet, shift businesses to VAT form from "Income" tax. Taxes only flow through anyway.
      But, we all know none of this will happen - until disaster finally strikes, and no other alternatives remain.

      By the way, why haven't unions been spending their funds on providing "re-training"... and continuing education for members instead of on politics? Unions like skill limitations!
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    • Sun Mar 9th 09:10 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Radio Value Opportunity Beckons: Calling Warren Buffett
      You are on the "money" in the valuation of cash-flow business.

      This particular one requires a "holdings Company" concept to realize the optimum "value" (basically re-use) of the cash flow.

      In the case of B-H, the units are too small for the necessary attention to the value generators (particularly programing adjustments and demographics adaptations). But they would fit inside the shells of older "news" and "entertainment&qu... enterprises.

      What seems to be missing is the ability of the aggregated broadcasters to deploy their cash flows for optimum base growth. That kind of "stall-out" in optimum deployment is seen to some degrre in other cash generators such as Ebay, MSFT, and some lessser players. The use to buy back shares (retire capital from earned surplus) shows one of the deficiencies of the class and level of managements in broadcasting.

      What is the most nearly optimum deployment for such cash flows?
      Would it be into asset acquisitions at depressed cycles? Other operations that require cash infusion whilst the utimate product is in process (a la motion pictures; realty development; mining?)?

      Apparently missing is that extra level of "management,"... basically proprietary management, that deals with using the "milk" from the cash cow - above and beyond the operating managers that make the cow produce cash.
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    • Tue Mar 4th 09:48 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News
      J M Keynes who first lost, then regained a fortune in trading once said something to the effect:

      "It is something like trying to win bets on a bathing beauty contest. The trick is not to try and guess which one is the most beautiful; it is to guess which one the judges will find most beautiful."

      Now the trick is : Finding out who the judges are, or will be learnt to have been.
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    • Sat Mar 1st 12:55 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Under The Radar News - Friday

      For the life of me, I can't understand why those affected don't grasp that the "two classes" of risks insured by MBI, Ambac, et al can be reinsured separately, without "breaking up" the issuer of the primary coverage.

      Two separate "syndicates" (a la Lloyds) could be assembled. One from the Calpers and other Muni-related funds (whose flow of funds derives from Muni borrowings in large measure that are a major source of payrolls). The other from the financial institutions that are exposed to "valuation" adjustments in this era of uncertain or absent pricing.
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    • Thu Feb 28th 09:36 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Rise of Cotton, the Decline of Supply
      Some more details on the structure of COTN would be helpful.

      Interesting that specific Softs (and some other commodities) have not been "carved up" into tradable chunks by ETF and ETN creators, so that investors can be in the actual Cocoa, Cotton, Sugar, etc. markets, somewhat like the REITS changed real estate to creat liquidity and more easily digested chunks of commitments.

      Perhaps it will come?
      View article »
    • Thu Feb 28th 08:57 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Dry Bulk Shipper Anomaly in Spot Pricing Creates Buy Opportunity
      How about data on the rate of DRY shipbuilding and scheduled deliveries from the yards.
      View article »
    • Thu Feb 28th 08:39 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News
      under STT did you mean to say "actively managed" rather than actively traded?
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    • Wed Feb 27th 17:22 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Too Much Money Chasing Too Few Commodities
      Generalizations are always risky. But, in monetary terms, "inflation" is generally perceived in terms of prices; and prices are always relative (absent interventions).

      Witout getting too "marxian" with a labour theory of value, we might consider that "real inflation" occurs when the amount of effort required to satisfy or meet needs, wants and desires increases relative to the returns on those efforts.

      Productivity increases (greater returns from less efforts) in the recent past have been the offset to other inflation factors. The capture and redistribution of the results from such increased productivity into non-productive applications (socially and politically) have had (and are having) as much impact as the symbolic monetary "floods" we have been seeing.
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    • Wed Feb 27th 09:43 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Silver Trailing the Rise in Gold
      Back in the history of "Bi-Metalism"... in U.S. specie (coinage - the only money form permitted to Congress by the Constitution), a Silver-Gold ratio was established, without looking it up, I think it was 16 to 1.

      There is a natural ratio of "rarity" or availablity of the metals, silver (often a by-product) being less rare than gold (and easier to refine in most instances). However, if one were to envisage a "swap" market where gold was traded for silver, the ratio of once to onces would probably show a regression to a mean approximating the natural ratio.

      The "psychological&qu... element of gold prices is somewhat greater than that of silver, whilst the commodity uses of silver are greater. Numerous reasons can be given or contrived for the relative effects.
      Once the "psychological&qu... factors subside, the two metals do seem to hold an observable ratio in terms of relative prices of currencies in the various economic perimeters.
      View article »
    • Tue Feb 26th 07:35 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Gone are the Days of Unlimited Chinese Labor
      Another factor not mentioned in the article is the effect of changes in the flow of "new" labor from the "countryside"... and elsewhere into the industrial centers.
      View article »
    • Mon Feb 25th 22:18 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      DRYS: Shipper of the Global Commodities Boom
      A short while ago,there was some manipulation of the BMX, by a major charter officer who was trying to lower the BMX by setting lower charter rates in order to profit personally from index trading.

      He is out. How long it will take for the rates to adjust (if they have not already) should be capable of calculation, based on terms of expiration of current charters, and ratio of available spot to longer terms.
      View article »
    • Mon Feb 25th 08:29 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Injecting Accountability into the Credit Crisis
      This article is certainly in line with much of the accepted "wisdom" in the current media forms today.

      However, the views taken of what comprises "wealth" in a Nation (or in an economic perimeter) are somewhat limited to a "pricing" or relative prices perspective.

      The true rate of increase of "wealth" is probably better measured in terms of the accretion of durable, transferable assets.

      In the cases cited, despite the "drop" in prices of specific assets (accompanied indeed by the rise in prices of consumables) has not changed the existence of of those assets. The housing stocks still exist; the manufacturing assets (palnts & equipment) continue to exist. The Phoenician, an asset whose price drop led to an S&L failure and criminal charges against Keating, came to realize its full costs in terms of price.

      So, should we really say that "wealth" is "lost" because of pricing? What has changed is the ease of transferability. An argument may be made that the costs of transfers has risen, which is always plausible when dealing with the uncertainties of future relative prices. What changes are the classic "rational expectations," not absolute wealth in terms of existing and continuously regenerating durable assets.
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    • Sun Feb 24th 11:34 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      The Week Ahead: One Word - Commodities
      What do you mean by "ETF regulation must intensify?"
      View article »
    • Sun Feb 24th 11:22 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      ELEMENTS Currency ETNs Aim to Outperform Comparable ETFs
      There is something to be said for the clarity that comes from comparisons. So far, I have gone with the FX series, and am awaiting the ETN for the Brazilian Real.
      View article »
    • Tue Feb 19th 10:05 AM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Currency Investing: Making Money on Money
      Symbol listing for Rydex Yen is shown wrong

      FXY not FXJ
      View article »
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