Zyx007

Bank of America's Tangle with the SEC Is Quickly Settled

Amazing regulatory framework that allows you to pay $33 million without admiting on denying guilt. What's next? A guy agreeing to spend several years in jail without admitting or denying guilt???

Deutsche Bank CEO Makes Case, Inadvertently, For Banking System Reform

Would you care to elaborate on "its effective bailout by the German government" in point 4, as this seems to be in variance with what the management seems to be communication

The Reverse-Convert Scam

The scam continues - 2-3% upfront for the bank AND unsecured funds from people who do not understand what exactly they are selling. Completely agree that these need to be banned. The only people who can pretend to price these are too smart NOT to buy these.

McDonald's India Goes Veggie

KFC in India is still strugglingbecause of its inability to adapt to Indian palattes, unlike McDonald's. Indians do not like their chicken with skin, and KFC serves them the same garbage it serves overseas. As a result, even if someone does go in once, he or she is not likely to return.

McDonald's on the other hand has, in addition to the vegetarian menu, a selection of chicken burgers at various price points, and they have localized and built upon even such items as flavourd soft-serve ice cream cones (kesar mango - "saffron mango" - flavour), et al.

Pizza Hut from Yum brands is doing well precisely because it localizes toppings (unlike KFC), and the surprise is that Yum Brands has not though about testing/ introducing Taco Bell, despite similar tastes between Indian and Tex-Mex food, and its adaptability to vegetarian variations.

Moral Hazard? That Assumes Morals Still Exist

Agree with your assessment Craig. The markets have run up way too much, way too soon, and everything is being seen with rose tinted glasses. When the sh*t hits the fan, you will be laughing all the way to the bank my friend, assuming it still exists at the time.

Are Indian Bank Stocks Now a Good Bet?

Agree that these stocks have become expensive given the recent run-up in the underlying prices. However, HDB may still prove to be a good long-term buy from a "buy and hold" perspective, thought not IBN. (Disclosure - long HDB)

Why I'm Selling Shares of HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank is indeed a well run bank with great underlying business performance, but I clearly agree that it has run up too fast. Time to take some money off the table, and get back in once the euphoria subsides and reality bites. (Disclosure - Long HDFC Bank)

When Bloggers Uncover Ponzis

Thnaks Felix for sharing this. This reeks at best of incompetence and gross negligence, and at worst of fraud.

TARP Watch: Riskier, Less Transparent and More Corrupt

Completely agree. "I am from the government, and I am here to help you" - has always been delusional and misguided at best, and a complete disaster at worst. A panicking Fed Chairman and Treasury Secretary (incidentally the very same weekend they decided to let Lehman fail) have added very significantly to the current financial crisis.

The Horrible Self-Dealing of Ken Lewis and the Principal-Agent Conflict

Excellent and well written. The shareholder-manager model as it exists in large corporations has proved to be a complete disaster, with senior management only interested in preserving their continued self interest and greed, treating shareholders as the poor bas***ds who are stupid enough to buy their stock. This model needs a complete rethink with some serious teeth to shareholders. Needless to say, Ken Lewis and the entire Board should be fired, and Ken sued in his personal capacity for the loss he has caused the shareholders.

Michael Mayo Ratings

Mayo was at Deutsche Bank, not at UBS. I agree with Invest Baboo. He continued his "Buy" call on Lehman, including a couple of days before they files for bankrupcy,

India Private Banks Comparison: HDFC a Clear Winner Over ICICI

Good analysis Donald. I agree with your analysis, and own HDFC Bank.

I disagree with Boris's recommendation. While I agree that price clearly matters, but quality clearly much more so. Ignoring quality and only focussing on price may lead one to conclude that Citi is a better stock to buy compared to JPM. There is a real reason as to why ICICI Bank is trading where it is trading. Anecdotal comments based on what ICICI is doing on the ground don't give me much comfort that their long term ROE will improve in a meaningful fashion. It is a high Beta bank with a "cowboy" culture, clearly a model which is now dead. HDFC Bank will clearly outperform in the near to medium term, despite it being more expensive.

Why I'm Holding On to Citigroup Stock

Hope springs eternal in the human heart - William Shakespeare
Fools and their money are soon parted - Anonymous

ICICI Bank's Stock Is Best Left Alone

A great piece, with the arguments convincingly presented. Anecdotal views from the folks on the ground further confirm the numbers, that ICICI Bank is best avoided in favour of HDFC Bank. SBI is great, but political compulsions from the masters in New Delhi are negative influences.

Why India Isn't Safe from the Global Recession

Good article, but needs to take into account the developments on the ground in the marketplace. As an example, the cement industry has been increasing the price in recent months, despite an excide duty cust that would have lowered the selling price. Q4 FY 2009 (Jan - Mar 2009) is expected to be the best in the current financial year ending in March 2009.

5.0 - 5.5% growth in 2009 calender year is the most pessimistic this year, which is outstanding in an environment the rest of the world is falling apart. Market could decline by 20% from the current level of 10,000 if elections produce a painful result, which would bring them back to where they were a couple of months ago.

The risk-reward trade-off seems well balanced in the near term, and outstanding in the medium term.