RK

Google Is Dead Serious About Chrome

Chrome may be incrementally better than its peers (which is debatable). But it does not matter.

It is like we do not care who has the best TCP/IP implementation or WIFI implementation. They are all good enough.

Google Voice Search Goes to China

I would not count on Google being extremely successful in China. The government does not like Google. At best, the government tolerates Google. It is extremely unlikely the government would let Google to take over a lucrative market in China.

Fannie Mae Plus Goldman Plus Tax Credits Plus U.S. Treasury Add Up to Big Mess

I am not familiar with the complexity of the deal. Why can't AIG just auction off the tax credit? On the other hand, I am enjoying seeing how the government runs GM, Chrysler, AIG, Fannie, Freddie and Citi. While I am sure it will not be good for these companies, perhaps the rest of the country and the pols will learn a lesson and think twice about having the government be a majority shareholder.

If I were an employee (especially a valuable employee) at these companies, I would bail.

Money Multiplier Still Sending Deflation Signal

Is the M1 multiplier the same as money velocity? I read somewhere (can't recall the quote) that money velocity cannot be measured directly. Can money velocity be less than 1 as the graph shows? I thought if there were no credit in the economy, the money velocity would be at 1. Appreciate any clarification.

A Look at Earnings: Visa, Interactive, McGraw-Hill

"one can only wonder how Visa crushed the quarter when carrying the brunt of a declining consumer"

Really? I am surprised by the comment. Visa is a toll booth for credit and debit transactions; it does not lend money to consumers. Same with Mastercard. American Express is different.

As long as the volume of paperless transactions grow in the world, Visa and Mastercard will grow. Hope this helps.

MLPs Keep Roaring Ahead

MLP dividend, I understand, is not tax-free; it is tax-deferred. The taxes are due when the units are sold.

Swap shares of Yahoo (YHOO) for Google (GOOG), Barron's says, noting Google's pulling away from its rival while Yahoo's ad revenue can at best be described as 'less bad.' "With the economy still huffing toward recovery, investing in a turnaround story is only for the brave. The safer bet is Google, which has emerged from the recession seemingly stronger than before."

Ick. I beg to differ. Google already has close to 70% of search market worldwide. It is just a matter of time when governments (EU in particular) begins to police it for antitrust behavior. If you want to get out of Yahoo, fine. Swapping for Google especially when Google share price is flying high is so typical of Baron's: dispensing bad investing tip.

Note: I own Google and Yahoo.

Amazon: Please Drop to $85

I respect you sticking to your model. However, perhaps your model will not bag you growth stocks except in a armageddon scenario. And perhaps you should be content as Mr. Buffet in not owning growth stocks.

As a side note, Mr. Buffet did buy BYD stock. Is that conforming to the FCF of 15 still? I am too lazy to find out the price that Mr. Buffet paid for BYD.

Sticking with AT&T After Solid Earnings Report

Actually, it is worse than that if you take into account the taxes owed on the dividend.


On Oct 23 04:33 PM jarco wrote:

> While the 6.4% dividend looks good here, a drop in stock price from
> 25 to 23.5 essentailly wipes that clean.

Sticking with AT&T After Solid Earnings Report

To me: with the dividend tax rate going up next year, high dividend rate will not be as attractive long term cap gain. I traded ATT for Yahoo a few months ago for this reason. I sold ATT at $25 or so and bought Yahoo at $14-$15. Of course, I recognize Yahoo is riskier than ATT. For CA residents, a 6% dividend is only 3% after a 50% combined federal and state income tax, which is equivalent to 4.6% long term capital gain at 35% combined federal and state income tax. So if Yahoo goes up by more than 4.6% after 1 year, it would be better than the 6% dividend. (All tax rates are based on the expiration of the Bush tax cut next year.)

Amazon: Please Drop to $85

Just curious, why didn't you buy Amazon at $40 when the market crashed. At that time, Google was going for $250, Apple at $80. In retrospect, those were golden opportunities.

Even after its huge day - trading at 56 times its estimated earnings - is Amazon.com (AMZN +26.8%) still cheap at $118.49? The median price target for Wall Street analysts is $125, and FBR and Benchmark say $130 and $143 respectively.

Amazon is doing close to 50% of its business overseas in the last quarter. I am expecting the percentage to go up more in future quarters given the dollar weakness. I also assume Amazon is charging VAT already in other countries such as in Europe and in Canada. Charging sales tax for US customers will be a bump on the road for Amazon. It is not a reason to bail out of Amazon.

Apple Results Bode Well for Lithium Ion Battery Makers

I thought most Apple notebooks have switched to using Lithium Polymer and Lithium Ion. Does this difference matter to your analysis? Just curious.

With Apple, There's a Fine Line Between Paying a Premium and Being a Sucker

I have tried many mice: logictech, microsoft, apple, many other no name brands. I have never really liked any of them. Too heavy, too slow, too big, too curvy, too difficult to click. My point is that a mouse is a very personal thing. For people who work a lot of with a mouse (like me), a good mouse will be worth $70. Conversely, a $1 mouse that gives you carpal tunnel would be way too expensive. I am going to order one.

Apple (AAPL): FQ4 EPS of $1.82 beats by $0.40. Sales of $9.87B vs. $9.2B. Sees FQ1 EPS of $1.70-1.87 vs. consensus of $1.91 on sales of $11.3-11.6B, in line. Sold 3.05M Macs, 10.2M iPods, and 7.4M iPhones during quarter. Gross margin 36.6%. Shares +5.1% AH. (PR)

Given the hugh run in the Apple stock price in the past 12 months, reasonable investors would worry about whether the good time will continue. That said, the smart phone era has just started and we may get a good decade out of the trend. (Think PC in the 1990's. The run of Dell and Microsoft is legendary.) If Apple keeps developing the iphone line, the stock will remain a good investment for a while.

The iphone is quite sticky once users begin to buy apps. The app switching cost will increase the cost of switching to a different platform.