Christopher Smith's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/170402/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/98664-comparing-value-at-risk-to-crash-and-burn?source=feed#comment-274807 274807
Those are precisely the times when LTCM or the CDO market rolls over and dies, and simply assuming those situations out of your model means that your model is inadequate for the specific job it's supposed to do.]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:33:13 -0400
Those are precisely the times when LTCM or the CDO market rolls over and dies, and simply assuming those situations out of your model means that your model is inadequate for the specific job it's supposed to do.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/78331-can-nortel-pull-an-amd-on-cisco-enough-to-make-it-worth-another-look?source=feed#comment-171365 171365
I think rather than Nortel, the dark-horse competitor is Vyatta, which is producing open-source router software that runs on commodity x86 hardware. I've used this type of routing before, and an old Pentium-90 with an ISA network card was able to keep up with a full-speed 10Mb connection.]]> Wed, 21 May 2008 19:28:11 -0400
I think rather than Nortel, the dark-horse competitor is Vyatta, which is producing open-source router software that runs on commodity x86 hardware. I've used this type of routing before, and an old Pentium-90 with an ISA network card was able to keep up with a full-speed 10Mb connection.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/78177-investing-on-the-first-day-of-the-month?source=feed#comment-170893 170893 Wed, 21 May 2008 05:05:57 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/77579-china-no-but-this-time-really-is-different?source=feed#comment-170239 170239
For example, my grandmother is unbelievably... I'll say "frugal"... because of her experiences in the Depression. Most of my parents' peers are boomers who like to live big whether they can afford it or not. And my generation is taking a long, hard look at this and realizing that something has to change... and now we'll undoubtedly start flailing as we change "something" whether we understand it or not.]]> Mon, 19 May 2008 19:38:23 -0400
For example, my grandmother is unbelievably... I'll say "frugal"... because of her experiences in the Depression. Most of my parents' peers are boomers who like to live big whether they can afford it or not. And my generation is taking a long, hard look at this and realizing that something has to change... and now we'll undoubtedly start flailing as we change "something" whether we understand it or not.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/76244-cisco-and-competition?source=feed#comment-168471 168471
Even though I currently recommend Cisco products (and am long CSCO), I'm definitely keeping my eye on Vyatta.]]> Thu, 15 May 2008 20:52:47 -0400
Even though I currently recommend Cisco products (and am long CSCO), I'm definitely keeping my eye on Vyatta.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/76849-industries-to-avoid-industries-to-buy?source=feed#comment-167236 167236
For example, cities don't regulate or manage water for consumer protection; they do it because a water utility is one of the special cases (almost all in infrastructure) where competition is impractical.

Additionally, he begs the question on ExxonMobil profits. In fact, most of the recent upward trend in earnings has been due to increased consumption. Despite the author's ex cathedra assertion to the contrary, businesses can make more money without necessarily improving profit margins--by increasing the volume of sales. In fact, XOM's profit margin is below the average profit margin of most banks and (pre-collapse) investment firms, and it's about half that of pharmaceutical companies.

Finally, it seems that those who call for a "windfall" tax or the even more confounding "regulation of profit margins" seem to studiously ignore two major points: Not only is the big, bad corporation owned (directly or indirectly) by pretty much everybody with a retirement plan, but XOM also paid the highest income tax ever last quarter.]]> Wed, 14 May 2008 01:00:25 -0400
For example, cities don't regulate or manage water for consumer protection; they do it because a water utility is one of the special cases (almost all in infrastructure) where competition is impractical.

Additionally, he begs the question on ExxonMobil profits. In fact, most of the recent upward trend in earnings has been due to increased consumption. Despite the author's ex cathedra assertion to the contrary, businesses can make more money without necessarily improving profit margins--by increasing the volume of sales. In fact, XOM's profit margin is below the average profit margin of most banks and (pre-collapse) investment firms, and it's about half that of pharmaceutical companies.

Finally, it seems that those who call for a "windfall" tax or the even more confounding "regulation of profit margins" seem to studiously ignore two major points: Not only is the big, bad corporation owned (directly or indirectly) by pretty much everybody with a retirement plan, but XOM also paid the highest income tax ever last quarter.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/70474-red-hat-earnings-jboss-taking-share-from-oracle?source=feed#comment-133927 133927 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:05:15 -0400