velunder

Countrywide's Disclosure of Troubles in Prime - No Surprise

Moody's and S&P received a lot of money from the issuers of CDOs and MBSs. I don't think it's so much a failing of logic among the Moody's and S&P's analysts as a desire to accommodate their clients.

Interactive Brokers Group: The Online Trading Evolution

You are wrong about the P/B ratio. Interactive Brokers Group only owns 10% of IBG, LLC, who's financial statements are in the 10-Q (and other SEC filings). IBG (the publicly traded company) consolidates the financials of IBG, LLC, because they are the controlling member. See below from the latest 10-Q.

On May 3, 2007, Interactive Brokers Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“IBG, Inc.”), priced an initial public offering (the “IPO”) of shares of its Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”). In connection with the IPO, IBG, Inc. purchased 10% of the membership interests in IBG LLC, a Connecticut limited liability company, from IBG Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, became the sole managing member of IBG LLC and began to consolidate IBG LLC’s financial results into its financial statements.

Why I Passed On the Tyco Spinoffs

The free cash flow number you are using for Covidien reflects $376 million of negative working cash flow (see below excerpt from the Covidien Information Statement). You might want to adjust your valuation upwards to reflect this. I am not a stockholder in any of the three, but I think Covidien looks interesting.

Fiscal 2006 Cash Flow Activity
The net cash provided by operating activities of $1,335 million was primarily attributable to net
income for fiscal 2006, as adjusted for deferred income taxes, depreciation and amortization, the loss
from discontinued operations, purchased research and development and non-cash compensation
expense. This source of cash was partially offset by a $376 million decrease in accrued and other
liabilities, driven by payments of $324 million for two patent infringement matters, a decrease in
income taxes payable of $263 million and an increase in inventories of $212 million.