Friday, November 16, 2012

Reality Sets In, the Market Reacts, and Say Goodbye to Hostess!!

Well, it is all over but the shouting, as Mr. Obama gets another four years. The only problem is it is not really not finished, as the country has the mess that is the fiscal cliff to deal with, along with the joy that is Obamacare (let's not even discuss the Libya affair). In addition, businesses facing increasing regulatory costs are already starting to react. Papa John's pizza (you might know it from the Peyton Manning commercials) has decided to either reduce workers hours or cut back on health care coverage. There are other reports from fast food enterprises who are considering layoffs as well. Some eateries are considering a 5% increase in food costs to help pay for the implementation of Obamacare. The citizens of the U.S. voted for him, and now we have the joy that are his policies as well. Lovely.

The stock market certainly made its opinion felt regarding the outcome of the election as stocks have sold off for the last week and a half. An increase in capital gains, dividends, and marginal tax rates looks like a matter of when, not if. Investors figure they will take gains and a lower tax rate now versus holding and facing higher tax rates in the future. Unless of course, the holdings are in tax advantaged or tax free accounts, where your proceeds accrue until you have to withdraw the assets. Strategic thinking is necessary if one wants to build wealth, and tax advantaged accounts are great vehicles if utilized correctly.

Naturally, once we have a winner in the presidency, Hamas decides to rain missiles into Israel. Moreover, the lunacy of the muslim fanatics continues to show its ugly head. You have to think Iran will also instruct Hezbollah to attack from the north. With Egypt in the pocket of the Muslim Brotherhood, the middle east looks like a powederkeg waiting to explode. Leading from behind, huh?

The shock, the horror, yup, Hostess will be liquidated-http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/hostess-brands-says-it-will-liquidate/?ref=business

Kyle Bass is a unique investor with strong opinions. He also has very good performance, so you might take a look at what he is invested in-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-16/bass-says-half-his-fund-is-invested-in-subprime-bonds.html

It is always nice to see good products for kids- http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/16/timbuktus-educational-app-for-kids-relaunches-with-new-design-daily-content/

Lytro is trying to revolutionize the taking picture business, and they have an updated new product-http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/lytro-reinvents-the-camera-once-again-now-lets-photos-change-perspective-along-with-focus/?icid=trending4&grcc2=5476355bc666b2e92559cb464a7025ed

Y H & C Investments, Yale Bock, and the family of Yale Bock own positions in securities mentioned in the blog post. Investing in stocks can lead to the complete loss of your capital. As always, on any company mentioned here, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk of losses on invested capital. One should research any investment and make sure it is suitable with your objectives, risk tolerance, risk profile liquidity considerations, tax situation, and anything else pertinent to your financial situation. Also, the CFA credential in no way implies investment returns will be superior for any charterholder.
Here are some articles written about specific companies by Yale Bock at Seeking Alpha-
http://www.y-hc.com/resources/newsletters/50-seeking-alpha-research.html

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