Press reports from both the NY Times and Wall Street Journal indicate ex Goldman Sachs CEO and former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine authorized the use of client money to pay back credit owed to JP Morgan Chase. So we should be shocked Corzine tried to use other people's money to save his firm when their risky bets went bad? Uh, no. What I find interesting is the hallmark of good investing is to not use debt, and when there is great value apparent, to load up the boat. Here, the opposite strategy was used. Load up the firm with leverage, and make big bets on questionable credits. It only proves in the investment world, people definately see what they want to see, which is also true in all aspects of life.
Mitt Romney moved closer to securing the Republican nomination with his win last week in the Illinois Primary. Romney will probably lose today in the Louisiana Primary, but pick up more delegates. What I find incredible is the reaction by the second and third place candidates, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, to the increasingly inevitable reality that Romney will be the nominee. Both Santorum and Gingrich siezed on the Etch A Sketch comment by a Romney aide that Romney has no consistency as a right wing Republican. Ok, great, so the party should forget the guy who has the most money, more than double the votes of the closest competitor, and a moderate position which could unseat a vulnerable sitting President of the United States? Instead, Republicans should opt for a brokered convention, and choose a guy who wants to put a space colony on the moon and an ex senator who lost his own state by 20 points in the last election? Wake up and smell the coffee and pack it in so the party can put its resources behind someone who has a chance. Will they do it? Nope, because self interest trumps reality almost every time.
Here is a great article showing why determination is so important in business. It details many major successes of companies which stuck it out when it got tough and are now prospering. Not an easy lesson to remember, especially when you are in the forest- make sure you read this-http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/24/get-rich-or-die-trying/
The United States is seeing a rapid change in the energy future of the country, thanks in large part to abundant natural gas and fracking technology. Take a look at this NY Times story-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/business/energy-environment/inching-toward-energy-independence-in-america.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=business
If you did not think the stock market was crazy enough, how about what took place on friday the 23 of March? BATS was supposed to go public, the stock opens at 15 bucks a share, and then the price drops to 1 cent a share. Then, the stock gets halted, the company says all trades during a two minute time frame are cancelled, and then withdraws the IPO. Prior to that, shares in Apple get hammered by 50 bucks a share and the stock gets halted. Mr. Market is all about volatility, now more than ever, regardless of what the VIX index says. Take a look- http://www.bloomberg.com/video/88905022/
Another interesting tidbit is the SEC is examining High Frequency Traders and their effect on the market. My thought is the greatest investor ever, Warren Buffett, says inactivity strikes him as an intelligent when it comes to investing. High Frequency Traders are all about rapid fire trading based on algorithms written by humans, who make mistakes. HFT trading has an effect on market making activity, which effect stock prices. Who says one cannot use other market participants "activity" against them?
If you forgot the Covestor Next Invest conference, here is a link as it is available through April 21, 2012-presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Covestor/R...
I hope everyone is enjoying the spring. Here in Las Vegas, it was 88 yesterday with not a cloud in the sky. I hope you are a tad bit envious, but getting equally great weather as well. If you have a comment or question, do post them, please! Have a great week.
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Free Invite to the Covestor Next Invest Virtual Conference
Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments cordially invite you to the Covestor Next
Invest Virtual Conference. No pressure, I know you are busy. If it works for
you, stop by my booth and have a look. If you are not interested but know
someone who might be, please feel free to forward this to them. If you are
interested in attending, copy the following link and put it in your browser.
Thank you for your valuable time.
presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Covestor/R...
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.
presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Covestor/R...
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.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Romney Closes In, Choosing Friends Wisely, Electric Cars Face A Setback, and Walmart Buys A Facebook App!
Well, it looks like the European saga continues on, though the Greek situation
may be improving rather quickly, as far as funding is concerned. After three
years of talking about it, thinking about, discussing it, negotiating it, my
gosh, get on with it. Whenever politicians get involved these days, you know it
is going to take forever and get done in a less than thoughtful manner.
Just a note to all subscribers and followers that I am sorry the last post included non workable links. Will do everything in my power to make sure all posts are as functionable as possible in the future.
Mitt Romney edges closer and closer to becoming a mathmatical certainty for the Republican nomination. After Alabama and Mississippi this week, at some point other Republicans will start to call for the other candidates to drop out. Whether they listen or care is another story. Watching Newt and Santorum all these months makes me think they could care less and are willing to help the party go down in flames to further their personal ambitions, as unrealistic as they may be.
The Steve Wynn-Kazuo Okada fued shows how important it is to choose your partners as carefully as possible-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450004577275490985209450.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Electric cars face a longer road- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-05/electric-car-producers-shun-u-s-loans-as-post-solyndra-red-tape-increases.html
Walmart buys a photo sharing and card application from Facebook, showing investors that is still a valuable market- http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/11/walmart-buys-facebook-birthday-and-holiday-reminder-app-social-calendar/
Earnings reports are winding down, and it should be an interesting end to the first quarter. Will the economy accelerate as the year progresses or will it start to slow down? The first quarter is usually a tepid one, and things slow down in the summer as well. Time will tell and I hope it goes well for all readers. Let me know what you think will happen with the economy!!!
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
Just a note to all subscribers and followers that I am sorry the last post included non workable links. Will do everything in my power to make sure all posts are as functionable as possible in the future.
Mitt Romney edges closer and closer to becoming a mathmatical certainty for the Republican nomination. After Alabama and Mississippi this week, at some point other Republicans will start to call for the other candidates to drop out. Whether they listen or care is another story. Watching Newt and Santorum all these months makes me think they could care less and are willing to help the party go down in flames to further their personal ambitions, as unrealistic as they may be.
The Steve Wynn-Kazuo Okada fued shows how important it is to choose your partners as carefully as possible-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450004577275490985209450.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Electric cars face a longer road- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-05/electric-car-producers-shun-u-s-loans-as-post-solyndra-red-tape-increases.html
Walmart buys a photo sharing and card application from Facebook, showing investors that is still a valuable market- http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/11/walmart-buys-facebook-birthday-and-holiday-reminder-app-social-calendar/
Earnings reports are winding down, and it should be an interesting end to the first quarter. Will the economy accelerate as the year progresses or will it start to slow down? The first quarter is usually a tepid one, and things slow down in the summer as well. Time will tell and I hope it goes well for all readers. Let me know what you think will happen with the economy!!!
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
Sunday, March 4, 2012
So Far So Good For Stocks in 2012, Super Tuesday Approaches, The Future of Mobile in China, and Yelp's IPO-
Up to this point of 2012, the year has been very good for investors
in stock markets across the globe. All over the planet, indexes are up
anywhere between 10-25% for the year, which speaks for itself,
especially when compared to money market rates or Treasury bond yields
of 2-3% for the 10 and 30 year durations. Certainly, return is stock
specific and if a company reports poor top line growth or misses an
earnings per share estimate, chances are it will get punished. Still, I
think one reason markets have performed so well in 2012 is first,
buyers get more for their money with equities.
Dividend yields are typically higher than any treasury bond yield, and corporate bond prices are still very expensive. Why take the risk of a company defaulting on its debt obligations when you can participate in the profits at a cheaper price? Second, as an article later in the post explains, savers are being penalized for saving their money. With that the case, people vote with their pocketbooks and look for a better deal. In this situation, they have turned to the equity markets, though in a still rather modest manner. Look out though, if bond yields start to rise as money will come pouring out of the bond market. It has not happened yet, but it certainly could over the next 12-36 months.
Super Tuesday approaches and Mr. Romney is trying to put the nails in the coffin sooner rather than later. I am sure he will lose a few states on Tuesday, but if he wins Ohio and more than 5 on Tuesday, it would not be surprising to see other Republican leaders start to call for the other candidates to step aside. As a Republican, some of the things fellow members of the party say and do just astound me with their stupidity. For example, why would Rush Limbaugh say what he said about the Georgetown student? What is there to be gained from that? Also, what Christ Christy said about Warren Buffett's tax ideas? Every person is entitled to his opinion about tax policy. If you are a politician, don't you want to attract as broad a constituency as possible to garner support for your ideas? The object is to have people join the party, not piss them off so bad they are repulsed by you.
Not hard to understand why the approval rate for Congress is now approaching 10%, an all time record low.
Nice article on where the future of Mobile Phones are in China- http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/03/china-next-mobile-boom/
Yelp goes public- hurray- not many impressed- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203986604577257193903928040.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Good discussion about the lack of benefits for savers and interest rate policy-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/business/low-rates-for-savers-are-reason-for-complaint-fair-game.html?_r=1&ref=business
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
Dividend yields are typically higher than any treasury bond yield, and corporate bond prices are still very expensive. Why take the risk of a company defaulting on its debt obligations when you can participate in the profits at a cheaper price? Second, as an article later in the post explains, savers are being penalized for saving their money. With that the case, people vote with their pocketbooks and look for a better deal. In this situation, they have turned to the equity markets, though in a still rather modest manner. Look out though, if bond yields start to rise as money will come pouring out of the bond market. It has not happened yet, but it certainly could over the next 12-36 months.
Super Tuesday approaches and Mr. Romney is trying to put the nails in the coffin sooner rather than later. I am sure he will lose a few states on Tuesday, but if he wins Ohio and more than 5 on Tuesday, it would not be surprising to see other Republican leaders start to call for the other candidates to step aside. As a Republican, some of the things fellow members of the party say and do just astound me with their stupidity. For example, why would Rush Limbaugh say what he said about the Georgetown student? What is there to be gained from that? Also, what Christ Christy said about Warren Buffett's tax ideas? Every person is entitled to his opinion about tax policy. If you are a politician, don't you want to attract as broad a constituency as possible to garner support for your ideas? The object is to have people join the party, not piss them off so bad they are repulsed by you.
Not hard to understand why the approval rate for Congress is now approaching 10%, an all time record low.
Nice article on where the future of Mobile Phones are in China- http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/03/china-next-mobile-boom/
Yelp goes public- hurray- not many impressed- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203986604577257193903928040.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Good discussion about the lack of benefits for savers and interest rate policy-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/business/low-rates-for-savers-are-reason-for-complaint-fair-game.html?_r=1&ref=business
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wooden's Great Quote, More Jeremy Lin, the Wynn Mess, and More-
The great UCLA Men's College Basketball coach John Wooden had a very important quote: "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." So many investors in almost every asset class simply do not prepare before investing their hard earned money. I have been as guilty as anybody. During my first attempt at investing, I spent 5,000 bucks on buying stock in Starbucks, 2,500 on America On Line, and 2,500 on a company called Ultrafem. It was 1993 or so and I spent a ton of gas driving up and down Southern California looking at Starbucks locations- I still own it, and have added plenty more, and yes, it has done well. America On Line at one point was a 41 bagger, but I sold too late, but still did well. However, Ultrafem was an alternative to women's tampons, the management were crooks, and you could see from one quarter's results they were a mess. I had yet to learn enough about reading annual reports, 10-Q's, 8-K's, insider trades, and other due diligence methods, but it worked out ok.
Still, whether it is stocks, bonds, currencies, real estate, commodities, venture capital, or anything involved with risking your funds, look before you leap, and look very hard. No is a good word with investing. No, no, no, no, no. The great Peter Lynch used to say you have to turn over a lot of rocks before you find a possible opportunity. With currencies, maybe look at the current trade account (deficit or sirplus), interest rate differentials, inflation differentials, fiscal sirplus or deficit, and political environment. You might even make a check list of what to look at before you spend your money. Don't forget Wooden's quote as he won 11 NCAA championships in 13 years for a reason.
The Jeremy Lin story just gets better and better, which is really awesome- take a look at this from Techcrunch on Siezing the Moment:http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/18/seize-your-opportunities-like-jeremy-lin/
Interesting business model emerges on lending your car to strangers for cash:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/technology/car-sharing-companies-link-owners-with-renters.html?_r=1&ref=business
What a mess with Steve Wynn as all the dirty laundry comes out:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203358704577233052477385494.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
It will be another interesting week on wall street as the Greece drama continues to unfold. Three years into this and the politicians still cannot make any decisions. Does anyone wonder why Europe has such competitive issues? Many believe Germany will call the shots there for a long time, but they also benefit from a weak Euro as their exports continue to gain share. A stronger currency does not help them at all.
Politically, all eyes are on Michigan as it may be that the Gettysburgh of this election is in Romney's home state. I still think he is the best candidate, but the hard line republicans just don't want any part of him. If Santorum or Gingrich is the nominee, Obama might win 45 states and cruise by 30 points. At least Romney gives the party a fighting chance, but if he loses, he just takes his 200 million with him and says good luck. I hope everyone has a great week and if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts on the blog post, please share them!!
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
1) http://seekingalpha.com/article/375621-unilife-strives-to-be-a-major-player-in-medical-devices
2) http://seekingalpha.com/article/320102-marchex-contender-or-pretender-in-the-mobile-advertising-industry
3) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317215-american-greetings-a-value-trap-or-a-good-opportunity-for-outsized-gains
4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317139-usa-technologies-possibly-building-a-payment-processing-juggernaut
5) http://seekingalpha.com/article/347561-cardionet-a-market-beater-or-a-value-trap
Still, whether it is stocks, bonds, currencies, real estate, commodities, venture capital, or anything involved with risking your funds, look before you leap, and look very hard. No is a good word with investing. No, no, no, no, no. The great Peter Lynch used to say you have to turn over a lot of rocks before you find a possible opportunity. With currencies, maybe look at the current trade account (deficit or sirplus), interest rate differentials, inflation differentials, fiscal sirplus or deficit, and political environment. You might even make a check list of what to look at before you spend your money. Don't forget Wooden's quote as he won 11 NCAA championships in 13 years for a reason.
The Jeremy Lin story just gets better and better, which is really awesome- take a look at this from Techcrunch on Siezing the Moment:http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/18/seize-your-opportunities-like-jeremy-lin/
Interesting business model emerges on lending your car to strangers for cash:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/technology/car-sharing-companies-link-owners-with-renters.html?_r=1&ref=business
What a mess with Steve Wynn as all the dirty laundry comes out:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203358704577233052477385494.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
It will be another interesting week on wall street as the Greece drama continues to unfold. Three years into this and the politicians still cannot make any decisions. Does anyone wonder why Europe has such competitive issues? Many believe Germany will call the shots there for a long time, but they also benefit from a weak Euro as their exports continue to gain share. A stronger currency does not help them at all.
Politically, all eyes are on Michigan as it may be that the Gettysburgh of this election is in Romney's home state. I still think he is the best candidate, but the hard line republicans just don't want any part of him. If Santorum or Gingrich is the nominee, Obama might win 45 states and cruise by 30 points. At least Romney gives the party a fighting chance, but if he loses, he just takes his 200 million with him and says good luck. I hope everyone has a great week and if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts on the blog post, please share them!!
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
1) http://seekingalpha.com/article/375621-unilife-strives-to-be-a-major-player-in-medical-devices
2) http://seekingalpha.com/article/320102-marchex-contender-or-pretender-in-the-mobile-advertising-industry
3) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317215-american-greetings-a-value-trap-or-a-good-opportunity-for-outsized-gains
4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317139-usa-technologies-possibly-building-a-payment-processing-juggernaut
5) http://seekingalpha.com/article/347561-cardionet-a-market-beater-or-a-value-trap
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Buffett vs Gross, Whitney Houston's Sad News, Digital Theft, and Why Persistence Pays Off!!!
Interesting contrast between Bill Gross, the largest manager of fixed income in the world at PIMCO, and Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Gross is heavily invested in U.S. Treasuries and Buffett believes they should come with a warning sign that says, "Hazardous to your financial health." My own belief is U.S. Treasuries are the biggest sucker bet because of the high prices, low yields, and low expectations for inflation. The view in the financial world is that it is the best asset to own which is negatively correlated to stock markets or commodities. Essentially, by owning treasuries you are betting the bond market bull run over the last 15 years keeps going unabated. There is a quote in finance that trees don't grow to the sky, but that is just my opinion. I would even lean more towards buying an ETF that shorts 10 year or 30 year treasuries, but you need a real strong stomach for that, and it has not worked for the last few years. Doesn't mean it won't work, but you could definately feel some pain if Europe falls apart. Here is a link to what Jim Cramer thinks about the debate (fron CNBC.com) :Cramer's Pick in Buffett vs Gross Bond Battle
The news that Whitney Houston died yesterday was sad. She sold over 170 million albums world wide and in her prime could really bring it. It is also a reminder if you don't take care of yourself and have good healthy habits you are going to run into problems. I look at this situation, or Michael Jackson, where you have people who have every reason to live and are self destructive and just think it is a waste of talent. Unfortunately, the most common thing in the world is wasted talent and intelligence. What is rare are guys like Buffett and Munger, who built themselves into billionaires, and built Berkshire Hathaway into a multi-billion dollar enterprise and helped build the wealth of tens of thousands of people. Yet Buffett takes more criticism these days than ever before. You have to wonder if there is anything in the world that is unassailable. Here is a link from Bloomberg on the Whitney Houston Story-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-12/whitney-houston-record-setting-popular-singer-film-actress-dies-at-48.html
Great article in the New York Times on digital theft at the highest levels, especially when traveling to China-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/technology/electronic-security-a-worry-in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html?ref=business
Another good example of an entrepreneur in the NY Times as well-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/jobs/plum-districts-chief-on-investing-in-mom-power.html?ref=business
Nice article from CFO magazine regarding the return on investment of social media. By the way, CFO magazine is a super read for anybody interested in business-http://www3.cfo.com/article/2012/2/technology_social-media-roi
Great story in the NBA about the new point guard for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin. Not drafted, cut last year by the Warriors, shows that persistence pays off. Reminds me of a good friend of mine-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-08/harvard-s-lin-boosts-knicks-interest-in-asia-with-record-setting-debut.html
I hope everyone has a good week and if you have any comments or questions, please post them!!!!
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
1) http://seekingalpha.com/article/320102-marchex-contender-or-pretender-in-the-mobile-advertising-industry
2) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317215-american-greetings-a-value-trap-or-a-good-opportunity-for-outsized-gains
3) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317139-usa-technologies-possibly-building-a-payment-processing-juggernaut
4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/347561-cardionet-a-market-beater-or-a-value-trap
The news that Whitney Houston died yesterday was sad. She sold over 170 million albums world wide and in her prime could really bring it. It is also a reminder if you don't take care of yourself and have good healthy habits you are going to run into problems. I look at this situation, or Michael Jackson, where you have people who have every reason to live and are self destructive and just think it is a waste of talent. Unfortunately, the most common thing in the world is wasted talent and intelligence. What is rare are guys like Buffett and Munger, who built themselves into billionaires, and built Berkshire Hathaway into a multi-billion dollar enterprise and helped build the wealth of tens of thousands of people. Yet Buffett takes more criticism these days than ever before. You have to wonder if there is anything in the world that is unassailable. Here is a link from Bloomberg on the Whitney Houston Story-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-12/whitney-houston-record-setting-popular-singer-film-actress-dies-at-48.html
Great article in the New York Times on digital theft at the highest levels, especially when traveling to China-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/technology/electronic-security-a-worry-in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html?ref=business
Another good example of an entrepreneur in the NY Times as well-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/jobs/plum-districts-chief-on-investing-in-mom-power.html?ref=business
Nice article from CFO magazine regarding the return on investment of social media. By the way, CFO magazine is a super read for anybody interested in business-http://www3.cfo.com/article/2012/2/technology_social-media-roi
Great story in the NBA about the new point guard for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin. Not drafted, cut last year by the Warriors, shows that persistence pays off. Reminds me of a good friend of mine-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-08/harvard-s-lin-boosts-knicks-interest-in-asia-with-record-setting-debut.html
I hope everyone has a good week and if you have any comments or questions, please post them!!!!
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
1) http://seekingalpha.com/article/320102-marchex-contender-or-pretender-in-the-mobile-advertising-industry
2) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317215-american-greetings-a-value-trap-or-a-good-opportunity-for-outsized-gains
3) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317139-usa-technologies-possibly-building-a-payment-processing-juggernaut
4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/347561-cardionet-a-market-beater-or-a-value-trap
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A Good Job's Report (What?), Europe's Banks, Do It Yourself Apps, Young CEO's, and Urbanspoon's Growth-
On Friday, the stock market was temporarily impressed with the better than expected job growth of 257K the U.S. economy added in January of 2012. Investors in the stock market have been repeatedly burned by macroeconomic numbers showing subpar employment numbers. One of the reasons why there is so much pessimism in the investment and business world is the supposed recovery is one of lackluster growth. In comparison with other economic recoveries where growth averaged 4-6% (Reagan, Bush, Clinton), one that puts up annual numbers of 2% are hard to get excited about. Still, if the economy can continue to post job gains of over 200K per month on a consistent basis, more faith would be justified. Considering that in one month during the Reagan recovery, I believe there was a total of 1 million jobs created, 257K is nothing to, shall we say, do backflips over.
Still, as a stock market investor, we will take good news over bad news every day. Unfortunately, your stocks don't always go up with good news. In fact, they often go down on "Buy the rumor, sell the news." Which is fine, especially if you can find good companies at attractive prices. The harder you look, the more you discover, like turning over lots of rocks to find one diamond. If you find one good one in your life, it more than makes up for the disappointments.
The Super Bowl was a good, hard fought contest, and a pretty well played game. Madonna tried hard as well, although the woman who flipped off the crowd should be banned from network tv and blacklisted by the networks. Anyway, as always, mistakes cost a team and the two by Brady really hurt, especially the safety early in the game, which could be considered an unforced error. Also, I think the Giants mishandled their position and should have knelt down on the ball and kicked a field goal with very little time on the clock, that way Brady never gets on the field again. Giving the ball back to Brady and the Patriots offense, even with under a minute to go, was not very smart. How many times have we seen Terrific Tom come through to win a game at the end with a great drive. The Giants won and good for the city of New York, but that does not mean they handled that situation wisely, at least in my opinion.
Colorado and Minnesota hold primaries today, and we will see if Santorum can catch any momentum. If not, Mr. Romney looks like he will be tough to stop. He will have a lot of work to do raising money and mobilizing Republicans. I also think it is a good thing for him he is very underestimated by so many Democrats and the media, as well as conservatives who don't like his moderate positions. Mr. Romney has been a winner over the last 20 years and not understanding that is potentially a huge mistake.
Europe's Banks don't want to throw good money after bad- not a good sign for the Euro but you can bet many companies will be looking to acquire cheap assets there-http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/europes-banks-reluctant-to-aid-companies-in-need-of-cash/?src=me&ref=business
Nice article on companies creating applications on their own and how they can help productivity-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/do-it-yourself-mobile-applications-gain-honeywell-to-disney-embrace-tech.html
Youth Vs Experience as a CEO-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203315804577207131063501196.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLE_Video_Top
Urbanspoon's Growth is Driven By Mobile-http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/07/urbanspoon-traffic-up-80-in-2011-mobile-growth-faster-than-web/
I hope everyone has a great week and if you have any thoughts about the blog, comments, or questions, please share or email me at information@y-hc.com
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
1) http://seekingalpha.com/article/320102-marchex-contender-or-pretender-in-the-mobile-advertising-industry
2) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317215-american-greetings-a-value-trap-or-a-good-opportunity-for-outsized-gains
3) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317139-usa-technologies-possibly-building-a-payment-processing-juggernaut
4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/347561-cardionet-a-market-beater-or-a-value-trap
Still, as a stock market investor, we will take good news over bad news every day. Unfortunately, your stocks don't always go up with good news. In fact, they often go down on "Buy the rumor, sell the news." Which is fine, especially if you can find good companies at attractive prices. The harder you look, the more you discover, like turning over lots of rocks to find one diamond. If you find one good one in your life, it more than makes up for the disappointments.
The Super Bowl was a good, hard fought contest, and a pretty well played game. Madonna tried hard as well, although the woman who flipped off the crowd should be banned from network tv and blacklisted by the networks. Anyway, as always, mistakes cost a team and the two by Brady really hurt, especially the safety early in the game, which could be considered an unforced error. Also, I think the Giants mishandled their position and should have knelt down on the ball and kicked a field goal with very little time on the clock, that way Brady never gets on the field again. Giving the ball back to Brady and the Patriots offense, even with under a minute to go, was not very smart. How many times have we seen Terrific Tom come through to win a game at the end with a great drive. The Giants won and good for the city of New York, but that does not mean they handled that situation wisely, at least in my opinion.
Colorado and Minnesota hold primaries today, and we will see if Santorum can catch any momentum. If not, Mr. Romney looks like he will be tough to stop. He will have a lot of work to do raising money and mobilizing Republicans. I also think it is a good thing for him he is very underestimated by so many Democrats and the media, as well as conservatives who don't like his moderate positions. Mr. Romney has been a winner over the last 20 years and not understanding that is potentially a huge mistake.
Europe's Banks don't want to throw good money after bad- not a good sign for the Euro but you can bet many companies will be looking to acquire cheap assets there-http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/europes-banks-reluctant-to-aid-companies-in-need-of-cash/?src=me&ref=business
Nice article on companies creating applications on their own and how they can help productivity-http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/do-it-yourself-mobile-applications-gain-honeywell-to-disney-embrace-tech.html
Youth Vs Experience as a CEO-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203315804577207131063501196.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLE_Video_Top
Urbanspoon's Growth is Driven By Mobile-http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/07/urbanspoon-traffic-up-80-in-2011-mobile-growth-faster-than-web/
I hope everyone has a great week and if you have any thoughts about the blog, comments, or questions, please share or email me at information@y-hc.com
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.
(If you are interested in seeing the latest Seeking Alpha articles about specific stock picks from Yale Bock and Y H & C Investments, click the following links)
1) http://seekingalpha.com/article/320102-marchex-contender-or-pretender-in-the-mobile-advertising-industry
2) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317215-american-greetings-a-value-trap-or-a-good-opportunity-for-outsized-gains
3) http://seekingalpha.com/article/317139-usa-technologies-possibly-building-a-payment-processing-juggernaut
4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/347561-cardionet-a-market-beater-or-a-value-trap
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