The Money Game, Adam Smith Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Book Reviews.add a comment
This is a great book and like all the true financial classics, still relevant today despite having been written in the late sixties. Readers are warned that the book is all about image and reality and identity and anxiety and money. In a nutshell, the book is: contemporary, interesting, educational and very witty.
As Adam Smith states in the first sentence of the book; “The world is not the way the tell you it is”, and he goes on to try and give readers a behind the scenes view of Wall Street and of ‘The Money Game’ … why the markets are so addictive and how it can be a zero-sum game.
He talks about the characters involved, the psychology, the systems and the obsession with being in the markets… “The irony is that this is a money game and money is the way we keep score. But the real object of the Game is not the money, it is the playing of the Game itself”.
Definitely a strong recommendation from our part.
Enjoy!
Ballmer: a glimpse of denial? Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Miscellaneous.2 comments
We had never seen an interview with Mr. Ballmer but were quite surprised when we stumbled across this.
Naturally, everyone has the right their own opinion but we feel that Mr. Ballmer seems a bit too sure of himself and is dismissing Apple a bit too quickly…. and we would love to hear what he has to say about this interview now…
Dilbert: dart board & monkey Monday, April 14, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Investing Humor.add a comment
Come back next Monday for more investing humor!
Cramer: stick with your pick Friday, April 11, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Investing.1 comment so far
Words of wisdom to keep in mind in these difficult times.
What really determines how successful an investor will be, is his temperament, gut and ability to stick behind his own judgment….
Death of the traditional light bulb Thursday, April 10, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in US Traded Stocks.add a comment
Did you know that the average LED produces three to four times more light that the traditional light bulb? Actually, some of the top-range ones can produce over 60 lumens per watt.
Why are we talking about lumens per watt? Well, congress has passed legislation that says that all light bulbs must produce at least 60 lumens per watt by 2012, moving to 120 by 2020… the current traditional light bulb produces about 13/14! Attention, governments all over the world are moving toward more efficient uses of energy and especially in lighting: Australia is actually considering banning the traditional bulb.
Despite the fact that the short-term winners of this trend will probably be halogen and compact fluorecent lamps, long-term, the market will move to LEDs. Apparently, one study we found states that the industry is supposed to exceed 1 billion dollars by 2011, a 388% spike from 2005 levels.
The GEs and Philips of this world are the biggest players but there are smaller companies like CREE Inc. (CREE) and strong speciality contenders that are worth a look – these companies might actually end up being swallowed by the larger players.
We definitely think that it investors should start looking into this industry sector more closely.
Please read our disclaimer.
Cramer: start investing early Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Investing.add a comment
This is an interview with Cramer where he talks about how students should start investing in stocks earlier and actually be more aggressive with their strategies… although some might find this controversial, it is completely in line with the teachings of great long-term value investors and can’t be argued with when you look at long-term stock market returns:
PFIZER: value & margin of safety Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in US Traded Stocks.add a comment
Most people are staying away from pharmaceuticals and indeed, the stocks are not benefiting as much as more volatile sectors in these sudden bull rallies but we are looking for long term value and margin of safety.
Ok granted, it may be a while until Pfizer (PFE) comes out with the next ‘super drug’ but in the meantime, trading at late 2005 levels, around 18 times earnings and with a 6% dividend yield: there is little not to like about the shares. They continue to have a strong cash position, consistently generated returns on capital well in excess of its cost of capital and are a solid divided stock.
Most analysts are just saying hold but this could be a very good time to snap-up some shares!
Please read our disclaimer.
Dilbert: estate planning Monday, April 7, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Investing Humor.1 comment so far
Come back next Monday for more investing humor!
Senate Banking Committee Bear Stearns Friday, April 4, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in Miscellaneous.add a comment
Following yesterday’s intense session, here are some interesting links to CNBC commentary:
- with Erin Burnett & Steve Liesman discussing Alan Schwartz and Jamie Dimon’s testimony: link.
- and this one is from CNBC’s Larry Kudlow & Maria Bartiromo: link.
This is probably only the beginning of even more discussions around the controversial actions taken to avoid the bankruptcy.
Have a nice weekend.
Sanderson Farms (SAFM) Thursday, April 3, 2008
Posted by ei-forum in US Traded Stocks.add a comment
Looking for value, we decided to run one of our typical ‘best in industry’ screens on companies with a market capitalization of under 1,000,000 USD.
We ran:
- Price/Book Value < Industry Average
- Current P/E Ratio < Industry Average
- Net Profit Margin > Industry Average
- Return on Equity > Industry Average
- Income per Employee > Industry Average
- Debt to Equity Ratio < Industry Average
- Current Ratio > Industry Average
- Quick Ratio < Industry Average
- MSN Rating >7
The only company that made the screen is Sanderson Farms (SAFM). We had followed this company in the past but the stock had been severely punished during the avian-flu scare and is slowly recovering.
Despite Sanderson being interesting, we think that investors can find better places for their money in these markets. We would suggest to keep this one in a watch-list portfolio.
Please read our disclaimer.
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