Tiffany dazzles

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Growth & Valuation.

Description:  The luxury jeweler, know for its little blue box, reported a 20% jump in global sales. Signet, owner of Kays and Jared, also fared well. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 05/26/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2011/05/26/mkts_tiffanys_0526.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: What significance, if any, is there to the results reported? How do you think investors will react… Read more »

Stocks at One-Month Lows, What Are Insiders Doing?

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Description: May’s correction affords an unparalleled opportunity to see what insiders really think is going to happen in the market, according to Mark Hulbert, who says it’s pretty telling if they’re selling amid declines. Laura Mandaro reports. Source: Moneywatch.com – video report Date: 05/24/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/stocks-at-one-month-lows-what-are-insiders-doing/C2A11AB8-6CB9-462E-AE89-07415B5A6157 Questions for discussion: Summarize the guidelines for understanding insider… Read more »

What Are the Largest Hedge Funds Holding?

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Description: W.R. Grace, Potash Corp. and Viacom are among the top holdings of the world’s largest hedge funds, according to Mazin Jadallah, founder and CEO of AlphaClone, who says the funds are overweight materials and also financials. Alistair Barr reports. Source: Moneywatch.com – video report Date: 05/23/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/what-are-the-largest-hedge-funds-holding/4D9E306D-DE9E-433A-B458-9E5721F9B298 Questions for discussion: Summarized the essence… Read more »

Tyler Cowen, America’s Hottest Economist

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial Planning, Governments & Regulators.

Description:  The George Mason University professor has written a bestseller, The Great Stagnation, keeps an influential blog, and reads way too many books. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 05/26/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_23/b4231066695798.htm Questions for discussion: Explain the meaning of the title. What is the thesis of his book? Are there items you agree or disagree with? What lessons… Read more »

BlackRock’s Rick Rieder takes a stand on bonds

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial Planning, Growth & Valuation.

Description: Rick Rieder is not the best-known man in bonds. That honor belongs to Pimco’s Bill Gross, manager of Total Return, the world’s largest bond fund. But Rieder, 49, is a titan in his own right. Source: Fortune.com Date: 05/27/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/25/pf/rick_rieder_blackrock.fortune/index.htm Questions for discussion: Summarize Rick Rieder’s strategic thinking as reported in the article…. Read more »

LinkedIn CEO: Why we’re so valuable

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Description: CEO Jeff Weiner says LinkedIn’s “exclusive focus on professionals” is what makes his company’s social platform so valuable to investors. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 05/20/2011 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/05/20/n_linkedin_ceo.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Do you think LinkedIn is worth the IPO price? What revenue streams are available to the firm? What types of acquisitions would… Read more »

Didn’t Get Into LinkedIn IPO? Good For You

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Description: Without inside connections, IPOs for social-networking firms like LinkedIn are a crapshoot for retail investors, according to MarketWatch columnist Chuck Jaffe. who says Google stood out as a recognized market leader. Laura Mandaro reports. Source: Moneywatch.com – video report Date: 05/20/2011 Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/didnt-get-into-linkedin-ipo-good-for-you/B6F4AA8F-5EEA-4D58-86F6-09B60B2B9220 Questions for discussion: Summarize the opinions expressed about the Linked-In IPO?… Read more »

Analysts Punished as Fewer Than 1% of ‘Sells’ Work Since 2009

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Description: Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. had rallied 40 percent from its spinoff when Adnaan Ahmad started covering the stock with a “sell” rating. The mobile-phone maker has lost nearly all its gain since his Jan. 21 report. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 05/20/2011 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-20/analysts-punished-as-fewer-than-1-of-sells-work-since-2009.html Questions for discussion: Summarized the essence of the report with respect to… Read more »

It Teetered, It Tottered, It Was Bound to Fall Down

Posted by & filed under Financial Planning, Governments & Regulators, Industry Analysis.

Description: This article was adapted from “Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon,” by Gretchen Morgenson, a business reporter and columnist for The New York Times, and Joshua Rosner, a managing director at the independent research consultant Graham Fisher. The book is to be published on Tuesday by Times Books…. Read more »

Gap, Aeropostale unraveled

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Financial Planning, Growth & Valuation.

Description: While they might not portend the End Times, signs of Friday’s route of the low-end retailers could certainly be discerned months ago in the commodities markets. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 05/20/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gap-aeropostale-unraveled-2011-05-20 Questions for discussion: Summarize the issues raised in the report about commodities and the performance of these companies. What do you think… Read more »