Lehman’s $642 million bankruptcy

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Management Issues.

Description:  Councils, advisors, consultants, even an art auctioneer get hefty compensation for cleaning up the firm’s books. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report   Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2010/03/12/f_sl_lehman_fees.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the possible claims against Lehman. Explain why criminal proceedings against individuals or organizations might be in order? Explain the lessons learned by the failure… Read more »

$642 million to clean up Lehman — and counting

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Management Issues.

Description:  Unraveling the biggest-ever U.S. bankruptcy case isn’t cheap. A report released Thursday by the examiner in the Lehman Brothers Chapter 11 case exposed the games the defunct investment bank’s executives played to stay in Wall Street’s good graces Source: CNNMoney.com   Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/12/news/companies/lehman.fees.fortune/?section=magazines_fortune Questions for discussion: How does the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which… Read more »

China may allow yuan to rise by mid-April, strategists say

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

Description:  China could allow its currency to begin appreciating against the U.S. dollar within the next month, as Beijing responds to growing pressure from Washington to allow its currency to trade more freely, according to analysts. Source: Marketwatch.com   Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-may-let-yuan-rise-next-month-2010-03-12?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons one can expect a rise in… Read more »

How Men’s Overconfidence Hurts Them as Investors

Posted by & filed under Industry Analysis.

Description: MEN and women invest differently, a growing body of research has found. And in at least one important respect, women may be better at it. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/business/14mark.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: How are men and women investors different from each other? What lessons are there that each gender can learn from… Read more »

Apax, Private-Equity Firms Say Retail LBOs Return With Recovery

Posted by & filed under Industry Analysis.

Description: Private-equity firms looking to buy retail and consumer companies said they’re now able to finance deals and pay reasonable prices after the credit crisis and global recession triggered a buyout slump. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a1CarvonDlcU&pos=15 Questions for discussion: Does this news bode well for the economy? What has changed in this industry… Read more »

SEC explains dangerous derivatives

Posted by & filed under Governments & Regulators.

Description:  Director of the SEC’s division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation Henry Hu maps out how credit default swaps work. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report   Date: 03/05/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2010/03/04/mkts_ss_sec_white_board.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the financial arrangements between banks, companies, and investors that define credit default swaps.  What is the problem, if any? Should… Read more »

Apple Shares Look Cheap

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis.

Description:  Fox Business anchor Cody Willard explains to Simon Constable why Apple stock looks like a bargain. Source: Marketwatch – video report   Date: 03/02/2010  Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/apple-shares-look-cheap/48253F92-DAD8-4FC5-8B02-1473F7519FA2 Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons given for the evaluation of Apple. Do you agree with the evaluation? Explain why you would or would not be a buyer… Read more »

Greece on the Brink: Anatomy of a Debt Crisis

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

Description:  A wakeup call for Greece and the euro. WSJ’s Andy Jordan and Joe Parkinson report from Athens on the threat of a potentially contagious debt crisis and the moral hazard of bailing out a country with bad fiscal habits. Source: Marketwatch – video report   Date: 03/02/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/greece-on-the-brink-anatomy-of-a-debt-crisis/5AEAD5AC-6C7E-424C-BF51-FA0A40B350C9  Questions for discussion: What is… Read more »

A plan to save commercial real estate

Posted by & filed under Governments & Regulators.

Description:  Economists have long been predicting commercial real estate could be the next day of reckoning for the financial markets, with a wave of defaults looming as billions of dollars in troubled loans come due in the coming months. But a little-noticed bill introduced in January could help bring a new source of desperately-needed liquidity… Read more »

Beaten by Buffett

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

Description:  Many investors can only look on with envy when Warren Buffett says his shareholders have seen 20% annualized gains over the past 45 years — even the best mutual funds pale by comparison. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 03/05/2010 Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/buffett-and-berkshire-outperform-all-mutual-funds-2010-03-05?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons suggested for Buffett’s success when compared to mutual fund… Read more »