Description: “I’m going to start with a model of a perfectly safe 100 percent reserve economy,” said Robert Lucas, “…which looks better and better to me.” Lucas, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at the University of Chicago, was speaking two weeks ago at a panel in San Diego to mark the 100th anniversary of the Federal… Read more »
Posts By: Brahm Canzer
Forget a broker, invest based on the Super Bowl results
Description: In fewer than two weeks, the two best teams in the National Football League will face off in New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII. The winning team will receive the Lombardi Trophy, along with rings, hats, T-shirts and perhaps even a victory parade in its home city.But could the outcome also tell investors what’s… Read more »
Lululemon: Downward facing stock
Description: Despite continued growth, investors are punishing Lululemon stock on worse-than-expected guidance. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Jan 15, 2013 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2013/01/15/investing-buzz-lululemon.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Why has the stock price declined recently? Summarize the financial analysis presented in the report. Why would some investors believe there remains much more growth in the future for… Read more »
Ali Velshi debunks debt ceiling myths
Description: CNN’s Ali Velshi (@alivelshi) explains the how the debt ceiling works, and why we can’t afford another Congressional stand-off. Source: CNNMoney.com.com – video report Date: Jan 11, 2013 Link: http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/01/11/ym-debt-ceiling-congress-washington.cnn Questions for Discussions: What is the debt ceiling? What will happen to interest rates if the debt ceiling is not raised? How should investors… Read more »
Are Investors Ready to Forgive and Forget?
Description: Waiting for: Guffman … Godot … a girl like you. Such anticipations pale in comparison with waiting for the individual investor to return to a stock market that’s broken their heart one too many times over 13 years.But what’s this? There are tentative signs that the era of “equity abandonment,” as the Street quasi-clinically… Read more »
Harry Winston to Use Swatch Cash for Diamonds Purchases
Description: Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (HW)’s $1 billion sale of a luxury unit to Swatch Group AG (UHR) provides the cash to invest more in diamond mining, a business that last year was more than twice as profitable as jewelry. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Jan 15, 2013 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-15/harry-winston-to-use-swatch-cash-for-diamonds-purchases.html Questions for Discussions: Explain the logic of… Read more »
Dell buyout talks advance, Silver Lake lines up banks-sources
Description: Talks to take Dell Inc private are at an advanced stage with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, propelling shares of the No. 3 computer maker 7 percent higher. Source: Reuters.com Date: Jan 16, 2013 Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/16/us-dell-deal-idUSBRE90E0XK20130116 Questions for Discussions: Explain… Read more »
No showtime at Apollo’s U. of Phoenix
Description: Shares of for profit education owners sank after University of Phoenix owner Apollo reported a decline in enrollment. Source: CNNMoney.com.com – video report Date: Jan 09, 2013 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2013/01/09/investing-education-phoenix-apollo.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Why has Apollo’s stock fallen recently? Explain their business model and whether you think it is sustainable? Would you be an investor… Read more »
The battle over Herbalife
Description: An inside look at Herbalife’s business model and the $1 billion bet hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has against it. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Jan 11, 2013 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/01/11/n-herbalife-bill-ackman-queens.cnnmoney/ Questions for Discussions: Compare the organizational structure of Herbalife to a pyramid selling organization. Do you believe Herbalife is a conventional distributor of… Read more »
What’s at the Center of the Debate Over Herbalife
Description: In the wake of the bombshell announcement that Daniel S. Loeb’s Third Point has taken an 8.9 percent stake in Herbalife after the company’s shares were shorted by William A. Ackman of Pershing Square, the question is: Which very rich hedge fund manager is right? Source: NYTimes.com Date: Jan 10, 2013 Link: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/whats-at-the-center-of-the-debate-over-herbalife/?ref=business Questions… Read more »
