American dream still home ownership

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

Description: KB Home CEO Jeffrey Mezger says recovery is taking place in California and Texas and foreclosed homes are finding buyers. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 02/18/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/02/17/n_kb_home_lookahead.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  Do you agree with the analysis presented in this report? How would investors be expected to react to the forecasts presented for… Read more »

Buffett Says Pricing Power Beats Good Management When Evaluating Companies

Posted by & filed under Management Issues.

Description:  Warren Buffett, the billionaire chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said he rates businesses on their ability to raise prices and sometimes doesn’t even consider the people in charge. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 02/18/2011 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-18/buffett-says-pricing-power-more-important-than-good-management.html Questions for discussion:   What does Warren Buffet have to say about the importance of management and the ability… Read more »

NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse to merge

Posted by & filed under Financial analysis.

Description: Deutsche Boerse AG on Tuesday unveiled a widely expected deal to pay about $9.5 billion to acquire NYSE Euronext, a transaction that would create an exchange powerhouse with annual revenue of $5.4 billion. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 02/15/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nyse-euronext-deutsche-boerse-to-merge-2011-02-15?siteid=nwtwk Questions for discussion:  Do you believe there are any drawbacks to this deal for investors… Read more »

Here comes the dot-com boom 2.0

Posted by & filed under Growth & Valuation.

Description:   Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. Zynga. Groupon. LivingSocial. Will those be the Google Inc. (GOOG 630.08, +4.82, +0.77%) , eBay Inc.(EBAY 34.53, -0.16, -0.46%) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN 186.50, -1.26, -0.67%) of the next big wave of Internet companies going public, which appears to be happening as we speak? Source:  Marketwatch.com   Date: 02/18/2011 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-comes-the-dot-com-boom-20-2011-02-18?siteid=nwtwk… Read more »

Facebook’s $50,000 factory jobs

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

Description: Facebook is opening a data center in April in Prineville, Oregon, and has promised to create jobs in exchange for tax breaks. Source:  CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 02/11/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/02/11/t-facebook-oregon-data-jobs.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the financial structure of this investment by Facebook from the firm’s point of view and then from the other… Read more »

Nokia and Microsoft hook up

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Industry Analysis.

Description: The software and phone giants have teamed together to compete in the Smartphone market against Apple and other rivals. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 02/11/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/02/11/n_nokia_ms_quest.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion:  Do you believe this collaborative effort will prove to be successful? How can this arrangement help cash flow and budgeting concerns for Nokia?… Read more »

U.S. housing market going private

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Industry Analysis.

Description: Let the great unwind begin. A report released by the Obama administration on Friday laid out a plan to reform the American housing finance market, saying the government should be more focused on oversight and consumer protection rather than direct involvement. Source: BNN.com – video report Date: 02/11/2011 Link:  http://www.bnn.ca/News/2011/2/11/US-housing-market-going-private.aspx Questions for discussion:  Summarize… Read more »

Banks slashed small business lending by $43 billion

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

Description:  The numbers back up what small business owners have been saying for two years: Main Street suffered a brutal credit crunch. Source:  CNNMoney.com Date: 02/11/2011 Link:  http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/11/smallbusiness/small_business_lending_drop/index.htm Questions for discussion:  Do you believe there was a credit crunch for small business? How differently were bigger businesses treated by the banks? How much affect do… Read more »

Borders Nearing Bankruptcy Filing

Posted by & filed under Financial analysis.

Description: Borders Group Inc. is in the final stages of preparing a bankruptcy filing after failing to persuade publishers and others to go along with a plan to refinance the troubled bookstore chain’s debt. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 02/12/2011 Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704329104576138353865644420.html?mod=MKTW Questions for discussion:  What is Borders’ value today? Make the case for a merger with another firm as… Read more »