Tesla Looks Like a Bubble, Will It Pop?

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Description: After years of being underappreciated by Wall Street, financial analysis’s are predicting ludicrous growth rates for Elon Musk’s electric car company. Source: TheDailyBeast.com Date: Mar 01, 2014 Link: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/01/tesla-looks-like-a-bubble-will-it-pop.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the financial history of the firm. Why do you think it has performed so well? Do you believe Tesla looks like… Read more »

Can’t Get a Bank Loan? The Alternatives Are Expanding

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Description: Ivan Rincon’s products may have been skimpy, but he was convinced his growth prospects were not. Orchid Boutique, the online swimwear shop he founded six years ago in Miami with his wife, Mayra, was approaching $3 million in annual sales. It had been profitable since 2010, he said, with margins that ran between 10… Read more »

Here’s How Some Small Banks are Making Big Money

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Description: On today’s “Insight & Action,” Bloomberg’s Adam Johnson looks at the health of small banks on Bloomberg Television’s “Lunch Money.” Source: Bloomberg.com – video report Date: Feb 28, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-02-28/here-s-how-some-small-banks-are-making-big-money#r=nav-f-video Questions for discussion: What does this report say about the financial status of small US banks in comparison to the larger Wall Street… Read more »

Buffett: We’d like to own more of Heinz

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Description: Warren Buffett may end up putting more money into ketchup maker Heinz. Source: Fortune.com Date: Feb 28, 2014 Link: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2014/03/01/buffett-heinz/ Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights presented in this report. Do you think the investment in Heinz was a good one? Would you be buying more?

Fed transcripts: Bernanke chose to let Lehman fail

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Description: FORTUNE — September 15, 2008 was a watershed moment for the financial crisis that consigned much of the world to an economic malaise from which we are still recovering. That day, government officials hastily arranged a sale of investment bank Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, while another bank — Lehman Brothers — was… Read more »

Gold-miner stock rally has just begun

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Description: Less than two months into the year, gold miners have recouped more than a third of what they lost last year, and the rally may still have a lot more room to run. Source: Marketwatch.com Date: Feb 21, 2014 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-miners-stock-rally-has-just-begun-2014-02-21?dist=countdown Questions for Discussions: Summarize the financial analysis presented for gold and gold stocks…. Read more »

World’s hottest diamond markets

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Description: De Beers CEO Phillipe Mellier says the hottest diamond markets in the world are the U.S. and China. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Feb 14, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/02/14/wbt-de-beers-group-ceo-phillipe-mellier-diamond-industry-valentines-day.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: What is the state of the diamond market and De Beers in particular? Would you be an investor is the industry?

Why Did Apple Buy Back $14B of Stock?

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Description: Bloomberg’s Paul Sweeney reports on Apple’s stock buyback on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg) Source: Bloomberg.com – video report Date: Feb 07, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2014-02-07/why-did-apple-buy-14b-of-its-own-stock#r=nav-f-video Questions for Discussions: Summarize the interpretations of Apple’s decisions to buy back shares. What do growth investors prefer to see at tech companies? Why do you think Apple… Read more »

Obama’s Keystone Options Shrink as State Downplays Impact

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Description: President Barack Obama is in no hurry to decide whether construction of TransCanada Corp.’s $5.4 billion Keystone XL pipeline serves U.S. national interests, the next step in measuring its worthiness. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Jan 31, 2014 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-31/obama-s-keystone-options-shrink-as-state-downplays-impact.html Questions for Discussions: Summarize the state of affairs surrounding the Keystone project to date. Why is… Read more »

Railroads look at liquefied natural gas to power locomotives

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Description: The diesel-burning locomotive, the workhorse of American railroads since World War II, will soon begin burning natural gas — a potentially historic shift that could cut fuel costs, reduce pollution and strengthen the advantage railroads hold over trucks in long-haul shipping. Source: Star-telegram.com Date: Jan 25, 2014 Link: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/25/5511561/railroads-look-at-liqufied-natural.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy Questions for Discussions: Do you… Read more »