Description:  Throughout the extraordinary surge in Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s share price, a persistent question has lingered: Why is the stock still so cheap? One overlooked answer may be that Apple’s accounting isn’t as conservative as it used to be. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 02/16/2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-17/apple-s-stock-may-not-be-as-cheap-as-it-looks-jonathan-weil.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights of the report. Do you… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Industry Analysis
Auto Makers Target Indonesia for Expansion
Description: Indonesia is being embraced as a major expansion market for car manufacturers, but will the country’s infrastructure bottlenecks hinder their progress? WSJ’s Deborah Kan discusses with Eric Bellman. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 02/10/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/auto-makers-target-indonesia-for-expansion/9A237207-68FA-4E09-B687-3D0E83588FE6 Questions for discussion: Describe the connection between corporate investing and government investing in infrastructure? What are the… Read more »
McDonald’s shows healthy sales growth in U.S. and abroad
Description: McDonald’s (MCD) said Wednesday that a key revenue figure climbed 6.7% in January as U.S. customers spent more on breakfast, beverages and its new Chicken McBites. Source: USAToday.com Date: 02/08/2012 Link: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-02-08/mcdonalds-january-sales/53007014/1 Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights of the report. Do you think McDonald’s strategy for growth will be attractive to investors?
Investing in Foreclosures: How One Company Does It
Description: Buying foreclosures to turn them into rental properties is tricky business. Mack Companies, a Chicago real-estate firm, invests in about one out of every 40 homes it inspects. MarketWatch’s Amy Hoak looks at why some make the cut and others don’t. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 02/03/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/investing-in-foreclosures-how-one-company-does-it/08159368-9CE4-4D5C-BE15-1DD13BC08DF8 Questions for discussion: Describe… Read more »
U.S. Stocks Rise a Fifth Week on Employment, Manufacturing Data
Description: U.S. stocks rose, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index a fifth straight weekly advance, after reports showed employment in the world’s largest economy topped forecasts and global manufacturing is strengthening. Source: Businessweek.com Date: 02/04/2012 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-04/u-s-stocks-rise-a-fifth-week-on-employment-manufacturing-data.html Questions for discussion: Why have stocks moved up? Do you think this is the beginning of a… Read more »
Don’t write bank stocks a big check
Description:Â Financial sector shows investors the money, but caution is advised Source: Marketwatch.com Date: 02/03/2012 Link:Â http://www.marketwatch.com/story/financial-stocks-show-investors-the-money-2012-02-03 Questions for discussion: Summarize the highlights of the report. Do you agree with these views?
Weidner: There’s a Rotten Side to Apple’s Success
Description: Marketwatch’s David Weidner makes a stop on Mean Street to point out that amid all of Apple’s recently reported financial successes, there is a familiar dark side to all the good news. Photo: Reuters. Source: Marketwatch.com – video report Date: 01/26/2012 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/weidner-there-a-rotten-side-to-apple-success/595D3920-BA75-44B6-9C8D-E33B59F12A13 Questions for discussion: Summarize the criticisms levied against Apple? Are they… Read more »
At Credit Suisse, Toxic Bonuses Turn into Gold
Description:Â At the depths of the financial crisis, senior bankers at Credit Suisse Group (CS) received $5.05 billion of junk-grade loans and commercial-mortgage-backed bonds as part of their annual bonuses. Those assets, considered long-shot investments when they were transferred to an internal employee fund in late 2008, offered the Swiss investment bank a way to… Read more »
Bankers at Davos Humbler as Austerity Hits
Description: Leaders of the world’s biggest banks touted the virtues of austerity at the World Economic Forum in Davos — for themselves, not just for over-indebted governments. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 01/26/2012 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/incredible-shrinking-bankers-at-davos-humbler-as-austerity-hits.html Questions for discussion: According to the report, what are the key messages being sent to the banking industry? How do you think… Read more »
How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work
Description: When Barack Obama joined Silicon Valley’s top luminaries for dinner in California last February, each guest was asked to come with a question for the president. But as Steven P. Jobs of Apple spoke,President Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: what would it take to make iPhones in the United States? Source: … Read more »
