Tesla Looks Like a Bubble, Will It Pop?

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Management Issues.

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 a bubble?
  • How should investors deal with the stock today?

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

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Financial Planning, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Management Issues.

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 and 15 percent. But the business was highly seasonal, leaving him scrambling for cash in the off-season when he needed to place orders.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: Mar 04, 2014

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/business/smallbusiness/cant-get-a-bank-loan-the-alternatives-are-expanding.html?_r=0

Questions for discussion:

  • Describe the cash flow problem facing the firm?
  • Why would banks be reluctant to offer financing?
  • What are the risks for these alternative financing firms?

Forget Sanctions; What Could Really Hurt Putin Is Investor Backlash

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Market Analysis.

Description: Western governments may not have to make good on their threat to punish Russia for invading Crimea. Investors are doing it for them.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: Mar 03, 2014

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-03/forget-sanctions-dot-what-could-really-hurt-putin-is-investor-backlash#r=nav-f-story

Questions for Discussions:

  • How was the Russian economy affected by global investment behavior?
  • Do you think these changes affected political decision-making in Russia?

Zuckerberg on WhatsApp acquisition

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Growth & Valuation.

Description: Facebook CEO, in his keynote at Mobile World Congress, says WhatsApp was a “great fit” for the social network.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Feb 24, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2014/02/24/t-zuckerberg-on-whatsapp-acquisition.cnnmoney/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • How does Mark Zukerberg justify the valuation for WhatsApp?
  • Do you believe it is a good deal for Facebook investors?
  • How can this acquisition be monetized in the future?

Credit Suisse’s ‘spy novel’ tax evasion

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

Description: Less than 5% of the Swiss bank’s thousands of accounts with over $10 billion in assets were reported to the IRS. And you won’t believe the ways in which they allegedly hid the money.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Feb 26, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/02/26/n-credit-suisse-offshore-tax-evasion-irs.cnnmoney/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • Do you believe the information demanded will be handed over to the IRS?
  • Why do you suppose Credit Suisse enabled this behavior by clients?
  • Could this conflict affect the stock value of banks involved?

Here’s How Some Small Banks are Making Big Money

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Economic Analysis, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Management Issues.

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 banks in the news headlines?
  • Why do you suppose the smaller banks are performing so much better?
  • How would you expect investors to respond?

Buffett: We’d like to own more of Heinz

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Financial Planning, Growth & Valuation, Industry Analysis, Management Issues.

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?

Institutional ownership of Apple stock reaches new 5-year low

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Growth & Valuation.

Description: Institutional ownership of large-cap stocks is currently at high levels, but there is one glaring exception to that trend: Apple, which is currently at a five-year low among hedge funds, banks, mutual funds, and other powerful types of financial institutions.

Source: Appleinsider.com

Date: Feb 26, 2014

Link: http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/02/26/institutional-ownership-of-apple-stock-reaches-new-5-year-low

Questions for Discussions:

  • Summarize the financial analysis presented in this report.
  • What significance do you attribute to institutional ownership levels of Apple or any other stock?
  • Would you be a buyer of Apple stock today?

WhatsApp with Facebook’s $19B offer?

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Financial analysis, Growth & Valuation.

Description: Facebook’s biggest deal ever. Why is Mark Zuckerberg paying $19 Billion for messaging app WhatsApp? Laurie Segall reports.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Feb 19, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2014/02/19/t-facebook-whatsapp-19-billion.cnnmoney/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • How did Facebook go about evaluating WhatsApp?
  • Do you believe it was a good deal for both sides?
  • How can this acquisition be monetized in the future?

What happened to the correction?

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

Description: Investors are shrugging off lackluster economic numbers. Stocks are once again pushing toward record highs. So what happened to that market correction everyone was talking about?

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: Feb 21, 2014

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2014/02/21/bears-hibernating-market-correction-job-growth-dow-fed-taper.cnnmoney/index.html

Questions for Discussions:

  • What does the report say about the correction and corrections in general?
  • Why does the market continue to perform well?
  • Do you see any reason for a pull back in the near future?