Here comes the big profit lie

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

Description:  Wall Street expects corporate miracles in 2012, and that means trouble.

Source: Fortune.com Date: 01/06/2012

Link:  http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/06/profit-expectations-unrealistic/?iid=SF_F_LN

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments presented in this critique of Wall Street.
  • Do you agree with this assessment?
  • Is there anything to be done by regulators?

U.S. Stocks Funds Have Second-Worst Year as Clients Pull Out

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

Description:  U.S. stock mutual funds that invest in domestic equities had their second-worst redemptions last year as record market swings sent investors to the perceived safety of bond funds.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 01/06/2012

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-06/u-s-stocks-funds-have-second-worst-year-as-clients-pull-out.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key points presented in the report.
  • What does the report suggest about possible future economic and investing scenarios?
  • Do you agree with these assessments?

Analysis: U.S. casinos, vendors eye big online-poker stakes

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

Description:  Louis Castle has been preparing for this moment for months. Even before the Justice Department effectively gave the green light for states to legalize online gambling, the Shuffle Master Inc chief strategy officer had assembled a design team for a multiplayer gaming platform, kicked off a hiring plan, and made preparations to launch the company’s maiden interactive division this year.

Source: Reuters.com

Date: 01/06/2012

Link:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/06/us-usa-gambling-idUSTRE8051K320120106

Questions for discussion:

  • How do you think this industry and these firms will perform over the next few years?
  • Explain your thinking.

Investors flee gold and hedge funds

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Management Issues.

Description:  TrimTabs CEO Charles Biderman says money flowed out of gold and hedge funds and into bonds and bank savings accounts in 2011.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 12/29/2011

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/12/28/n_trimtabs_ceo.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments presented by Charles Biderman concerning investor behavior and the economy.
  • Do you agree with his assessments?
  • How would you approach investing in the early part of the new year?

U.S. & Brazil: 2012’s breakout stars

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Economic Analysis, Growth & Valuation, Market Analysis.

Description:  Fund managers at Fortune’s investors roundtable single out the U.S. and Brazil as the likely star performers of 2012.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 12/28/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2011/12/28/mkts_2012_breakout_stars.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you agree with the assessments presented by these fund managesr?
  • What would you advise investors do today?

Zynga in same boat as other 2011 tech IPOs

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

Description:  (MarketWatch) — As we expected, Zynga has so far not been a stock you wanted to buy on its first trading day, not if you were hoping to make a quick buck.

Source:  Marketwatch.com

Date: 12/30/2011

Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zynga-in-same-boat-as-other-2011-tech-ipos-2011-12-30?dist=beforebell

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the highlights that explain the stock price movements in this report.
  • Do you agree with this assessment?
  • What do you think of these companies going forward into 2012?

10 worst business predictions of 2011

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

Description:  From a muni meltdown to a recovery in bank stocks to a Yahoo turnaround, we were told a bunch of things would happen this year that didn’t even come close.

Source: Fortune.com   Date: 12/30/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/news/economy/1112/gallery.worst-predictions-2011.fortune/index.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Which prediction seems particularly weak, given 20-20 hindsight today?
  • What does this report suggest about the utility of any economic prediction presented by the media?

BofA’s ‘Three-Ring Circus’ Posts Worst Showing in Dow Average

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Management Issues.

Description:  Bank of America Corp. is on track to be this year’s worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as concern about mounting mortgage losses and a global economic slowdown weighed on the second-biggest U.S. lender.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 12/30/2011

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-30/bofa-s-three-ring-circus-posts-worst-showing-in-dow-average.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key points presented in the report.
  • Is there a solution to the problems cited that would revive investor confidence in these firms?

Google Backing Israel Entrepreneurs Amid Funding Gap

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

Description:  The Google Inc. (GOOG) executive with his bright yellow vest was impossible to miss in the middle of the Israeli startup owners seeking cash in a rusty boathouse at Tel Aviv’s Jaffa port.

Source:  Bloomberg.com

Date: 12/29/2011

Link:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-29/google-backs-israeli-startups-as-local-financing-hits-12-year-low-tech.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Describe the way in which venture capital investors find Israeli start-ups.
  • What is the difference in risk levels between early start-ups and those that have moved forward after 3 or 4 years?

Sachs: How Reaganomics toppled the U.S.

Posted by & filed under Economic Analysis, Governments & Regulators, Growth & Valuation, Management Issues.

Description:  Economist Jeffrey Sachs says the policies of the Reagan administration led to the destruction of the American middle class.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 12/23/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/12/22/n_opinion_jeff_sachs.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments presented by Jeffrey Sachs favoring greater government involvement in the economy.
  • What are the items you agree with and those you do not?
  • If government is to become more involved in the economy, how would you prefer to see it participate?
  • How could these changes affect stock and bond markets?