Should Europe pool its debt?

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

Description:  CNN’s Nina Dos Santos explores one proposed solution to Europe’s economic crisis, pooling the European Union’s $8.6 trillion in debt.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 11/23/2011

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/11/23/n_euro_bonds_explained.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

  • Explain what has happened to European bond rates?
  • Why would pooling the market make sense?
  • Do you believe this strategy is appropriate at this time?
  • Who would benefit and who would not from this strategy?
  • What do you think will happen?

4 tips for trading stocks in a volatile market

Posted by & filed under Market Analysis.

Description: How to avoid crowds and carve a niche to create success

Source:  Marketwatch.com

Date: 11/25/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-tips-for-trading-stocks-in-a-volatile-market-2011-11-25

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the strategies presented in the report.
  • Do you agree with these suggestions?
  • How influential is the “fear index” on investing decisions?

Can the Jobs-and-Income Crisis End Well?

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

Description:  Some economists believe that today’s grinding unemployment and slow growth are masking the transition to a vibrant digital economy

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 11/25/2011

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/finance/can-the-jobsandincome-crisis-end-well-11252011.html

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the arguments about the current economic malaise.
  • What is your view of the situation and how do you think things will develop over the next 20 years?
  • How should governments, businesses and individuals deal with this period, from  a financial planning point of view?

Pricing the future: How we value derivatives

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

Description:  Our Weekly Read column features Fortune staffers’ and contributors’ takes on recently published books about the business world and beyond. We’ve invited the entire Fortune family — from our writers and editors to our photo editors and designers — to weigh in on books of their choosing based on their individual tastes or curiosities. In this installment, senior editor-at-large Geoff Colvin reviews Pricing the Future: Finance, Physics, and the 300-Year Journey to the Black-Scholes Equation, George G. Szpiro’s account of how derivatives get priced.

Source:  Fortune.com

Date: 11/25/2011

Link:  http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/25/pricing-future-szpiro-derivatives/?iid=SF_F_LN

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key points presented in the review.

Will There Be A Santa Claus Rally?

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

Description:  LPL Financial’s chief market strategist, Jeffrey Kleintop gives an outlook and an investing strategy for the end of the year, including whether he expects a Santa Claus rally. Photo: Reuters.

Source: Marketwatch.com – video report

Date: 11/18/2011

Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/will-there-be-a-santa-claus-rally/9119F9FC-8085-499B-9754-DC0AEFD95162

Questions for discussion:

  • Do you think there will be a Santa Claus rally?
  • Summarize the key points in this report supporting this view.

Got Volatility? Build a Buffett-Style Portfolio

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

Description:     Market volatility calls for a disciplined strategy, says Eric Schoenstein, a portfolio manager with the Jensen Quality Growth Fund, who invests in the type of stable, cash-rich companies that Warren Buffett favors. Interview with MarketWatch’s Jonathan Burton.

Source: Marketwatch.com – video report

Date: 11/18/2011

Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/got-volatility-build-a-buffett-style-portfolio/1E7CDC56-9E0A-4107-8297-4A09C7F2F137

Questions for discussion:

  • What does Eric Schoenstein suggest is the Buffett model for selecting investments?
  • Do you believe this strategy is appropriate at this time?

What Buffett’s IBM buy says about his next move

Posted by & filed under Company Analysis, Industry Analysis.

Description: Screening for undervalued stocks the Oracle of Omaha would like

Source:  Marketwatch.com

Date: 11/18/2011

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-buffetts-ibm-buy-says-about-his-next-move-2011-11-18

Questions for discussion:

  • How is Warren Buffetts’ investment in IBM being interpreted?
  • How do you think it will influence investors’ perceptions of IBM?

Goldman Sachs Names 261 Managing Directors, Fewest Since 2008

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

Description:  Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the fifth- biggest U.S. bank by assets, named the smallest group of new managing directors since 2008 as the firm cuts jobs and grapples with declining revenue.

Source: Businessweek.com

Date: 11/19/2011

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-19/goldman-sachs-names-261-managing-directors-fewest-since-2008.html

Questions for discussion:

  • What does this report suggest to you about the thinking on managing directors and their compensation?

It’s time to ban insider trading by Congress

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

Description:  Congress is finally shamed into fixing a long-standing scandal.

Source:  Fortune.com

Date: 11/18/2011

Link:  http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/18/insider-trading-congress/?iid=SF_F_River

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the key points presented in the report.
  • Do you think the laws will be changed?

Yelp Eyes $2 Billion IPO

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

Description:  Yelp, the online review website, has picked Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to lead an initial public offering that could value the company at up to $2 billion. Geoffrey Fowler has details on The News Hub.

Source: Marketwatch.com – video report

Date: 11/08/2011

Link:  http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/yelp-eyes-2-billion-ipo/B968A023-4669-4165-B190-30611D4CEC97

Questions for discussion:

  • Summarize the reasons presented for the IPO.
  • Do you think the business model is viable against other similar competitors?
  • How does Yelp’s IPO offer compare to Groupon and Linked-In in terms of risk and potential reward?
  • Would you be a buyer of the IPO?