Description: Shares of high-dividend-yielding companies are trading near the lowest level in almost three years relative to the market, as the prospect of higher interest rates makes these stocks less attractive to investors. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: Mar 14, 2014 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-14/dividend-stocks-fall-on-rising-rate-forecast-ecopulse.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the reasons for investor rotation into and out of these… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Debt
Puerto Rico Gets a Break With Rates on Its Bonds
Description: Puerto Rico is expected to sell roughly $3 billion in bonds on Tuesday at interest rates that are considerably lower than many investors in the municipal market had expected, providing a rare bright spot for the cash-squeezed island. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Mar 10, 2014 Link: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/puerto-rico-gets-a-break-with-rates-on-its-bonds/?ref=economy Questions for discussion: What are the concerns to… Read more »
Tesla Looks Like a Bubble, Will It Pop?
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
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 »
Forget Sanctions; What Could Really Hurt Putin Is Investor Backlash
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?
Here’s How Some Small Banks are Making Big Money
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
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
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 »
The European Debt Crisis Visualized
Description: At the heart of the European debt crisis is the euro, the currency that ties together 17 countries in an intimate manner. So when one country teeters on the brink of financial collapse, the entire continent is at risk. How did such a flawed system come to be? Bloomberg Television and Jonathan Jarvis present… Read more »
Why my bank didn’t take TARP
Description: CEO of New York Community Bancorp Joseph Ficalora discusses the financial crisis and how the banking industry has changed since. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Nov 26, 2013 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2013/11/26/investing-new-york-community-bank-tarp-banking.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: Why did some banks not take TARP? What does this report suggest about the risks taken by bank managers?
