Citigroup’s strong 1st quarter seems to have changed the tune of Meredith Whitney slightly as she changed her rating to “hold” from “underperform.”  Last month she was saying that Citigroup had no earnings power which is laughable if you have even the most juvenile ability to read financial statements.  Perhaps when Citigroup is at $50...Read More

Assured Guaranty (AGO) does a wonderful job replying to Moody’s (MCO) recent announcement that they are evaluating a potential downgrade of the bond insurance company.  In the presentation the company makes a variety of salient points relating to the record of profitability under unprecedented market stress, to the continuing ability to write higher margin business...Read More

We’ve been documenting the drastic decline in natural gas prices which is having really large consequences in changing the infrastructure of North America’s energy sector.  High oil prices both provide the impetus for more natural gas development to take advantage of the cheaper relative pricing, in addition to keeping natural gas prices low as drillers...Read More

Coca-Cola (KO) came out with really impressive earnings today as higher prices and volume resulted in strong growth.  Coca-Cola’s leadership has been exceptional in a very difficult economic environment and their beverages business has really been eating Pepsi’s lunch.  No company matches Coca-Cola when it comes to an international presence and their are still attractive...Read More

It’s amazing to see the overreaction to daily swings in Apple’s (AAPL) stock price.  After the huge gains that the stock has seen, a 10% pullback is not anything to be too worried about.  I’m on record of not being overly bullish on AAPL moving forward as I worry about their gross margins, and I...Read More

It is not surprising that Spain is back in a recession that I really don’t think that they ever got out of in the first place.  It is very important for the Spanish government to stay vigilant and unified in meeting their goals, and for European policymakers to help Spain as long as they stay...Read More

Doug Kass seems to be on the same page as us at T&T Capital Management with his thesis that investors want to be exposed to the banks that have exposure to real estate to play the rebound in prices and demand.  He also sees the tremendous value that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/B) offers at current prices....Read More

USB continues to operate really well.  It is a really good indicator of traditional banking as they offer a very straightforward U.S. centric business model.  While I’d much rather own USB than 95% of banks out there, the valuation isn’t quite as attractive as the large money center banks so if it came down I’d...Read More