This morning I was reading an interesting Bloomberg article on the lack of savings being accumulated by a large percentage of the population, including those earning between $100-$150K per year. Astonishingly in the survey, close to 50% of those have less than $1,000 in savings, and about 18% have absolutely nothing. Even those who earn...Read More

After a month and a half of low volatility, where stock indexes failed to move by more than 1%, volatility has rushed back onto the scene over the last several days. Frankly, this is very normal market behavior, as periods of calm usually presage periods of volatility. One shouldn’t get complacent when things are quiet,...Read More

I’ve been writing extensively about the incredible undervaluation of the big banks relative to intrinsic value. Financials in general are by far and away the cheapest and most attractive area of the stock market.  Remember banks have been around for many centuries, and the reason for that is it’s a pretty good business to be...Read More

While banks have been our worst performers year-to-date, it is not because they aren’t performing well from a fundamental basis or improving their financial strength materially. In a stock market that is very expensive and where market participants are taking incredible risks through paying 35-40% higher than historical averages for certain sectors and companies, financials...Read More

Investing is when one buys an asset with the expectation of a profit over time, based on fundamental analysis that provides a strong rationale for this expectation. It is also known that publicly traded securities, by definition, fluctuate and can change prices violently based on short-term emotions of market participants. There is a reason why...Read More

In perusing the WSJ today, an article caught my eye. The venerable Charles Schwab has become the latest company to discontinue offering load mutual funds, where investors pay what generally is a high commission in addition to regular fund fees, as a result of the new Department of Labor law requiring brokers to act as...Read More

Berkshire Hathaway hit a 13 month high today as the recent rebound in equities has boosted confidence in the stock.  Berkshire (BRK/B) is one of the core positions at T&T Capital Management as we believe that the company is misunderstood and undervalued.  The market isn’t adequately pricing in the fact that the majority of Berkshire’s...Read More

What a brilliant investment by Howard Marks.  He is getting a 12% annual yield on $225 MM of debt and warrants to buy 4.4 million shares at $10.  Even if Diamond goes bankrupt Marks would likely make money by reorganizing the company which would still have its solid brand portfolio.  If the company thrives Marks...Read More

In very encouraging news for the municipal bond sector, the amount of insured municipal bonds jumped 60% in the first quarter of 2012 from a year ago, to $3.7 billion.  One of T&T Capital Management’s core positions is in Assured Guaranty (AGO) which is really the only bond insurer writing new business. http://seekingalpha.com/article/476071-assured-guaranty-an-undervalued-diamond-in-the-rough The only...Read More

While the headline number on durable goods was not very positive this morning, it was distorted by a decrease in government spending on aircraft.  Excluding that the numbers were up primarily on strength in the automotive sector.  While economic data has not been as positive as the data earlier in the year the economy is...Read More