This was a great article on the new CEO of Research in Motion Thorsten Heins.  The key takeaways for RIMM is that they compete in a fast growing market and have a strong and loyal subscriber base.  The company has endured several misfires but the stock price implies a drastic decline in both revenue and...Read More

While ETF’s have become one of the most popular investment vehicles for investors, their utility as a proxy for certain markets is limited by some structural flaws.  One example is the natural gas market where it is not realistic to store natural gas in the same way that gold or silver can be stored.  This...Read More

AOL is up big this morning off of the news that they sold about 800 patents to Microsoft for over $1 billion.  This is a tremendous monetization of assets for AOL and will likely lead towards a special dividend for shareholders.  While you may have missed the opportunity in AOL I think the best investment...Read More

With interest rates so low and banks becoming more willing to lend money to corporations at least, I’d expect to see more deals like this recent acquisition of Great Wolf Resorts (WOLF) by Apollo Global Management.  I’d expect Apollo to cut the company’s SG&A expenses which seem a bit high, and to milk the cash...Read More

As usual Bruce Berkowitz and Fairholme Funds do an excellent job outlining the investment thesis for AIG which is probably our number one idea right now at TTCM.  Very few fund managers are as comfortable going against the grain as Berkowitz is, and I really admire that quality in addition to his phenomenal analysis. http://www.fairholmefunds.com/pdf/CaseStudyII.pdf...Read More

The substantial decline in real estate prices paired with increases in rental prices, have made buying a home cheaper in many cases than renting.  This is a huge factor in our investment thesis that real estate has hit the bottom.  With rates so low buying a house makes all of the sense in the world,...Read More

This article outlines some of the possibilities for Sears.  I don’t disagree with their scenarios but they don’t add much in terms of the value of the various assets.  I think many people are drastically understating the actual value of the real estate and long term leases.  Also if housing does come back and appliance...Read More

Consistent with the evolution of Sears (SHLD) the company is endeavoring to license three of their key brands to other products and retailers.  Kenmore, Craftsman, and Diehard will be sold at other stores and the brand names can be licensed for other products.  While their exclusivity drove traffic to Sears, the return on invested capital...Read More

Bill Ngyren is a respected value investor who manages in excess of $10 billion in the Oakmark Fund.  In this interview he discusses the attractiveness of financials and stocks that are buying back stock at discounts to intrinsic value.  Some of the stocks that they own are JPM, COF, WFC, AAPL, KSS, NOC, and DTV....Read More

Jamie Dimon the CEO of JP Morgan Chase came out with his shareholder letter today.  I always enjoy reading it as Dimon is honest, insightful, and outspoken.  He touches on a variety of subjects but I found most interesting his belief in buying his stock, and his rationale for doing so which I completely agree...Read More