Europe scored a minor victory last week with the boosting of the IMF’s capital, but it is very important that the ECB and the individual governments come up with a strategy to recapitalize the banks similar to how the U.S. did with TARP.  The banks should first be able to try and raise capital on...Read More

http://seekingalpha.com/article/514921-bank-of-america-don-t-wait-for-the-robins?source=email_rt_article&ifp=0 INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS INVOLVES RISKS. OPTIONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.Read More

I’m really interested to see if Roche comes back to the table after Illumina (ILMN) rejected their $6.7 billion offer.  Illumina has an amazing track record of revenue growth in an exciting market as a maker of DNA sequencers.  While the company is profitable, these acquisition are far more about the technology and future growth,...Read More

Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/B) subsidiary Lubrizol seems to be executing quite well according the their CEO James Hambrick.  In this article Hambrick says that he plans to increase revenue by about 60%, and that $10 billion in revenue is a reasonable number for this company.  The Lubrizol acquisition was clouded by all of the drama surrounding...Read More

AIA Group Ltd (1299) continues to profitably grow in Asia.  As disposable incomes rise it is very likely that the insurance industry will experience a long and fast growth trajectory in Asia and other emerging markets.  American International Group Inc. (AIG) still owns about 19% of AIA and it will be interesting to see if...Read More

Lower natural gas prices is a tremendous boon to chemical makers and steel companies.  Once the U.S. develops an adequate energy policy focusing on utilizing more natural gas versus oil the benefits will be even more pronounced.  Companies like Dow Chemical (DOW) have the opportunity to be huge beneficiaries in reducing their cost structure through...Read More

This is a big positive as European banks need to raise capital when attractive opportunities exist.  Deutsche Bank AG (DB) has tremendous earnings power but is one of the most heavily levered institutions so raising capital is the right thing to do.  Europe did the right thing with the LTRO in ensuring ample liquidity in...Read More

This is a really disturbing story of executive greed and corporate malfeasance.  Just a couple of years ago Aubrey McCLendon levered up his personal stock holdings in his company and got crushed by margin calls when the stock dropped precipitously in the bear market.  Then the board of directors authorized an egregious pay package which...Read More

Robert Wilmers is the respected CEO of M&T Bank (MTB) which is one of the best run banks in the United States.  M&T focuses on traditional lending activities and has a sterling record in underwriting good loans.  In his most recent shareholder letter Wilmers makes many salient points, and add some rather scathing commentary on...Read More

In this article the author outlines the usual reasons why Sears (SHLD) has declined over the last several years. His comments on declining sales, lack of revenue growth, asset dispositions, and management changes are all accurate.  What people don’t realize is that one of the smartest decisions Edward Lampert made was not too invest any...Read More