I absolutely love this deal for both companies as Pfizer is monetizing some of their faster growing assets which haven’t been reflected in the stock’s valuation, and Nestle is acquiring a company that fits into their core business model.  I’d need to know more details about the division to provide more commentary on valuation but...Read More

This is an interesting article as several clients are suing a couple of the custodians for not doing the proper research on fund managers in which they processed paperwork for.  While regulation is problematic more often than not it seems, stricter requirements on what is allowable for self directed IRA’s probably isn’t the worst idea....Read More

It appears that Mark Zuckerberg’s philosophy of running Facebook as a one man show is still alive.  While I don’t think that he is the most qualified guy to go about making billion dollar acquisitions without seeking a second opinion, investors in Facebook shouldn’t be surprised because he has been quite open about it.  Buying...Read More

In very sad news Warren Buffett wrote to shareholders that he has been recently diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer.  Fortunately the outlook looks good and we certainly wish the best for him.  In the much smaller matter of how it impacts his company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, BRK.A), I believe that Buffett has put a...Read More

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