The Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s possible acquisition of the remainder of Grupo Modelo is quite likely to draw antitrust scrutiny, as the combined company would control in excess of 50% of the U.S. beer market.  While the company could divest some of its inferior brands to offload market share, the costs of doing so should...Read More

This article describes how many of the larger banks are curtailing lending and the regional banks are picking up the slack.  This is a direct result of the Dodd-Frank legislation which has had the effect of reducing lending as banks are forced to horde capital, and shut down formerly profitable business operations.  This is a...Read More

This article written by Simon Johnson is another in a long line of commentary that is not supported by facts or solutions.  Obviously there is a lot of stress directly stemming from the situation in Europe and it will effect banks.  Currently banks in the United States have some of the highest capital and liquidity...Read More

It has been very compelling to see Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) acquiring local newspapers at an accelerated rate.  Much has been made of the steep declines in the newspaper business, as most companies have been unable to adequately monetize their assets on the shift to digital distribution.  Buffett is focusing on local, community oriented...Read More

This article discusses the merits of both Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) in this current low interest rate environment.  While both stocks offer attractive dividend yields, the multiples are quite high on both securities.  If you look across the pond to Europe an investor can find much more attractive payouts and earnings yields.  Obviously there...Read More

Wells Fargo (WFC) continues to utilize its financial strength to buy attractive loan portfolios from companies that are deleveraging.  The subscription finance portfolio offers relatively high yields without taking on unseemly credit risks.  These types of acquisitions are important for diversification, and to be fight off the low net interest margins that exist in the...Read More

Unsurprisingly the market seems to realize that the ratings agencies are simply reflecting the past as opposed to the future.  They were wrong when they gave the banks AAA and AA ratings, and they are wrong with many of them rated BBB even though they are sitting on double the capital that they had in...Read More

Today’s housing news contributed to the market route but I don’t think the number were as bad as some people think.  Sales of existing homes were still up 9.6% from last year, and although they were down sequentially, inventories are low limiting sales opportunities.  It is going to be a tough slog especially with all...Read More

The disaster that is Moody’s (MCO) has finally struck again with a massive downgrade of five of the six largest U.S. banks.  These downgrades come despite some of the highest historical liquidity and capital ratios in the banks histories, and improving credit metrics.  Why Moody’s can operate in an oligopoly when their service is complete...Read More

This article discusses some of the cheap stocks that are trading at low price to book values due to the European crisis.  While I agree that the European banks look interesting, I find U.S. banks to be the better buy because they trade at similar valuations despite higher capital ratios, and less exposure to European...Read More