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

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