Having unfortunately worked in the commodities industry I can speak from experience that the vast majority of people lose money buying or selling commodities.  This is particularly accurate when brokers are charging high commission fees and are aggressively trading accounts.  Commodities are much more difficult to value than businesses so it is inherently a more...Read More

It looks like due to all of the negative press coverage and the dropping share price, Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon is agreeing to negotiate an early termination for a program that allows him to invest in new wells.  This really doesn’t seem like enough as he owes over $1 billion on these wells.  Chesapeake has...Read More

We’ve been documenting the resurgence in AIG and the absurd valuation that “Mr. Market” is placing on the stock.  Another key cog of that value is their stake in Maiden Lane III.  Once the Fed sells these securities to repay the loan the balance will belong to AIG.  This could be anywhere from $4-$7 billion...Read More

Any thoughts of the U.K. sidestepping the slowdown in Europe were officially dismissed today by the indication that the U.K is indeed back in recession.  The U.K. has done an excellent job reducing government expenditures, but like it most European countries growth is a problem. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304723304577365301140802744.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS INVOLVES RISKS. OPTIONS ARE...Read More

For those of you that have been working with me for a while, you are probably aware of my distaste for private R.E.I.T.’s and many products that are pitched by other investment advisors.  As an insider in the financial services industry I’ve long since been amazed and sadly disgusted at the lack of both knowledge...Read More

Wellpoint’s (WLP) earnings decreased but beat expectations this morning.  The company raised its full-year earnings estimate to at least $7.65 meaning that at $71.77 the stock is trading at just over 9 times earnings.  Wellpoint is a cash flow machine and management consistently buys back stock, and because the valuation is reasonable, the buybacks are...Read More

It is no surprise that Moody’s is hearing it from banks who are trying to protect their credit ratings from downgrades.  Moody’s has constantly been behind the curve and has been truly a destructive force throughout the financial crisis throwing gasoline on fires.  The ratings agencies were an unmitigated disaster rating thousands of securities AAA...Read More

Netflix Inc (NFLX) came out with earnings after the close and expectations seem to have disappointed.  Netflix had a strong 1st mover advantage in DVDs, but their dominance in streaming video is far from guaranteed.  Content costs are astronomical and many well financed competitors are showing a willingness to pay up for quality programming.  While...Read More

When investors are paying $600 billion for a consumer electronics company, they are forecasting ample growth prospects and stable margins.  Apple (AAPL) has played by its own rules which has worked out wonderfully for the company.  But by making the carriers subsidize the company’s gross margins through reducing the phone costs to consumers, the carriers...Read More

Banco Santander (SAN.MC) is in the process of monetizing some of their international assets to meet Basel III requirements, which seems to include looking at an IPO of their Mexican operations.  It will be interesting to see how much they sell, and at what multiple to earnings and book value the stock will be valued...Read More