Jun 8, 2011 | Capital Allocation, Corporate Management, Investment Idea, Investment Process, Valuation
Microsoft (MSFT) is as out of favor as out of favor can get. Apple adds “i” to the word “Cloud,” talks about it at a developer conference, and Steve Jobs is on the front page of the Financial Times. Microsoft releases the fastest selling operating system of all time...
Oct 1, 2010 | Diversification, Investment Process, Macro Investing, Portfolio Management, Valuation
A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights the macro-driven nature of today’s stock market. In it, long-time value investors lament the current environment where stocks appear to trade in unison based on unemployment data or European bank stress test results. ...
Jun 1, 2010 | Economics, Inflation/Deflation
While the increasing role of transfer payments to shore up personal income and stabilize consumer spending has long been recognized by the more circumspect economic observers throughout the recent recession and “recovery,” the observation has now gone main...
Mar 17, 2010 | Economics, Inflation/Deflation
On Monday, a bipartisan group of 130 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urging the agencies to use “all available resources” to end what they view as damaging currency...
Mar 5, 2010 | Corporate Management, Economics, Investment Process, Portfolio Management
This past Saturday, Warren Buffett released Berkshire Hathaway’s 2009 annual report and his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders.* The last Friday in February has become like Christmas Eve for value investors the world over. A night of tossing and turning is...
Dec 31, 2009 | Economics, Inflation/Deflation, Valuation
Yesterday’s Financial Times featured an analysis by Lindsay Whipp titled “A gloomy anniversary for the Nikkei.” Most investors already know the punchline: The Nikkei, Japan’s primary stock market index, reached a peak of 39,000 twenty years...
Nov 17, 2009 | Behavioral Finance, Economics, Investment Process
In September, (seemingly perma) bear Jim Grant announced his bullish turn in the Wall Street Journal. He summarized the core of his argument by quoting Michael T. Darda, chief economist of MKM Partners. We repeat the quote here: “The most important...
Oct 22, 2009 | Economics, Portfolio Management
David Einhorn is a value investor with an excellent track record and a willingness to take controversial stands against powerful interests (that have frequently proven correct). He is also willing to engage in public critique of his own investment process, which...
Sep 22, 2009 | Behavioral Finance, Efficent-Market Hypothesis, Valuation
The May/June edition of the CFA Institute’s Financial Analysts Journal features the article, “Should Good Stocks Have High Prices or High Returns?” Not withstanding the ambiguity of the term “good,” the logical answer to the question is...
Aug 28, 2009 | Diversification
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal ran an article, Focused Funds Find Less Can Be More, highlighting the value of a concentrated investment strategy. It is a good, short article on the topic, but it misses an important point about diversification. The author...
