Is zero percent a fair interest rate? A rare dissent against the Aleph Blog.

January 28, 2012

While reading the Aleph Blog recently, I was shocked to see an author whom I respect say that Bernanke’s policies “discriminate against the poor, and the lower middle class”, because the poor do not know how to invest, and are leaving their cash in the bank to be eroded by a negative real rate. I […]

SODA : Recent thoughts and possible stock manipulation

January 17, 2012

Recently, SODA inked a deal with KFT, in which SODA will begin selling carbonated versions of some of Kraft’s beverage brands, including the Crystal Light and Country Time Lemonade brands. The stock immediately spiked around 10%, probably prompted a rush of short covering, of which I am a tiny part of. I covered because when […]

Why I prefer CKEC to DWA

January 8, 2012

A recent article in The Atlantic asks the interesting question : Why is there a single price for movie tickets? We have different prices for airplane tickets and Broadway shows; why don’t theater owners use different ticket prices to manage demand and keep their venues packed? The article points out that the single price system […]

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DWA : A few thoughts

January 1, 2012

In my search for undervalued companies, I came across differing opinions for the value of Dreamworks (DWA). On the one hand, a professional analyst has rated DWA a sell, citing an EPS of only around $1 vs a stock price of around $16. On the other hand, two apparently independent financial bloggers, Frogskiss and Whopperinvestments, […]

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Japanese stocks and the generational struggle

October 19, 2011

A reader recently emailed me regarding a potential investment in a Japanese microcap stock, which set me thinking about Japanese stocks in general. Japanese stocks are really cheap right now. There are many Japanese stocks trading below book value. In fact, some stocks are trading below even the value of cash on their book. Yet […]

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A better alternative to Chinese tariffs

October 10, 2011

After jeopardizing the nation’s credit rating, the US Congress is hard at work again with a new idea to destroy nascent recovery, this time from the Democrat side of the aisle. The law I’m referring to is the proposed enactment of tariffs against Chinese goods in retaliation for their currency manipulation. This is one of […]

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HP and Whitman : Why I am not taking a position

September 24, 2011

Hewlett Packard, that icon of American technology, is now trading at between 5-7 times earnings. This is cheap, extremely cheap, especially for a large cap. Will new CEO Meg Whitman be able to turn things around? Sadly, I believe that the answer is : no. Whitman, of course, led another technological icon eBay from 1998-2008. […]

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TGT : An inflation hedge with a call option on growth

September 12, 2011

What a difference a couple of months makes in the ease of finding value stocks! Now that we’re awash with stocks trading at cheap valuations, what kind of stocks should one invest in? I humbly suggest Target, a stock that I think will hold its ground even in a double dip recession coupled with inflation, […]

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Sometimes, inflation IS evil

August 15, 2011

In his latest NYT column, Floyd Norris joins a rising tide of pundits in pushing for higher inflation. There are two main lines of argument for higher inflation. Firstly, the economy is too leveraged, many people have underwater mortgages and cannot spend, therefore decreasing the real debt burden will boost the economy. Secondly, deflation is […]

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How do you catch a falling knife?

August 8, 2011

I pondered this question as I drove back from work some hours ago. After months of difficulty finding bargain stocks, the incredible one day 7% drop in the stock market over the past 12 hours, combined with the decimation that occurred over the last week, has finally brought many stocks into value territory. But as […]

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