• Headline of the Day
    Posted by on November 2nd, 2007 at 8:06 am

    From Forbes:

    Somehow Exxon Loses Money

    Forbes is using “loses” in the widest possible sense. In this case, it refers to a gain of $9.4 billion.

  • Best Stocks of the Past Decade
    Posted by on November 1st, 2007 at 10:41 am

    MarketWatch lists the best-performing stocks of the last decade.
    Company……………………Cumulative gain (%)
    Chico’s FAS (CHS)…………..3,790.889
    Apple (AAPL)………………….3,504.444
    Frontier Oil (FTO)…………….2,367.556
    Oshkosh Truck (OSK)……….2,153.455
    Clean Harbors (CLHB)………1,995.059
    Echostar (DISH)………………1,870.947
    Gilead Sciences (GILD)……..1,816.260
    American Eagle (AEO)………1,737.162
    Holly Corp. (HOC)…………….1,706.189
    XTO Energy (XTO)…………….1,629.161
    What would you have thought if someone told you to load up on Oshkosh Truck (OSK) ten years ago?

  • Sign of a Top?
    Posted by on November 1st, 2007 at 10:37 am

    Peking roast duck chain kicks off IPO
    Hmmm. I better buy it just in case it goes up.

  • Jimmy Cayne’s Priorities
    Posted by on November 1st, 2007 at 10:25 am

    Found buried within a WSJ article on Bear Stearns’ CEO Jimmy Cayne:

    Attendees say Mr. Cayne has sometimes smoked marijuana at the end of the day during bridge tournaments. He also has used pot in more private settings, according to people who say they witnessed him doing so or participated with him.

    C’mon Rupert. This stuff should lead.
    (Hat Tip: Joe Weisenthal)

  • Banking Industry On Hard Times
    Posted by on October 31st, 2007 at 2:31 pm

    The Onion:

    The banking industry is being hit hard by the subprime loan collapse. Bank of America laid off 3,000 workers and Merrill Lynch posted its first quarterly loss in six years. What are banks doing to make up the loses?
    Increasing ATM fees to $601.95
    Coffee temperature turned way down
    Launching paid subscription websites featuring hilarious and/or deadly bank robbery videos
    Limiting branch hours to noon until 12:15
    Taking anything valuable from safe deposit boxes that appear not to have been opened in a while
    For fee, will open cash vaults for money-bathing purposes
    Charging more for crisp bills
    So long as CEOs continuing to make shitloads, not too much

  • Fed Cuts by 0.25%
    Posted by on October 31st, 2007 at 2:01 pm

    Here’s the statement:

    The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 4-1/2 percent.
    Economic growth was solid in the third quarter, and strains in financial markets have eased somewhat on balance. However, the pace of economic expansion will likely slow in the near term, partly reflecting the intensification of the housing correction. Today’s action, combined with the policy action taken in September, should help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy that might otherwise arise from the disruptions in financial markets and promote moderate growth over time.
    Readings on core inflation have improved modestly this year, but recent increases in energy and commodity prices, among other factors, may put renewed upward pressure on inflation. In this context, the Committee judges that some inflation risks remain, and it will continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.
    The Committee judges that, after this action, the upside risks to inflation roughly balance the downside risks to growth. The Committee will continue to assess the effects of financial and other developments on economic prospects and will act as needed to foster price stability and sustainable economic growth.
    Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; Timothy F. Geithner, Vice Chairman; Charles L. Evans; Donald L. Kohn; Randall S. Kroszner;
    Frederic S. Mishkin; William Poole; Eric S. Rosengren; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against was Thomas M. Hoenig, who preferred no change in the federal funds rate at this meeting.
    In a related action, the Board of Governors unanimously approved a 25-basis-point decrease in the discount rate to 5 percent. In taking this action, the Board approved the requests submitted by the Boards of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco.

  • Dell’s Earnings Restatement
    Posted by on October 31st, 2007 at 12:15 pm

    Dell (DELL) has finally restated its earnings for the past few years. As you can see blow, the difference between the restatement and the original isn’t very much. Profits for FY ’06 were revised a little higher and the years before that were a little lower.
    Original

    Year………Sales……..Oper. Income…..EPS
    2003………$35,404………$2,844………..$0.80
    2004………$41,444………$3,544………..$1.01
    2005………$49,205………$4,254………..$1.18
    2006………$55,908………$4,347………..$1.46
    2007………$57,420………$3,070………..$1.14

    Updated

    Year………Sales……..Oper. Income…..EPS
    2003………$35,262………$2,738………..$0.77
    2004………$41,327………$3,525………..$1.00
    2005………$49,121………$4,206………..$1.18
    2006………$55,788………$4,382………..$1.47
    2007………$57,420………$3,070………..$1.14

    Note that Dell’s fiscal year ends in late-January or early February so we’re currently in FY ’08.
    Two things stand out. First, is the large amount of shares that Dell has bought back. In FY ’07, there were 14% fewer diluted shares than there were in FY ’03.
    The other is the decline and fall of Dell’s operating margins. This is the key stat to watch in Dell. Not too long ago, Dell’s operating margins were around 11%. Today, they’re around 6%. In other words, you sell twice as much just to stand still.

  • Slate to Launch Business Site
    Posted by on October 31st, 2007 at 10:40 am

    The New York Observer has the details:

    Slate deputy editor David Plotz told The Observer he believes there’s a clear opening for Slate’s distinctive editorial voice. He argued that while political journalism has diversified with the arrival of blogs and other independent sites, business journalism is “still dominated by the big brands. We think there’s an opening for a really smart, analytical, opinionated Web site that could be Webby and fast and agile.”
    Mr. Plotz cautioned that the new project is still awaiting final authorization from Post company executives. Assuming it goes forward, it will likely capitalize on the Slate brand with a logo at the top of the home page. He would not comment on the projected budget for the site.
    According to a source at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the publishers of Slate, the new site, which does not yet have a name, could go live as early as next summer. It was born in part out of the recent launch of Slate’s newly branded video Web site, SlateV, which Post executives are pleased with. Plans call for it to follow the same basic staffing model that has helped make Slate a success—using a few editors and assistants to run the operation, while relying for content mostly on freelancers.
    No one’s been hired yet. According to a different source, Slate editors offered the top job to Elizabeth Spiers, the founding editor of both Gawker and the business blog DealBreaker, who now writes for New York magazine, but were turned down. They’ve since asked both Ms. Spiers and Daniel Gross, Slate’s regular business columnist, among others, to write for the site.

  • Today’s GDP Report
    Posted by on October 31st, 2007 at 10:02 am

    Today’s report on GDP growth for the third-quarter was a surprisingly strong 3.9%. This is nearly identical to the 3.8% for the second quarter. My only warning is that these numbers are subject to endless revisions.
    image541.png
    It’s very likely that nominal GDP for 2007 will be over 25% more than 2003.
    Update: BR calls BS.

  • Fair Isaac’s Earnings
    Posted by on October 31st, 2007 at 9:46 am

    It’s no secret that Fair Isaac (FIC) has been a disappointment this year. Yesterday’s earnings report appears to be a small bright spot.

    Fair Isaac Corp.’s profit climbed 28 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, as the business advisory reserved much less to pay taxes, the company said Tuesday.
    Fair Isaac earned $28.2 million, or 52 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with profit of $22.1 million, or 35 cents per share, in the fourth quarter last year.
    Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit of 41 cents per share.
    Revenue was roughly flat at $207.2 million, versus analysts’ expectations for $201 million.
    Fair Isaac sells financial advice and business analysis. The primary difference between the fourth quarter and the comparable period a year earlier was the provision for income taxes. That provision was $2.8 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $11 million in the fourth quarter last year.

    The stock is doing well this morning, but it still has a long way to go to make up for its poor performance this year.