Chicks on the Street
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 22nd, 2007 at 11:47 am

From an actual academic study:

We study the relation between gender and job performance among brokerage firm equity analysts. Women’s representation in analyst positions drops from 16% in 1995 to 13% in 2005. We find women cover roughly 9 stocks on average compared to 10 for men. Women’s earnings estimates tend to be less accurate. After controlling for forecast characteristics, the difference in accuracy is roughly equivalent to four years of experience. Despite reduced coverage and lower forecast accuracy, we find women are significantly more likely to be designated as All-Stars, which suggests they outperform at other aspects of the job such as client service.

(Pictured is Hetty Green.)

The Best Airline You’ve Never Heard Of
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 am

Dublin-based Ryanair (RYAAY) is revolutionizing air travel in Europe. They’ve borrowed their business model from Southwest Airlines (LUV), and they’re having the same kind of success.
What’s their base rate for a round-trip flight from London to Pisa? One euro cent. Of course, there are some setbacks.

Not everyone is happy with Europeans’ unchecked mobility. People in countries newly served by budget airlines complain that British bachelor and bachelorette parties are taking over Eastern European cities such as Riga.
European Weekends, a Nottingham-based events coordinator, offers one package that features a “Soviet nurse banquet,” with prices starting at 55 pounds ($108) per person.
The cost covers five shots of vodka, five female entertainers, a “lesbian nurse show” and a meal.
“I know about guys who go to Prague for a weekend of cheap beer, prostitutes and fighting,” Vertovec says. “People there really complain about it — and that’s due to low-cost airlines.”

In the last nine years, the stock is up more than 15-fold.

Cyclicals Do It Again
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm

That’s eight straight days of beating the S&P 500.
This morning, it looked like the streak was done for, but the cyclicals did it again.

Damn It Feels Good to Be a Banker
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 1:55 pm

Goldman Sachs breaks down Blankfein’s pay:
TALLY SHEET
Components of 2006 Compensation, Benefits and Perquisites
Lloyd C. Blankfein
Cash Compensation
Base Salary $600,000
Cash Bonus (Includes $24,000 Qualified Money Purchase Pension Plan Contribution) $27,267,500
Equity-Based Compensation
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) $ 15,679,500
RSUs — 77,776
Vested — 31,110
Unvested — 46,666
Stock Options $ 10,453,000
Shares Underlying Options — 209,228
Vested — 83,691
Unvested — 125,537
Exercise Price — $199.84
Total Compensation $ 54,000,000
Retirement and Welfare Benefits
Life Insurance Premiums $12,211
Firm Qualified Profit Sharing Plan Contribution $5,000
Medical/Dental Benefit Premiums $40,571
Long-Term Disability Insurance Premium $1,094
Other Benefits and Perquisites
Financial Planning Services $63,518
Car and Driver $198,388
Total Benefits and Perquisites $320,782
Dividend Equivalents on All Prior Years’ Restricted Stock Units $402,582
Total $54,723,364
Do you think “Car and Driver” means the magazine? Me neither.

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 11:43 am

Telus to offer wireless adult content
We begin counting, now. One, two, thr…
Telus halts porn downloads

The AFLAC Duck Is Not Dead
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 11:02 am

Despite what Regis and Kelly said, and the New York Post, the AFLAC (AFL) duck is not going away.

“The company’s chief marketing officer tells adage.com he wants to focus less on the mascot and more on what Aflac does — supplemental insurance,” the CNN report stated. “He says many people recognize the duck’s squawk, but have no idea what product he’s selling.”
From there, the story was picked up by radio stations as far away as Los Angeles.
As the story spread, Herbert said he went from “from being annoyed to being concerned.”
About 2 p.m., the company issued the news release stating the duck was still alive.

Investing Factoid of the Day
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 10:25 am

The Dow falls an average of 18.7% from one year’s high to the following year’s low.
This is from Mark Hulbert’s article which takes a skeptical look at the idea that years ending in “seven” are bad for the market.

Cyclicals Are Soaring
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 8:52 am

Cyclical stocks have been red-hot lately. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index (^CYC) has beaten the S&P 500 for the last seven straight days, and 25 of the last 30. This may be a sign that the economy isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
The cyclical rally is notable because the sell-off last May and June fell disproportionately on cyclicals. Still, cyclicals have been the uncrowned kings of this bull market. In less than four years, the CYC is up over 150%, which is nearly twice as much as the S&P 500.
I like to track the CYC/S&P ratio, which often gives us a better reading on the economy’s health than any government report. The ratio increases when cyclicals outperform, and decreases when cyclicals underperform. On May 10, the ratio got to 0.672, its highest point in 12 years. The correction brought it back below to 0.610, but now it’s closing in on the May high again. Yesterday, the ratio got to 0.665.
The ratio’s high mark of 0.677 came on March 23, 1994 (my records date back to 1978), so we’re in striking distance of a new high. During previous economic recoveries, the ratio has usually petered out around 0.65. Currently, the ratio is in the top 1% of all readings. In other words, we’re near outlier territory.
While cyclicals are surging now, history suggests that the end of the party may soon be near.

That Was Fast
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 21st, 2007 at 7:18 am

When the Altria Group announced in the fall that it was planning to spin off its Kraft Foods division, Wall Street cheered.

New York Times, February 21

Kraft Chief Outlines Turnaround Strategy

New York Times, February 21

Medtronic Earns 61 Cents a Share
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on February 20th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

Medtronic (MDT) just reported earnings of 61 cents a share, three cents more than exectations. Here are MDT’s results for the past few quarters:
Quarter………..EPS………….Sales
Jul-01…………$0.28………..$1,455.70
Oct-01………..$0.29………..$1,571.00
Jan-02………..$0.30………..$1,592.00
Apr-02………..$0.34………..$1,792.00
Jul-02…………$0.32………..$1,713.90
Oct-02………..$0.34………..$1,891.00
Jan-03………..$0.35………..$1,912.50
Apr-03………..$0.40………..$2,148.00
Jul-03…………$0.37………..$2,064.20
Oct-03………..$0.39………..$2,163.80
Jan-04………..$0.40………..$2,193.80
Apr-04………..$0.48………..$2,665.40
Jul-04…………$0.43………..$2,346.10
Oct-04………..$0.44………..$2,399.80
Jan-05………..$0.46………..$2,530.70
Apr-05………..$0.53………..$2,778.00
Jul-05…………$0.50………..$2,690.40
Oct-05………..$0.54………..$2,765.40
Jan-06………..$0.55………..$2,769.50
Apr-06………..$0.62………..$3,066.70
Jul-06…………$0.55………..$2,897.00
Oct-06………..$0.59………..$3,075.00
Jan-07………..$0.61………..$3,048.00