Liz Claiborne’s Numbers Don’t Add Up
By webmaster | February 26, 2010
Fast Company magazine’s November 2004 issue named Bill McComb, current CEO of Liz Claiborne(NYSE:LIZ) and then president of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary McNeil Labs, one of the rising under-the-radar executives in corporate America. Almost two years to the day, McComb became the fashion icon’s new leader, replacing Paul Charron, the man who built the business into a multibillion dollar empire. […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
Play The 2011 Tax Game
By Will Ashworth | February 24, 2010
I read an interesting observation today about Buckle (NYSE: BKE), one of my favorite public companies. Essentially, the writer (Stephen Rosenman, Seeking Alpha) makes the case that the Nebraska retailer will make another special dividend in 2010, this one bigger than the $1.80 it doled out to shareholders in 2009. With the 15% tax on dividends set to end this year and increase […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
A Different Magic Formula
By Will Ashworth | February 23, 2010
Many serious investors are becoming familiar with Joel Greenblatt’s “Magic Formula,” where he takes theearnings yield and return on capital for a group of stocks, ranks them from best (ranked #1) to worst and then adds the two numbers together. The lower a company’s combined score, the better. When it comes to screening stocks, this kind of exercise is […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
Dividend Aristocrats And The Shareholder Bucket
By Will Ashworth | February 23, 2010
The Standard & Poor’s dividend aristocrats are a list of blue chip companies from the S&P 500 that have increased their annual dividend for 25 consecutive years. Their performance is quite impressive, delivering total returns of 3.39% annually over the past five years to January 31, 2010. 85% of this performance comes from dividends and the rest from capital […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
Auchentoshan 12-Year-Old
By Will Ashworth | February 19, 2010
I recently bought a bottle of Auchentoshan 12-year-old single malt scotch from the Lowlands. It’s not bad. The LCBO was selling it for C$45.20, $5 less than normal. In Ontario, that’s as good a deal as you’re going to get. Here’s what you’d pay in other parts of the world for the same bottle.
Retailer
Price - […]
Topics: Retail Liquor Prices - North America | No Comments »
Mutual Fund Companies Do Right By Shareholders
By Will Ashworth | February 19, 2010
The late economist and Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson said this in 1967 about mutual funds: “There was only one place to make money in the mutual fund business - as there is only one place for a temperate man in a saloon - behind the bar and not in front … so I invested in a management company.” Not much has […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
The Customer Counts
By Will Ashworth | February 18, 2010
I read a blog post the other day suggesting good customer service might be a leading indicator for stock performance. I’ve often believed customer service was a key component of well-run, profitable companies and Watermark Consulting has the study to prove it. Using Forrester Research’s (NASDAQ:FORR) 2007 Customer Experience Index of best and worst customer service providers, it was determined that the […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
Invacare Rolls In Value
By Will Ashworth | February 17, 2010
Ohio-based Invacare (NYSE:IVC) is the world’s number one manufacturer of wheelchairs, both powered and manual. Trading at 5.8 times operating cash, its stock appears ripe for the picking.
Click here for the rest of the article.
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
Profit From Denim Consolidation
By Will Ashworth | February 16, 2010
Two years ago, the premium denim market was booming. Then the recession hit and must-have $400 jeans became conspicuous consumption virtually overnight. Two months into 2010, the economy is slowly pulling itself out of the gutter, leading me to wonder what’s in store for the denim business.
Click here for the rest of the article.
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »
Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover
By Will Ashworth | February 10, 2010
The book business is hurting, there’s no denying it. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) threw bricks and mortar book selling into disarray more than a decade ago, and now its Kindle is looking to do the same with e-book prices. With all the uncertainty surrounding book retailing, you have to wonder why investors such as Ron Burkle and Bill Ackman […]
Topics: Free Financial Feedback | No Comments »