Archive for July, 2009
« Previous EntriesEnjoy Nature’s Bounty
Friday, July 31st, 2009Associated Press medical writer Marilynn Marchione recently coined the phrase “Big Herba” in an article she wrote about the supplements business. It seems the mom and pop operations of the past have been replaced by companies as slick as those in the pharmaceutical industry. While not nearly as profitable as the drug companies, they certainly […]
Buy And Hold: It’s Alive!
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009On July 27, 2008, the Wilshire 5000, the broadest stock index in the U.S. - dropped to 10,093.70. It hasn’t been this low since 2003. The financial media believes this historic drop in the markets is a signal that buy-and-hold investing is dead. Financial writer Michael Brush calls it the third-biggest lie on Wall Street, suggesting investors weren’t adjusting […]
The 5 Most Important Drugs In America
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009If you’re familiar with the writings of former New York Times journalist Melody Petersen, you might know that she released a damning examination of the pharmaceutical industry in 2008 entitled “Our Daily Meds”. I’m currently reading the book, and like many of the reviewers at Amazon.com I’m absolutely in agreement with her simple thesis that […]
What’s New On The Net
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009The news surrounding print media these days is anything but upbeat, and it’s bound to get worse as advertising revenues continue to plummet. Forbes, Fortune and Business Week magazines have seen ad pages in their print editions through the end of April drop 19%, 38% and 38% respectively.
How bad is it out there? Fortune’s May […]
Retail Revisited
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009A book about America’s addiction to prescription drugs got me thinking about this country’s other addiction: Shopping. The current recession has finally scared Americans into saving, something they haven’t done since the early 1990s. As recent as April 2008, the savings rate was zero. It now sits around 6.9%, about half the all-time high of […]
California Banks Looking Good
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009It seems odd that in a state where the government is virtually broke, you’d have something positive to talk about financially. Nonetheless, there are encouraging signs citizens and businesses in California are faring better than their elected officials and the bureaucracy they represent. One specific example is California’s regional banks. Most have just released second-quarter earnings […]
Consumer Goods Flirt With Retail
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) announced in June that it was buying upscale barbershop The Art of Shaving for $60 million. The Miami-based retailer currently operates 36 locations across the country where, in addition to providing men with luxurious shaves and haircuts, it sells its own line of skincare products.
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The IPO Crash Of Y2K
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009Many people will remember where they were when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2000. Who could forget the anticipation as the world moved into a new century? It was indeed one of those special moments, and it’s likely this euphoria of change swept up IPO investors as the previous century ended. According to Hoover’s, 50 […]
How Wide Is Your Company’s Moat?
Friday, July 17th, 2009Do you believe in the investing principles of Ben Graham? I do. As such, I often find myself writing about the margin of safety, an idea Graham developed many decades ago that is still discussed today. Often referred to as an economic moat, it is a company’s ability to protect its competitive advantage over many […]
McDonald’s: Investors Are Lovin’ It
Friday, July 17th, 2009Restaurant & Institutions magazine just released its 2009 list of the top 400 chain restaurants in America. Not surprisingly, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) was at the top of the list, with $70.7 billion in sales - almost $53 billion more than second-ranked KFC, part of the Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) empire. It’s clear the golden arches are in […]
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