Archive for December, 2009
« Previous EntriesA Look Back On Hotel Stocks
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009Hotel owners and operators will be celebrating the new year, thankful that 2009 is finally over. It was a miserable year for the industry, as revenues per available room (RevPAR) dropped approximately 17%, with expectations for it to decline another 3-5% in 2010. Only in 2011 should the hotel business see any growth. Therefore, investors should be careful […]
Smoking Stocks Of 2009
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009The year 2009 was relatively uneventful for the tobacco industry. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Altria Group (NYSE:MO), Reynolds American (NYSE:RAI) and Lorillard (NYSE: LO), which together control 90% of the U.S. cigarette market, continued to deliver high operating margins and significant free cash flow. As a result, all three benefited from double-digit stock price increases in 2009. Even international competitors Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) and British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) saw their […]
A Review Of The Drug Makers Of 2009
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009Most in the medical profession probably would say the H1N1 virus was the healthcare story of 2009. Wall Street, on the other hand, most likely would point to the number of gigantic mergers that took place this past year as the real story. Big pharma appears to be getting even bigger. In fact, you’d need two […]
The Case For Cheap Stocks
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009I received a blog on my RSS reader entitled “Old School Value.” It’s written by Jae Jun, an engineer by day and value investor by night. His no-nonsense approach to investing is a nice change from much of the fluff that’s found online. A recent post about stocks trading below their net net working capital (NWC) caught my […]
Is Copper The New Gold?
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Spot gold prices hit $1,200 in early December as investors continued to gravitate toward hard assets because inflation fears moved them away from the U.S. dollar. It was definitely a good year for the precious metal. It’s probably too much to ask for the same performance in 2010. Copper’s price gains were double those of […]
Video Game Developments In 2009
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Out with the old and in with the new. Video game developers of all sizes are surely hoping 2010 brings more joy than 2009 did. If not, we could see the movie studios stepping in to take control of the video game industry. In order to avoid this fate, several developments from this past year […]
Is Your CEO Really Earning A Bonus?
Monday, December 14th, 2009Famous movie director Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.” Never was this truer than in the case of CEO compensation. It seems in recent years that all chief executives needed to do was show up, and they were assured millions in bonuses, short- and long-term. I’m not just talking […]
Ready-To-Go Portfolios
Friday, December 11th, 2009Living in the Great White North has its ups and downs. On the plus side, you can get a Tim Horton’s (NYSE:THI) coffee and donut on almost every street corner. On the down side, the financial services industry isn’t nearly as robust. Sure, Canadian banks are as solid as they come but innovators they are […]
Tiger Woods: Goodwill Crashing
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009Tiger Woods’ recent marital woes are a media spectacle and the subject of much debate among many regular folk. Some, like the Washington Post’s Kathleen Parker, believe the sports world’s first billionaire should be able to keep his private life private. Others, including most media experts, suggest that the better course of action would be […]
Executive Bonuses Must Go
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009McGill University professor Henry Mintzberg wrote a great article November 30 in the Wall Street Journal suggesting big public companies shouldn’t pay executive bonuses. It was as if the professor was reading my mind. Especially the part where Mintzberg says, “Eliminate bonuses. Period. Pay people, including the CEO, fairly. As an executive, if you want […]
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