So like everyone else in the financial world (OK, maybe not) I went through the Facebook S-1. I don’t normally look at these internet/technology businesses especially when it is really hyped and there is no chance that this thing will come out undervalued. But I do think Facebook is an exceptional company so I decided…
Is Amazon a Short?
I hate to post a short idea on a day when the stock is down almost 10%; it’s a bad time to sell or short something down a lot on short term news (earnings announcement). But this is something I haven’t looked at in a while so I decided to take a look (I actually…
Nintendo for Free?!
I haven’t really followed Nintendo over the years as I really don’t like businesses that are dependent on recurring hit products. That is my reservation with Apple, too, but at least Apple is a bit more broadbased than Nintendo (Nintendo is just a game whereas the Apple has laptops, desktops, phones and iPads that function…
GSVC: Facebook Play Update
Last year I took a quick look at GSV Capital Corp (see here) as it was a play on Facebook. Now that the Facebook IPO is right in front of us, I thought I should take a look at this thing again and update some figures. Since the end of the September 2011 quarter, GSV…
America’s Favorite Store?! (Part 2)
So I listened to the second day presentation. This was more of an investor day with financial details. Much of the presentation was done by Michael Kramer, the COO of JCP. He too comes from Apple retail where he was CFO of the retail business, he became CFO of Abercrombie and Fitch and then later…
America’s Favorite Store?! (Part 1)
(JCP’s new logo) Ron Johnson joined JC Penny (JCP) as CEO back in June 2011 from Apple with great fanfare. He is the guru that was behind the amazing Apple stores. Ron Johnson was brought in after Bill Ackman (of Pershing Square Capital) and Steven Roth (or Vornado Realty Trust) took a large stake in…
Gold: Interesting Chart
So, I was flipping through some annual reports, catching up on the ever increasing pile of stuff to read. Occasionally, something comes out and grabs me and I have to investigate. The great thing about annual reports is that you learn all kinds of things reading them, not just about the company. This chart came…
Staggering, Off the Charts
This is how Apple described iPhone demand in China on their first quarter conference call. Demand is staggering. It’s “off the charts”. They could have sold more but were way too conservative. Apple is pretty much one of the most widely watched stocks so there is no point in my going over the details here,…
Olympus, Nomura, Sony: What’s Wrong with Japan
So we see every day why Japan has so much trouble getting out of it’s long slump. There was an article recently talking about how the lost decade in Japan is actually a myth, and that the reality is that Japan has done better than we all think since the bubble popped in 1990. Yes,…
Dimon on CNBC
Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) was on CNBC yesterday and reiterated that the current stress test banks are undergoing in the U.S. will be a non-issue for JPM. This is not new news, but it is interesting that he said that JPM will have a Tier 1 common equity ratio of 7-8%…