Archive for September, 2007
Saturday, September 29th, 2007
At the beginning of September, we covered the release of the Barron’s 400, an equal-weight index that uses a proprietary rating system developed by MarketGrader.com. Today, Barron’s announced its semi-annual reallocation of stocks in the index - a move which uprooted almost half of the stocks in the portfolio. Further, the magazine hinted at upcoming investment vehicles tied to the Barron’s 400 (including a possible Exchange Traded Fund).
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Posted in Investing | No Comments »
Saturday, September 29th, 2007
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index remained unchanged in September vs. August. The index came in at 83.4 vs. consensus estimates of 84.3, demonstrating that consumer attitudes remained relatively stable. This bodes well for consumer spending, as a further decline in the index would be a bad thing for GDP growth and markets overall.
Posted in Economic Indicators | No Comments »
Friday, September 28th, 2007
Stocks are awaiting data from the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment survey which will be released at 10 EST this morning. The survey is used by investors to gauge the health of consumer spending (which accounts for approximately 70% of Gross Domestic Product). Consensus is calling for an increase from 83.4 at the end of August to 84.3 in September. Also, per Econoday, investors will be watching the “assessment of current conditions” as a gauge of public reaction to the subprime fiasco.
Related Links:
http://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/main.php
Posted in Economic Indicators | No Comments »
Thursday, September 27th, 2007
Warren Buffett, famed value investor and head of international bellwether Berkshire Hathaway, is rumored to be in talks to obtain a minority interest in investment firm Bear Stearns. The company, having suffered from the subprime lending disaster, had seen its stock pounded after several of its hedge funds collapsed. The latest word on the street is that Buffett sees value in the company at its current price, and may join the ranks of Bank of America and Wachovia in buying a minority stake in the firm.
However, many also believe that this is pure speculation - hedge funds and highly leveraged investments aren’t exactly Buffett’s cup of tea. Remember the most important rules of value investing:
- Never lose money
- Always refer to rule #1
Unfortunately, Bear has already broken them both. I’m not sure the rumor is really true, but I suppose we’ll see in the months to come. Buffett has certainly surprised us before.
Posted in Stock Market News | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is currently in talks with Facebook that could land the technology giant a 5% stake in the ever-growing social networking site. The move comes in response to concerns that Microsoft’s online footprint is lagging competitors such as Google and Yahoo. However, while Facebook adds hundreds of thousands of users each day, sales leads generated from the site aren’t as strong as traditional search platforms. Even so, most believe that a foray into this space is necessary, as social networking sites will play a large role in shaping the future of online advertising.
Posted in Stock Market News | No Comments »
