The title of this post is not original and draws from Nate Silver's book on why so many predictions in politics, sports and economics fail. It reflects the skepticism with which I view many 'can't fail" predictors of economic growth or stock markets, since they tend to have horrendous track records. Over the last few […]
In September, I took a look, in a series of posts, at two companies that had crested the trillion dollar market cap mark, Apple and Amazon, and concluded that series with a post where I argued that both companies were over valued. I also mentioned that I was selling short on both stocks, Amazon for […]
It seems like ancient history, but it was just 2001, when GE was the most valuable company in the world, commanding a market capitalization in excess of $500 billion. The quintessential conglomerate, with a presence in almost every part of the global economy, it seemed to have been built to withstand economic shocks and was […]
I don't know what it is about October that spooks markets, but it certainly feels like big market corrections happen in the month. As stocks have gone through contortions this month, more down than up, like many of you, I have been looking at my portfolio, wondering whether this is the crash that the market […]
In 1992, when Bill Clinton was running for president of the United States, and was asked whether he had ever smoked marijuana, he responded that he had, but that he did not inhale, reflecting the fear that being viewed as a weed-smoker would lay low his presidential ambitions. How times have changed! Today, smoking marijuana […]
In my last post, I looked at Apple and Amazon, as their market caps exceeded a trillion dollars, tracing the journey that they took over the last two decades to get to that threshold and valuing them given their current standing. While you can check out the stories that I told and the details of […]
For most of us, even envisioning a trillion dollars is difficult to do, a few more zeros than we are used to seeing in numbers. Thus, when Apple’s market capitalization exceeded a trillion on August 2, 2018, it was greeted with commentary, and when Amazon’s market capitalization also exceeded a trillion just over a month […]
In the last few weeks, the market capitalization of Apple and Amazon each hit a trillion dollars, a threshold not seen before in public markets. Predictably, that has drawn press attention and commentary about what this moment means for markets, investors and the companies themselves. As readers of this blog know, I have followed both […]
This has been a year of rolling crises, some originating in developed markets and some in emerging markets, and the market has been remarkably resilient through all of them. It is now Turkey's turn to be in the limelight, though not in a way it hoped to be, as the Turkish Lira enters what seems […]
I am quoted in the Washington Post (December 2, 2018): “Technology and capitalism take their toll, said David Kass, finance professor at the University of Maryland. “Of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average in 1896, only General Electric survives today — just barely,” Kass said. And in time, “Apple and Microsoft […]
In an SEC 13F filing after the market closed today, Berkshire Hathaway revealed a net increase of $14 billion in its common stock portfolio during the third quarter of 2018. This is the largest quarterly increase in its common stock investments in many years. These increases, primarily in the banking sector, were: (1) Bank of […]
Berkshire Hathaway today released its Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2018. Five highlights during the third quarter were: (1) Berkshire’s operating earnings increased by 100% as compared to the third quarter of 2017. (2) Berkshire repurchased $928 million of its stock, indicating that both Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger conclude that Berkshire’s current […]
I am quoted in “Why GE’s Penny Dividend Signals a Sad Turn for Widow and Orphan Stocks” that is likely to appear in the Business Section of the Washington Post on Sunday, November 4: “Widow and orphan stocks were designated as such for their safety and income,” said David Kass, a finance professor at the […]
I am quoted in The Wall Street Journal on Berkshire Hathaway investing in Fintech: “Todd and Ted bring additional expertise to the table,” said David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and a Berkshire shareholder. “They’re broadening the perspective of Berkshire and broadening the opportunities where they […]
Warren Buffett earned a compounded annual rate of return of 8.7% on his Laguna Beach home that he recently sold for $7.5 million and purchased for $150,000 in 1971.
I am quoted in a Washington Post article: “Larry Culp’s Long To-Do List To Fix GE“. “Culp will need to decide whether to fix GE’s power division or scrap it. David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland, thinks he should sell it because of its “substantial” underperformance. “The remainder of GE can […]
In this Jeff Bezos interview (1 hour and 9 minutes) the Amazon CEO quotes from Warren Buffett and explains why he bought the Washington Post which is now profitable and hiring additional staff by becoming a national and global newspaper via the Internet. Amazon located in Seattle, Washington so they could draw from the talent […]
In a Berkshire Hathaway news release on July 17, 2018, Berkshire’s Board of Directors announced an amendment to its share repurchase program. The earlier share repurchase program provided that the price paid for repurchases would not exceed a 20% premium over the then-current book value of such shares. Under the amended plan, share repurchases can […]
Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, suggested Goldman Sachs may be slanting its economic research to help Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files.
KATRINA Group, which owns and operates restaurants such as Bali Thai, Streats and So Pho, completed on Monday its purchase of serviced residences provider Straits Organization for S$358,000.
CRANE rental firm MS Holdings on Monday said that it and LongRunn Int'l Land have mutually decided not to proceed with a transaction that would have seen MS Holdings issue new shares representing 25 per cent of its enlarged share capital in exchange for an 8 per cent stake in a US$80 million development project in Korea.
EPICENTRE Holdings' S$400 million proposed reverse takeover of two real estate companies, which was supposed to reposition the firm as a regional property player after it exited the local Apple reseller business, is now off.
MOBILE virtual network operator (MVNO) Circles.Life is on track to nab 5 per cent of Singapore's postpaid market by year-end, it told the press on Monday.
SINGAPORE stocks fell on Monday afternoon's trading resumption, with the Straits Times Index declining 1.34 per cent or 41.54 points on the day to 3,069.58 as at 1.03pm.
SINGAPORE shares opened lower on Monday with the Straits Times Index down 29.19 points to 3,081.93 as at 9.01am, as Asian stocks slid on heightened worries over trade tensions between the United States and China.
THE painful experiences ranging from accounting fraud to the lack of accountability with past Chinese companies listed on Singapore Exchange (SGX) continue to cast a pall over the entire S-chip community.
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