Dr. Z doesn't necessarily want to be eaten up by America's second-most-troubled automaker, apparently. From Marketwatch:
Russia's second-largest automotive company, OAO Gaz Group (GAZA.RS), is interested in acquiring Chrysler from U.S.-German carmaker DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX), German weekly Focus magazine reported Saturday, without revealing its sources.
In an advance copy of a report to be published in Monday's Focus, the magazine says Gaz isn't an unknown partner for DaimlerChrysler, as Chrysler already supplies four-cylinder engines for cars and mini-vans to the Russian carmaker. DaimlerChrysler couldn't immediately be reached for comment Sunday. DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche earlier this month triggered speculation about a possible sale of Chrysler when saying "all options are on the table" after Chrysler posted disappointing earnings.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
CNBC: Howard Schultz Calls Starbucks "Cookie-Cutter"
Fast Money just reported an alleged leaked memo from CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz, where he says some have referred to the company as "soulless" and "cookie-cutter," among other things... then goes on to say "others have never been to a Starbucks."
Unbelievable that he would make these comments about his own company!
Unbelievable that he would make these comments about his own company!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Backdoor Backstreet Boys Raid
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. agents on Thursday raided the home and offices of boy-band impresario Lou Pearlman, known for launching 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, as part of a criminal investigation, officials said.
Pearlman has already been sued by the state of Florida for alleged securities fraud involving an employee investment program.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating "various allegations leveled against Mr. Pearlman and his entities," U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Cole said.
According to the state lawsuit, Pearlman's companies for 15 years have sold unregistered securities in what was called an "employee investment savings account" program, committing securities fraud by implying the money was safe and insured.
But like a Ponzi scheme, according to the complaint, early investors were paid $118 million in dividends from deposits by more recent investors, while $7 million was paid in sales commissions and $50 million went to Pearlman and two other defendants.
It ain't no lie, if you invested with Pearlman, kiss your money bye-bye-bye...
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Farewell, Condoflip.com
Condoflip.com, established to allow for the listing and eventual fire sale of condos, is no more. The website says this succinctly:
How Did The Market Change in 2004 and Beyond? We saw a dramatic shift in how preconstruction condos were bought and sold. The condo boom was driven by overly-ambitious speculators, [editor: ya think?] many of whom had been successful in flipping condos in the past. As condo inventories grew and prices rose many speculators realized that further purchasing was increasingly risky. So, buyers just stopped buying. What Kinds of Results Did Condo Flip See? We saw thousands of sellers, and very few buyers. It didn't make sense for us to maintain a marketplace where there were few buyers.
Personally, I don't know anyone who went there for any reason other than schadenfreude, so it makes sense.
How Did The Market Change in 2004 and Beyond? We saw a dramatic shift in how preconstruction condos were bought and sold. The condo boom was driven by overly-ambitious speculators, [editor: ya think?] many of whom had been successful in flipping condos in the past. As condo inventories grew and prices rose many speculators realized that further purchasing was increasingly risky. So, buyers just stopped buying. What Kinds of Results Did Condo Flip See? We saw thousands of sellers, and very few buyers. It didn't make sense for us to maintain a marketplace where there were few buyers.
Personally, I don't know anyone who went there for any reason other than schadenfreude, so it makes sense.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Ford: Is Any Press Good Press?
Trash-filled Ford Focus crashes when coffee cups, etc wedge under the gas and brake:
Link with video.
On one hand, it's testimonial that someone was willing to spend a lot of time in this car. On the other hand...
Link with video.
On one hand, it's testimonial that someone was willing to spend a lot of time in this car. On the other hand...
Sunday, February 11, 2007
REIT Buyout Targets from Forbes
While it's likely that anyone anticipating a REIT buyout is betting on the last legs of this particular game, Forbes identified five targets: Colonial Properties, Felcor Lodging, Home Properties, Maguire Properties and Sunstone Hotel Investors, that might still be lucky enough to get a bid. Their chart (click for legible rendition, my apols for Blogger's narrowness):
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Stocks and Bombs: "The Bishop"
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
A pipe bomb was delivered to the investment firm of Perkins, Wolf, McDonnell & Co. on S. Wacker Drive last week accompanied by a letter directing them to invest in various stocks.
It gets better. He's not just trying to move certain stocks, he has a very interesting goal price in mind:
In 2005, The Bishop started sending anonymous, threatening letters to financial services companies in the Midwest demanding the targeted companies take action to move specific stocks to a predetermined price, often $6.66, the report said. The letters were signed "The Bishop."
The devices he sent weren't equipped with triggers, which makes sense: if it really did blow up, ya couldn't read the memo on which stocks to purchase. If this individual is captured, it should be interesting to hear their background and personality profile.
A pipe bomb was delivered to the investment firm of Perkins, Wolf, McDonnell & Co. on S. Wacker Drive last week accompanied by a letter directing them to invest in various stocks.
It gets better. He's not just trying to move certain stocks, he has a very interesting goal price in mind:
In 2005, The Bishop started sending anonymous, threatening letters to financial services companies in the Midwest demanding the targeted companies take action to move specific stocks to a predetermined price, often $6.66, the report said. The letters were signed "The Bishop."
The devices he sent weren't equipped with triggers, which makes sense: if it really did blow up, ya couldn't read the memo on which stocks to purchase. If this individual is captured, it should be interesting to hear their background and personality profile.
Maria Bartiromo at CBGB?
Nah, of course not. She was Joey Ramone's financial advisor, though. From Page Six:
February 10, 2007 -- MARIA Bartiromo has some punk-rock roots - she used to privately advise Joey Ramone on how to manage his finances. The much-in-the-news CNBC "Money Honey" tells the March/April issue of Executive Travel magazine: "Most people don't know this, but he was an avid investor. He used to call me up, e-mail me and ask me detailed questions about his portfolio." Just how the late, beloved leader of the Ramones fared with her help isn't known, but he did end up penning a gushing song about her, "Maria Bartiromo," which was on his posthumously released 2002 album "Don't Worry About Me." It included the catchy lyrics, "I watch you on the TV every single day/ Those eyes make everything OK." CNBC had no comment on Bartiromo's extracurricular sideline. She also tells the magazine, "Joey Ramone was the coolest guy . . . [He] invited me down there [to CBGB] to see him perform the show live. I said, 'What time should I meet you?' I remember he said he'd probably go on stage about midnight. I said, 'Oh, I cannot be there. I have to be up at 5 a.m.' "
February 10, 2007 -- MARIA Bartiromo has some punk-rock roots - she used to privately advise Joey Ramone on how to manage his finances. The much-in-the-news CNBC "Money Honey" tells the March/April issue of Executive Travel magazine: "Most people don't know this, but he was an avid investor. He used to call me up, e-mail me and ask me detailed questions about his portfolio." Just how the late, beloved leader of the Ramones fared with her help isn't known, but he did end up penning a gushing song about her, "Maria Bartiromo," which was on his posthumously released 2002 album "Don't Worry About Me." It included the catchy lyrics, "I watch you on the TV every single day/ Those eyes make everything OK." CNBC had no comment on Bartiromo's extracurricular sideline. She also tells the magazine, "Joey Ramone was the coolest guy . . . [He] invited me down there [to CBGB] to see him perform the show live. I said, 'What time should I meet you?' I remember he said he'd probably go on stage about midnight. I said, 'Oh, I cannot be there. I have to be up at 5 a.m.' "
How To Play Fortress? Goldman, Sears Holdings, Supply and Demand
Much ado about Fortress...
This little hedgie (FIG) came public yesterday and closed at $31, a 60-something-percent increase over its offering price. This is not the time to get me started about how offering prices are set ridiculously low in so many cases to give a lot of money to i-banks' best clients at the expense of the company going public, but I promise to explore that tangent one of these days.
I hear a lot about how to play Fortress.
One idea: Fortress' P/E ratio can be used to determine a proper P/E for Sears Holdings (SHLD). Eddie Lampert, former king of the hedgies, has pretty much admitted he runs this thing like a hedge, hasn't he? I mean, who the hell wants to go from top of the world to managing a bunch of Sears and Kmarts? I haven't even set foot in either of those stores in years, but from the outside they sure look like hell. So Lampert puts all the revenue from Weatherbeater paint or whatever into credit-default swaps, and people like Jim Cramer crow that SHLD is the next Berkshire Hathaway. Um, don't get me started on Berkshire either; why the hell would Buffett want to buy a NEWSPAPER? Anyway, FIG's P/E = SHLD's P/E in Cramer's playbook, so buy SHLD as its current P/E is below that.
Sounds good, but the biggest flaw in that plan is that Cramer also expects Eddie Lampert to continue returning 30%/year -- what he did at the hedge funds. Do you have that much confidence in Ed?
Alternately, you could just take this as a sign of health in the investment sector as a whole and load up on its crown prince, GS, which has been golden the last couple years (yes, I sold too early).
Or, you could just buy Fortress itself in the near-term. Think of the ethanol sector last year; supply and demand. When there were comparatively few ethanol stocks, share prices went through the roof. Enter a wave of new ethanol company IPOs and down the prices went. Right now, there's not many private equity or hedgie companies to buy up, but those IPOs are sure to follow the spectacular performance of this one. If you buy FIG now, monitor circumstances carefully and when you see the wave of hedge-fund IPOs, get the hell out.
This little hedgie (FIG) came public yesterday and closed at $31, a 60-something-percent increase over its offering price. This is not the time to get me started about how offering prices are set ridiculously low in so many cases to give a lot of money to i-banks' best clients at the expense of the company going public, but I promise to explore that tangent one of these days.
I hear a lot about how to play Fortress.
One idea: Fortress' P/E ratio can be used to determine a proper P/E for Sears Holdings (SHLD). Eddie Lampert, former king of the hedgies, has pretty much admitted he runs this thing like a hedge, hasn't he? I mean, who the hell wants to go from top of the world to managing a bunch of Sears and Kmarts? I haven't even set foot in either of those stores in years, but from the outside they sure look like hell. So Lampert puts all the revenue from Weatherbeater paint or whatever into credit-default swaps, and people like Jim Cramer crow that SHLD is the next Berkshire Hathaway. Um, don't get me started on Berkshire either; why the hell would Buffett want to buy a NEWSPAPER? Anyway, FIG's P/E = SHLD's P/E in Cramer's playbook, so buy SHLD as its current P/E is below that.
Sounds good, but the biggest flaw in that plan is that Cramer also expects Eddie Lampert to continue returning 30%/year -- what he did at the hedge funds. Do you have that much confidence in Ed?
Alternately, you could just take this as a sign of health in the investment sector as a whole and load up on its crown prince, GS, which has been golden the last couple years (yes, I sold too early).
Or, you could just buy Fortress itself in the near-term. Think of the ethanol sector last year; supply and demand. When there were comparatively few ethanol stocks, share prices went through the roof. Enter a wave of new ethanol company IPOs and down the prices went. Right now, there's not many private equity or hedgie companies to buy up, but those IPOs are sure to follow the spectacular performance of this one. If you buy FIG now, monitor circumstances carefully and when you see the wave of hedge-fund IPOs, get the hell out.
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