Want to avoid the next crash? Avoid the cranes.
On a sunny August day in 1929 failed presidential hopeful Alfred E. Smith gathered the New York press and announced humble plans to build the world’s tallest skyscraper. The 102-storey cloud tickler,...
View ArticleBuffett: Stop coddling the super-rich
In a recent op-ed article for the New York Times–‘Stop Coddling the Super-rich’–Warren Buffett chastises the US Government for under taxing him and his super-rich compatriots. In the US (and...
View ArticleWhy BlueScope is no steal
Since peaking at $12.65 in May 2007, BlueScope Steel’s share price has plunged 93%, reaching 70 cents after the announcement that a $1bn loss will cost 1,000 people their livelihoods. Who could have...
View ArticleRobbing banks doesn’t pay; robbing shareholders does
In early September 2007 I received a six-page document from former Centro institutional funds general manager Philippa Kelly. Because Centro was ‘committed to providing accurate information to the...
View ArticleWhat do Mars bars, floor mats and the Financial Review have in common?
It sounds like the start of a bad joke, doesn’t it? But these unexpected bedfellows each share the ability to exploit loop-holes in our thinking to charge higher prices. This is particularly relevant...
View ArticleFacebook 2.0 and subscription media
On 21 September Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, gave a Steve Jobs-like presentation about the latest update to his social media empire. ‘Facebook 2.0’ adds new features (read Gizmodo’s...
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Don’t pay twice for outstanding management
At Intelligent Investor, we spend countless hours debating what makes for a stellar management team. Do they act in the best interest of shareholders? Do they need to own a large stake in the company?...
View ArticleIf someone wants to tattoo your face ask ‘why?’
Dan Ariely, a leading behavioural economist (and one of my favourite authors) recently gave an entertaining talk on incentives and conflicts of interest (see below). Ariely’s lessons, while general,...
View ArticleShould value investors ‘invest’ in Speculative Buys?
In the aftermath of the GFC Intelligent Investor Share Advisor had recommended some cracking Speculative Buy ideas, such as RHG, Goodman PLUS, Sirtex Medical, Cellestis, Silver Lake Resources and...
View ArticleBen Graham would’ve been proud
There are only five things at the Intelligent Investor digs on Pitt Street that have been here longer than me. Steve (chief investment officer of the Intelligent Investor Value Funds), Steph (our...
View ArticleHigher dividends: Be careful what you wish for
With interest rates falling as the economy slows, companies are responding to shareholder demands to increase dividends. Unlike in most other countries, Australians benefit from the dividend imputation...
View ArticleThe well known fact
One of the great pleasures of value investing is discovering another like-minded value investor with interesting views. US fund manager Smead Capital Management was founded in 2007 and its June...
View ArticleThe Mirror Cracks
Loyal members of Intelligent Investor Share Advisor may be familiar with Jim Grant of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer. Grant has published several books, including Money of the Mind, Minding Mister...
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Buffett’s favoured index reaches milestone
In the chart below you can see Warren Buffett’s favoured valuation metric, which divides the market value of US stocks by gross national product. The orange line represents the US market, and the blue...
View ArticleQBE or CBA, who’d lose more from a property crash?
Besides the Melbourne Cup and the footy finals, there are few things that set pulses racing in Australia quite like arguments over house prices. Rather than add to the abundance of analysis and opinion...
View ArticleChinese investors say ‘G’day’
‘On a recent Sunday, a Honolulu matron answered the door of her stately home to find three Japanese businessmen who offered her $300,000 for it on the spot; they wanted it as a vacation center [sic]...
View ArticleLessons from McAleese Transport
Barely two weeks ago the headlines pronounced that fund managers and wealthy families were backing the impending float of McAleese Group, a trucking company with roots dating back to the depression....
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How long can you wait?
Brian McNamee stepped down as CSL chief executive earlier this year, having been crowned Australia’s best performing chief executive of the past quarter century. During his tenure Citibank found that...
View ArticleI’m speechless
The Daily Reckoning has just published a frightful exchange discussing incoming Fed chair Janet Yellen’s view of savers. I’m not surprised, but I am speechless. She’s not talking about billionaires...
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WorleyParsons profit downgrade
WorleyParsons has just announced a profit downgrade that’s sent the share price down to levels not seen since March 2009. I thought it would be worth republishing what we said earlier this year to see...
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