Fake boob scandal rocks iBall
Yes, those boobs were fake!
As regular readers know, when I’m not writing this blog, or editing the Interactive Investor mothership, or writing my Moneywise columns (or eating Swedish Meatball Wraps at Pret-a-Manger), I’m writing scripts for iBall.
It’s a lot of fun, though sadly with success comes money and ambition and the iBall team has moved […]
On bankers winning beauty contests
Are banks good investments? Robin Soole, posted a comment saying prospects for banks are not that bad, which explains why prices are going up. I’m replying here, interspersing my comments with his (I think you’ll see why):
Your article reminds me of James Montier’s idea that investment performance is not based on what is true and […]
When a bargain’s not a bargain
Deborah is sceptical about my views on bank valuations. She says:
…we really don’t know which financial companies will survive the deleveraging, by the time share dilution is done they won’t resemble anything like they were before, and their level of historical profits weren’t based on any thing sustainable. My gut feeling is that about half […]
Value investor not conservative enough
Richard Pzena, a “conservative value investor“, explains his methods in Forbes:
The companies at the top of the list are selling for a low price relative to what their histories suggest they should be earning in the future. Now, typically, they’re not earning what their histories suggest, which is why they are at the top of […]
Four reasons banks aren’t cheap enough
Weighing in on bank valuations again, here are four fundamental reasons why I ‘m not buying banks: Price, profits, cashflow, and deposits.
The long-term price earnings ratio is my preferred measure of value. I take the average of up to nine years of earnings and divide it into the current share price. Using the average of […]
How ratings agencies failed
Some notes from Triple ‘A’ failure - an article to be published in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine in which Moody’s walks Roger Lowenstein through the rating of a subprime mortgage SPV (special purpose vehicle). Although it’s seven pages long it’s worth reading in full, but here are some quotes that shed light on […]
Dechra – good, but not that good
Every good growth story has a price attached. Veterinary supplies and pharmaceuticals company Dechra has a good growth story, but it’s not that good.
Today’s iBall is Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH). I picked it because it’s mixing it with mining and farming companies near the top of the performance table*1. Its price may only have risen 20% […]
If banks aren’t bargains, what are?
There’s a fair degree of scepticism about banks. Citywire has picked up a comment originally reported (I think) by investment banker Barry Ritholz on the Big Picture.
He asks readers to compare the attitude of investors buying ‘bombed out’ financials to the attitude of those buying food and natural resources stocks:
So if you are looking for […]
Value beats growth: the evidence
In a research paper for institutional investors published today, James Montier a proponent of behavioural investing at Soc Gen, demonstrates that value stocks not only return more than growth stocks, they’re also less risky.
That’s good news for value investors, and bad news for those who cling on to conventional finance theory, which says to […]
Screwed up markets are best
Warren Buffett answers a question about regulation post credit crunch, Fortune, 14 April 2008.
It’s very difficult he says, and we wouldn’t want a ‘perfect’ market. The fact that some participants act foolishly creates opportunity for the rest:
I think we’ve got fabulous capital markets in this country, and they get screwed up often enough to make […]
