Last weekend’s Economist examined the pay-off for students of the investment they make in various degrees. It’s the kind of unsentimental return analysis that needs to take place far more often. Not surprisingly, Engineering graduates enjoy anywhere from $500,000 of additional lifetime earnings to over $1 million (depending on the school from which they graduate). […]
Since I read Flash Boys, those ads for discount brokerage now appear differently to me. I used to think that when, say, TD Ameritrade offers commissions of $9.99 a trade it’s because their platform is so efficient, so geared to enjoy economies of scale, that this low rate was sufficient to generate revenue in excess […]
In his new book Flash Boys, Michael Lewis describes how Brad Katsuyama at Royal Bank of Canada deduced what the high frequency traders were doing. Brad had been frustrated that whenever he went to trade stocks on a posted price, he’d routinely get a much smaller amount of shares than advertised. 10,000 shares of stock may […]
I eagerly read anything that Michael Lewis writes. He must be one of the most erudite and entertaining writers of our time. From Liar’s Poker on he’s produced books and essays that are highly entertaining as well as informative. I even enjoyed Moneyball, even though as a Brit I know very little about baseball. It […]
Interesting perspective on where the IRS is likely to focus from Robert Willens in Barrons today. He notes, “While the IRS is getting more restrictive on REITs and inversions, they are getting more expansive on MLPs, for some unknown reason. They are allowing a broader class of entity to convert to MLP status.”
The proxy statements filed by public companies prior to their annual meetings are not always interesting to read. But Coca-Cola’s (KO) has caught my attention, thanks to some diligent work by David Winters of Wintergreen Advisers, LLC. Like many companies, KO is putting its compensation plan up for a non-binding shareholder vote. However, it turns […]
Laurence B. Siegel, Research Director at the CFA’s Research Foundation, has written a generous, largely positive review. He has evidently read the book quite carefully and has written one of the more extensive reviews I’ve seen. I am flattered by his kind attention. How to Confront the End of the Bond Bull Market
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article that analyzes the transactions costs, or commissions, faced by retail investors in municipal bonds. They find that the cost of buying a typical muni is about twice that of a high grade corporate bond. I wrote about this in my book, Bonds Are Not Forever; The Crisis Facing […]
Investors in ADT keenly remember the results of Keith Meister’s stewardship of their company, summarized here in our February newsletter. Keith Meister, who runs Corvex Management, LP, invested in ADT, made a forceful case for the stock being undervalued and took a board seat. With the benefit of information garnered in that role he one […]
On Saturday, Barron’s ran a front cover piece that was negative on Kinder Morgan (“Yield of Dreams”). Andrew Bary has written many thoughtful pieces for Barron’s over the years. In this case he basically reproduced a negative report written by Hedgeye’s Kevin Kaiser from last year. Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI) was down yesterday because evidently […]
