Boone Boosts Energtek
July 20, 2009
The domestic natural gas industry has fallen on hard times due to a supply glut and a sharp fall in commodity prices over the course of the last year, but with last week’s latest news things are beginning to look up again. T. Boone Pickens, the long time crude oil bull turned alternative energy maven, has begun working on legislation that is gathering very impressive bipartisan support. The conveniently named NAT GAS Act (New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions) was introduced by Pickens along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in a letter to President Barack Obama on July 8th, 2009. The group’s legislation provides a real fundamental shift in the way investors should analyze natural gas companies, especially those in the natural gas transportation industry such as Energtek, Inc. [[EGTK.PK]]. Read more
The Long and the Short of it All
July 15, 2009
We are presenting a list of companies which we believe are currently mispriced, based on our estimate of fair value, by the market. We develop our fair value ranges by projected free cash flow out one year and estimating an appropriate FCF multiple based on our assessment of risk and the strength of the balance sheet.
Cisco Systems [CSCO: 23.46, -0.22 (-0.93%)] Recent Price $17.04 Value Range 21.86 – $38.41
Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology (IT) industry, and provides services associated with these products and their use. Read more
MWW Automotive Group Enters into Distribution Contract
July 15, 2009
MWW Automotive Group [[MWWC.OB]], a full-service global design, engineering and manufacturing firm providing customized accessories for leading international vehicle manufacturers, recently announced that the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Modelworxx GmbH, in Munich, Germany has entered into an agreement with ABT Sportsline GmbH for worldwide distribution of its Volkswagen and Audi products. Read more
China Mobile: The Foreign Giant
July 12, 2009
When most investors think of the telecom sector and wireless providers, Verizon [VZ: 30.43, -0.09 (-0.29%)] and AT&T [T: 26.02, -0.09 (-0.34%)] come to mind first. These two companies form a duopoly of the domestic market. Market penetration is nearing 90% in the US, so growth is limited, as these two companies are forced to compete for existing clients to survive as well as continue to steal market share from Sprint-Nextel [S: 3.76, -0.09 (-2.34%)] and T-Mobile. They are also attempting to jump into uniq
ue markets everyday in hopes of adding revenue and improving margins. For instance, VZ and T have been rolling out fiber optic backbones for even faster internet speeds and enhanced TV picture quality. Read more
McDonald’s New Angus Burger – A Green Shoot?
July 10, 2009
I’m sure quite a few eyes rolled when reading the title of this article. “Green Shoot” has been thrown around the financial media incessantly over the past few months, to the dismay of many. The thought that a new menu item at McDonald’s [MCD: 63.97, +0.56 (+0.88%)] is a glimmer of hope for the economy is, admittedly, a little preposterous. While I don’t believe the the 1/3 pound premium sandwich signals a recovery, it does say something about the future of consumer spending. If there is one company that knows a little something about the everyday consumer, it is McDonald’s.
Is Cisco Spreading Itself Too Thin?
June 28, 2009
Through the 90’s, Cisco Systems [CSCO: 23.46, -0.22 (-0.93%)] was known as one of the “4 Horsemen of IT” and was even the largest company by market cap ($500 B) at the peak of the tech bubble in early 2000. The web is the driver of all information worldwide over the past two decades, thus all recent tech trends revolve around the internet: mobilization, cloud computing, virtualization, social networking and much more. Consequently enough, Cisco is the dominant provider of the networking gear that runs the internet. More specifially, Cisco’s bread and butter has been the ethernet switches and overall routers markets with approximately 70% and 50% of the market share, respectively. To sustain revenue growth, companies like CSCO must adapt to tech trends and enter new markets outside of its core business.
Bank of America Dot Gov
June 27, 2009
It is becoming clearer and clearer what it means to have government involved in the affairs of banks and businesses. Where all the initial talk was about the “moral hazard” presented by government bailing out the private sector and how this just means that in the future banks, and other organizations, will just take on more and more risk because they know that if things go bad, the government will be there with a rescue net to save the institution. Read more
Boeing’s Stock Grounded, How to Capitalize
June 26, 2009
The week of June 26th was very bad to Boeing. After continued reassurance from CEO Jim McNerney that the company’s much anticipated (and previously delayed) Dreamliner 787 would be delivered by the 23rd, Boeing once again came up short. To investors, this was simply one slip-up too many… and a company that cannot fulfill promises is a company worth selling. Making matters worse, the next day, the U.S. Department of Defense terminated the land warfare weapons program headed by BA’s Integrated Defense Systems unit worth an estimated $160 billion. Thinking that there was no possible way to add more grief onto shares of Boeing, Qantas Airways canceled orders for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners after being “disappointed” by Boeing’s management. Read more
Renouncing The Debt
June 25, 2009
There are three ways to get out of a debt crisis. First, you can work off the debt, but this takes a long time. An impatient public and an impatient government will not have the stomach the wait that would be necessary for individuals, families, and businesses to get their balance sheets in order so that a recovery can get started. Read more
Natural Resources, Energy and Precious Metals Update
June 24, 2009
Many investors are somewhat dazed and befuddled as they watch what used to be called “The Natural Resources Sector” bounce up and down as the summer season commences. With the dollar up again, commodities including the precious metals and oil were off sharply yesterday. All in all, it was just a broadly negative day. Little was spared, including equities, which also took a serious hit. Even perennial bull James Moore, of TheBullionDesk.com, was forced to write that, “Short-term the metal [gold] could extend lower as a result of the dollar.” John Reade, of UBS in London, concurred, writing that, “We would not be surprised to see further short-term declines, especially in the absence of any material jewelry, physical-investment or ETF demand.” Read more
