Owner Earnings
… Calculating owner earnings requires hard work and numerous value judgments. It is not an exact science but will produce results that matter.
Western Union
… This year the company, Western Union, will transfer over $80-billion (U.S.) and handle 225 million transactions.
Joy Global
… But I recently made an exception to my commodity-sector aversion when I purchased shares in Joy Global Inc. Joy is a Milwaukee-based company that makes high-productivity mining equipment.
Scorecard #5 – Birdy Num Nums
… Markets will forever continue to oscillate between the extremes of panic and greed. The common thread is that at both extremes, most people ignore valuations to their peril and become transfixed with stock price movements. It has happened for centuries and will continue to as it is simply in our nature.
Do Dividends Matter?
… I am constantly surprised by many investors’ fixation on dividend yields – a tendency that I believe is misguided.
Home Capital
… Many people fear the Canadian housing market is doomed to crash – and those fears are reflected in the stock price of Home Capital Group Inc., Canada’s largest non-traditional mortgage lender.
Scorecard #4 – PIIGS and Merde
… One of the keys to being successful at investing over the long term is to stick to businesses and industries within your circle of competence. Put another way, you should invest only in businesses that you know and understand.
Fun in Euroland
… Financial calamity and market panic always draw me in for a closer look.
Scorecard #3 – Mr. Market and The Path Less Traveled
… Another key success factor in investing is being able to come to your own conclusions based on thorough research, hard work and proper reasoning. Conventional wisdom is often but not always correct. The difference is important.
Scorecard #2 – The Truly Important Things in Life (and Investing)
… One mistake that people often make is to assume that the stock markets will decline when the economy is in recession or one is forecasted. Being a math geek I went back and looked at the correlation between US GDP and US stock market returns over the past 80 years. The results will probably surprise you.