Articles
Bitter pill for pharmaceutical companies
In the good old days, pharmaceutical companies traded at a significant premium to the market, which was justified by predictable earnings growth, bulletproof balance sheets, Microsoft-monopoly-like profit margins and a return on investment that was the envy of corporate America. Those good old days are gone.
Future Looks Bright for Computer Associates
I'm satisfied with Computer Associates' performance in the latest quarter, plus, its organic growth numbers look good. I love companies with recurring revenues, Computer Associates has an attractive valuation, an improved corporate and financial profile - and, likely, a brighter future.
Ukraine Developments Are a Positive Sign
I would like to politely disagree with Jeff Matthews and politely agree with Geoff Johnson on the political situation in Ukraine. Though I am sometimes mistaken for an expert on Russia, I am not one.
Dollar General Fails to Show Me the Dollar
Last quarter I truly hoped that things could not get any worse for Dollar General (DG), but they did. I was a big believer in a Dollar General turnaround, but I think I was wrong.
Higher Rates Are a Clear and Present Danger to Economy
Consumers have carried the U.S. economy on their backs for a long time, but lately they are showing signs of fatigue. Consumers' response to higher food prices shows how frail they really are.
IMS Health: A Dusty Gem
IMS Health (IMS) is one such gem. On the surface, its financials look very rocky. Its sales and net income have not grown much over the years.
Becton Dickinson Finds ‘Sweet Spot’ Pharmas Have Missed
BDX gets all the tailwinds of an aging population with none of pharma's political baggage. I don't remember politicians complaining about syringe prices.
Sara Lee Struggling to Pass on Higher Commodity Prices
October 27, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight Premium consumer brands no longer guarantee pricing power. Sara Lee (SLE) reported earnings ...
First Horizon on the Rise
October 26, 2004 – TheStreet.com: StreetInsight FHN is taking market share in the mortgage business from defunct small players. Management ...
Sirius Has Made a Deal with the Devil …
October 22, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight … and I don’t want to be around when payment is due. Paying ...
GM Bond Rating Downgraded by Fitch, Moody’s
Fitch and Moody's just downgraded GM's bonds. I think the rating agencies are right — and the pension problem alone tells me this story ends very badly for GM.
The Perfect Storm Is About To Hit Automotive Stocks
October 6, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight Rising interest rates, incentives, and declining profit margins are swirling around the automakers. ...
Searching for Truth in Stock Options, I Found Veritas
September 30, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight Veritas looked like a bargain, but when I adjust my cash-flow model for ...
Pharmaceutical Industry Went Legit, Distributors Went Down
September 28, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight Channel stuffing by pharmaceutical companies had handicapped the drug distribution industry. Drug distributors ...
Ending Channel Stuffing Will Pressure Drug Companies’ Multiples
I had a classroom realization: the entire drug distributor industry was built to help pharma companies fake smooth earnings. That premium valuation? It's gone.
Merck – Positioning for a Sum-of-All-Fears Scenario
September 9, 2005 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight September 17, 2005 – Realmoney.com Recent clinical studies on Vioxx and Zocor do ...
A Contrarian View on Oil Prices
Everyone is bullish on oil. I'm not. The bull case ignores the fallacy of composition — and when emotions peak, that's usually when I start looking the other way.
Shedding Some Light on Investing in Russia
August 28, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight Since I am the only contributor on the Street Insight that was born ...
Why Motorola Is Not a Good Play on the Wireless Sector
August 25, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight The real problem for Motorola will come when the growth rate of the ...
TiVo: Being Acquired Might Be the Right Channel
September 9th, 2004 – TheStreet.com: Street Insight I canceled my TiVo (TIVO:Nasdaq) subscription last week; the unit went back to ...
Foreign Capital Russian Oil Infrastructure Needs Is Not Coming
The Yukos scandal won't stop oil from flowing today — but it will scare off the foreign capital Russia desperately needs. That supply gap isn't going away soon.
