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Jim Chanos and Bill Gross comment on the S&P downgrade
In an appearance on Bloomberg TV yesterday (8/7/11), legendary hedge fund manager Jim Chanos shared thoughts about the S&P downgrade of U.S. debt. After discussion of the timing of the downgrade - and who was informed of it ahead of time - Chanos posits that "real market players look at the CDS [credit default swaps] ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 8 Aug 2011
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Budweiser More Reliable Than Spain, Lenders Say (BUD, MSFT, JNJ)
NPR draws some very interesting conclusions from what the credit market now indicates about different borrowers: Four things this graph says about the world: Ratings matter, except when they don't. Yes, interest rates tend to increase as ratings fall. But there are lots of exceptions to this rule (as well as lots of variation within ... read more
Best of the Web Frank on 1 Aug 2011
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Would a U.S. debt downgrade trigger a crisis - or be a non-event?
U.S Treasuries are broadly considered the safest form of bond, nearly risk-free, and are used as a benchmark for many higher risk debt securities. Would a downgrade of United States debt from its current AAA rating cause a disaster for the markets? In the video below, Reuters' David Gaffen tells Felix Salmon that it's not ... read more
Best of the Web Frank on 31 Jul 2011
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How and why the debt ceiling issue is affecting the economy
When there's a need for a complex economic issue to be conveyed in a smart, fun visual manner, you can count on Paddy Hirsch at Marketplace (when he's not doing a Knight Fellowship at Stanford, that is). So with the debt ceiling debate and the threat of U.S. default freaking everyone out, here's Hirsch on ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 28 Jul 2011
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What you need to know about the U.S. debt ceiling
Unless a congressional deal is struck in the next few days, the United States faces default on its debt obligations early next week. The implications could be dire, so it's likely the brinkmanship will end with an agreement before then. Here's what you need to know to get up to speed on the matter - ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 26 Jul 2011
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Dang! CEOs should not set price targets for their stocks
When a CEO starts giving price targets for his company's stock and publicly lashes out at investment bankers who helped float his IPO, it's... well... not a good sign. iChinaStock reports that Guoqing Li, the CEO of Beijing based Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), told a Chinese reporter: I think Dangdang is now extremely undervalued. Even the ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 12 Jul 2011
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Smart speculation on the iPhone 5 and next-gen iPad (Nasdaq: AAPL)
By Marco Arment I’ve read a bunch of rumors about upcoming iPhone and iPad releases. The most credible and sensible rumors indicate: There will be a new iPhone released in September. iOS 5 will be released at the same event. These are both so plausible and backed up by so many writers’ anonymous sources that ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 12 Jul 2011
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How Amazon works backward in product development
Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos credits his company's tremendous success in large part to obsessing over customer experience. So how does that play out practically when Amazon develops new products for the site? Ian McAllister, who is responsible for traffic growth at Amazon, explains in the following post from Quora. * * * There ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 6 Jul 2011
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Brilliant interactive marketing from Magnum, a Unilever brand (UN)
As internet users increasingly ignore static banner ads, marketers are producing more interactive creative units that encourage users to get involved with the product. Here's a brilliant one incorporating game mechanics that's the talk of the marketing crowd today. It's from premium ice cream maker Magnum, a Unilever (NYSE: UN) brand. You'll notice other Unilever ... read more
Best of the Web Mick Weinstein on 6 Jul 2011
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How Apple uses its $50 billion cash hoard to crush rivals (AAPL)
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is sitting on a massive cash hoard. When investors and techies speculate about what the company might do with its dough, answers tend toward acquisition targets. But the following, posted on Quora anonymously by someone who appears to know the business well, posits that Steve Jobs and his team are already putting ... read more
Best of the Web Frank on 5 Jul 2011
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