James Altucher, managing partner of Formula Capital, is a true believer in the Internet’s transformative powers and fondly remembers investing during the 1990′s dot.com bubble.But those days are long gone and Altucher now believes “the Internet is de
Hurricane season is nothing to joke about. The period that runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 can leave devastation in its wake.But as our guest James Altucher, managing partner at Formula Capital, notes, certain stocks perform well during this season. That’s ba
Brace yourselves. Only a year after the housing and credit bubble officially burst with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, a new “bubble of mammoth proportions” is starting to grow, says James Altucher, managing partner, Formula Capital.Bubble 3.0
From The Business Insider, Aug. 31, 2009:Well, that didn’t take long.
In a decade, Apple has gone from niche-market roadkill to a
company whose growing dominance and competitive tactics in a booming
market are thrilling investors, angering competitors,
Stocks stumbled Monday morning, following another overnight dive by China’s Shanghai Composite and another weekend of stories about how the rally has come “too far, too fast.”Even the
If the bottom of the cycle has arrived for the oil and gas services business, then Baker Hughes‘ $5.5 billion stock-and-cash deal to buy smaller rival BJ Services may well be the beginning of a broad consolidation in the industry.
The premium is hardly as juicy as one might expect at 16 percent, given the deal seems such a perfect fit. BJ has a network of faster-growing international operations, while Baker is mostly focused on the big U.S. market. Plus, BJ has attractive high-pressure pumping technology.
But a look at the state of the market shows the urge to merge will probably keep pressure on premiums. Natgas futures are at seven-year lows on soaring inventories and sinking demand, weather forecasters see a mild winter ahead, and economic green shoots are still only at the sprout stage. Just this morning, OPEC voiced concern about rising oil stocks, hinting ominously that it may have to do something about that.
The deal effectively values BJ at $17.94 per share. Just over a year ago, the stock was selling for $34.90. As early as this spring, analysts at Citi and Goldman were issuing upbeat reports about prospects for oil services, anticipating an economic recovery would have a naturally incendiary effect on energy-related businesses. If a recovery is around the corner, BJ could be going for a song.
American taxpayers have pocketed a 10 percent return on bailing out banks that were dubbed “too big to fail” and have paid back their TARP funds, The WSJ reports, citing SNL Financial. Hurray! Right? So why no cheers from our guest John Tamny, e
There’s been a strong correlation over the last several months: as the dollar losses value, stocks rally. It’s leading some to endorse the idea that a weak dollar is good for the economy. Nonsense, argues John Tamny, editor of RealClearMarkets.com. &quo
It may surprise those of you concerned about the $9 trillion deficit America faces over the next decade, but “deficits saved the world,” Nobel-prize winner Paul Krugman declares in his NY Times column today. “In fact, we would be better off
Could the sale of Britain’s biggest electricity distribution network help re-energise infrastructure dealmaking?
The supposedly steady business of buying and running roads, ports, and power grids has had a torrid time. The credit crunch has undermined some big infrastructure players, made it tricky to finance deals, and revealed that demand for some services — like toll roads and airports — is flakier than expected. Asset sales have run aground, instead of commanding the big premiums they would have fetched in the frantic debt-fuelled auctions of yore.
Nonetheless, optimists say the world’s long-term infrastructure needs are enormous. They are also cheered by the record $100 billion or so of funds that Preqin says are currently being raised (albeit slowly). And there may be some chinks of light on the M&A front. As Greg Roumeliotis and I wrote earlier:
“EDF’s possible sale of British or French power networks worth billions of euros suggests infrastructure dealmaking is set to recover after a dismal year for the once-hot asset class.
“The French utility owns Britain’s biggest electricity distribution network and France’s power grid RTE. It has not begun any formal sales process for either, but bankers and investors say advisers are working toward possible sales.
“A successful deal could lift sentiment in the sector, spur similar disposals by rivals, and offer useful pointers on debt availability and bid premiums for infrastructure mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
“The EDF deal is going to be an interesting test case for the market which has been very difficult,” said Martin Nelson-Jones at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London.”
Read the full story here. See Preqin’s recent report on the sector here.
Call it the summer of discontent for Goldman Sachs. It’s been the best of times and the worst of times. Frankly, business couldn’t be better. Trading revenue topped $100 million on 46 days last quarter leading the firm to record quarterly profits.
Controversy over bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives last year continues to dog Bank of American and its CEO Ken Lewis. A related settlement with the SEC is also raising questions over whether the regulator really has gotten tougher in the wake of th