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need moar corporate welfare
McDonalds did $27 billion in worldwide sales in 2012, finished the year with $15 billion in shareholder?s equity and over $2 billion in cash.
The company had $5.5 billion available to return to shareholders in the form of stock repurchases and dividends last year.But they?d like their US employees to receive financial assistance from taxpayers and the government.
Pigs.
Read Also:
Saturday links: nothing new under the sun
?Tis the season and for the budding entrepreneur on your list check out Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship and Betrayal by Nick Bilton, an Economist book of the year.
Investing
A must-read piece from James Montier on why there is nothing new in investing. (GMO)
Cliff Asness? top ten pet peeves. (Financial Analysts Journal)
Shots fired. Buffett?s alpha is not all that. (Frazzini, Kabiller and Pedersen)
A high frequency trading bibliography. (Themis Trading)
Technology
The epic rise (and fall) of Demand Media ($DMD). (Variety)
The rise and fall of Blackberry ($BBRY): an oral history. (Businessweek)
A profile of Marissa Mayer one year plus into running Yahoo ($YHOO). (Vanity Fair)
Business
Comparing Europe?s Ryanair to America?s Southwest ($LUV). (flightfox via @thebrowser)
Merck ($MRK) is in hot pursuit of the next Ambien. (New Yorker)
Startups
How to become an angel investor. (WSJ)
Don?t start a company, kid. (Big Nerd Ranch)
On the value with sticking with struggling investments. (A VC)
Eighteen lessons for founders on raising money. (Medium)
Robots
Delivery by drone is not a big joke. (Farhad Manjoo)
Do we really want robots occupying more of our personal space? (FT Alphaville)
Google ($GOOG) wants to be a player in robotics. (NYTimes)
2014 is going to be the year of the ?Internet of things.? (Quartz)
Content
How a Gawker editor identifies viral content. (WSJ)
How to burst your own ?filter bubble.? (Technology Review)
A list of reasons why our brains love lists. (New Yorker)
On the economics of ghostwriting. (Priceonomics Blog)
Health
Walk faster, people. (Well)
Are allergy shots a thing of the past? (NYTimes)
Health care spending is slowing. (James Surowiecki)
Food
Does intermittent fasting help you lose weight? (WSJ)
How to get the most out of your bowl of pho. (Medium)
The 20 best craft breweries of 2013. (Paste)
Movies
The 13 best movies you didn?t see in 2013. (Wired)
The Coen Brothers movies ranked. (Slate)
How binge-watching Netflix-style will change our culture. (New Republic)
The highest grossing movies in the US are declining in quality. (Priceonomics Blog)
Excerpts
An excerpt from Scott Adams? How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life. (BoingBoing via @timharford)
An excerpt from Glen Berger author of Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History. (Slate)
Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality by Edward Frenkel is a book about ?mathematical love.? (Farnam Street)
Ben Bradlee Jr.?s The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams looks to be the ultimate biography of the greatest hitter. (Slate, WSJ)
An interview with Malcolm Gladwell author of David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. (Knowledge@Wharton)
Barchart.com's Chart of the Day - Micron Technologies (MU) for Dec 6, 2013
The Chart of the Day is Micron Technologies (MU). I found the stock by sorting the New High List for frequency, and then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts skipping over those that didn't have positive gains for the last week and month.
It provides semiconductor memory solutions. The company's memory solutions serve customers in a variety of industries including computer and computer-peripheral manufacturing, consumer electronics, CAD/CAM, telecommunications, office automation, network and data processing, and graphics display. The company's mission is to be the most efficient and innovative global provider of semiconductor memory solutions.
Dave Landry's Market in a Minute - Friday, 12/6/13
Random Thoughts
It was yet another mixed day in market land.
The Ps sold off fairly hard, losing nearly ?%. This action keeps them in a shorter-term trading range. Again, they haven't changed much in around three weeks. Longer-term they still look okay. They remain in an uptrend and they only appear to be consolidating.
chart.com's Chart of the Day - Cepheid (CPHD) for Dec 5, 2013
The Chart of the Day is Cepheid (CPHD). I found the stock by sorting today's New High List for frequency, eliminating the stocks that haven't had positive gains for both the last week and month. I used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy in 10/18 the stock gained 13.57%.
The Company develops, manufactures and markets microfluidic systems that integrate, automate and accelerate biological testing. Their systems are miniaturized instruments that analyze complex biological samples in a disposable cartridge by combining molecular biology with microfluidic technology that processes small quantities of liquid, typically using components fabricated with computer chip technology. These systems rapidly perform all of the steps required to analyze complex biological samples.
Sears (SHLD) Up, Jobs Up, Spending Up
Markets were headed higher on Wednesday after the number of unemployed Americans reached a five-year low. The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 7.0%. They also said there was an addition of 203,000 jobs in November. A level this low in unemployment has not be seen since November 2008. The data surpassed economists expectations of November jobs increasing only 180,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 7.2%. September and October jobs were upwardly revised 8,000 new positions. During the month of October there were government employees who were counted as unemployed due to the partial government shutdown. With the increasing amount of positive economic data continuing to roll out, some speculate that the government may start finally pulling back on the Fed?s bond buying program. Eric Stein, co-director of the Global Income Group of Eaton Vance Investment Managers, said, ?The U.S. labor market is still far from healed, but it certainly is moving in the right direction. The number puts December on the table, but it isn?t a certainty,? when referring to the Fed?s possible bond tapering.
In a separate report released on Friday by the Commerce Department, it showed that consumer spending was up in October. Spending increased from a 0.2% rise in September to a 0.3% increase in October. This followed a slight 0.1% gain in wages and salaries. Personal savings was down to 4.8% from September?s 5.2%. The increase in spending was attributed partially to purchases of long-lasting items such as vehicles and non-durable goods, like clothing and utilities. Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of economic activity. Russell Price, a senior economists at Ameriprise Financial Inc. said, ?People are feeling better, that?s a positive for the holiday season. This year I don?t see the same strong fiscal headwinds ahead of us to impede our momentum.?
Shares of J were up on Friday morning after the company announced that they would be spinning off their Lands? End clothing portion of the business into a separate company. They will do so through a distribution of the stock to the company?s shareholders. This announcement was first made public in October when Sears said they were thinking about separating both Lands? End and the Sears Auto Center into separate companies. The auto portion was not mentioned in the announcement. Brian Sozzi, an analyst with Belus Capital Advisors, said, ?It makes you question the value of what Sears is sitting on. It may have to continue dismembering itself to stay alive today and shrink from the inside out.? He continued to say that the move shows that the Sears was not able to attract a buyer willing to pay the right price for Lands? End.
That?s all for the day.
All the best,
Jack Aubrey, Oakshire Financial
Why Did Buffett Spend $3.4 Billion On Exxon? Here's Your Answer
Every quarter, many of us in the investing world eagerly anticipate the SEC filings that the world's largest (and greatest) investment managers are required to file.
There is no single 13F that is more eagerly anticipated than that of Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-B) Warren Buffett.
The Oracle of Omaha isn't just one of the greatest stock pickers the world has ever seen. He is also one of the most selective. He seldom makes a significant new addition to his portfolio, usually instead preferring to add to existing positions or buy nothing at all.
So when he makes a big purchase of a new stock, it's kind of a big deal.
In the most recent quarter, Buffett revealed a rare new portfolio addition: Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) -- for a cool $3.4 billion. Even for Buffett, that's a big purchase.
Investors have been scrambling to answer two questions: Why is Buffett was buying Exxon -- and why now? Buffett has been familiar with Exxon for decades, so what's changed about the company that merits a $3.4 billion investment from Berkshire?
It certainly isn't because Exxon's stock price has dropped:
