Market Mad House

In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche

Mr. Market

My Thoughts

Workers need a Basic Income because work no longer pays

Therefore, our society no longer values work or workers. In fact, there is now a long list of jobs that our market economy assigns no value to.

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Market Insanity

Should Value Investors Pounce on Wells Fargo?

Buffett’s thinking is that Wells Fargo has so much money; it can simply pay whatever fines and lawsuit settlements that stem from the phantom accounts scandal, and still have cash to spare. This seems like an obvious extension of Warren’s famed belief that a good business is one your idiot nephew could run and still make money. Here’s how he described in a 2010 discussion with the FDIC:

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Market Wisdom

What I Have Learned from the Market

When you do not pay attention to Mr. Market; he whacks you in the head with a club, to remind you he is still there.

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Long IdeasStocksThrift

TJX Profiting from Income Inequality

That indicates we could be moving towards a serious disconnect in American retail; with upper-income Americans shopping at Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), while the increasingly cash-strapped working class turns to brick and mortar discounters. This could be a huge opportunity for investors that can identify which retailers are best-positioned to take advantage of this trend.

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Good StocksStocks

Some Modern-Day Widows and Orphans Stocks

The bottom line is that widows and orphans stocks still exist. You just have to know where to look for them.

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Market Insanity

Is Lending Tree Making Money?

If the U.S. economy does tank because of the situation in China, expect LendingTree to be one of the first stocks to go down and go down hard. This stock is sitting on very shaky ground that will soon collapse.

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Good Stocks

American Credit Card Companies Are flush with Cash

Despite the risks, the U.S. credit industry is capable of generating a lot of cash, which can lead to high levels of float. Float is Warren Buffett’s term for a constant stream of revenue or stockpile of cash that a company can tap or borrow against at any time. Classic examples of float include credit card fees and insurance policy premiums.

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Crazy StocksStocks

Is Amazon Really Worth $524 a Share?

The only way that this situation could be avoided would be if Amazon’s revenue were to grow as large as Walmart’s. The problem with that is that Walmart reported a TTM revenue of $485.62 billion on July 31, 2015, or nearly five times that of Amazon’s, making it the world’s largest retailer by far.

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Long Ideas

Does Lending Club Actually Make Money?

Therefore Lending Club looks like a successful company but not a value investment. Its platform is achieving a lot of growth, but it is not making money the way PayPal is. This indicates that its business model could be flawed or at least seriously limited, so you should stay away from it for now

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Good Stocks

Ten Really Great Underpriced Stocks to Consider Buying Right Now

If you want to take a gamble on a tech company that could be the next Google, PayPal could be it. PayPal’s revenue was growing at a rate of 14% in the first quarter of 2015. PayPal’s international revenue grew at a rate of 52% in 2014, the volume of mobile payments it processed grew by 58% and its total payment volume grew by 26%.

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