In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche
This makes LifeLock like an insurance company; the memberships give it float, a pool of cash it can access at any time for various purposes. Value investors know that Warren Buffett loves float; that’s one of the reason why he invests in things like insurance companies. They have lots and lots of float.
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Energy is not the only industry that would be disrupted by falling oil and gas prices. The effect of cheaper gasoline on big retail could be just as profound and wide ranging.
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In a recent Bloomberg interview, Ready makes Venmo and Braintree sound like a sort of Google for financial transactions. That is an open sourced platform through which a wide variety of transactions are made. The difference is that Braintree’s transactions are financial.
Read MoreDollar General is doing well right now, but the geniuses at its headquarters have figured out how to wreck the company: spend a fortune acquiring a failing rival for no reason. Worse, that acquisition would require them to essentially gut a successful existing business for dubious gains.
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The truth is that neither Dollar Tree nor Dollar General needs Family Dollar. Both chains are doing well and making money without Family Dollar and its problems. A far better strategy for these two companies would be to let Family Dollar collapse and pick over its carcass.
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It looks as if Obamacare could be changing the retail landscape by expanding Medicaid. That expansion seems to be driving customers to stores with pharmacies and leaving traditional dollar stores high and dry. One wonders how long Walgreen can continue to profit from that upheaval and how long before Kroger, CVS Health, and Walmart Stores Inc. start expanding their Medicaid business.
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