Ockham Research Staff @ January 30, 2009 # No Comment Yet
A break down of the 4th quarter GDP release. The overall GDP number was not as bad as some had feared but the areas that have propped it up are not all that encouraging, as inventories build as demand declines.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 30, 2009 # No Comment Yet
In this post we are piggy-backing off of an interesting article from TechCrunch.com which got us thinking about an emerging world of data collection and research in the web 2.0 existence. Mint.com is the subject of the article as they are able to collect and organize a massive amount of data to yield some meaningful research.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 29, 2009 # No Comment Yet
Ford reported simply awful quarterly results, but the company reiterated its stance on not taking the government funding, at least not now. So, as bad as Ford’s results were, it is a breath of fresh air that any company is not facing the government with palms up in the air.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 28, 2009 # No Comment Yet
Recently we touted DeVry as a particularly recession resistant stock, and we seem to have been correct as the stock is up about 20 percent as the economy has worsened. However, we are reexamining our evaluation of this company because it just seems to expensive given the current overall market valuations.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 27, 2009 # No Comment Yet
Ockham has downgraded Verizon recently because the underlying fundamentals look less appealing, especially considering the value available elsewhere in the market. The company reported quarterly results today that were mixed, but we are maintaining our position on this stock.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 26, 2009 # No Comment Yet
There were a couple of very interesting pieces of news from the this morning that I believe are important. One, a study by the WSJ, has shown that banks thus far are lending less than before they received the TARP funding. The second comes from a newsletter from John Mauldin that warns of the possibility of more TARP programs headed our way.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 23, 2009 # No Comment Yet
Harley Davidson just reported on their tremendously painful fiscal 2008, but there is a real potential that things could indeed get worse. This is a case of a company that may be undervalued, but could potentially become an even cheaper stock over the next few quarters.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 22, 2009 # One Comment
Microsoft disappointed many with their earnings release today, but we think there is a good chance that this company would be near the top of Ben Graham’s list of stocks he would buy. We detail some of Ben Graham’s classic value screen as well as Ockham Research methodology, much of which was inspired by Graham.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 22, 2009 # One Comment
In this post we reprint an article from the Wall Street Journal in which they expose yet another conflict of interest from the TARP bailouts. There are always going to be conflicts of interest when politicians and business start to intermix, and we fear that we are just starting to see the beginning of the problem.
Ockham Research Staff @ January 21, 2009 # One Comment
We continue to be amazed by the evolving situation surround the America automakers. The latest deal will partner Chrysler with Italian automaker Fiat, but there will be no money changing hands, instead Fiat will share its fuel-efficiency technologies with Chrysler and in exchange they will receive more than a third of the struggling U.S. firm.