David Neubert Homepage

Want to see what stocks I own? 
Want to berate my bad decisions?
Take credit for my good ones. 
Read On:
<< MORE >>

Featured in Portfolioist today.  Nanette Burns and I talk about how individual investors can beat institutional investors and hedge funds. You can read the entire interview in the smart investing smart investing section of Portfolioist.com<< MORE >>

Kapitall announced real trading with TDAmeritrade.  As an amateur and part-time tester Kapitall, I tried to break our trading product and succeeded on several occasions.  << MORE >>

Today, I set up a trading account at TDAmeritrade for the Kapitall interns.  I allocated each $1000 to trade in my account.  While I have veto power for anything stupid they might do, they have full discretion.  After spending time with practice portfolios, knowing the money is real creates a whole new level of stress.  It makes me want to come into the office each day just to watch.

<< MORE >>

Are you smarter than a fifth-grader at investing? Why not start learning investing at a young age? I've given presentations to 5th and 6th graders in Salinas, California and The Bronx in New York. Most recently, I took a field trip to Cold Spring Elementary in Potomac, Maryland and USA Today's Greg Toppo was on hand to cover it. Investing has become something everyone must learn. << MORE >>

Why is Good Friday a Stock Market Holiday

<< MORE >>

I had just gone to the doctor with Natalie. She had to have blood drawn and was very nervous about getting some blood drawn. I met her there to help her relax. I didn't know what to do so I told her every joke I knew for 45 minutes in the waiting room. She walked me back to my Soho office and on the way, we saw a cyclist killed in the very same intersection I ride through every day. The next day she asked me why I didn't say anything to her about the Lehman collapse. Even though I left Lehman three years earlier, she knew I'd lost all my executive compensation, pension, stock and my other investments were down my almost half. Basically, my financial future changed forever. "In didn't seem relevant at the time. In the end, what I lost didn't seem to make much difference relative to what that bicycle messenger lost that day." << MORE >>

I was invited to the Fox Business show, "Happy Hour" to elaborate a piece I wrote for Seeking Alpha about my play for The Microsoft bid for Yahoo.   ... << MORE >>

<< MORE >>

Post-Bailout Punditry. My explanation of how Bear Stearns shares are trading into bailout.

... << MORE >>

The Mystery of the Bear Stearns Stock Price.  

The Mergers & Acquisitions column of the New York Times Business Section, the author quotes my opinion on using Bear Sterns equity as a hedge for bond default.
... << MORE >>

Explaining the Bear Stearns Share Price

<< MORE >>

We incorporated!  StereoScope is the owner of the project codenamed Kapitall.  We are going to revolutionize the way people invest.  Sorry, can't release too many details right now.
<< MORE >>

... << MORE >>

Among several new financial posting at The Panelist is this one on my views about Bernanke, inflation and interest rates.

If you are authorized to share this content (for example SeekingAlpha.com) please do not link to davidneubert.com but instead to http://thepanelist.com/blogcategory/Neuberts_Trades/
...<< MORE >>

<< MORE >>

I wrote this blog on my Intel (INTC) trade at the Panelist.  Read and tread with care, this one is full of options.

The link to my blog (Neubert's Trades) at The Panelist is: http://thepanelist.com/blogcategory/Neuberts_Trades/  You can subscribe to it using RSS. ...<< MORE >>

I'll be on Karen Salmansohn's show, Be Happy Dammit, on Lime Radio tomorrow from 8:00 - 9:00am.  I think I'll either be in the 8:15 or 8:30 slot. 

I'll be talking about markets, personal finance, money and happiness.  Not sure exactly where the conversation will go but I know Karen's been asking about housing prices and recent mortgage market shake-ups. ...<< MORE >>

Why did I sell Verizon and buy G.E.?  See my blog entry at ThePanelist.com.

...<< MORE >>

See my financial blog called Neubert's Trades at The Panelist (this is my personal blog) for my recent entry on CitiGroup (C). I just couldn't help myself but buy. ...<< MORE >>

Burning Man! Heck no. Blogger Ethan Zuckerman in Western Massachusetts proposes Freezing Man Festival. Bet you won't see any naked hippies at his arts festival.Well, I'll be looking for his photos from Freezing Man 2007. In the meantime, here's the link to my photos from Burning Man 2006. ...<< MORE >>

A short entry on my Japanese Yen position at ThePanelist.com.Here's the RSS Feed for Neubert's Trades at ThePanelist.com ...<< MORE >>

Added to my position in Home Depot (HD) blog entry at The Panelist here. ...<< MORE >>

Blog Entry on my purchase of Amgen Inc. at ThePanelist.com. ...<< MORE >>

I wrote about New York Times Company (NYT) on my blog at The Panelist.Disclosure: I am the principal shareholder, publisher, founder and a blogger at The Panelist. ...<< MORE >>

A couple of articles I wrote at ThePanelist on TXU:The Panelist: Environmentalists Change TXU corpThe Panelist: Did Neubert buy TXU? ...<< MORE >>

My trading blog has moved to Neubert's Trades at ThePanelist.com.See today's entry on my sale of April gold futures at 684.40. ...<< MORE >>

I wrote about selling half my position in Stoneridge Inc. (SRI) at ThePanelist.com. Here is the link.Blog address: http://thepanelist.com/Neubert%27s_Trades/Neuberts_Trades/ ...<< MORE >>

I am writing several times a week in my blog for The Panelist. The title of the blog is "Neubert's Trades".Here is my reaction to today's ratings cut by Lazard on Seaspan (SSW) I also mention Knightsbridge Tankers Limited (VLCCF).Disclosures and Confessions: I own SSW. I have bought and sold SSW in the past two years. At current prices I am unlikely to buy or sell Seaspan. I own VLCCF. I have bought and sold VLCCF if the past two years. At currently prices I am more likely to buy ...<< MORE >>

I wrote about today's treasury auction and US Saving Bonds (I-Bonds) on my new blog at ThePanelistLink to Treasury Auction BlogLink to Entire Blog Called Neubert's Trades ...<< MORE >>

I wrote this one up at Neubert's Trades at ThePanelist.com. Pfizer (PFE) just keeps looking like a value stock.Disclaimer: Nothing in this trade log is meant to be specific financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell. I do not give investment advice. Do your own research. Do not rely on anything in this weblog to make investment decisions. I do not log all my trades here. I only describe or mention those that I think might be interesting. Consult an investment professional familiar with your specific ...<< MORE >>

As I go over Yahoo (YHOO) earnings data I was happy to see a decent increase in revenues even if earnings disapointed. However, it does seem that Google (GOOG) looks like the better value. Forward P/E of xx vs. xx for Yahoo. Then I came across the following blog entry by Jay Meattle at Compete.com: He shows the top 20 US website usage ranked by time spent on line. MySpace, owned by Newscorp (NWS), come in first at 11.9%. Second place belongs to Yahoo at 8.5%, four times the amount of time spent on Google ...<< MORE >>

I like this commentary on Forbes.com by Martin T. Sosnoff. Among the many stocks he mentions, the companies in my portfolio are WMT, HD, LEH, and AAPL. He is on the side of the shareholder activist and corporations treating shareholders like owners. He also talks about Walmart trying to improve its public image through deeds not just advertising. This op/ed would fit nicely into the editorial mission of The Panelist (where I am the founder/publisher). I wish we could afford him as one of our staff writers.Disclosures and Confessions: I own Wal*Mart (WMT), ...<< MORE >>

Life is an accumulation of experiences, not an accumulation of money. ...<< MORE >>

Found this little tidbit on the website of a woman from New Jersey (Kate of Hoboken) who lost her husband and wrote a lot about it. What follows is her four year old son Bucky's take on war:ONE DAYBUCKY Do you know why there is war ma?MOM No Bucky, why?<< MORE >>

I bought Vonage (VG ) at the beginning of the year as (documented on my personal blog - Jan. 3 2007 paid $6.65 - now $5.85) expecting the shares were the victim of tax loss selling and that I'd see a big snap back as soon as those who bought the stock at the IPO for $17, sold to recognize tax losses and offset gains. While sellers may have been hitting Vonage it would seem no such snap back was anywhere to be found. I'm still holding while I try to get a better handle ...<< MORE >>

Eric Jackson's Campaign to create shareholder value at Yahoo (YHOO) continues. It's still small relative to the total size of Yahoo but I hope he will continue to gather momentum. He's even created a Wiki for the campaign and has commentary from people. In expectation that this campaign might gather more momentum and seeing that it is getting more press coverage, I recently added to my Yahoo (YHOO) position through a buy/write. On Jan 17th I bought Yahoo shares at $28.97 and sold Jan 2008 35 strike calls for $1.95. I have a net cost ...<< MORE >>

Some business associates from the film industry were talking about financing film credits and asked me what I thought about a conversation they'd had at The Sundance Film Festival going on right now in Utah. Here's what I said:"I worked in finance for fifeteen years and there is a huge competition for the BS factor with Hollywood going on. 'Yes, we can do that deal' before you see a term sheet is the finance industry's version of 'We'll do lunch.' " ...<< MORE >>

Selling a European Utility Scottish Power (SPI). With p/e ratios roughly equal to that of the general market I think utilities in the US are vastly overvalued. As a result of the of the recent merger mania among utilities in Europe, I now think same is true of European utilities. On Jan 16th (yesterday), I sold my long time holding in Scottish Power ADRs (SPI) at $58.43. Disclosures and Confessions: I first acquired Scottish Power through my participation in a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) at PacifiCorp in ...<< MORE >>

Grandma called from California gloat and let me know that Imperial Sugar (IPSU) announced a special dividend of $3.00 per share. I thought the stock was getting too much attention because of ethanol prices had driven up sugar prices in the short term and that the stock would eventually suffer. When I wrote my entry on September 25th IPSU was trading around $29. It had fallen all the way to just under $21 in December. The stock is now trading at $26 and holders on December 26th get that extra 3 bucks. So I'd be ...<< MORE >>

The Inelegant Investor Summarizes Munger's Comments to the LATimes.Munger derided compensation consultants, declaring that “I have always said that prostitution would be a step up for these people.” Munger pointed out that the problem was not that CEOs were evil, but that “… envy-driven compensation mania … brings out the abosulte worst in good people.” ...<< MORE >>

Sorry Warren Buffet , Eric Jackson is my new investor hero. This guy is leading a campaign of individual investors from his blog to push for a restructuring of Yahoo (YHOO ) for the benefit of shareholders. In his blog and embedded video posted on YouTube Mr. Jackson describes a ten point plan to increase returns for shareholders and remind Yahoo Management who they work for. He then asks shareholders to either buy shares or use their current holdings and commit to vote them with his proposals. This is shareholder activism ...<< MORE >>

In early June, I bought Mastercard (MA) around $47.00. I thought I was buying a stock with a forward p/e of 15 which compared nicely to American Express (AXP) at the time. That seemed low and I thought that the stock deserved a p/e multiple of closer to 20. I sold half my position in November at $89.46. Today, I sold the rest at $101.40. Both August and November had positive earnings suprises that help goose to the stock to a forward p/e of 23 according to First Call estimates and today's ...<< MORE >>

Exxon (XOM) gets caught trying to supress science and hurt the planet for profit. (See Reuters article) If I want exposure to oil and it's a big part of the world economy. Energy will only get more important as China and India continue to industrialize and become consumers. Luckily at a p/e of 11.1 and a growth rate no better than other huge oil companies I can find better value and better morals (if only slightly sometimes) picking other energy companies. The Oil companies and the P/E ratiosof companies I do own are as follows:Conoco ...<< MORE >>

David Andrew Taylor, currency trader and blogger at dismally.com has the best disclaimer I've ever seen. I try to be painfully honest and even funny in my "disclosures and confessions" but this guy wins. I wonder what law firm he used to write his disclaimer?His Disclaimer begins like this:I have never made money in the markets. If you follow my advice, that is akin to strapping on a a piece of fishing line to your ankles and trying to bungee jump off a 1,000 foot bridge..... (read the rest) ...<< MORE >>

Holiday parties, working on ThePanelist.com and family visits have curtailed by writing but not my trading. Here's a list of value stocks that I picked up at year. These stocks seem cheap either because they are out of favor, the victims of year end tax selling, or simply value that I think will come back with the New Year when value managers start going over income statements and running screens again.I bought all of these names for myself or for friends in the last week of the year. Yahoo (YHOO) $25.51Home Depot (HD) $39.90Amgen (AMGN) $68.40Andarko (APC) ...<< MORE >>

I grew up playing in this Volkswagen. My mother got it in 1965, the year of my birth. I used to play house with Stacy Spung in the back on this when I was 5. In 1981/82, I learned to drive in this . . .<< MORE >>

Photo by Rahull J Young via Creative Commons and Flickr I had to add to my Chubb (CB) position. This property and casualty company is so cheap at a p/e of 8. They've had this low p/e for years as the stock has climbed. People are worried that global warming and terrorism mean that there is another unexpected disaster out there that will hurt insurance companies. While global warming is bad for me, you, the planet, the oceans, all the species that will go ...<< MORE >>

I posted this entry on July 24th, 2006 (Wait 'Till Winter) on buying semi-conductors and online retailers the summer and waiting for winter. I paid $24.75 for IAC/Interactive (IACI) - now $36.67$17.39 for AMD - now $20.80$17.10 for Intel (INTC) - now $20.84Last week I sold part of the IACI position at $36.64 and sold calls against another part. (Jan 2008, 37.5 strike).At a p/e of 38 trailing and Disclosures and Confessions: own and previously owned IAC/Interactive Group, Intel and AMD.Disclaimer: Nothing in this blog is meant to be specific financial advice or a ...<< MORE >>

Central Vermont Public Service Corp (CV) is an interesting utility. Though I don't own it right now, I've owned it on and off over the years. Like most Vermont companies they are pretty innovative when it comes to the environment. They currently have an interesting program around recycling cow manure to make electricity. Farmers are paid a premium and the earth is saved from methane."To create energy, manure and other farm waste are held in a sealed concrete tank at the same temperature as a cow's stomach, 101 degrees. Bacteria digest the volatile components, creating methane ...<< MORE >>