New Orleans Jazzfest and FestAid

My friend and fellow New Orleans Jazzfest fanatic, Shiela Byrd sent me this link to a WWOZ news release about FestAid. What a fantastic group of fans of both New Orleans and Jazzfest who want to give something back. I leave Tuesday for New Orleans and will be there for six, YES six days and nights of wonderful of fatty food, good music, dancing and reoconnecting with old friends. Pre-Jazzfest Opinions:My Favorite Jazzfest Food: Gator Po' Boy (not bad for an ex-vegetarian)My Favorite Jazzfast Band: (it always turns out to be one of these bands that combines various ...

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(NZT) (TMX) Buying some cheap telecoms - Telmex and Telecom New Zealand

In this world of a falling dollar I can't help but pick up some high dividend paying low valuation stable earnings oriented telecom companies. I added to my position in Telecom New Zealand (NZT) and I bought back the May 20 strike calls sold agains my small Telmex (TMX) position.Disclosure:I own Telecom New Zealand (NZT) and Telmex (TMX). I am also short jan 2007 - 15 strike puts on TMX. (I'd be very happy to own it at that price.) ...

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(PG) Portfolio Trade - Procter and Gamble Earnings Strangle

Procter and Gamble (PG) (stock reference $58.20)Bought May 55 PutsBought May 60 CallsPaid $0.45 per shareThe company annouces earnings next week. I don't have much of an opinion on what earnings might be but I don't want to be left out of any big move. And since option prices are so low lately and I love buying when others are selling, I picked some up cheap. I view this option trade as a speculative bet. The implied volatility of this option strangle is around 17. Links to Educational Sites to explain this strategy:Options BasicsDefinition of ...

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(MSFT) Portfolio Trades - Microsoft on sale 11% off.

Microsoft MSFT:Bought July2006 25 strike CallsBought stock at 24.10Bought stock at 24.15If you believe the Microsoft then the stock was having an 11% off sale today. Things that have not changed: China joining the rest of the world trading and copyright system is still good for the stock, weak dollar is still good, people still need to buy Excel and Word, the company still has loads of cash and a clean balance sheet, continues to buy back stock, and the company has gone through a pro-shareholder shift in the way it compensates employees and pays dividends.If you are not ...

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Rhodium on my Corn Flakes

One of the people on the investment committee for a foundation in which I am involved told me of some other foundations who are looking into buying platinum and rhodium for their portfolios.Here was my response:"Feels like they are chasing performance - almost always a suckers game. We could set up a plan for making commodity investing part of a long term plan for the endowment but remember, commodities don't pay dividends. So it's just plain speculation and inflation hedging - not investing. "I'm not saying these might not go up and go to the moon, but it ...

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Portfolio Trade - Tsakos Energy Navigation

Bought 1/4 position in Tsakos Energy Navigation (TNP).I listened the NYSE presentations on shipping today. Listening to company executives give presentations always forces me to do better analysis because I want to call out executives on their claims. I do feel shipping is at a bit of a peak right now but the valuations on the shippers do not bare this out. Therefore I feel safe with small positions. These shares are thinly traded so I also can pick them up with limit orders below the market when big sellers are in a hurry.Good things ...

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Weak Dollar - Who Does that Help?

Who does the weak dollar help? It helps US large multinationals. I was saying this at the beginning of the year and I continue to say it. Of those companies in my portfolio it helps Coke (KO) and Procter and Gamble (PG). However, with trailling p/e mulitples near 20, neither of these companies have a cheap valuation. I am waiting for a lower price in both to either more. Of course, there are others, and I will poke around to look for them. In general, I look for US based companies that get a ...

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Behaviorial Finance

I just picked up my copy of Advances in Behavioral Finance this week. (Edited by Economist Richard Thaler). If you are not an economist or mathematician but interested in why winning an auction is not really winning. I would pick up Thaler's easy reading book called The Winner's Curse. It has lots of anti-intuitive commentary like why when you have lots of competitors in an auction you should bid lower not higher. Very useful if you buy art, shop on ebay or enter office pools. ...

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Excerpt from my Great-Great Grandmother's Diary Entry: The San Francisco 1906 Earthquake

Excerpt from the "Places I Have Visited" Diary of Alice Josephine (Gallaher) Williamson: The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 "Terrible Earthquake in Cal. April 18/06 5.14 A. M. while we were at the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey Cal. And we escaped. 2 killed in our hotel. We were all thrown right out of our beds at 5.14 A. M. Apr. 18th 1906 by the terrific Earthquake—which the whole country can never forget!!!!! Of course we all were simply dazed and could not stand on our own feet ...

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Lots of Cash at Big Corporates

Found another interesting article by Eddy Elfenbein at US Market Blog. This time he talks about cash levels at some of the US giants, in particular Microsoft (MSFT). My motivation for owning many of the US huge multinations is their cash levels. Of course, I'm hoping they spend this cash on share buybacks (in excess of employee option and stock grants) and dividends. I think Eddy and I both fear that it will be spent on stupid acquisitions. I must say one of my main motivations for buying Microsoft last year was their new found ...

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