The Cat Thinks She Is My Boss

The cat decided to claim my bed this morning.  She planted herself at my feet, sat like the Sphinx, and refused to budge.  She has also grown very talkative lately.  Oh, and she has a habit … if I am reading a 10K or annual report and she wants my attention, she approaches me, stares [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Sugar Prices Hit 30 Year Highs

I spent the evening reading through the annual report and SEC filings of Imperial Sugar on the iPad listening to the river outside with the windows open. (That would be an article in and of itself – the company had a huge explosion in 2008 at one of its sugar refineries, killing several employees and [...]

from Joshua Kennon

The Problem with Tootsie Roll Industries for the Value Investing Crowd

For more than 15 years, I have watched the Tootsie Roll company and waited for it to be “fairly” valued or undervalued relative to the stable profits that churn out year after year like the chewy candies for which the business is known.  It’s the type of company that I would love to have a [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse with Jocelyn and Aaron

Jocelyn came to visit Aaron and me!  After picking her up from the airport in Kansas City, we headed to a nearby Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse because we wanted something good and it was unquestionably worth it.  I had read their annual report a few years ago and wanted to experience the food for myself.  I [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Sun Trust Bank and the Coca-Cola Stock

I’m reading the Sun Trust annual report and I realized that many, if not most, of you are probably unaware of the Sun Trust connection to Coca-Cola and how it gave rise to one of the greatest investments in history.  (As many of you know, we used the Coca-Cola direct stock purchase plan and dividend [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Our Value Investing Research Process for Stocks

A week or two ago, I wrote an article called Understanding Stock Repurchase Plans for About.com, a division of The New York Times, which discussed Sonic Restaurant and the massive stock buy back program that had taken place over the past few years. In it, I walked the readers through a lot of the math [...]

from Joshua Kennon

Rainbow Pancakes

I happened to be sitting at the dining room table, a cup of coffee in one hand, writing out plans for potentially launching a mutual fund this year (this time around, it’s a Parker Duofold rollerball in an amber check pattern from the recent shipment of fine writing instruments we received at Kennon Home Accessories [...]

from Joshua Kennon