I’m going through the corporate bond filings of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly just out of curiosity. They have a huge patent cliff coming up, during which time as much as 40% of their revenue base will be exposed to generic competition. I wondered what it would do to the risk metrics on the senior bonds so I pulled the Moody’s rating and reading over the figures as I listen to an old 1970s song called Snookeroo.
DetailsI spent a big percentage of my day reading indenture documents for corporate debt securities because I was helping someone pick up some additional fixed income investments for a retirement portfolio. I managed to get my hands on a nice block of high-grade, non-callable debentures from a major packaged foods company with a 4.3% yield-to-maturity on the remaining decade before maturity, but still have a bit of their dry powder left to spend.
DetailsThough I didn’t intend it, I’ve been away for the past week trying to finish several major projects that all seemed to align at precisely the wrong time. Unfortunately, they are all hard decisions; things that will affect the businesses and our household for many years down the road. The biggest among them is the re-platforming project for the sporting goods companies.
DetailsDespite the largest position in my personal household portfolio being Wells Fargo & Company, bought when it was practically being given away for free during the stock market crash, I’m at the point where I think the major global banks should be smashed and, here in the United States, at least, restrictions on inter-state banking put back in place so there is wide geographic diversity in deposit institutions to spur competition and prevent the probability of a banking crisis in the event of another Great Depression.
DetailsSince the energy saving program 4 months ago, the real world results are exceeding projections. Thank you, again, to those of you who wrote me with suggestions! I estimated that the energy efficient light bulbs alone would save an average of 288 kWh per month, or 3,456 Kwh per year. They are actually saving 317 kWh per month, or a run rate of 3,804 kWh per year. That means my net cash savings are around $410 per annum. Over the next 25 years, if I put it to work at average rates of return, it will add an extra $40,300+ in net worth to my family’s balance sheet. By the end of my natural life expectancy, it will add $933,800+ in extra wealth to my family’s balance sheet.
DetailsBack in October when I fell off the Korean Drama bandwagon, there was a suggestion in the comments that I watch a show called Pasta. Needing something to do while I was on the elliptical machine in the gym, I once again thought, “Ah … just one episode”. I’m 18 hours into it. [mainbodyad]The problem…
DetailsIndirectly, at least. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, arising from the events set in motion in 1969 when the country struck oil in the North Sea, has managed to avoid using the wealth it generates from crude on temporary boosts in government spending, instead conservatively investing it for the good of the nation. It’s grown…
DetailsThis is, without a doubt, one of the simplest, coolest, most useful investment tools I’ve ever come across on the Internet. Enter a ticker symbol and – Bam! – the records for the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and divided into their own boxes, separating financials such as the 10-K and 10-Q…
DetailsI’ve spent my entire day buried in documentation for Magento, playing around with the test server I setup. Installing themes is horribly inefficient compared to what it should be, but otherwise, this open source platform is truly revolutionary in terms of what it’s doing for e-commerce.
DetailsWe spent Christmas Eve this year with my in-laws, and Christmas morning over at my parent’s house having breakfast. Unfortunately, with my sister and her family living a couple hundred miles away now, they weren’t able to be there. (My mom and dad, not being able to stand not to see their grandkids, got in…
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