Songwriter Franke Previte Still Collects Six-Figure Royalty Checks on Two Hit Songs Written Nearly 25 Years Ago

Reuters just published an awesome article about songwriter Franke Previte, who lives in New Jersey, and wrote the hit songs “Time of My Life” and “Hungry Eyes” for the movie Dirty Dancing. The copyrights have turned out to be a lottery ticket for the composer, providing him with a substantial stream of profits upon which…

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Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancies in the United States Hit Crisis Levels, Ranging Between 17% for Asians to 72% for African Americans

According to a new story out by the Associated Press and posted on Yahoo, “Blacks struggle with a 72 percent unwed mothers rate”, the out-of-wedlock pregnancy crisis in the United States has become unfathomable with single mother pregnancies accounting for between 17% of pregnancies in Asians to 72% of pregnancies in African Americans. Why should…

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The Collapse of Wachovia – How a Bank with $38 in Book Value Per Share Became Almost Worthless Overnight

Sitting on my desk in front of me, as I type this article, is an analyst report by Morningstar for Wachovia dated December 31st, 2007.  This is the bank that was built almost entirely on the foundation of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in Winston-Salem.  At the time, Wachovia common stock had closed at $38.03 and was paying a very rich 6.31% dividend yield.  The analysts at Morningstar valued the shares at $61.00, indicating they were nearly 40% undervalued. Within 10 months, those same shares of Wachovia were trading for $1.00 following a catastrophic collapse.

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Kennon-Green & Co. Fiduciary Financial Advisor, Wealth Management, Global Value Investing