Why Investors Need to Understand “Total Yield”

I was once asked which was better – dividends or buybacks. My answer was dividends are better but both are great. And either are preferable to most big acquisitions in terms of what a company should do with its cash. bBut that’s really as far as I thought about. Chris Brightman of Research Affiliates (Rob…

Every Romantic Comedy Ever, Basically

I take my wife to the movies for Valentine’s Day. That’s what we do, rather than get herded into one of those horrendous prix fixe cattle call dinners that make you feel like a tourist in your own city. And I don’t mind that I can tell you exactly what’s going to transpire in every…

Lady in Red

John Henry Heinz founded his horseradish company in Sharpsburg PA in 1869 – and it’s been a perennial takeover target ever since. There hasn’t been a year gone by that someone wasn’t bidding for the lady’s hand – at least if you had listened to the rumors.  And this demonstrates why playing the takeover guessing…

The Alamo

I’ve talked about the last remaining broker-dealers with aggressive telemarketing salesforces ad nauseum, both here and in the book Backstage Wall Street. I’ve been predicting their demise for four years now, not exactly an out-on-the-limb call, but still… There are only a few dozen of these firms left. They tend to be located on Wall…