Value Investing News

The topic of corporate governance excites few, far fewer than it should, and of course much fewer than say a big (but ultimately boring) story like Facebook’s (FB) pending IPO; though even Facebook and also Google (GOOG) have some newsworthy corporate governance issues. Corporate governance is only hot when there is an Aubrey McClendon type [...]

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General Electric’s (GE) annual shareowner meeting is tomorrow (Weds.) in Detroit. I urge those that haven’t voted to do so as soon as possible today to ensure votes are counted. To help make readers better informed and to generate discussion, I prepared two write-ups surrounding GE’s annual meeting: (1) a review of each item for [...]

First, I want to thank readers that have purchased my book, Investing in Japan. So far the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and I’m very appreciate of the reader reviews, including by: Nate Tobik, a value investor (with positions in Japanese net-nets) of the blog Oddball Stocks, whose review is entitled, “A must read for anyone [...]

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I have heard from fellow value investor Jacob Wolinsky (of ValueWalk) that Paul Sonkin, manager of the Hummingbird Value hedge fund, believes proxy statements are the most underrated of statements; Wolinsky perhaps inspired by that says rather than refer to the 3 key financial statements it really should be “4.” I couldn’t agree more. As [...]

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Internet Initiative Japan (IIJI) (3774) is being overlooked by the market of late after a run last year to a multi-year high. Poised for a record fiscal year (which ends in a couple weeks), no doubt 2012 – 2013 will prove to be even more impressive. See my write-up, which appears as an exclusive premium [...]

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Japanese stocks have done very well in 2012 and of course the weakening yen has increasingly more to do with the rally; deservedly so for the people of Japan. Otherwise, and unless Japanese stocks continue to do well, they could become neglected once again. Not necessarily a bad thing for value investors, and regardless of [...]

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I submitted the letter that follows below to the SEC on February 6th, largely in response to the January 19th letter 23 co-signers amongst business lobby groups sent to the SEC in regards to the Dodd-Frank provision about disclosure of median worker compensation and the ratio of median worker to CEO compensation. The SEC has [...]

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Great to see Ralph Nader write something on the very important matter of dividends and stock buybacks, see, “It’s time for Cisco to cough up shareholder cash.” (Hyperlink visible in full article view) And great to see it published by a mainstream outlet like Reuters. Billions of dollars, if not tens of billions, at companies [...]

Serendipitously on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I was able to relay great news for shareowners of General Electric (GE) and all publicly-traded companies. The SEC ruled the prior week that GE cannot omit my critical proposal (hyperlink appears in full article view; see page 2 of PDF) requesting its board reexamine dividend policy. GE has [...]

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As I pen this article on this day of remembering/honoring Martin Luther King Jr., an icon of activism, I am elated to share great news for General Electric (GE) and all public equity shareholders alike: the Securities and Exchange Commission has informally ruled that GE cannot omit my proposal from its 2012 Annual Meeting and proxy statement. [...]

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I have followed up on my original bullish take on Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) (JP: 7974) from June. In my latest, carried as an exclusive on Seeking Alpha, I explain why I remain bullish on Nintendo and among other things include mention of recent Japanese analyst actions. *Click “Read Full Story” below for hyperlink to Seeking Alpha.*

Please see Seeking Alpha (“GE Dividend Still Taking Back Seat to Buybacks“) for my latest installment in the saga of General Electric’s (GE) reluctance to share the wealth with its shareholders.

Beware the stock buyback story. While Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) investors and the media were mostly pleasantly surprised by the company’s (i.e. Buffett’s) announcement yesterday saying it may buy back its stock under certain conditions, the situation is quite different at General Electric (GE). The most recent buybacks at GE have cost approximately $30/share, which [...]

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Please see my exclusive article at Seeking Alpha, “Why I’m Long Precious Metals (And Hope Others Will Continue to Buy Treasuries).” I look at some of the perils of investing in Treasuries; the performance of select assets and money growth since 1971 when president Nixon closed the gold window; and discuss my investments in iShares [...]

Shares of Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) (7974) jumped 9.8% overnight in Japan, while the broader market (the Nikkei 225) was up a far more modest 1.4%, and as the yen remained stubbornly (relatively) strong at Y76.65 against the US$. What explains this big move? The Japanese business press is at a loss for the most part. The [...]