TMFBabo's Blog

Netflix Subscribers: What's Your Reaction??

TMFBabo — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:35:55 GMT

Netflix today announced rate increases. As of September, there will be no discount for people who stream and rent DVDs at the same time. The $9.99 deal (which was a sweet value proposition) is now getting bumped up to $15.98 ($7.99 streaming + $7.99 for 1 DVD-at-a-time).

The deal ma...

Energy vs. Precious Metals

TMFBabo — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:53:16 GMT

As I see it, there are two major ways to play the devaluation of the dollar: precious metals and energy. Personally, I prefer energy. I don't think gold and silver have major run-ups without oil also benefiting. Also, oil and gas have a lot more uses than gold and silver (and yes, they are also more abundant).

I pose this question: why must I buy precious metals over oil and gas? As usual, I am very interested...

Paying Down Debt

TMFBabo — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:22:25 GMT

As I type this, I carry a mortgage at 6.25% and a student loan at 5.6%. Since late 2008, the proper capital allocation decision in my eyes has been to invest my free cash instead of paying down those debts. Thus far, it has been the right decision.

However, I feel differently now. I don't think rock bottom interest rates, high commodity prices, excess housing inventory, high unemployment, and low consumer con...

March 2011 Duke CFO Survey

TMFBabo — Sun, 15 May 2011 14:09:07 GMT

The Duke CFO survey is usually a good, quick read. Various CFOs are asked about capital spending and hiring over the next 12 months, how optimistic they are, what challenges they might face, and some are the most knowledgeable about the detailed budgets of their various companies and they should have a good handle on business outlook, hiring, capital spending, and what have you.

Check out the March 2011 ...

Reviewing my 2009 Blogs

TMFBabo — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:28:35 GMT

I'm not going to go through these one by one, because that would be a waste of time. I'll just highlight a few that caught my eye just now. A lot of them can be judged by just the titles. In general, the posts were of low quality and the number of recs reflected that. It took me quite a while to reach double digit recs and I deserved to take that long.

It's fun to go back, see what you...

Looking for CAPS users for Academic Study

TMFBabo — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:09:00 GMT

I just heard that Joseph Steinhardt, a grad student looking to do qualitative research on how users interact with CAPS, is still in need of more users for his study. Here's the link:

http://caps.fool.com/Blogs/looking-for-caps-users-for/566224

Jo...

That Stock is Dead Money

TMFBabo — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:40:44 GMT

I've heard that time and time again: that stock has done nothing over 10 years. Why would you buy it? These arguments usually refer to many large cap tech stocks and other former amazing growth stories such as WMT. I'll use WMT as my go-to example when I need one, but a ton of tech stocks and other names also apply.

1. Stocks fluctuate from undervalued to fair...

Are You Bullish or Bearish?

TMFBabo — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:25:39 GMT

Just wondering.

Natural Gas Supply Fundamentals - Natural Gas Prices Are Going Higher by 2012

TMFBabo — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:53:08 GMT

I've seen many analyses claiming that natural gas prices are going higher, but I haven't seen too many arguments that address the concerns of the "new normal" of vast supply in the cheaper shale plays. This blog aims to dispel the "low natural gas prices are here to stay" belief, as I believe there are compelling reasons for natural gas prices to go up.
I believe de...

Petrobank Energy

TMFBabo — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:55:04 GMT

Below is my pitch for Petrobank Energy (PBEGF.PK). It's mostly an update of TMFDeej's pitch from October. I'd recommend digging into the filings carefully befo...

Foolanthropy 2010 is Here! Stop By and Leave a Comment!

TMFBabo — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:05:32 GMT

The recipient will be Thurgood Marshall Academy. Read the link below to read about the details:
http://www.fool.com/foolanthropy/2010/11/29/the-motley-fool-chooses-thurgood-marshall-academy-.aspx?source=ihpsitth0000001

I Love Chipotle

TMFBabo — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:17:29 GMT

I have now been at Fool HQ for over 2 weeks. I felt it was time for a proper first post, unlike that 3 sentence piece I rushed out on my first day.
I received a better-than-expected reception to my earlier post, so I thought I'd write another one addressing some comments and giving some random other thoughts. I think people wanted to know about my background and the Analyst Development Progr...

Name Change

TMFBabo — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:46:02 GMT

Hello everyone, I have indeed changed my username. I started working for The Motley Fool today under the Analyst Development Program. In a last-minute decision, I decided to drop "bullish" from the new TMF name.

Notes on Capital Link Shipping Dry Bulk Shipping Sector Forum

TMFBabo — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:38:59 GMT

Today, I found a webinar from Capital Link Shipping that hosted a panel of dry bulk executives. It's from 7/22/10, but I found a lot of information quite useful. My interest in dry bulk shippers stems mainly from my ownership of shares in GNK and BALT. However, I find that following shipping provides useful insight into global steel/electricity consumption and emerging market growth.
O...

Quick Genco Shipping Update

TMFBabo — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 05:14:15 GMT

My blog post pitching Genco Shipping was done before Q2 earnings came out, so the information was stale. I've been keeping tabs on Genco since and I thought I'd give an update. Most of this information can be found on their investor presentations, recent earnings calls, and press releases (except where I added my comments, of course).
As of 9/23/10, 13 of 18 ships from the two recent acquisitions had been received: 11 of 13 Supramax vessels and...

Creating an Investment Framework

TMFBabo — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:48:26 GMT

The purpose of this blog is to share an investment framework by which one can find new stocks, systematically research them, and model future performance. Once the initial research has been done, periodic follow-up due diligence should be done to update the model and assumptions.

Philosophy
I like to look for stocks trading at low multiples of earnings or at a discount to net ass...

How Much Time Do You Spend on Research?

TMFBabo — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:08:47 GMT

How much do you research your picks and holdings? I'm just really curious. I'll go first.  I'll break it down into steps.
1. In the first 3-5 minutes, I have a general picture how the company's done in the last 5 quarters and last several years. It's pretty clear which ones are worthy of further research and which ones aren't. I'm often willing to pick something in CAPS at this point. I'm just looking to see if so...

BravoBevo Overtaken

TMFBabo — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:55:48 GMT

Have you seen this? Bravo is now 2nd in points.

My Notes on Dry Bulk Shipping

TMFBabo — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 02:47:26 GMT

As I learn more about the dry bulk shipping industry, I thought I'd post my thoughts so that others may learn with me.  I figure there's still very little interest in dry bulk shippers, but I figure anyone who owns GNK with me or any of the other shippers would be interested in reading and maybe sharing their thoughts and suggestions.
As of now, I'm concentrating on dry bulk shipping. I may look into containerships and tankers later on, but ...

GNK: Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd.

TMFBabo — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:31:05 GMT

The original pitch can be found here.
I originally intended for this to be a 5 minute quick pitch, but it ended up taking a few hours.

Business:

Genco Shipping & Trading owns a fleet of drybulk ships consisting ...