] Misconception #1: The Spike in Oil Price is Due to
] China's Insatiable Demand
]
] The past year's sudden increase in oil prices to all-time
] highs (and generational highs in real terms) has led many
] analysts to conclude that the rise in oil prices is due
] to the fact that China has moved from consuming 2
] millions barrels per day a decade ago to 5 (or more
] today).
]
] But while this makes intuitive sense, it does not really
] correspond to reality

China Misconceptions

] The World Series win will fatten their wallets as all of
] New England rewards them for leading the Red Sox to
] victory after almost a century of bitter defeats. Right?
] Wrong.

Forbes.com: No More Curse, But No Windfall Either

] Canton, MA September 17, 2004 - Kryptonite today
] announced it will provide free product upgrades for
] certain locks purchased since September 2002, in response
] to consumer concerns about tubular cylinder lock
] technology.

Hands down, Bug of the Week.

Welcome to Kryptonite

] Believe it or not, according to QSR magazine, which
] serves the "quick serve" (a.k.a. fast food) restaurant
] industry, the world's largest toy distributor is...

Awesome.

Fool.com: The Stealth Toy Giant [Motley Fool Take] September 3, 2004

] Google may have run afoul of securities laws when it
] doled out millions of shares to employees and consultants
] over the past three years, according to a document filed
] Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Whoops. 23 million unregistered shares, 5.6 million unregistered options... these are not small numbers that the SEC or market will overlook. Frankly, there are some pretty creative things that Google is doing, but while ideologically I probably agree with where they are coming from (Buffett is an influence for both), the execution seems far more dubious and less well thought out. Like the minimal lockout periods.

Google may have issued shares illegally | CNET News.com

] The No. 2 earner was David Tepper, of Appaloosa
] Management, who earned $510 million. His funds have
] enjoyed annual growth of 34.8 percent since he launched
] the firm in 1993.

This puts his $50M donation to CMU (in exchange for the
highly ranked business school being named the Tepper School)
in perspective.

Soros' salary tops Wall Street for 2003

] Last Friday, educational software provider Blackboard
] (Nasdaq: BBBB) had the second-most successful technology
] IPO this year, rising 43% on its first day of trading.

Damn it, we forgot to bash them on our show. The Enemy.

Fool.com: Blackboard's Screeching IPO [Motley Fool Take] June 24, 2004

] Even worse, at $24.00, Red Hat trades at a whopping 110
] times 2004 earnings, or 22 times expected fiscal revenue
] for 2005. With a market cap of $4.5 billion, Red Hat's
] valuation outstrips the entire $1 billion market forecast
] for Linux. Even if Red Hat's first-quarter figures (out
] on Thursday) blow the socks off analysts' estimates, they
] still won't be able to provide a convincing case for that
] valuation level.
]
] At such a lofty price, Red Hat stock remains vulnerable
] to even the smallest misstep. Is it any surprise the CFO
] has decided to call it quits?

Fool.com: Red Hat's Red Flags [Motley Fool Take] June 15, 2004

] Our concern is that derivatives in general, and interest
] rate swaps and total return swaps in particular, have
] helped make the economy and financial markets
] hypersensitive to short-term interest rates, much less
] the insanity of valuing long-term assets based on over-night
] interest rates. Nevertheless, the markets of late are
] reacting dramatically to the mere discussion of when a
] quarter-point increase in rates might occur. Liquidity
] and short-term rates have always been a factor in
] markets; however, the old rule of thumb was it took three
] increases by the Federal Reserve before markets took a
] hit. We believe that multiple factors have made the
] markets hypersensitive to short-term rates. The above
] mentioned derivatives, the emergence of the
] financed-based economy, the pervasiveness of the
] carry-trade, the leverage in hedge funds and margin
] accounts, and last but not least the debt-to-GDP of the
] U.S. economy. Even if we accept the low reported rates of
] inflation (which we question), real rates of interest are
] currently negative. A return to a more normal
] relationship between inflation and interest rates is too
] painful to contemplate.

Interesting emphasis on the Carry Trade, which does seem particularly vulnerable. And, of course, more questions on the hyper-derivitive financial environment (looming disaster?). In my Finance course, it is hard to maintain cognitive dissonance between the power and worship of derivitives, and the understanding and fear I've personally picked up from watching from the Berkshire side.

FNM, the Carry Trade, & other thoughts

] It's a sign of all good companies: listening to
] customers. This happened to Internet and telecom
] infrastructure service provider VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN),
] when it was approached by a major wireless carrier
] looking for a wireless content subscription service. The
] carrier knew wireless would be a strong differentiator,
] but lacked the time or resources to deal with content
] providers, technology solutions, integration, and
] billing.

I'm not sure I'd call Verisign a good business. Actually, I am sure I would not call Verisign a good business. I would also not say that they are good at listening to customers. However, they did make an interesting move here. And I doubt they will end up dumping Jamba! for pennies on the [$273M] dollar (or euro).

Fool.com: VeriSign Goes Shopping [Motley Fool Take] May 26, 2004