The proposed merger between cigarette makers Reynolds American and Lorillard would create a behemoth with 40% of the US cigarette market, behind Altria’s 50% market share! The government is now concerned about antitrust issues given two firms with 90% of…
Having bought the LA Clippers for $12.5 million in 1981, embattled owner Donald Sterling appears set to sell the club for $2 billion. That’s the second most ever paid for a team and a spectacular compound annual growth rate (CAGR)…
Given slow growth, low interest rates, firms with record cash holdings and high stock prices, the record $650 billion in mergers and acquisitions announced YTD isn’t surprising. It’s safer to buy than build, and if done right, mergers boost profits…
The Friday File: Only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown and while many hope California Chrome becomes the 12th and the first since 1978, my portfolio and I hope not. Eight of the 11 times a horse has won…
Why are rates so low? Let me count the reasons: flight to quality due to rising geopolitical risk, the Fed’s promise to keep short-term rates low for a long time, Japan’s massive monetary stimulus, the ECB’s decision to start printing…
AT&T’s $48.5 billion bid for DirecTV is brilliant. AT&T’s subscriber base of 5.7 million households is much too small for them to bully content providers into agreeing to favorable terms, and their U-Verse technology is poor compared to Verizon’s FiOS…
Last week the economic data were decidedly mixed. The leading economic indicators, Chicago Fed National Activity Index, existing home sales, mortgage applications and the Architectural Billing Index were all negative to neutral. However, the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing index and…
The Friday file: To paraphrase Milton Friedman, a society that puts equality of outcome ahead of freedom will have neither. Using force to achieve equality will destroy freedom and the force will end up in the hands of self-serving persons.…
A great international currency possesses three characteristics. It’s used to settle a substantial amount of international trade and commerce, it floats freely and is used as global reserve currency, meaning it’s held in large quantities by central banks and financial…
While total hours worked have declined over the past century, until recently the poor worked more hours than the upper classes. In 1965, college-educated men enjoyed more leisure than those with a high school diploma. Now, college graduates work 10…