MarketWatch article:"What I've Learned From the Market Bubbles"

Quick hit:  check out "What I've Learned From the Market Bubbles" on MarketWatch.  Very quick read, and a nice macro view of a repeating bubble trend.

Two energy giants

With all of the emotional charge swirling around BP as of late, I thought it might be interesting to look at a couple of other players in the energy markets.

BP is sitting at just under $30 a share and market capitalization just under $93B, about half of where it was pre-Gulf-oil-spill crisis.  The dividend has been canceled for the first three quarters of 2010, and it's being reported in Bloomberg and elsewhere that a cash injection could be coming in the next few days to stave off takeover bids.

Proxy voting: owning the firm - a follow up

Speaking of owning the firm, here's a note from Wealth-Bulletin.com, noting that "Investors are more careful with their own money."

You get the gist of the article in the first few sentences, so here's the rest:  firms with family ownership (as defined by Oddo, an investment firm in Paris), perform better than others. :)

Proxy voting: owning the firm

This is a very busy time of year for some, and not just because we’re close to the U.S. federal tax deadline.  Over the past three weeks or so, I’ve received at least 15 information packets through the mail from various firms.  The packets typically include an annual report, a 10-K SEC filing, and a card for voting the shares I hold in the firm.  On top of the mailed packets are the electronic proxies.  Because of the way my investments are structured, some firms send me multiple copies of material – always with a request to complete my proxy.

Dell and the margin

Computer maker Dell (DELL) released 2009 year end and quarterly earnings yesterday. Cash flow from operations increased 106% YOY (that's year-over-year) and the cash conversion cycle improved from -25 days last year to -36 days. On top of that, free cash flow and cash on hand are both on the rise.

So why did the stock price drop 6.65% right after the release?