As a Yahoo(YHOO) shareholder, I was thrilled with the news that Marissa Mayer would become CEO. I share her engineering background, but found it difficult to explain to outsiders exactly how this changed the game for Yahoo, particularly in terms of the company’s ability to attract top engineering talent. I’ve always had a hard time convincing non-engineering management… Read More »
This is not our usual posting style or content. There are no specific actionable stock ideas or company related news. But it says something we felt needed to be said, and we think there’s an investing lesson to be had as well. Hopefully, both of our readers will forgive the digression(thanks, Mom!). It’s still only a few hours… Read More »
The New York Times has an incredible story today about the ongoing litigation between James and Janet Baker and Goldman Sachs. The Bakers hired Goldman Sachs to sell the company they had built, Dragon Systems. Goldman did, and the sale, for $580 million in stock was closed with Lernaut & Hauspie. Just one month later, L&H was found… Read More »
There is no doubt that the wide moat stands as one of the most durable metaphors of investing. It’s important to remember, however, that a moat will only repel a ground assault. The invention of aircraft pretty much made moats and trenches worthless in warfare. Similarly, moats around businesses can give investors and management a false sense of… Read More »