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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...
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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 ...
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Sardar Biglari has acquired a reputation as mercurial CEO, engaging in multiple proxy fights and hostile bids for companies he’d like to acquire. In a particularly prolonged battle, Biglari spent well over a year attempting to acquire Fremont Michigan Insuracorp through his Biglari Holdings(BH) vehicle. Fremont went so far as to have a Michigan...
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Eastman Kodak(EKDKQ), in bankruptcy with its shares destined to be worthless, is finally starting to make the moves that might have helped it avert this fate had failed CEO Antonio Perez undertaken them sooner. The company announced today that “it plans to phase out its dedicated capture devices business“. Perhaps part of its failure...
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Though its influence has finally waned somewhat in recent years, for over a century, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been, and, for many, remains, synonymous with the stock market. News reports continue to proclaim “the market” is up or down, referring to this index. Yet, the index consists of a mere 30 stocks,...
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Walgreens(WAG) announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire prescription files and inventory from 33 Kmart pharmacies in 16 states from Sears Holdings(SHLD). A quick look at the locations reveals that these are the Kmart locations scheduled to be closed in the next few months. The first transition already happened 3 days...
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We have written previously about Sears(SHLD) closing dozens of stores. Now, the Huffington Post reports on some of the small cities and towns where Sears has announced closings that are desperate to keep their stores. Now, at least four of the places affected — Jackson, Miss., Cleveland, Tenn., New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and Harper...
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We’re usually fans of BusinessInsider‘s sensationalist reporting, but a headline this morning was so far beyond the pale that we felt compelled to comment on it. The headline reads “Amazon Is So Scared of the iPad 3 That It Cut Kindle Fire Orders In Half” The headline’s implication is that as a result of...
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We’ve been warning for weeks that Eastman Kodak(EK) shares were too dangerous to own. Kodak finally made it official late last night and filed a voluntary Chapter 11 business reorganization. Citigroup will provide $950 million in debtor-in-possession financing. As we had stated, the company’s liabilities were to great, its ability to monetize intellectual and...
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Unchastened by his unsuccessful proxy fight for a Board seat at Cracker Barrel(CBRL), Biglari Holdings(BH) Chairman and CEO Sardar Biglari has begun aggressively purchasing Cracker Barrel stock once again. Biglari had been held to 9.9% by a rights plan which was voted down by shareholders at the annual meeting in December. Free to acquire...
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