Inelegant Investor is a collection of real-world investing observations, focused on the edge cases that don’t show up in textbooks — restructurings, CVRs, spinoffs, and the strange outcomes that accumulate in actual portfolios. And whatever else interests me about investing. Investing isn't always pretty, it's usually quite inelegant.
Recent Series: The Portfolio Graveyard
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 »
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 state law passed making… Read More »
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 lies in its insistence… Read More »
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, not particularly representative of… Read More »
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 ago, though Sears has… Read More »
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 Woods, Mich. — are… Read More »
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 the iPad 3, Amazon(AMZN)… Read More »
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 real property too slow,… Read More »