Sunday, November 28, 2004
Thoughts on stock valuation
I think one of the most intriguing parts of finance is stock valuation. There are multiple quantitative methods and there is lots of room for opinion and debate. Maybe I like it because it is similar to politics in the sense that both sides marshall the evidence to support their viewpoints. I'm not...
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Monday, November 22, 2004
So you have a great technology...Now What? Part II
Some more thoughts on the profit potential of new technology. To make it profitable, the owner must apply STRATEGY. It's incredible how much effort and luck it takes to make a new technology commercially successful. Here are some simple points for technology strategy: - strategy speeds up useful...
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Saturday, November 20, 2004
So you have a great technology...Now What?
Myths about technology and business: - if you build it, they will come - athe best technology automatically wins - it’s always best to keep technology proprietary - being the first mover is always the best situation Speaking of first mover advantage, it requires a certain environment to succeed: -...
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Thursday, November 18, 2004
Strategy: How eBay Should Enter Latin America
Introduction eBay should increase its market presence in Latin America via acquisitions. It should acquire one of the market leaders in Mexico. Acquisitions are the best method of entry into Latin America for the following reasons: eBay experience with managing acquisitions Individual Latin American...
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Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Social Security is an Effective Policy
Putting aside ideology about the role of government, it's difficult for me to see the validity of arguments against Social Security. Can SS be improved? Yes. But is it a failure? No way. SS has provided economic safety and social comfort to tens of millions of Americans over the past 50 years. If...
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Monday, November 15, 2004
Some real stats to think about on social security
When debating the merits of Social Security with people, I'm struck by how often people are ignorant of the facts of Social Security. Without getting into the national benefits of Social Security, I want to point out here a few statistics from the Congressional Budget Office that shed some light on...
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Saturday, November 13, 2004
Social Security & Bush: Pros and Cons
Many people argue against SS because it provides no or a low rate of return to beneficiaries. I think that, first of all, it's important to understand the math of SS. The maximum possible cost for a worker is 7.5% x $82,000. This formula is regressive because it taxes all of the income of those who...
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Friday, November 12, 2004
Social security and Bush: Will he screw this up too??
I must admit this: I'm not sure what is best for social security. However, I'm automatically suspicious when Republicans promise us untold riches if we can just place some of our payroll taxes in the stock market. The primary assumption underlying the estimated benefits of privatization is that we...
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Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Part 2: Supply side tax cuts serve little purpose
I found this critique of tax cut policy that explains the reasons that marginal rate tax cuts do little to spur economic growth. This is particularly true in our money-soaked and capital-drunk economy! PPI | Front & Center | May 15, 2003 Bush Tax Cuts: In Search of a Non-Existent Problem By Rob...
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Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Supply Side Tax Cuts Solve a Non Existent Problem
I'm continuing my critique of supply-side tax cuts. A main contention of supply siders is that tax cuts free up more profits to be invested in business. This is to say, the tax cuts increase the supply of capital available to businesses for growth. But true supply side economics focuses on the Money...
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