Valuehunter7

As a matter of historical fact, communism lifted many Chinese out of abject poverty and removed a ruthless 'capitalist' despot (Jiang Kaichek) from power. You might enjoy exploring that history a bit.

Your post immediately brought this text to mind. Written from the point of view of parents in a strikingly similar situation. Perhaps it is better at helping others empathize? Anyway, for your consideration: "Johnny Gunther was only seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his illness, everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level-headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and, above all, his unfaltering patience through times of despair. This deeply moving book is a father's memoir of a brave, intelligent, and spirited boy. " http://www.amazon.com/Death-Be-Not-Proud-P-S/dp/0061230979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361153550&sr=1-1&keywords=death+be+not+proud+by+john+gunther

Americans will continue to watch their children and neighbors die until they pull their heads out of their a** over gun control. Who can watch this unfold and not recognize it is a national 'sin' to not melt these senseless weapons down? (Don't respond please ... I know you lunatics are out there, and it is meant to be a rhetorical question.)

Fully 1/2 of ENR's assets are comprised of goodwill and intangibles, not sure that was readily culled from the Valueline numbers? So I was curious about the 'blind eval' exercise ... but this example illustrates big limitations. Give the OP 'A' for effort and intent, but for my own purposes don't see utility.

I hold a non-consensus view on target PE for the market, and would prefer not to instigate a Macro econ debate. *Ugggh* As for great companies at 8x ... I'm happy to wait.

Very quickly, I see recent earnings power running about $5.50/share. I put little stock in forecasts and completely discard those provided by Valueline. Like the consistent (historical) earnings. Troubled by lack of a dividend and that cashflow lags earnings. I would be interested in taking a closer look at about 8x earnings or around $44/share. It is trading at $73.4/share ... and that is about typical for the current market, about as overvalued as I find most US-listed equities.

Another here.

Also out last night: BYD COMPANY (01211) rolls out div payout plan for next 3 yrs 2012-07-16 09:09:30 BYD COMPANY (01211) rolled out its dividend payout plan for the coming three years. It said the dividend paid should not be lower than 30% of the average distributable profit of the three years ahead. The group added it would raise the cash dividend payout ratio if it sees net profit to grow stably in a continuous manner in the next three years. AAStocks Financial News Fax: 852 2186 8286 Email: newsroom@aastocks.com Web Site: www.aastocks.com News Provided by AASTOCKS.com

BYD COMPANY (01211) (A) loses 9.6% as Mercedes-Benz reportedly to select another battery provider 2012-07-16 12:05:24 From Mainland-based Internet Information Agency, Mercedes-Benz decided not to use batteries provided by BYD COMPANY (01211) anymore after an E6 electric car caught fire after a collision and would select another battery provider. BYD COMPANY (A) lost 9.6% and closed midday at RMB17.21. BYD (H) was once as low as HK$13; it closed midday down 2.8% at HK$13.1. AAStocks Financial News Fax: 852 2186 8286 Email: newsroom@aastocks.com Web Site: www.aastocks.com News Provided by AASTOCKS.com

Paul Krugman makes a great connection re: Microsoft's decision to build a tablet - I'm referencing his post on June 16 titled "The Hart of the Matter" (link below) I follow Krugman more than MSFT or AAPL, but anyone following these stocks would be interested in Krugman's point, I would think: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

“Fairfax did not accomplish any business objective through this transaction, but rather simply paid a fee to BofA to acquire a false claim to file a consolidated federal income tax return with Odyssey Re.” So ... Enron-esque. Quite the unflattering light.

Bought some SHLD a couple days after the latest shoe dropped. Had a lot of cash on hand perhaps just got itchy fingers. But following the discussion here, realized I hadn't done my homework and wasn't comfortable. Took the opportunity a couple days ago to exit at a profit. Funny, it doesn't feel like a profit. Being in a position I don't know cold never feels good, In retrospect that was a pure trade, and find that embarrassing given I'm trying to invest. Anyway, on to other things. Would like to make time to bore in on SHLD ... I do hate visiting their stores as opposed to Target or others so I'm perennial short on the going concern as bricks 'n mortar, but suspect Lampert will make some astute decisions along the way and could make it interesting. This has been a good thread/discussion - thanks all.

Love this story (link) about the guy taking possession-leading-to-ownership of an abandoned home. On the surface looks like a sharp guy working the system for a great deal. Thinking his critical, self-righteous neighbors ought to be slapped for not buying the home themselves to keep him out, if they are so keen. But real estate is outside my area of expertise. Interested to hear agents/investors/lawyers with real experience in this sound off. Anyone heard of opportunistic 'adverse possession' cases like this? Do people really score property in this way? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-EbIdVpGGg

Disagree completely on these points. Block should SUE an entity he knows to be a fraud, and wait some indefinite period for said fraud to pay him a contingent settlement?? I'll confess to some sell-side experience, and state that I have a very strong preference for research in which the analyst has a clear self interest, ideally a long or short position in the subject at hand. Great research is rarely objective - few are willing to put in that amount of work for free, or for salary. Block's interests are readily grasped in the first instance, he's done some great work, and deserves the gains he's racked up, in my view.

Personally I doubt anyone on this board has enough information to answer the question fairly. It makes sense that few people voted. I couldn't.