So which securities would you say are (at this time) "value traps"?

[BargainValueHunter]

Kodak may FINALLY be cheap enough to take a look at:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-30/kodak-said-to-weigh-bankruptcy-filing.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

The cost to protect Kodak’s debt from default jumped. Credit-default swaps linked to the company rose 4 percentage points to 66.5 percent upfront, according to data provider CMA. That means investors would pay $6.65 million initially and $500,000 annually to protect $10 million of Kodak’s debt for five years.

[Packer16]

I would stay away until BK filing.  No buyer would buy the IP or divisions with fraudulent conveyance issues.

 

Packer

[BargainValueHunter]

I would stay away until BK filing.  No buyer would buy the IP or divisions with fraudulent conveyance issues.

 

Packer

 

lol...I was trying to be humorous. 

 

Sorry but sarcasm sometimes doesn't come across well over the 'Net! :)

 

The blowout in the EK CDS is a pretty big clue that the common is toast.

 

The bonds may be another story, however.

 

 

[alwaysinvert]

Not necessarily a value trap in the commonly understood sense of the word (if there is one) but I find it astonishingly puzzling that there are value investors who own Apple. A quick glance through their product lines and how it changes completely every 5 years should tell everyone it's very high risk. At the same multiple I'd much, much rather own Microsoft.

[augustabound]

Not necessarily a value trap in the commonly understood sense of the word (if there is one) but I find it astonishingly puzzling that there are value investors who own Apple. A quick glance through their product lines and how it changes completely every 5 years should tell everyone it's very high risk. At the same multiple I'd much, much rather own Microsoft.

 

Yes, everything you said here is what keeps me away from Apple. 

[onyx1]

Not necessarily a value trap in the commonly understood sense of the word (if there is one) but I find it astonishingly puzzling that there are value investors who own Apple. A quick glance through their product lines and how it changes completely every 5 years should tell everyone it's very high risk. At the same multiple I'd much, much rather own Microsoft.

 

Yes, everything you said here is what keeps me away from Apple.

 

^^

[Uccmal]

I concur on Apple.  The mobile business is going to get hit from every direction.  It will drift toward a MSFT style good growth model with a stock price 50% of what it is today. 

 

I also concur with Kodak. 

[BargainValueHunter]

Not necessarily a value trap in the commonly understood sense of the word (if there is one) but I find it astonishingly puzzling that there are value investors who own Apple. A quick glance through their product lines and how it changes completely every 5 years should tell everyone it's very high risk. At the same multiple I'd much, much rather own Microsoft.

 

When Steve Jobs passes (hopefully, no time soon) AAPL will flounder just like after he was fired. He is the heart and soul of the company.

 

Warren is also the heart and soul of Berkshire but he has pretty much built a free cash flow machine that will not need a groundbreaking innovation every few years to stay on top.

 

Despite the obvious hurdles it will have to clear in the next few years, AAPL is like the hollywood movie star of stocks while BRK is seen as either boring or controversial (due to Warren's political views).

 

It seems a lot of people would rather be cool than rich...