Is Search So Easy a Caveman Could Do It?
June 20, 2012
Images from: Ultimate Motorcycling and Comic Book Religion As far as auto insurance goes, buying has only gotten easier. In fact, GEICO would say it’s so easy a caveman could do it. And while... Read More
from Compete Blog
Modified Glass-Steagall
June 17, 2012
If you’ve read me for more than two months, you probably know that I am an actuary, though not a practicing actuary at present. I grew up in the life insurance industry. It’s an unusual place for an... Read More
from Aleph Blog
With the Supreme Court ruling on President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law just three weeks away, investors in healthcare stocks need to be prepared. While some are confident the Supreme Court... Read More
from Money Morning
The Best of the Aleph Blog, Part 16
June 10, 2012
I try to do “The Best of the Aleph Blog” pieces between 1-2 years after original publication. Why? It gives time for reflection, time for series to complete, time for me to be proven wrong/right, etc.... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Strong Hands
June 08, 2012
When I started writing this blog, my Major Article List was a big thing to me. I wrote some pretty good things at RealMoney.com, and I wanted to have a record of the best of that. I only wish I had... Read More
from Aleph Blog
On the Facebook IPO
June 07, 2012
If you are a manager of corporate bonds, you get to learn the speculation cycle. New IPOs may close in weeks if things are cold, and close in minutes if things are hot. When things are hot in bonds,... Read More
from Aleph Blog
State Farm is sidestepping some of the actuarial science that goes into calculating your auto insurance premiums. Instead of determining through statistical analysis how much someone of your age,... Read More
from GigaOM
Don’t Become the Market
May 18, 2012
It was late 1993, and I knew that we could make a lot of money if I sold floating-rate Guaranteed Investment Contracts. Let me quote an earlier piece: My goal as an actuarial businessman was to make... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Skewed Incentives
May 16, 2012
May is a tough month for me, because I have to submit reports for the nonprofits that I work with, and this year is worse, because I have a moderate injury that I need to see a doctor about, but can’t... Read More
from Aleph Blog
The Best of the Aleph Blog, Part 15
May 10, 2012
This stretches from August 2010 to October 2010: The Education of a Corporate Bond Manager, Part VII On the value of credit analysts. The Education of a Corporate Bond Manager, Part VIII On price... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Fitch Ratings says that the proposed new Solvency II regulation for European insurance companies in respect of their exposure to securitisations could discourage insurance companies from investing in... Read More
from Research Recap
Misunderstanding the Tax Debate (II)
April 19, 2012
I’m going to do something different to start this post. I’m going to highlight those that disagreed with the last post. Thanks for disagreeing, because it makes this post better. Response 1: It’s all... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Sorted Recent Tweets
April 14, 2012
Miscellaneous “When women stay home and they raise their kids & maintain the household, it is a job. It’s a job of love.” http://t.co/NV1JddlL #wellsaid Apr 13, 2012 @historysquared Have not seen... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Sorted Weekly Tweets
April 07, 2012
Valuations High Yield Closed End Funds 68% over NAV, 3% avg premium. Loan Participation CEFs 40% over NAV, -1% avg discount. Conditions r medium hot $$ Apr 07, 2012 Why Stocks Look Too Pricey... Read More
from Aleph Blog
A Brief Note on Earnings Yields
April 01, 2012
I debated briefly (between my ears) how to present this data. I settled on this method, because if you want to play with it you can do so without too much trouble. Here are the earnings yields,... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Sorted Weekly Tweets
March 31, 2012
China China’s first bond default could be good market medicine http://t.co/8ShFniYM Bond trader: “We don’t really have a credit risk culture.” $$ Mar 31, 2012 Is China’s slowdown worse than... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Why Auditors Should be Rotated
March 29, 2012
There is a proposal afoot to mandate auditor rotation every fiver years or so. Some don’t like it. I think it is a great idea, with large benefits relative to the costs. My insights, or lack thereof... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Sorted Weekly Tweets
March 25, 2012
Central Banking Been using FRED since it was a bulletin board in 1991. Great job, FRED team! http://t.co/kksvwllM Mar 24, 2012 The Villain http://t.co/yYReRb4r On Bernanke, the man who expanded the... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Industry Ranks March 2012
March 20, 2012
I’m working on my quarterly reshaping — where I choose new companies to enter my portfolio. The first part of this is industry analysis. My main industry model is illustrated in the graphic. Green... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Seven Notes
March 18, 2012
First, I have some blog news: my hosting provider made me delete 7000 spammers out of my user database. That left me with 200+ users. Inadvertently, in the process, around 70 bona fide users with... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Dishonest Annuity Advertisement
March 14, 2012
Those that have read me for a long time know that I am a proponent of immediate annuities. Though they pay a fixed stream of income, they are more useful than bonds, because they provide longevity... Read More
from Aleph Blog
The Best of the Aleph Blog, Part 14
March 13, 2012
This period of the Aleph Blog covers May through July of 2010. The one big series that I started in that era was “The Education of a Corporate Bond Manager” series. The idea was to describe how a... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Sorted Weekly Tweets
March 10, 2012
Here’s the news of the past week: US Economy How the Government Lies About the Real Inflation Rate http://t.co/g6E4KxV5 I agree inf is understated, but by 1-2%, not 6-8%/yr $$ Mar 09, 2012 Tax Hunt... Read More
from Aleph Blog
The Anti-Consultancy Consultancy
March 08, 2012
I’ve had this idea for 15 years or so, but forgot about it until I sat down and talked with a friend who worked for a dysfunctional company that recently let him go. My experience working in corporate... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Sorted Weekly Tweets
March 03, 2012
I am considering making this an end-of-the-week feature as a news recap. Comments? Financials BofA’s Clash With Fannie Intensifies as Insurers Reject More Loan Claims http://t.co/fKgxwcVO... Read More
from Aleph Blog
From the 10K: BHRG periodically assumes risks under retroactive reinsurance contracts. Retroactive reinsurance contracts afford protection to ceding companies against the adverse development of claims... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Though part of a series, this post is different. I went back through the last 35 years of shareholder letters to analyze Buffett’s approach to acquisitions. As Charlie Munger has said, Buffett is scary... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Notes on the 2011 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report, Part 2
February 28, 2012
Picking up where the last post left off: 13) So Buffett told us he has a successor lined up, but won’t tell us who, but will tell us that the successor doesn’t know that he is the successor. Really... Read More
from Aleph Blog
Notes on the 2011 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report, Part 1
February 25, 2012
Start with the basics, this is on the Annual Report, not just the shareholder letter. I may have a second report out after the 10K is released. 1) One thing that was fascinating was the large number of... Read More
from Aleph Blog
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