Reports this week indicate that Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's pay czar, has a darkly comic definition of "tough love." While Feinberg reduced overall cash compensation for the top earners at American International Group (AIG) by a healthy 63%, a closer look reveals that the insurance company's high-ranking employees are still pulling down the kind of eye-popping annual pay you might expect from a successful business.

Continue reading Is AIG's Chief Executive Really Doing a $3 Million Job?

Is AIG's Chief Executive Really Doing a $3 Million Job? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Can Hopes Get Too High for Apple's 'Jesus Slate'?

Can Hopes Get Too High for Apple's 'Jesus Slate'? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Facebook COO friends Disney board

Facebook COO friends Disney board originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yes I am picking

Continue reading Buffetts' Berkshire vs Jobs' Apple for 2010?

Buffetts' Berkshire vs Jobs' Apple for 2010? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) just reported unbelievably good earnings in an unbelievably bad economy. Fiscal fourth quarter results were up 46% compared to the same quarter last year. Investors liked what they saw and pushed the stock over $200 a share in after market trading. How can Apple deliver great earnings while almost everyone else is struggling?

Investors can learn a lot from studying Apple and applying it to all their stocks. While it is a high tech company, it has attributes that all great companies share. Here are some of them.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Apple shows how it's done

Comfort Zone Investing: Apple shows how it's done originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A look at the lives of the Forbes 400 implies that the most important attribute is the ability to sift through ambiguity. Contradictions abound, meaning that shades of gray hold the answer to your burning desire for riches. Should you go to a great school? Well, yes ... but only if you're going for an MBA and plan to work for a major financial firm. But, you can still go to an Ivy League school if you're not studying finance but join Skull and Bones. Of course, dropping out of Harvard can be a great way to launch a career in the technology field.

It's tricky. There are no easy answers. But, the road to billions is littered with the corpses of aspiring magnates who thought it wouldn't be difficult. So, don't just read the seven attributes after the jump. Understand them. Read them twice. Then, your future financial situation will be assured.

Or, you can just do one of those chain e-mails and wish for wealth.

[Thanks, Forbes and MSNBC]

Continue reading Seven characteristics of the rich and famous: A blueprint to uber-wealth

Seven characteristics of the rich and famous: A blueprint to uber-wealth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Inc.

Continue reading Steve Jobs returns to Apple part time

Steve Jobs returns to Apple part time originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Could Apple's (AAPL) Tim Cook become the permanent CEO soon?

Could Apple's (AAPL) Tim Cook become the permanent CEO soon? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple (NYSE: AAPL) is recently trading up $2.94 to $146.68 in pre-open trading. The WSJ reported Steve Jobs is ready to return to AAPL helm. Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2009 will be held on June 8-12 in San Francisco. AAPL June and July option implied volatility of 40 is below its 26-week average of 54, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

NASDAQ 100 (NASDAQ: QQQQ) overall implied volatility at 28; 26-week average is 35.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Apple volatility declines on reports Jobs may return originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Twenty facts you should know about Steve Jobs

Twenty facts you should know about Steve Jobs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The daily biscuits. With the June deadline for Steve Job's reappearance as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO coming on fast, speculation in the media has begun to build that Jobs will choose to retire. That would be a horrifically bad thing for Apple shareholders, who have done very well of late. Sentiment on Apple is holding strong, so at least some people don't think Steve is bowing out.

Continue reading Doomsday Scenario: Steve Jobs retiring, NYT pay cuts, looming water fights

Doomsday Scenario: Steve Jobs retiring, NYT pay cuts, looming water fights originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Apple up despite downgrade -- maybe optimism about China iPhone deal rumor?

Apple up despite downgrade -- maybe optimism about China iPhone deal rumor? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Market mixed, Palm rating raised, Microsoft to open retail stores, and Pepsico signals earnings growth

Closing Bell: Market mixed, Palm rating raised, Microsoft to open retail stores, and Pepsico signals earnings growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"They're delving into a sensitive area that's very uncommon," Lisa Casey , an associate professor of securities law at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana told Bloomberg. "Health is that last little area of privacy," she said.

Continue reading Is Steve Jobs' right to privacy more important than shareholders?

Is Steve Jobs' right to privacy more important than shareholders? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Before the Bell: Stocks headed for a lower opening originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Poor Steve Jobs! He recently asked a Bloomberg reporter: "Why don't you guys leave me alone?" In addition to having some vague health problems which require him to take a leave of absence from his position as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO, Apple's disclosure about Jobs's health is now under review by the SEC. Unfortunately for Jobs, the SEC cannot treat the CEO of a public company the same as it might an actress, such as Greta Garbo, who famously said, " I want to be left alone."

To bring any case, the SEC would probably have to show Apple tried to benefit by withholding information about an unambiguous diagnosis. In other words, it looks like there may be some legal wiggle room for Apple in the way they communicated Jobs' health challenges.

But after months of rumors, a few weeks ago Jobs said he would remain CEO while seeking a "relatively simple" treatment for a hormonal imbalance. Nine days later, Jobs said he would take a five-month medical leave after learning his health issues were "more complex."

Meanwhile, Apple is scheduled to report earnings after the market closes this afternoon.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

SEC will not leave Steve 'Greta Garbo' Jobs alone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SEC probes Apple over Steve Jobs disclosures originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's new CEO speaks softly and carries a big stick originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Five tips from a trader who earned 197% in 2008

Five tips from a trader who earned 197% in 2008 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If Jobs did not come up with so many great products, then his health would not be of such a concern to Apple shareholders. And if he was not so intent on forcing those around him to repeat his version of reality to the rest of the world, Apple would not be in trouble with regard to its less than forthright disclosures about Jobs's health. In August 2004 Jobs had surgery to remove a pancreatic cancer tumor that wouldn't require chemotherapy or radiation. Jobs told Apple's board about his cancer and directors decided to say nothing. Perhaps they should have disclosed this to shareholders.

But since Jobs is both a creative genius, which makes him central to Apple's future, and a reality distorter, investors may have a basis to sue Apple's board for failing to disclose what they knew about Jobs's health -- both in 2004 when he had surgery for pancreatic cancer and over the last year -- during which rumors of health problems have repeatedly surfaced.

Continue reading Will investors sue Apple on weak disclosure of Jobs's health problems?

Will investors sue Apple on weak disclosure of Jobs's health problems? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.