As a long-term shareholder I appreciated news of the breakout of Time Warner Cable.

Now, I'm sure some clicking on this post thought that maybe a typo had escaped the editors, but I did mean "muddle" in the title of this post and not "middle". Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) has been encouraged for some time by shareholders, Carl Icahn, analysts, and various prognosticators and their like to give the market place a clear picture of the company's assets, company's goals, and to unlock their hidden value. This is value that many viewed as mired in a muddle of slow-moving, misdirected pieces aggregated in a conglomerate, lead by a board that just did not get it or get with it.

The news that TWX is going to release Time Warner Cable, which flies under the banner TWC, from its corporate bondage was welcomed by Wall Street and I'm sure Mr. Icahn. In fact this plan may be one of the things shared with Carl Icahn months ago that pacified him and his investor group from "throwing things" in the meetings with Chairman Richard Parsons. This and dramatic changes at the AOL division which are still ongoing.

Continued clarity of purpose and strong leadership will continue to bring value to TWX in the coming years so I will be holding on for a while.

There are many companies stuck in the muddle that should give some thought to this issue of clarity and give investors something they can understand while demonstrating they themselves (corporate executives) know what they are doing.

Other companies that I believe are stuck in the muddle include the following: Yahoo (YHOO); Sun Microsystems (SUNW) which is just plain stuck; General Electric (GE) which should at least tell us why they must continue to own NBC; Microsoft (MSFT) is less muddled lately and 2007 should be their opportunity to come clean; Citigroup (C) is going nowhere fast with lots of potential and nothing happening -- this is one that should definitely "speed up, slow down, or get the hell out of the way"; Ford (G) and General Motors (GM)... could they be more muddled up? Anybody want to add to the list of muddled companies? There are plenty.

Disclosure: In addition to owning TWX, I own Ford bonds bought at a discount to face value. I hold no other position long or short in any other stock mentioned.

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Business contends with illegal 'aliens,' immigrants in a Ghost Town?

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for Design and Research of an Architecture & Planning firm.

Time Warner Cable no longer stuck in the muddle originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Having addressed some controversial issues like eBay and the real estate market through a series of posts, one of BloggingStocks most avid (and astute) readers asked me to tackle another tough issue -- Immigration reform.

He directed me to the following September 15 2006 article, "Immigration Raid Makes a Ghost Town." The story points out :

"Last month, the federal government reported that Georgia had the fastest-growing illegal immigrant population in the country. The number more than doubled from an estimated 220,000 in 2000 to 470,000 last year. This year, state lawmakers passed some of the nation's toughest measures targeting illegal immigrants, and Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue last week vowed a statewide crackdown on document fraud."

The article is clearly slanted toward the plight of the people that were hauled away, creating the "ghost town," and is slanted against the government. In this case I may have been swayed by similar feelings, as was our reader. However, I am not one to appreciate the political polarization we create among ourselves and I do not feel this article is balanced in its reporting.

Even in the paragraph I have quoted I would not mention the political affiliation of the Governor. Some might say it is normal to do so, but I say it adds nothing to the story and only fuels the wrong fire. This story will take volumes and I do not know how much energy I have to cover it, but if you do not have your own soap box, I am more than happy to share mine. Perhaps we can thrash out what this all means.

One of the first things that I noted in the article was the use of the term illegal "immigrants" as opposed to illegal "aliens," which by itself is an indication of where one's sympathies may lie.

Continue reading Business contends with illegal 'aliens,' immigrants in a Ghost Town?

Business contends with illegal 'aliens,' immigrants in a Ghost Town? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Sep 2006 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yes, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is still one of the most fascinating companies in the world, commanding a high price and superstar investor status.

Google remains in the news with multiple stories broadcast on the web each day, and everywhere else: bonding with Apple (AAPL) and Time Warner (TWX), challenging Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO), and eBay (EBAY), scaring newspapers and publishers, adding features to their line of products and services, getting tangled up in litigation here (Click Fraud) and abroad (Google relents and posts Belgian court ruling on its website), analysts speculation about GOOG's future share value and all this is just a partial accounting.

90 days ago I posted 10 Reasons I think Google is going down: and the following was reason number 10. This recap and update tracks current values holding myself accountable for my comments.

10. Does not pass the equivalence test.

Continue reading GOOG still FASCINATING: 90-day update on equivalency test

GOOG still FASCINATING: 90-day update on equivalency test originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has many issues to contend with at the company's current size and complexity. Among them is the disparity of its growing line of products; the lower profit margins offered by hardware sales in comparison to its traditional high margin software sales; and the increased number of formidable competitors it faces in every direction it looks.

This is the continuation of Monday's story Micro'soft' vs Micro'hard' -- Break it up fellas! In the first article I touched upon the scale of Microsoft and their lack of agility. I concluded that even several tremendous successes (swallowing Apple (AAPL) whole was used to exemplify) would only have marginal affect on the share price in the aggregate.

This story is not about whether Microsoft makes worthy products, or is inventive, or can create the next big thing. This is about what Microsoft is, and what it should be as a company going forward. Does Microsoft want to get back to its high-growth days and generate the kind of excitement a Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) or MySpace (recently acquired by Newscorp (NYSE:NWS)) does, or do they want to be a large conglomerate. Given the number of new products that are announced weekly, and all the unfinished business the company has started, it is apparent that the die has been cast for the latter; it is a conglomerate.

Conglomerate \Con*glom"er*ate\, n.

Webster's: That which is heaped together in a mass or compacted from various sources; a mass formed of fragments; collection; accumulation.

OR

Continue reading Microsoft needs a NEW IDENTITY: Part 2 of Micro'soft' vs Micro'hard'

Microsoft needs a NEW IDENTITY: Part 2 of Micro'soft' vs Micro'hard' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google has been moving up recently very nicely with the overall market; but I don't care what the upside potential is, it STINKS as an investment even if it goes to $1,000!

Today GOOG sank about 3% and was down as much as 7% during the day on another company's news. (Perhaps this was just profit taking?) Yahoo reported that its sales will be in the lower half of market guidance. See: Yahoo sees weakness, stock tumbles - CNNMoney

So the market penalized Google -- Why? What if the reason Yahoo! is doing poorly is because Google is doing so well? Perhaps it should have gone up, some more, instead of down. But it did not go up because of the skittish speculation in the stock. Can you imagine what would have happened if Google itself reported some earnings disappointment -- Lookout below!

How can anyone even call it an investment? It is pure speculation. Various analysts and prognosticators have continued to speculate about 12-month price targets based on their perceived revenue models. Google has such a relatively short history that there is little track record to rely upon. You know what I think of analysts, see: Analyzing the Analysts - It's all a joke right?

Of course, analysts have had plenty to say recently; Cramer said that the stock should reach $500, as Brian White pointed out.

Continue reading If GOOG sinks GOOG stinks!

If GOOG sinks GOOG stinks! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Sep 2006 20:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Contrarian (noun), pronounced con.trar.i.an. : A person who takes a contrary position or attitude; specifically : an investor who buys shares of stock when most others are selling and sells when others are buying.

Turning things inside out, and upside down is basic to contrarian and value investing. In this article I will share my WOW Principal of investing.

WOW Principal origin: Observing how my wife manages our family I have been in awe. It's true: "a mother's work is never done." To express my amazement, I have exclaimed WOW often. MOM upside down spells WOW! There are many times that Mom's world is upside down, juggling three kids and an ever increasing number of commitments with spectacular efficiency. She is also an architect and my partner in our architecture practice. In my bio, I referred to my relationship with my wife as my best investment, and since we met many years ago, I have been collecting dividends.

So, it is with my wife in mind that the WOW Principal of investing came to be. It is a perfect fit with my investing style. Simply stated: If, after thorough analysis of an investment, you are not in awe of your findings (company data, news, trends and surprises) and you do cannot exclaim WOW! (double WOW is even better!), then it is not a worthy investment.

If however, the investment does reach WOW status, you are in business. I do not invest unless I think there is an amazing opportunity and any risk is understandable and acceptable. Good is not good enough, it must be a great opportunity, and the case must be very convincing.

When things are upside down or people's perspective is jaded, there may be a deep value opportunity and my interest is peaked. At the point of discovery is a moment that begins when I say "hmm," and stroke my beard. Then I spend time with my investigation and analysis. But I do not fork over any cash until I find the WOW factor(s). If you find yourself scratching your head and saying huh? instead of "Wow," move on!

Continue reading The 'WOW Principal' of Investing: Find winners like MRK, Petro-China

The 'WOW Principal' of Investing: Find winners like MRK, Petro-China originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.