Thanks to George at Fat Pitch Financials for pointing out that the EDGAR system now allows you to subscribe directly to an RSS Feed. That said, the SEC's feeds are not showing the right date — not yet at least. On my reader, all of the SEC's filings show up with a December 31st date whereas mine show the proper filed date.

For now, I still like mine better. We have the same information, but the F Wall Street EDGAR Feed system:

• has the proper "filed" date;
• keeps the title similar (i.e., EDGAR Filings for [company]) so new feeds are automatically organized in my Outlook;
• offers the auto-suggest feature for quickly finding filings without having to constantly go to and back out of pages.

Will the SEC expand their system to offer more? I don't know yet so I'm going to stick with mine for now.

Feel free to use whichever one you want.

It has come to our attention that the site's e-mail system has not been working. It seems as though this has been a problem for more than a week (maybe two).

If you've tried to e-mail me over the past few weeks and did not get a response, I apologize - I didn't get the e-mail.

All I can ask is that you try again. It is working now.

Thanks for your understanding.

Joe

I jumped in CCU last week and got out on Thursday (with a 6.5% gain) because I didn't like the bickering and I didn't want to get slammed over the long weekend. When the companies and/or banks fight, investors usually lose. Considering that there are enough workouts out there, I'm walking away from this for now.

On a personal note: I just found out (yesterday) that I am the victim of identity theft. I'm taking a break here for a bit (days, maybe a week or two) to get this straightened out with the police and my attorneys. During that time, I'll be answering comments, but don't look for any new posts.

Fun, no?

Folks, we're in a recession right now. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, this may not be a recession according to the dictionary definition of the word; still, if you ask the question from a common sense perspective, the answer is painfully clear. During a recession, unemployment generally rises, production slows, spending declines — in short, the happy times slow down and the bad times gain steam.

Through our investing, we can combat the recession, achieve growth, and keep our heads above water (or fly high). To help us in that endeavor, we must understand the effects of the recession so that we pick the opportunities out of the blood on the streets.

Continue Reading How Bad Will This Get? The Recession. ››

When the markets are flying high, value investors tend to sit back and let things happen. When they crash, we must start looking for opportunities — dissecting information, scouring annual reports and proxy statements, and evaluating which companies will survive and which ones will die. (That's why I haven't been around as much lately. Sorry.)

Most "regular" people don't look beyond the stock price as an indication of how things are going — today's opening price versus today's closing price is an indication of how things will progress. Most "analysts" have something to sell, so the recovery is always just a quarter or two away (unless they're eternal bears — then the crash is just a quarter or two away). And then there are the realists — the Warren Buffetts, et al. — that say, "Here's the truth. Don't like what you hear? Sorry, but it's still the truth."

Continue Reading How Bad Will This Get? The US Dollar. ››

I have to admit — going to the EDGAR database every day to look for new filings is not one of my favorite tasks. When engaged in workouts, I find myself checking EDGAR multiple times a day to see if there is anything upsetting my applecart. Then there's the issue of, "I bought this business and I want to stay on top of it, but I can't check all my businesses every day — I'll never have time to find new ones!"

So, I put my web designer to the test. The result? Sit back, put your feet up, and let your companies come to you.

Continue Reading Keeping Up With Your Businesses ››

In late July, I posted an analysis of Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) that was not exactly a favorite of Michael's. I figured that my response belonged in a post rather than in the comments because it was more of a "noise vs. news" debate, and Michael responded in turn with some clarification. (It's not easy to debate online because (a) space is limited and (b) 90% or so of communication - the nonverbal - is non-existent so we must rely on that unreliable 10% - the words.)

The whole discussion revolved around two simple concepts. I believed that Amylin was like every other company out there - that it had an intrinsic value and that, although I couldn't peg the value, it was almost certainly less than $6 billion (the then market capitalization). Michael took a different side - Amylin was worth considerably more than $6 billion, and that smaller investors (operating within their own risk tolerance) should look to buy companies they know (Michael is a pharmacist by profession) before those companies make their billions.

We both approached the company rationally; still, we can't fight the law - price follows value. Know the value and you'll know what price to pay. Not sure of the value? Decision time: Move on? Or, leave your fate in the hands of the traders?

Continue Reading Amylin III - Seven months (and much heartbreak) later ››