Punit T. - Rutgers ASI

Icesave Rejected

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I think this is probably one of the most interesting topics in finance today. The majority of people in Iceland who voted said they would not take on the debt of the Netherlands and the UK because they insured Landsbanki. I don’t want to summarize the entire mess but here it is for those interested:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-07/icelanders-may-reject-icesave-accord-in-april-9-referendum.html

I find this interesting because it really is a hard decision for the people of Iceland. If they agree to pay back the debt to Netherlands and Britain then each citizen of Iceland would have to pay nearly $17,000. If they say no, then their ratings will go down and it will become harder to borrow money from other nations. Then there is the ethical question: “Why the hell should I pay if the bank screwed up?”

It is really hard to say because either way you’re screwed, if you are citizen of Iceland.

What are your thoughts?

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Skin Cancer Drug

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I found this really interesting article today about a drug that is being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. If this drug is approved by the FDA and is effective in fighting cancer, it would be a breakthrough for medical science. It could lead to more innovative strategies to fight cancers, viruses, and bacteria. I think its the right to invest in Bristol-Myers Squibb for those who have patience and can wait to see how this new drug will affect the healthcare industry. Here is the article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-21/bristol-myers-skin-cancer-drug-extends-survival-in-trial.html

What are your thoughts?

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AT&T Buying T-Mobile

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I wasn’t expecting AT&T to buy T-Mobile since the news of Sprint possibly buying T-Mobile. There are some major questions that arise when analyzing the effects of this merger:

  • How will T-Mobile and AT&T integrate their two networks? What sort of synergy opportunities are present?
  • How will this affect AT&T’s suppliers such as Ericsson, Nokia Sieman’s Networks and Alcatel-Lucent SA?
  • Will there be layoffs as these two companies merge and if so how many will there be?
  • How will this affect Verizon Wireless?

Without a doubt there will be a lot of speculation on these topics and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Anyway, I was reading Dilbert once again and I know everyone can relate to this one.

The Official Dilbert Website featuring Scott Adams Dilbert strips, animations and more

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Dilbert.

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http://www.dilbert.com/2011-02-27/

I think everyone should read this comic.  I can appreciate employers trying to improve the performance of their employees but often the result is horrible. My friends have described situations where they were told how to start a computer when they first began work and many more obvious tasks. I guess this post is more of a rant than an analysis but I can see how some managers do a very poor job of encouraging their employees. It’s kind of sad actually but it happens. I talked to one of my co-workers today and his advice was: “Suck it up kid. Welcome to life.” How very sad indeed.


T-Mobile and Sprint Merger

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T-Mobile, the fourth largest wireless carrier in the US will hopefully merge with Sprint soon. This would be huge, Deutsche Telekom AG would have a chance to improve their current network. Personally, I hope AT&T takes this opportunity to improve their service so I won’t have anymore dropped calls. Regardless, Deutsche Telekom AG should take this opportunity to merge so it can grow in the future by investing in a faster data network in the US. T-Mobile has been performing poorly in the past few years and has rapidly lost subscribers to their network. Hopefully these considerations are not weighted heavily when T-Mobile stocks are being valued for the merger. Anyway, I think it might be a good time to invest in Sprint. What are your thoughts?


China’s Future Asset Bubble

HedgeFundLive.com - Vanke, the largest real estate developer in China, had its shares rise to a three week high while its efforts to counteract the asset bubble that has been building. Since October, China raised interest rates THREE times, that is possibly the most obvious sign of the inflation fears and an asset bubble growing in China. Due to the increase in interest rates, Vanke will see the slow growth in their sales. I do believe that China’s asset bubble will burst within the next five years. Why? China’s growth has surpassed that of Japan, it is heavily dependent on oil exports, and there is increased inflation concerns. With all these factors taken account, an asset bubble seems to be the logical outcome and it will devastate China’s economy. Who knows, I could be completely wrong and nothing bad will happen but how often does an economy escape the business cycle?


Google vs FaceBook does not exist.

Does anyone every wonder about the future of Google? Whenever I think of Google I think about the technological powerhouse it is and how it is the most dominant force on the internet. Things have changed drastically over the past two years. The dominance of Google has declined due to FaceBook’s increase in users. The popularity of FaceBook is seen as the largest threat of Google but I strongly disagree. Google is a search engine which is fundamentally different than a social network like facebook. Another strong point of Google which people seem to overlook is the fact that Google owns YouTube. YouTube alone generates more viewers and users than FaceBook. Let me be clear, I’m not stating that buying FaceBook stock is bad idea (when they do their IPO ) but rather Google will also gain from Facebook’s increase because Google as a search engine has become a more integrated aspect of the web experience for many users, and as more people use FaceBook there will also be more people using Google. There are just my thoughts, whats your view on this?