2009 is over, for better or worse.  Now it is time to look ahead.  We wanted to look for the best top stock picks for 2010 from our partners and from key financial websites.  We compiled all of these 2010 stock picks into grouped lists with links directly to each, but there was one standout issue here: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) were hardly picked for 2010.  Some of the more common and widely held names that came up as common 2010 stock picks were Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL), Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT), Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), and KB Home (NYSE: KBH).  There are literally dozens of other stock picks in 2010’s top stock picks.

We have links to the top 2010 stock picks from InvestorPlace.com, TheStreet.com, DailyFinance.com, BloggingStocks.com, MarketWatch, Fortune, Smart Money, MorningStar, and even from our own picks for 2010 and some potential 10-bagger Biotech stocks at BioHealthInvestor.com.  In this we have only provided the stock names, and price targets, expectations, and every other detail is in the link at each grouping.

BioHealthInvestor.com “Potential 10-Bagger Biotechs for 2010″

InvestorPlace.com “How to Make Money in 2010″

• Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE)
• Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL)
• Hi-Tech Pharmacal (NASDAQ: HITK)
• Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU)
• Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE: DRQ)

InvestorPlace.com “5 Great Retail Stocks for 2010″

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF)
• Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS)
• Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES)
• Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (NASDAQ: JOSB)
• Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN)

InvestorPlace.com “Trends from China for 2010″

• Duoyuan Global Water Inc. (NYSE: DGW)
• Xinyuan Real Estate (NYSE: XIN)
• Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU)
• Ctrip.com International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRP)

InvestorPlace.com “Top 5 Stocks for January” by Louis Navellier

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
• AmBev (NYSE: ABV)
• Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU)
• Cognizant Technology (NASDAQ: CTSH)
• Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL)

TheStreet.Com “Top Tech Stocks for 2010″

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA)
• Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
• Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT)
• Research-in-Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM)
• VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW)

TheStreet.com also has two dividend picks for 2010:

• Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB)
• CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL)

The Street.com “5 Shippers to Watch in 2010″

• DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS)
• Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX)
• Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (NYSE: GNK)
• Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NM)

Ten stocks for 2010, by James Altucher of TheStreet.com on AOL’s Daily Finance

• Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO)
• Wellcare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG)
• Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT)
• Cash America International, Inc. (NYSE: CSH)
• Becton Dickison & Co. (NYSE: BDX)
• Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI)
• Telecom Corp. of New Zealand NYSE: (NZT)
• STEC, Inc. (NASDAQ: STEC)
• Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALVR)
• GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK)

MarketWatch.com “10 Turnarounds for 2010″ by Mark Hulbert:

• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX)
• The Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO)
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY)
• Integrated Device Technology (NASDAQ: IDTI)
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH)
• Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT)
• Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH)
• The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT)
• Wendy’s/Arby’s Group (NYSE: WEN)

FORTUNE’s “Promising Companies for 2010″

• Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA)
• Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED)
• QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM)
• PetroHawk Energy Corporation (NYSE: HK)
• Baxter International (NYSE: BAX),
• Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR)
• Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM)
• American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT)
• Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO)

Smart Money’s “Where to Invest in 2010″
The Recession Return picks:

• GoldCorp. (NYSE: GG)
• The Coca-Cola COmpany (NYSE: KO)
• Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)

Plodding Along:

• Strayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA)
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX)
• Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ)
• Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU)

FAST TRACK PICKS:

• Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR)
• Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (NASDAQ: JOSB)
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT)
• Kirby (NYSE: KEX)

MorningStar’s “10 Ultimate Stock-Pickers’ Stocks to Consider During 2010″:

• Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT)
• Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL)
• ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM)
• Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ)
• ITT Education Services (NYSE: ESI)
• Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW)
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON)
• Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK)
• Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: TMO)

BloggingStocks.com has a best of 2010 picks list with some stocks as follows, from various writers, and these are a few picks from the first page:

• American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC)
• China Advanced Construction Systems (NASDAQ: CADC)
• Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR)
• Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP)
• EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH)
• National CineMedia (NASDAQ: NCMI)

247WallSt.com also created several important stock pick lists of its own for 2010:

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) holdings with the most upside from analyst target prices for 2010.
• Will oil hit $100 in 2010?
• Top 10 Brands for 2010
• Will gold stay dead into 2010, or was the end of 2009 just the pause?
• Here are 12 major M&A candidates for 2010, a dream list in a sense.
• And then on the pessimistic side…. 10 brands that will disappear in 2010.

I would like to personally invite you to join in with the thousands of readers on our free daily email distribution list to hear about major market pundit stock picks, analyst upgrades and downgrades, day trader and active trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and IPOs, and more.

If you have other lists of Top Picks for 2010 you would like to see in an updated version of this over the weekend and/or next week and in 2010, feel free to email it to me!  Happy New Year and best wishes on your success for investing and trading in 2010!

JON C. OGG
January 1, 2010

Warren Buffett has a different timeframe than most investors.  Unless he sees something drastic to the long-term fundamentals, he maintains a near-forever outlook when he invests in or buys companies for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).  What we wanted to do was peruse the Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway portfolio of common stock holdings and then see which stocks of the portfolio had the most implied upside in 2010 compared to consensus analyst price targets.  The stocks which made the screen are Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM), Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT), NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).

Many value investors chase the Buffett stocks, and that full list of latest holdings is here.  What we looked for was the current price (late morning stock price snapshot on Wednesday 12/30/2009), the 1-year mean price target from Thomson Reuters, and what the implied upside was for these stocks to the mean price target.  Lastly, we have offered some analysis on each stock to explain the upside or for expanded coverage ahead.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) $14.99 and 1-year mean price target is $21.11, implying upside of 40%.

• BofA has been a serious mover from the bottom, but has petered out in the last three months.  Whether it now being out of the TARP and under a new CEO can get this one up close to its 1-year mean target of $21.11 is still up for debate.  Moynihan takes over officially at the start of the year and his public strategy so far is to go execute on the bank operations in place rather than to make acquisitions and rather than busting the company up.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) $50.67 and 1-year mean price target is $58.50, implying upside of 15.5%.

• ConocoPhillips is arguable one the Buffett-exits.  He has already indicated his plan to exit these shares at a loss after he got the timing so wrong.  But this stock has recovered handily from lows whether Buffett goes more into Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) or not.  This was one of our energy stocks we also picked which could double from the bottom.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) $17.02 and 1-year mean price target is $19.45, implying upside of 14.2%.

• Comcast is the other side of the NBC-Universal deal with GE now.  It is also arguably one the youngest sectors which Buffett has invested in as he generally prefers industries with longer track records and those which are measured by raw earnings and return on equity rather than EBITDA.

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) $14.95 and 1-year mean price target is $17.20, implying upside of 15%.

• Gannett is in the media sector, so you know how risky this is.  Buffett has been ‘long and wrong’ here for some time and the consensus data in media earnings and revenue expectations vary wildly from analyst to analyst.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) $15.29 and 1-year mean price target is $17.33, implying upside of 13.3%.

• GE is technically the lowest of the upside stocks and was included because 4 of these stocks were banking stocks.  GE is also the one wild card out there today.  The average analyst price target has always been a difficult one at GE and analysts have gotten the stock wrong on the way up and the way down.  If 2010 is a year of better recovery with less worry of a double-dip recession, then it could see significant upside estimate changes from analysts.  The risk is still in its financial exposure and its inability to pare off some of the assets outside of the NBC-Universal move of late.  Buffett also has a large GE preferred share holding on top of his common stock holdings.

Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) $23.00 and 1-year mean price target is $33.50, implying upside of 45.6%.

• Iron Mountain shares have sort of floundered considering the rest of the market.  It seems that as businesses have cut down on many areas of spending, that they are seeking fewer outside document storage.  The $33.50 mean target is also above the 52-week high of $32.04 and well above today’s prices.  The chart has been trying to base out, but it has been in decline since mid-summer.

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) $27.42 and 1-year mean price target is $31.90, implying upside of 16.3%.

• Kraft is in a pickle of its own doing.  The 52-week high is $29.84 and it is not exactly an expensive stock.  But now the company has itself in the Cadbury deal (it hopes) and the stock has been dead money.  Buffett is the largest Kraft holder and he has not been exactly vocal against the notion of this merger.

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) $23.92 and 1-year mean price target is $30.08, implying upside of 25.7%.

• NRG is well under its 52-week high of $29.26 from over two months ago.  This is a ‘value stock’ under most screens, but the problem is that most analysts expect declining earnings in 2010 despite an expectation of higher revenues.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) $20.20 and 1-year mean price target is $23.73, implying upside of 17.4%.

• STI’s target of $23.73 is well under where this stock was a year ago.  That price is also in-line with the peak prices of the recovery so far in 2009.

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) $22.31 and 1-year mean price target is $27.07, implying upside of 21.3%.

• USB is another one of the Buffett banks that is believed to be ’safer’ than others.  The $27.07 mean price target is above the 52-week high of $25.59.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) $26.55 and 1-year mean price target is $32.08, implying upside of 20.8%.

• This is said to be Buffett’s favorite bank and Berkshire Hathaway is the largest single holder of its common stock.  It is no longer under the TARP and got out from under that without any added help from Uncle Warren.  We’d also note that the $32.08 mean price target is above the 52-week high of $31.53.

There are a few issues to note here.  First and foremost, with 4 of the 11 stocks with the most implied upside being banks the ‘formal’ targets are obviously up for grabs.  Many do not trust consensus data on big financial stocks and there are many who discount the earnings and price target data entirely.

Another issue to note is that with this data being from Thomson Reuters it can always have a lag to it as consensus analyst price targets are sometimes slower to catch up on public sources than consensus earnings or revenue data.

Another issue to consider is whether Buffett will get any closer to naming a replacement.  Each year this becomes a larger and larger speculated issue after the new year and each year so far it is something which will be addressed down the road.  It is obvious that Warren does not want to hang up his badge, so unless he has a health issue arise we won’t spend much time on that issue.

Lastly, we took all opinion out of this except for in the conjecture provided on each stock.  This was going to be a 10-stock list, but we did not want to see 4 of 10 be in banking.

You can sign up and join our free email list for daily emails about Warren Buffett news, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trading stock alerts, IPOs, secondary offerings, M&A, new ETF strategies, and other key developments.

JON C. OGG
DECEMBER 31, 2009

I was flipping through the Dec 14, 2009 issue of Newsweek and on the inside cover there’s a spread advertisement for GEICO.  What’s different about this one is that the text refers poignantly to the greatness of Warren Buffet:

What the Gecko lacks in stature he certainly makes up for in ability. In fact, under the ownership of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., he’s helped GEICO rise to become the nation’s third-largest car insurance company. [...]

Has the Gecko really been Buffet all along?   Also, The GEICO logo now features in small-type: “a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.”

The whole thing caught my eye since I’m reading at present Buffet: The Making of An American Capitalist which goes into detail about the GEICO investment in the late 70s.  The 2009 recession has definitely positioned Warren Buffet as an investment genius even more so than before.  The fact that GEICO uses his persona image to promote itself and associate with those values is similar to how Branson uses his feats and persona perception to aid the promotion of his Virgin businesses.

Arkansas Business Journal has its economic forecast for 2010 out.

Another mortgage rate prediction worth reading.

One of America’s smartest investors apparently thinks there’s some money to be made in residential mortgages going forward.

There was an interesting filing out during the Christmas holiday showing that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) weren’t in the holiday spirit for much of 2008.  There were  21,000 fewer employees at Berkshire Hathaway entities in 2009 compared to 2008’s 246,000 employees.

Bloomberg called this “a slump at its manufacturing and retail units.”  The new tally of about 225,000 workers according to documents pertaining to the planned acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: NBI).

This also followed a Barron’s feature article calling Burlington Northern’s tepid outlook a warning.  In fact, Barron’s leaves the base case scenario as one with no real recovery in 2010 not just at Burlington Northern but in general.  At the same time it poses an inexpensive Berkshire Hathaway stock.

When you consider how many units are at Berkshire Hathaway, more than 70 in all, there are many obvious spots where employees may have been trimmed.  Some of Berkshire’s retail and construction-related units are Acme Brick, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Benjamin Moore, Borsheims Fine Jewelry, Clayton Homes, Helzberg Diamonds, John’s Manville, Jordan’s Furniture, Nebraska Furniture Mart, RC Willey Home Furnishings, See’s Candies, and Star Furniture.  There is also the Buffalo News.

Berkshire Hathaway’s stock has not exactly been a huge harbinger that Buffett and friends will turn the hiring machine back on.  At $98,895.00,  it is down one-third from all-time highs.  The stock is barely up 2% from the $96,600.00 price at the end of 2008.  Shares are up 35% from the March 9 closing that investors use as the official end of the bear market, but this compares to a gain in the S&P 500 Index of roughly 27% in 2009 and  69% since the March 9 closing bell.

It is probably not fair to only look at Berkshire Hathaway’s share price when considering jobs.  Mr. Buffett tends to look at his whole operations rather than his share price, but that won’t necessarily be the same for the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.  It also took Buffett far longer to turn optimistic than the overall markets indicated throughout the entire 2009 stock market recovery.

Buffett might be more optimistic now, but it doesn’t seem likely the HR departments are yelling “All Aboard!” throughout the subsidiaries.

JON C. OGG

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is still unloading more Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) stock.  A filing from last night shows that another 87,992 shares were sold at a weighted average price of $26.77 on December 18, 2009.  This is a fraction of what has been sold before and was a mere $2.35 million worth of stock, and Buffett still holds some 31,814,610 shares of the independent ratings agency.

But Buffett is continuing to pare down his position here in Moody’s.  This appears to be the third stock sale of Moody’s this month.  Buffett is still more than a 13% beneficial owner, but we have shown on several occasions how Moody’s is likely being punted 100% by Berkshire Hathaway.

This company is no longer in the same position that it was when Buffett decided to go into it.  Even with a forever time frame, when fundamentals and the future of a company permanently change it is time to review a position.  Buffett is about two-years too late in this action.

JON C. OGG

As is my habit when listening to a new Jimmy Buffett Album, I grab the the Liner Notes to not only read the lyrics, but also to check out the writing credits and to see if Jimmy has any guest musicians joining in. So it was that in 2004, when I first listened to License to Chill’s Cut #5, it was Jimmy and Toby Keith doing a cover of Will Kimbrough’s Piece of Work. The song resonated with me (my wife has called me a Piece of Work many times), so I of course did a little research on Will, only to find out that he had been the lead guitarist for Todd Snider’s Nervous Wrecks.

Then two years later, on the video for Take the Weather With You, there was Will again. This time writing and recording at Friendly Jim’s Portable Recording Studio on the friendly beaches of St. Barthelmey in the French West Indies. Only by then, he was known as “Les Nebulous.” He had joined Jimmy Buffett, Peter Mayer, and Roger Guth in the Caribbean to write songs for the upcoming album. Nice gig Will!

So it is that last month when I learned that Will had made some more contributions to Jimmy’s Hotel Buffett by supplying another cover song, and co-writing credits on three others, I had to learn more about him. To my surprise,  Will had a show  coming up  in November down in Gulf Shores and made plans to see him in person. In the prior two short weeks I had fallen in love with his work as a solo performer, especially Nobody from Nowhere, and his collaboration with Tommy Womack in their band Daddy.

He was playing at this mystical venue named Pirate’s Cove in Josephine, Alabama. A waterfront bar and restaurant that caters not only to human clientele, but also has an open door policy to any stray dog that is curious or hungry enough to stop in. Will and I had talked on the phone, and had planned to meet at Pirate’s Cove an hour before the show, but the torrential rains being blown in from the Gulf, and lost satellite coverage for my GPS, had me arriving almost at show time. When I got there, I spent a little bit of time with Will as he greeted many a friend (he grew up in Mobile), and we had just enough time to share a beer before show time.

Pirates Cove is an old restaurant/bar with a semi-perminate (Winters) tent  addition that covered the “Listenin’ Zone” where Will would be performing. I must admit that I was temporarily bummed to learn that he would be sharing the stage with another musician (I didn’t know the show was a part of the Songwriters Festival). His fellow musician turned out to be Spencer Bohren, from New Orleans. Man what a talent, and what a night. These two guys had never met, yet played together like they had been a duo for years. It was a cozy evening with about 40 to 50 people who braved the rain and thirteen dogs laying around on a collection of persian rugs… it couldn’t have been more Bohemian.

That afternoon I had purchased a new HD Camcorder, and had barely had enough time to charge the battery, which died before the last two songs of the set (he says regretting his decision to not buy a backup battery). The light was dim, and the rain was so loud at times it almost drowned out the music, but I think the video I shot matched the mood of the evening. It all turned out to be one of the most mystical musical experiences of my life.

Let’s start with the intro. Will and Spencer switched off playing one of their original through out the night, and that’s how we’ll present it here at Club St. Somewhere. I hope you enjoy it.

Stephen Burke, the 51-year-old president of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), has to be the new lead choice to become CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) when Warren Buffett retires or dies.

Burke was added to the Berkshire board. He is one of the most visible corporate executives in America because of his role at Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company. He will never become head of Comcast because Brian Roberts, son of the cable company’s founder and its CEO, is Burke’s age.

Burke is the son of legendary Capital Cities ABC president Dan Burke. Burke’s partner in operating Cap Cities was Dan Murphy, who is close to Buffett and sits on the Berkshire Hathaway board. Buffett provided most of the capital when Cap Cities bought ABC in 1985. The combined operation was purchased by Disney (NYSE:DIS) for $19  billion in 1995. Burke worked for Disney before coming to Comcast. Murphy was on the Disney board during the same period.

Burke is the right age for taking the helm of Berkshire Hathaway and has the background to run the company. He also has ties with Buffett that go back three decades

Douglas A. McIntyre

I’ve tried to review Jimmy’s songs in the past. I even tried to have a section on one of my web pages to address his whole collection of work. It just never happened. I can’t seem to boil it down to a system. Four Stars? A – F? One to Ten?

For me, it just doesn’t boil down to any of those. It’s too big. I’ve been listening to Jimmy for over half my life, and that’s saying something… Since Jimmy and I are approaching 64 (will you still love us?) years. I’m not one of those complaining bitching, Church of Buffett, GOP’s (Grumpy Old Parrotheads). I love it that he’s changed, and so has his music. Being the same age as Bubba, I feel like we’ve grown up together. His music is just enjoyable, and I don’t need to dissect it. I don’t look at it song by song. I look at his body of work in its totality, as an ever-expanding collection. And I’m glad it’s still coming.

Diving into a Buffett Album is a process for me. Questions to be asked. Researching various words, people and places mentioned in the music. Jimmy makes me think, wonder, and ponder.

So, here’s my take on Buffet Hotel. I downloaded the album (21^st Century PH style)   the day it came out. I didn’t have the chance to listen to it all the first few days, but my fast sampling told me, that this was one of those albums that would grow on me.

This “Process” takes awhile too. Pausing, fast-forwarding, backing up, taking notes, reading the lyrics as I listen. And it all started a few days after my iTunes download, on a Delta flight from Atlanta, finishing up a week later in my Georgia hotel room on a cold Saturday morning.

My over all reaction: I like it. I really like it! It’s already grown on me. For one thing it really showcases Jimmy’s rich voice. It is a departure from his past “Tropical” fare, but that’s OK with me. I don’t need to be stuck on a Tropical Island for thirty years. I’ll be listening to this one for a long time.

So, with no further ado… here are my thoughts as I listened to Buffet Hotel:

Nobody From Nowhere

I can’t remember waiting for a Buffett Album because of a cover song before. This was a first. I’ve been listening to Will Kimbrough’s and the Daddy version he and Tommy Womack recorded for a couple of months now. It immediately became one of those songs I played over and over again. To say I was looking forward to hearing Jimmy’s interpretation would be an understatement.

From the first note, I could tell Jimmy heard the same song I did when he was listening to it. Same tone… Hell, he almost sounded like Will for the first few verses before he took over and made it his own. Very few differences: “There” became “Here” and Tommy became the Reeferettes. The backup was as if it was made for Tina and Nadirah. No “Dis” on Tommy meant either. I love that crazy man.

I’ll be listening to all three versions over and over again for a long time.

Wings

Man, I can almost hear the complaints from some of those clowns that hang out on the discussion boards at Buffett News or Jimmy Dreamz! Get Over It! A little banjo music every once in awhile is good for the soul. Quit being so friggin’ pompous and enjoy yourself.

Jimmy and Will Kimbrough teamed up on this one. I’ve only heard Will sing it once, and I’m not familiar with the great lyrics, but you can bet I’ll be comparing Jimmy’s and Will’s versions soon. Wings will appear on Will’s next album due out the first of the year. Given that, there are a few lyrics that sound like Jimmy; like “Treetop Flyer,” “Tiny beach bars,” or “Mountains of the Moon.”

And speaking of lyrics… I had to laugh when I heard “Tiny Swimmers.” I immediately had visions of thousands of sperm swimming upstream. And my favorite line was: I don’t need no runway, I got fuel here in my bong.

When I get to listen to Jimmy and making note for future writing, it sometimes slows me down. I start asking questions, and my mind wanders (my version of ADD I guess). And I love it. This song came with questions: “Silver Wings like Merle and me?” Does Merle Haggard have a song “Silver Wings?” Do Merle and Jimmy have the same plane?” And what the heck does “Cloud 9B” mean? Again, research is on the horizon. Now that I think of it, Jimmy has done “Silver Wings,” and yes it was one of Merles.

And what about “Ground Control to Major Jim?” Obviously a play on “Ground Control to Major Tom,” but is he talking to Jim Mayer? Just another great play on words that Bubba is so famous for… much like the great line from the infamous Beach House On the Moon “Shuttle Video” that had that classic, “Roger… Guth.”

All this makes me really like this song, but hey, it’s really as simple as, “Give me a song with Jimmy Buffett singing about airplanes and flying, and I’m onboard… “

“Clear!” (You Pilots know what this means)

Big Top

Boy, it would be so easy to give you reasons why this is a great song. I could get really anal and go through it line by line. But I won’t. Who needs a 32 oz Coke at this stage of our Parrot Head Lives anyway?

If you don’t get it, you weren’t one of us! My friends and I have been having a Big Time under the Big Top when the circus came to town, singin’ along with our favorites, for a long time now. Jimmy was just like Santa. We waited for him each year. Just look at those Fins… Left, Right. Jimmy gets it. He knows he was an Accessory in front of the Pack.

My advise to everyone… All you Parrot Heads out there… is to listen to this song over and over and conjure up all your great memories from the past thirty plus years, and just try not to smile.

I don’t need no runway, I got fuel here in my bong. I see this song as an ode to come. A sign of Jimmy knowing the end is near, and putting our history together in perspective. Thanks Jimmy, you made me feel good about being a Parrot Head again. See you at that Last Jump Up… Soon.

Beautiful Swimmers

This song is so beautiful: it made me sad.

Why? Well, just like there are so many people out there that just don’t get Jimmy Buffett or the Parrot Head Phenomenon… There at a lot of Parrot Heads out there that just won’t get this song. I could be wrong… I hope I am.

I think being the same age as Jimmy has given me a great perspective over the years. Not only did I know who Lucille Ball, Ricky Ricardo were, I actually watched them in “Real Time” on TV. And as Jimmy sings about Norma Jean’s Night Shoot in the Pool, I can actually remember sneaking looks at those Life Magazine photos through a young man’s eyes. Thanks Jimmy, for bringing this memory back. You have done this so often.

Great sound… Full of Great lyrics.

I miss my dorsal fin, I can’t explain it.

Beautiful Swimmers just feel the groove, Painting liquid brushstrokes like Renoir

Slidin’ cross the water like a Steel Guitar… Thanks Doyle.

If you don’t like this song, and need another “Drinking Song,” fast forward to “A lot to Drink About.” Thanks for this one Jimmy… We might be Old, But we’re Cool.

Turn Up The Heat And Chill The Rose

This Album is Cool. The word “Cool” appears though out.

Jimmy, you’re been my favorite Rapper since Autour Du Rocher! Thanks for giving us another one. You even mention Le Select again. Working Uranus, Metatarsals, Uggs, Eden Rock, and Le Bete de Nazelles into the same song… You’re a genius.

For decades I’ve said, “Life is like a Shit Sandwich… Without the Bread.” But after listening to this song, I’m switching to, “Life can be a banana split, and in a second turn to shit.”

Summerzcool

Thanks Mac and Jimmy. You just shook me by my shoulders. I needed to remember what’s cool. My priorities have certainly been out of place. I’ve been participating in the recession too deeply… I’m actually working for the FDIC with all these failing banks. Talk about tweaking your attitude. I’ve been under the gun for sure.

There truly is a time and a place to act like a fool. And since I’m heading back to California next weekend, I’m going straight to the beach. It’s only steps away from my house in Capo Beach. And while I’m thinking about it, I’m heading to the your favorite surf shop in the city next door, San Clemente, and say hi to Billy Stewart. After all, at sixty-three, that Big Report Card is just around the corner. Time to remember what’s cool. Thanks for the reminder.

Rhumba Man

A lot of people find it hard to believe that I just started listing to Radio Margaritaville this year; especially since I’ve been a Parrot Head for… like forever. I blame it on two things: When RM first came out, the streaming was sporadic and as it was RM really catching on during BHOTM, I was going through burn-out from seeing over fifty concerts in a row.

So, this summer, as I was renting cars that had Sirius installed, I discovered that things had changed and RM was fun to listen to. I happened to catch a summer concert on RM this year as I was talking with my friend Susan Blankenship, of Spooner Radio fame, when Rhumba Man came on. It immediately caught my ear, and I asked Susan what the name of the song was (Susan had RM on at the same time). “That’s Jessie Winchester’s Rhumba Man” was the educated answer I got.

While I don’t know how many more albums Jimmy’s going to put out, the one thing I can tell you for sure is: we’re going to see more covers than we have in the past. And if Nobody from Nowhere and Rhumba Man are indicative of what we’re going to be hearing, that’s OK with me.

Besides being a great song, I couldn’t help but thinking back a few years to a conversation I had with some of the Reefers. They happened to mention that when they went out together while they were on the road they sometimes went dancing, and that Jimmy was quite the dancer. I’ll be listening to this song a lot, and waiting to see Jimmy dancing with either Tina or Nadirah on stage.

We Learned to Be Cool from You

First off, who’s Jimmy singing to in this song? At the end, it’s addresses to his good friend Walter Cronkite. And speaking of grey mustaches, Jimmy has used his facial hair to address his aging before, as in, “little more mustache turnin’ grey.”

I can just hear the younger Parrotheads asking, “who’s Sarah Vaughn?” And I wonder how many Parrotheads even have Sarah Vaughn on their iPods? I do. And don’t you just love it when Jimmy “Parlez Francias?” The reference to Leonard and Willie got me thinkin’. The Willie was easy. But “Leonard?” If it were Lynard, it would be easy to figure out. I’m guessing Leonard Cohen on this one, since it seems to be a country theme.

I’m also scratching my head on the “doing a crossword puzzle in a second or two.” Is it just me? Or do you have a hard time seeing Jimmy doing crossword puzzles too?

So Jimmy, you just keep “singing without shame” and I’ll keep “listening without shame.” This is a simple, mellow song that old guys like us can relate too. And thanks for teaching me to be cool. In the meantime, I want to find out where the “Mermaid Café” is.

And That’s the Way It is

Surfing In A Hurricane

OK, now we’re talkin’! I grew up surfing in California listening to the 60’s Surf Sound. Eight Tracks of the Rhythm Rockers and Chanteys. Dick Dale and Jan & Dean. I know what it’s like to drop down to the Impact Zone with my Cajones in my throat. Jimmy took me back to my youth with this one. And that was certainly “Cool.”

But even this one left me with questions. Does Will Kimbrough (co-writer on this song) Surf? Who ’splaying that Duane Eddy Twangy guitar. I’m pretty sure it’s Will. I’ll have to ask him next time we talk.

Life Short Call Now

Another Cover. This time Bruce Cockburn. I loved Pacing the Cage during the BHOTM Tour! I’d love to know how Jimmy picked this one. Bruce seems to have experience with the pain of life. Another question worthy of research, “How many people has Jimmy covered twice?” Club St. Somewhere is going to have to look into this one.

Buffet Hotel

Again with the French! So the album theme is “Cool” and “French.” But, there’s nothing cool about the French Jimmy! The song has a sexy Expat feel to it. You almost feel you’re out in the “Territory.”

Question? Yeah I got one: what the heck is “Tuareg.” A visit to Wikipedia tells us this:

The Tuareg are a Berber nomadic pastoralist people. The are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. OK, that explains it… except for one thing. What the heck is “Pastoralist?” Back to Wikipedia for:

Animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. Herds in search of fresh pasture and water.

Damn Buffett’s smart! That leaves “My favorite Lines in the Song”:

Sand in the couscous

Sand in the wine

There was sand in my guitar case

Stories in my mind

Machine guns on the hilltop

Camels in my tent

Only Jimmy can write shit like that! And the song is about Travel. Something Jimmy has inspired me to do often. Thanks Jimmy for all the travel advise. Guess I have to go to North Africa now. Can I borrow one of your jets?

A Lot To Drink About

Token “Drinking Song” for the Parrotheads. Though timely and well written, with lyrics that spell out the mess we’re in. But, I’ll get tired of this a lot faster than Margaritaville. In fact I’m over it already. Doubt I listen to it many more times. And I’m sure this will put me out of PH Norm. Just like the fact that Somewhere Over China is my favorite Buffett album. I can live with this.

There you have it. Leaving us with a couple of more questions. How many more albums will Jimmy put out? When will he hang it up… Only Time Will Tell.

Yesterday, CNN’s Larry King interviewed Donald Trump on the phone:

“What’s your take on the economy?”

“The stock market recovery is too far ahead of the economic recovery.”

Donald Trump became my idol, alongside Warren Buffett, long before he wrote the book  Think big and kick Ass.’ These two giants of investments got what it takes to estimate future earnings. In my 2 books on the psychology of investing I wrote, “Consider taking your money out of the stock market in 2011 or 2012. Why?

If I was only trying to be funny, like some folks on the tube, I would say, “It’s boom or doom, it’s lust or bust. Take your pick.” Hell, nuts, it’s a serious business when hard-working Americans are suffering, while pessimistic CEOs run a weak economy while optimistic investors run a strong stock market:

1. There is no economic reason for the stock market recovery as of Christmas 2009. It is purely psychological, and a ‘bubble of doom’ is forming like a lava dome over a volcano ready to burst. Sooner or later, investors will be ‘busted’ without economic recovery coming in time.

2. Economic recovery will not come in time because Obama is a ’sweet nice social fellow’ who helps bankers – and ask nicely for help in return – no clout, no understanding of behavioral economics.

3. With no credit because of bankers intransigence, and a looming inflation because of government borrowing, keep making your money with a market ‘exhuberance,’ but be ready to exit before the bubble of doom bursts.

4. I don’t have the audacity to say,  ”My books on investing and Obama” have the answer. They don’t. Buffett and Trump can estimate events better, but I am not far behind.

December not only brought us a lot snow here in the North East Kingdom, but it also brought us two fabulous events that we were fortunate to attend. Our great new friend Chris (Yogi Mukti) invited us to his annual Sagittarius party in Montpelier, and we were happy to accept because “we like to party” and, hey, I (Jon) am part Sag myself! The email invite stated that it would be a tropical themed party and to dress for warm temps which sounded entertainingly ironic for this time of year in VT. So, after picking up Brooke from work, we ventured to the outskirts of Montpelier. When we arrived, as promised, there were subtropical temperatures in Mukti’s home along with people decked out in bathing suits and tropical wears. It turns out that being Sagittarius at this party came with some perks, I was able to have access to a “Sag only” massage lounge, not to bad huh? Luckily, all of us were able to enjoy many other great party perks such as yummy food, tropical drinks, Mula Bandha (infamous reggae band) providing an authentic soundtrack to the evening, and of course the “Rasta Lounge.” We cannot forget to mention an important highlight of the night… Appropriate for the theme and atmosphere, Amy participated in the party’s notorious limbo contest and took the title from the previous 2-year champ! Her trophy was a massage from all the Sagittarians and some Coconut Bliss! We left without redeeming the massage, but not without the Coconut Bliss… Yumm. Legendary party to say the least.

Amy has had many shining moments, but this week was her week. The following evening, the current limbo champ took some time to prepare for and appear in a Sari fashion show in Hardwick. The fashion show was part of a spectacular event being held in our nearby town of Hardwick, VT. Robin, who organizes and runs the weekly community supper in Hardwick, had put together a benefit dinner to support Child Haven International, an organization started by his father and mother that assists children and women in India and 3 other countries, who are in need of food, education, health care, shelter and clothing, emotional and moral support.

The dinner was Indian themed, which is a great deal for us being that we love to eat Indian food. I (Jon) was happy to volunteer to help out in the kitchen under former Hazen High School (event location) teacher, Sikander who prepared a delicious menu for the evening. There was Pea Piallo, Potato Raita, Curry Tofu, and other yummy Indian fare. Meanwhile, Amy assisted with draping tables and walls with beautiful saris and photos of children from Child Haven.

The evening went great. Along with the meal, there was a silent auction along with a speech from Fred Cappuccino (founder of Child Haven) and a presentation of two short films about the organization.

As for the Sari fashion show, it was a hit. The ladies walked the runway accompanied by live tabla, and they looked beautiful in the saris. A photo of Amy even made it into the Hardwick Gazette later that week!

And after everyone left and things were getting cleared up, we headed to the gym to play a couple games of cricket with Mr. Sikander himself and some of his old students. We had seen cricket played a lot when we were India, and we finally were able to learn and have fun playing the sport. Fun times!

For some more pics, look HERE ….. and our flickr page.

More Information about Child Haven can be found at: www.childhaven.ca

It wasn’t that long ago that we gave a list of stocks that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) needed to dump to help pay for its Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) acquisition.  Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was one of those stocks.  He had already lightened up some since, and on Monday evening came a filing at the SEC confirming that Buffett was dumping more stock.

The filing was 3 groups of stock coming to a total of 3,454,791 share sold.  That leaves Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway with 31,902,602 shares.  We doubt he’ll be out of this position entirely by the end of the year, but the writing has been on the wall here for two years that the ratings agency game and dominance is over.

The weighted average sales price here was north of $26.00, and Moody’s common stock has a 52-week trading range of $15.57 to $31.79.  This was a $60 and $70 stock as recently as mid-2007 when the cracks in the ratings agency model were already coming front and center.  Buffett has finally capitulated on this one.

Jon C. Ogg

There has been a flurry of activity lately surrounding TARP. You remember “TARP” don’t you? The legislation that was passed with great debate and outrage in early October 2008. It was derided as a massive “bank bailout” sure to cost the taxpayers hundreds of billions. Even more important, many politicians, pundits and commentators shouted that in addition to the cost, it wouldn’t work. Not only would TARP fail, but the proper course of action was to do nothing. Mostly Republican and free-market purest voices were heard to repeat, to varying degrees, that such intervention was futile- simply letting events unfold as they may is the only truly prudent course of action. No “bailout” was needed, they said; the system would right itself, they said; we aren’t really facing a complete financial meltdown they argued.

Well, I’m going to use an argument from authority to illustrate just how close we came to Financial Armageddon.  But I’ve chosen my authorities very carefully. I think you will agree they occupy positions that provide extraordinary insights into the financial system. First up is Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express. He provided an interview in the October 26th issue of Fortune magazine and the crisis was one topic discussed with the benefit of looking back one year. (As an aside, I highly recommend Fortune. I especially recommend Fortune over its main competition, Forbes. Roughly half of Forbes commentary seems to be an extended selling of Steve Forbes’ political views and is quite irritating. They do have some good articles when discussing individual companies though.) In response to a question about Ken’s worst fears at the time he said (emphasis mine):

“The reality is that we were on the verge of an absolute disaster and collapse“

When pressed a little further, he added shortly:

“Without naming names, there were some very large companies that had to go into the market on a regular basis. Most of them have survived, but it was a very scary period. Some companies had a great fear that if there was not some opening in the commercial paper markets and some support from the government, they would go under.”

So there you have it from a CEO at the center of the storm. He watched in real time as “some very large companies” teetered on the brink. “Most” of those companies survived, but not all. Imagine what would have been if nothing was done and the commercial paper markets didn’t open up?

Moving along, let’s see what one of the greatest business minds to ever walk the earth had to say. A recent WSJ article discusses in depth what Buffett was thinking. It begins by reminding us that Buffett is 79 and has seen a lot of things. Quoting Buffett, the WSJ points out just how truly awesome this meltdown was:

“I bought my first stock in 1942, and this roller coaster surpassed anything that I’ve seen“

That ought to add some context. In the weeks before Lehman failed, Buffett fielded phone calls asking for money from no other than Freddie Mac, Wachovia, AIG, and Barclays. There are probably few people with not only the access to information Buffett has, but also the proven analytical capability to see reality at such times. Buffett does not panic. Period, end of story. Yet, the journal reports that on Sunday, September 14th, 2008- the day before Lehman declared bankruptcy:

“By this point, Mr. Buffett was beginning to worry about the entire financial system. In phone conversations, the normally loquacious Mr. Buffett was less talkative and sounded nervous, according to one person who was speaking with him regularly at the time.”

What?! Buffett was “nervous”? This was about the time that people were reciting Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s infamous advice to President Hoover as the Great Depression was unfolding “Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks and liquidate farmers!” His point was that nothing should be done, just liquidate them all- that’s how capitalism works.

Just a few days after Lehman failed, the Reserve Primary Fund, an institutional money market product and one of the oldest in the country, “broke the buck” on September 16th. The commercial paper essentially froze at this point. Quoting the WSJ “The resulting chaos, Mr. Buffett concluded, could have crashed global financial markets, threatening Berkshire”. Berkshire, mind you, is built to be “Fort Knox” according to Buffett. That is, he has designed it to withstand anything except perhaps a disaster like that depicted in the movie “2012″. Even then, I’d personally rather have my money with Buffett. The Journal goes on to quote Buffett again (emphasis mine):

“I felt that this is something like I’ve never seen before, and the American public and Congress don’t fully understand the gravity” of the problems, he recalls. “I thought, we are really looking into the abyss.”

There you have it in the words of one of the smartest men alive (and a true financial genius too). Not only did he have front row seats to all the action, but he had a direct line to all the players including then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who sought out his advice. So, to all those who thought nothing needed to be done, to those who argued and lobbied against government intervention, I say you should thank every dollar to your name that cooler and less ideological heads prevailed.

——

Circling back to TARP and its success at preventing actual eye-witness accounts to “the abyss”, we have some updated numbers regarding the program. According to a GAO audit of the Treasury program, through September 30, 2009, $73 billion of the $364 billion dispersed under TARP has been returned. The Treasury earned and additional $12.7 billion of profit on the returned money for a return of over 17%. On December 10th, 2009, Secretary Geithner reported to Congress that $116 billion has been returned through that date with a profit of $15 billion or almost a 13% return. This $116 billion returned so far has been mostly from the giant banks everyone criticized as bound to never again get out from under the government.

It is important to note that the rest of TARP, some $248 billion may still prove to be money flushed. And we may learn that these same banks suddenly find themselves short of capital again. True, the “too big to fail” problem hasn’t been addressed (it is now the “even too bigger to fail” problem). Yes, the legislation was vague. Yes, I would have done it differently too. Yet so far, the program has worked in stabilizing the financial system by having bought time for the banks to raise private capital. It essentially stopped a very real and very literal “run on the bank”. In the process, it helped keep “the abyss” at bay.

And this becomes the 1st blog of moneymarathon. Long, long time ago, which is about 12 months in what is hot and what is not of money and stock reporting, Buffett came to the rescue of wallstreet with a 5 Billion stake into Goldman and a 5 Billion warrant to buy additional shares at $115 (currently trading at $166, thank you very much). As the economy worsened, everybody was questioning whether Buffett is finished this time around and several pundits even suggested his style of investment is finally over. Time to stay clear of the stock. It will under-perform for several years.

Investors went for the exits. Out of stocks in general but the halo surrounding Berkshire was lifted. And the question now is whether it makes sense to get into the stock today, at $3285.  If you want to know my expert opinion…. I don’t know. I am not an expert. I do not have a degree remotely close to finance or business. All I have is common sense.  The way I see it, I am looking for a long term bet with this guy at current prices. I am not looking at extraordinary returns. Good return with some protection to the downside as proven by years of prudent investing.

What do you think?

Real Man Shit – to perform the actions of a real man
This idea was first brought to me through the brillant thoughts of the Big Hug (Local Goon).  The concept of real man shit is pretty straight forward but let me explain. Going to a Britney Spears concert is not real man shit. However, buying front row tickets to a Britney Spears concert for the sole purpose of trying to look up her skirt is real man shit. Bud Light Limes = not Real Man Shit. 6 Bud Light Limes consumed at one time through a funnel = Real Man Shit. Got it? Ok. Now I will proceed to my top 5.

5.  Going to a buffet, eating till you can’t possibly eat anymore, and then having another plate

4.  Drinking over 30  beers in a day just to prove a point… and believe me, it’s been done

3.  Fixing your car with glue, duct tape, or bungee cords

2.  Paying a hooker to be your date for a  wedding

1.   Taking a shit while drinking a beer, smoking a joint, or eating a cheeseburger… and yes, it has to be a cheeseburger

Tiger Wood said he would take an “indefinite” leave from golf, putting his endorsements, the income of the PGA Tour, and PGA charities all at risk.

As we expected, the Tiger Woods scandal has moved above and beyond just a scandal.  This has become one of the key business stories with ramifications for many companies, many stocks, and may become a case study for businesses involved in scandals.  How many billionaire athletes get into this much soup and blow their reputation out of the water like this?  Right, it has never happened.  But Tiger Woods is (or was) a business franchise beyond the person that is no different from sports greats Bobby Jones, Cy Young, Vince Lombardi, Michael Jordan, and on and on.

We have compiled a list of the top 10 business stories on this scandal from this week, and this is likely to continue into 2010.  Much relies on brand analysis, but there are some key strategic and outlook bits included.  Some businesses are actually winning from the scandal.

AOL’s DailyFinance wrote about how he may have been doomed by a Gillette commercial back in 2007.  Also at DailyFinance was a semi-checklist of what he could do to save his $100 million per year endorsement franchise, although it is probably a bit outside of reality over how people handle scandal.

TheStreet.com lists this as one of the 5 dumbest things, but addresses all the other endorsements after the Gatorade loss asking on Friday if the companies behind these brands are doing the right thing.

You’ll need a paid subscription to read this one (and Rupert Murdoch would appreciate it), but the Wall Street Journal is also addressing the state and path of what the corporate sponsors are doing with an outlook ahead.

BusinessWeek noted who the beneficiaries are from the web phenom this has caused as Tiger-related search terms are starting to really impact business with upside benefits.

Fortune ran a piece called “Tiger Woods’ Sponsorship Deathwatch” addressing this issue of sponsorships and compared this to the Kobe Bryant scandal from 2003.

BizJournals.com is the home for “(Your City) Business Journal” and is one of the most read and well-respected publications in the country. It has an outlook and a watch of the next few weeks as crucial for Tiger’s brands.

24/7 Wall St., yes us, had two stories this week that have broad implications.  PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) dumped Tiger’s Gatorade Focus, and supposedly had made the decision before Tiger tried our for a job as a stunt driver.  And a small survey and study out there gave some facts and figures showing just how bad Tiger’s image has collapsed…. a tie back into those brands.

Tiger has key sponsorships from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), which has earnings next week; and other public companies which sponsor Tiger are Accenture (NYSE: ACN), American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), and Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) are all big sponsors.  Then there is the NetJets sponsorship that is sticking by him, which is of course owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).

As we are a site about business, we did not want to get into any of the gossip before this last week because we prefer to keep a focus on what we do.  However, sometimes the humorous side trumps business and we are now into weekend time.  We will be nice here about not naming the company to avoid any slander, but you can probably guess which company this would fall under.  Guess which brand could change one of its brand slogans to “Just Did It” or “Just Tap It”…. Under eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), the ‘completed listings’ shows that on December 3, 2009 the domain name CheetahWoods.com sold for $400.00 on eBay and there are many Tiger Woods spoof domain sites for sale at ridiculous prices.

I am convinced more and more news will emerge about this scandal.  But now that the news is out, this story is looking like a story of money more and more.  Just ask the women who have come forward, with hired lawyers in hand.

Even Donald Trump keyed in on this predicting he’d be hotter than before, for some reason…

Jon C. Ogg

NotMakingThisUp’s interview with Alice Schroeder outlines her story in writing The Snowball (the story of Warren Buffett’s life).

Couple of quotes that stand out for me are:

Warren has a term, the Institutional Imperative, to describe the empire-building and other foolishness that leads to overpriced acquisitions, underutilized capital, stock repurchased above its intrinsic value, stock issued below its intrinsic value, and all the other failures of capital management that companies are so prone to commit. CEOs are rewarded in all sorts of ways for creating bigger companies, not more profitable companies.

The first time I came across the term “Institutional Imperative” was in the books Poor Charlie’s Almanac and Seeking Wisdom.

Leading on to a quote about what Alice makes of Charlie Munger:

It’s hard to sum up Charlie in a couple of sentences or a paragraph. He’s quite humble in his genuine respect for the achievements of others, as long as they equal or exceed his own intelligence, in his opinion. He is so ungodly judgmental that some people find him insufferable, yet his fundamental kindness shines through. Politically … if you look up “politically incorrect” in the dictionary you’ll find a picture of Charlie there instead of a definition. That’s part of why Charlie is refreshing to be around, though. He’s always himself. There is not a phony cell in his body.

Your time will not be wasted talking to Charlie. Usually he’s got something very interesting and insightful to say. It’s better to listen when you’re around Charlie than to try to talk. The phenomenon I wrote about in the book, about him turning his head off when other people are talking, is very much in evidence at times. He’s really a treasure. I enjoyed interviewing Charlie immensely.



So… I guess the starting point for me on the “Review Process” is What Friggin Album Number is this anyway?

#32 By my count! So how do I count ‘em? you ask. Well I’ll tell you:

• First off, I don’t count High Cumberland Jubilee or Down to Earth. They have come out under so many different names and configurations, that I figure Jimmy doesn’t count them either. Is this fair or correct? I don’t really know. Plus if you were to ask Parrotheads to start naming Buffett Albums they can name, I doubt if these two would ever show up on most peoples list. Especially the newer Parrotheads. So, I start with  ABC/Dunhill’s A White Sportscoat & A Pink Crustacean in 1973. Plus there is no Coral Reefers Credit (and that right there is enough reason for me to leave them off). That’s My Story and I’m Stickin’ To It!
• But let’s take a look at those 32 down into five Categories:

1) Regular Albums – 24

2) Live Albums – 4: You Had To Be There, ‘85; Feeding Frenzy, ‘90; Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, ‘99; and Meet Me In Margaritaville, ‘03

3) Compilations – 2: Songs You Know By Heart, ‘85 & Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads Box Set, ‘92

4) Holiday – 1: Christmas Island, ‘96

5) Movie Track – 1: Rancho Deluxe, ‘75

How about if we break those down by Decades for the fun of it:

THE 70′S: 1973 – 1    1974 – 2    1975 – 1    1976  - 1    1978 – 3      1979 – 1 =  9

THE 80’s: 1981 – 2        1983 – 1         1984 – 1          1985 – 2          1986 – 1          1988 – 1         1989 – 1   = 9

THE 90’s: 1990 – 1       1991-1            1992 – 1          1994 – 1          1995 – 1           1996 – 2        1998 – 1  1999 – 1     = 9

THE  0’s:   2002 – 1      2003 – 1         2004 – 1        2006 – 1         2009 - Buffet Hotel   =  5

So, what does this tell us?

1. Jimmy is slowing down finally. Nine albums each Decade until this Decade. Hell have to release four more albums next year to catch up. Not likely to happen. The writing is on the wall Parrotheads, the end is near.
2. Busiest Year: 1978. With five other multiple release years in ‘74, ‘81, ‘85, ‘96 & ‘99.

 Fortune news:
The U.S. “Time” magazine web site has launched a huge “2009 Annual America’s best” list, including this year’s U.S. top ten best business transactions. Warren Buffett got the peak of the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs shares were ranked the first one, Time Warner and Google’s move has also selected list.
Google got AdMob
Google and every company else want to find out how to implement the advertising on mobile devices in the future. So they spend 750 million U.S. dollars on the acquisition of AdMob. This is the one in the iPhone (iPhone Player Forum) application software embedded in a leading advertising technology companies. According to reports, Apple also would like to purchase, but in the end it was Whispered Google. AdMob’s founder Omar Hamoui (Omar Hamoui) founded the company only three years ago, it is obviously a quick return on the company’s other venture and capital institutions shared the luck.

All right reserved

A lot of thoughts and memories flow through my head when I hear a New Jimmy Buffett Album is coming out. Thoughts of where I was when I first listened to one of his new albums?  And  questions too. Like just how many albums has Jimmy put out? Which ones do you count? Live Albums? Compilation Albums? Does a Movie Sound Track Album like Rancho  Deluxe count? What about pre-ABC/Dunhill like High Cumberland Jubilee or Down to Earth? Do you count Christmas Albums? How many songs has Jimmy recorded? Who joined  Jimmy in writing any of  the new songs? Was it a collaboration? Where do I buy it? Do I just download  it? I could go on and on.

That’s why I like this Blog format. I don’t have to address it all. I don’t have to do a complete article or review. All I have to do is put down my thoughts that I have time for on any particular  day.  So it is that I did first things first. I downloaded the Buffet Hotel from iTunes.

With that, I’m going to spend what time I have to spare tonight listening to it. I can’t wait to hear his version of Nobody From No Where and compare it to Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack’s version. And I really liked Rumba Man the one time I heard it on Radio Margaitaville. The iTunes download came with a huge Digital Booklet too. You can bet I’m going to read the heck out of that.

This is the perfect time for you new followers of this Blog to start contributing with your view of the new album to. So while I give it a listen, you get your copy and let’s share our thoughts.

Jackson

Listen: Throughout our Meet The Need campaign, we’ve heard from a number of organizations solving problems on the front end, attacking need before it begins. On Day 30 of 50, we meet Educare, a group taking that preventative approach all the way to the beginning, providing full-day, full-year, high quality early education and care  for children aged 0-5, as well as support for their families, in Milwaukee’s central city.

In these three pieces, Site Director Carol Howard shares what a high quality early childhood education center in Metcalfe Park looks like:

-In this piece, Carol comments “…when we first opened the doors, some families in the community thought, ‘We can’t bring our kids there — it’s kinda too fancy. It’s not for our kids.’” This statement highlights one of the major reasons why Educare makes so much sense — if communities like Metcalfe Park lacks access to high quality education and care, can the neighborhood’s children be expected to succeed?

-It’s becoming more and more clear, even from an economic standpoint, that if we get to at-risk children from the very beginning, they are much more likely to live productive and successful lives as they move forward:

-Educare takes a comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of their children. They go beyond the classroom, ensuring their children’s families have adequate housing and food, as the problems a child experiences in the classroom are compounded if their basic needs aren’t met:

Follow this link more information on the Educare Center Of Milwaukee, and if you’d like to help them meet their needs this holiday season, learn how you can help here.

Produced by: Adam Carr

This was a wild week, and perhaps a disappointment that the news did not propel stocks even higher.  There were many key movers though, and we have a very active panel of very active and widely held shares for traders and investors to keep an eagle eye on in the coming week.  This coming week’s unusual suspects are Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST), Frontier Communications Corp (NYSE: FTR), Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN), Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SOMX), Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

We have given a full run down on each company and links to even more detailed data where appropriate.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) may have finally crossed a threshold of caution versus exuberance from investors.  This week we outlined some issues that run against the overly bullish call from Jim Cramer with his $214 price target, mainly that he left no room for any missteps or any other issues out there.  After the Cramer call, JMP Securities began coverage with a “Market Perform” rating.  At a minimum Cramer just caught a near-term top because in 48 hours shares closed down over $5.00 with a 2-day losing streak after shares had been putting in close to a $1.00 gain on average per day since the start of November. There are also added rumors that it may make a $3 billion acquisition of Vente-Privee in fashion and eCommerce.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the unusual suspects.  What is getting interesting here is that a rather influential technician gave an audio/video presentation yesterday calling for an exit on the long-side trade that they have been in for months and months.  We looked further into this and it turns out that Apple is right at the point that it is at least exiting the last step of that long-term uptrend that has been in place.  In fact, after Adam Hewison’s call, this closed under the 50-day moving average for the first time in over 6-months.  Options trading on Friday also reached the point that the closest out of the money call and put options traded what is effectively the entire open interest that was there.  Friday was also the most volatile day in over a month with almost a 5% intra-day price band from high to low.  And now there are reports it is buying Lala for cloud-based music.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) will be the big retail earnings to watch this week with earnings due this coming Thursday.  The company posted a gain of 6% in same store sales for November, but Thomson Reuters had estimates of about 8%. The real problem was that domestic same store sales were up only 2%.  Still this was a gain and it may lend credibility that the earnings could post an upside to the $0.60 EPS and $17.2 billion expected from Thomson Reuters.  The big box retailer will have to probably do even better than its most recent upside surprise on earnings though compared to estimates for the stock to run up.  Shares only lost about 1% this last week and at $59.19 they are only 4% under the $61.25 high (Nov. 16) of the last 52-weeks.

Frontier Communications Corp (NYSE: FTR) had astronomically unusual trading volume on Friday.  Shares closed up 1% at $8.46 but on over 11.8 million shares.  That was on top of 8.4 million on Thursday and on top of 6 million shares on each Wednesday and Tuesday. Average volume had been 3 million shares before this week’s interest.  Friday’s stock options trading was 16,684 contracts of the DEC $7.50 CALLS versus an open interest of only 1,128 contracts.  But the huge options trade was 144,000 of the JAN-2010 $7.50 CALLS versus a prior open interest of 9,576 contracts.  Gee, what do you think that’s all about.

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) may be back in play and it has seen 5 days of consecutive run-ups.  We noted on Thursday how options activity was spiking on buyout rumors with the stock.  It turns out that options were again active on Friday.  Private equity tried to acquire this for $28.00 back in the M&A day, so this might make sense as DuPont (NYSE: DD) was one the rumored acquirer.  If there is no deal or continued talk of a deal on Monday, then Huntsman might have to give back some of the 15% gain it saw this last week.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SOMX) did not, nor did the FDA, post whether or not Silenor was approved for insomnia.  We and other websites had earmarked a December 4 deadline for the FDA.  A search over Somaxon site, the FDA site, and message boards… we saw nothing of any approval or rejection.  Be advised if this is approved or given a solid nod… Somaxon has an effective shelf registration that would allow it to raise up to $150 million in mixed securities sales.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) has two things going for it.  First and foremost Barron’s gave this a thumbs up over the weekend saying it is starting to hit its stride after past missteps and shares could be 50% undervalued.  We also noted yesterday that the iPCS deal closure effectively formally and permanently eliminates its lawsuits over competing against affiliates.  It said it bought 700,000 subscribers, but it effectively bought hundreds of millions of dollars of open-ended liabilities had that suit gone against it in the manner we thought it would go.  Our take: look for a 2% pop on Monday morning if no new data comes out between now and Monday morning.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) may have highlighted its own woes and the woes of the video game sector.  But we think this might be at least a start for some of the longer-term investors to get to look at some of the top video game stocks if they have a very long-term outlook without the goal of trying to make a quick buck in the short term.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) could be the next TARP re-payer after Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) made its TARP sale that went so well according to discussions we have had with traders.  BofA’s success gave a blueprint and this was able to be closed much faster, more successfully, and without any damage to the share price from major dilution that this actually makes sense.  The caveat here is that Wells Fargo has not been as public over compensation and over the woes of the public criticism, but it also had a $25 billion TARP sum rather than $45 billion from BofA.  The market caps were close enough before the effects of the new Bank of America shares issued, that this would be even less dilutive to Wells Fargo.  The bank could probably even get Uncle Warren Buffett to get Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) to step in to assist as an investor on top of its already-large holdings in Wells Fargo. Imagine entering 2010 without Uncle Sam up your… well in your back pocket.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) may have gotten the question mark taken off its shares.  The company announced after the close on Friday that it has “finalized and executed” its definitive Search and Advertising Services and Sales Agreement and License Agreement with Microsoft.  While most agreed this was coming, that clears up the last hurdles.  Shares rose marginally after-hours, but all things being equal and barring no new data between now and Monday we’d be looking for a gain of close to 1% Monday morning.

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JON C. OGG

There’s a nice Review of Jimmy new album Jimmy Buffet tells tales of home on Hotel Buffett

“Proven Tools” -  a Book Review by John Lehman of Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets by Mary Buffett & David Clark

I read something in the first chapter of this little book that I have been thinking about for days: “Pick the right business to work for.” It seems simple, but means the difference between a high-paying career and a life of drudgery. Yet most of us, at least when the age we are first looking for a job, take anything. We don’t feel we deserve choice. In a nutshell, that is the most amazing quality of this compendium of five simple principles for personal and business success, it empowers the reader. It gives us choice. It even allows us to fail.

Management Secrets reminds me of another favorite of mine, The Actor’s Handbook by some of David Mamet’s former students at NYU. I’m a big fan of the playwright and have read his books, but there is something about getting the information from a second-party that is almost better. It’s as if they have taken the time and effort to assimilate a complex subject and put it in such a way that can implement it. That’s certainly true here. The two authors tell us how to determine the “right business to work for” in terms of per share earnings, debt and gross margin, and even follow these with a course of action for people who find themselves in the wrong choice, “So if you find yourself working for a company with poor inherent economics, it is better to get out now than it is to stick around year after year waiting for things to change.”

There are stages businesses go through and an entrepreneur may go against everything people advise to start a new enterprise, but he or she needs to turn around and delegate to others if the company is to ever reach the next level. That’s a challenge that leads to micro-managing or bureaucrats bending to the perceived wishes of their superiors. Buffett advises: “In the management of our lives, the rule is: Love what you do. In the management of our businesses, the rule is: Hire people who love what they do.” And, of course, let them do it. I agree, that the deepest principle in human nature is a need to be appreciated. Warren Buffett seems to be a genius at this, but a great thing about this book is that reading it we are convinced we can be good at doing this too. There are some basics, like “if you must criticize someone personally, praise them first,” that sound a little too Dale Carnegie simplistic to me (Buffett is a great follower of Carnegie), but for success we should think of what others want instead of what we want, and how to encourage others to come up with bright ideas instead of following ours. Chapter 21, “Hidden Dangers of Making a Living on Borrowed Money” is as good an explanation as you’ll find anywhere on our present financial quagmire.

But I love the candor with which this wisdom is presented, “Hire an adviser and his job likely becomes to advise you to do what you wanted to do in the first place. Advisers who voice dissent too often are soon out of a job. Most people don’t keep ‘no men’ around.” And perhaps that’s the beauty of this book. It doesn’t tell us we are wrong or right, but reminds us of some things we may have forgotten in our day-by-day. Things that make us better managers, but also allow us to love what we are doing more. You can read Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets in a couple hours, but my guess is that, once you do you will keep it handy and read it again, often.

Available from amazon. Click here: amazon.com

The other weekend when I was talking to Will Kimbrough after his show down at Pirates Cove at Gulf Shores, and he mentioned that he, Mac, Mike and Marshall Chapman were going to be recording at LaLa Land in Muscle Shoals. I forgot to ask it that was for “Public Consumption,” but since he just mentioned it on Will Kimbrough’s Blog I guess it’s save to mention here. I can’t wait to hear some of the stuff that get recorded at this session. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.

Sounds like a Man with a Plan and a Place of His Own!