Posted by Davy Bui on November 17th, 2008 in General Investment
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Welcome to the November 17th, 2008 edition of the Festival of Stocks, hosted this week by the Enlightened American site.  Below, you’ll find a selection of posts covering a wide array of topics in investing and personal finance.  You can find more information on the Festival of Stocks here.

For new visitors, my blog focuses mostly on stocks, with some detours into politics, sports and music.  From an investing standpoint, I strive for a value-based discipline and seek stocks selling at a minimum 25% (preferably 40% or more) discount to my perceived intrinsic valuation.  Please feel free to look around.

My contribution to this week’s festival is my latest look at Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and its recent earnings report. The stock looks extremely cheap compared to its underlying assets but has some financial rebalancing to do.

Stock Analysis

Stock Analysis: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) A 4-Star Buy On Dips at Dividends4Life
* Editor’s Choice *
Microsoft is the world’s largest software company. It develops PC software, including the Windows operating system and the Office application suite. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary. I’ve been waiting for MSFT to drop under $20 (maybe even $15) so this is timely.
Stocks: MSFT

CTC Media: Big Gain Potential, Equally Big Risks at MagicDiligence
* Editor’s Choice *
For those familiar with Joel Greenblatt’s facetiously titled MagicFormulaInvesting site, MFI sometimes turns up obscure, often foreign, stocks which seem tantalizingly cheap (CHCG comes to mind for me). Steve Alexander reviews another such stock, CTC Media.
Stocks: CTCM

A Health Care Stock That’s Acting Well at The Iconoclast Investor
Timothy Lutts looks at a pharma stock, Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST), that’s holding up so far in this market.
Stocks: CBST

Job Hunting

Nuclear Fishin’ : Unique industry offers 100-megaton opportunities at Higher Education and Career Blog
For the unemployed among us (right here!), Khan recommends taking a look at the nuclear industry. I imagine entry level positions might be hard to come by.
Stocks:

General Investing

Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio October 2008 Update at Fat Pitch Financials
* Editor’s Choice *
George over at Fat Pitch goes over the carnage at his portfolio. He’s not the only one. On a brighter note, George’s Special Situations portfolio is performing much better.
Stocks: BID, BR, Ebay, KFT, LENS, MHP, MSFT, MWRK, PFE, PRXI, USB, USG, WB, WEST, WFC, WU

The Perils of One-time Charges at Value Investing and Entrepreneurship by Qovax, a Software Startup
* Editor’s Choice *
When it comes to pleasing Wall Street, some companies would do anything to spruce up their books. One of the most common shenanigans management would use is one-time charges. One-time charges are expenses that do not recur. Because of this, one-time charges are usually reported separately to prevent any disfigurement of an otherwise pristine net income.
Stocks:

Laser Eye Surgery: Too New To Value? at Barel Karsan
Barel Karsan takes a look at the relatively new laser vision correction industry. Interested readers can also reference my in-depth analysis of one of the leading players in this industry, LCAV.
Stocks: LCAV, TLCV

Socially Responsible Investing: Go Green And Make Money At The Same Time at Will
Will at MoneyGalaxy discusses a subject that’s received a lot of attention in recent years, socially responsible investing (SRI). This post is a good primer in a still-developing area.
Stocks:

The Importance Of Volume In Any Run Using View Systems (VSYM) As An Example at 52 Week Experiment
SCMFinance delves into a little chart watching and specifically, the importance of volume in confirming moves.
Stocks: VSYM

Profit from Special Situations – Risk Arbitrage at Old School Value
Jae Jun summarizes the basic concepts behind risk arbitrage, using Joel Greenblatt’s You Can Be A Stock Market Genius as reference. I’m not sure what kind of an edge retail investors have against professionals with lawyers, analysts, etc. examining all aspects of a deal but if readers are interested, this post is a good start.
Stocks: PSD

Safest Place To Invest Money at Money Blue Book
A rather long post that eventually suggests investors look at traditional piggy-bank investments like CDs, Treasurys & money-market funds.
Stocks: