The Old Double Irish.

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 23, 2010.

Don't be evil. Or pay taxes. So it turns out Google (GOOG), everybody's favorite search engine/ intelligence agency, used a technique referred to as the "Double Irish" to save some $ 3.1 billion in taxes. It's a little complicated so I'll leave the pretty Double Irish duo below to explain it. Basically it involves income shifting, "Dutch sandwiches," and whole bunch of clever cross border loopholes. I guess if it's legal it's not evil. Go Goog!!!!

Back in Cramer's day a "Double Irish" meant two shots of Jameson at lunch....

Here's some linkage:

NY Mag: Google Uses the "Double Irish" and the "Dutch Sandwich" to Avoid Billions in Taxes.

Bloomberg: Google's 2.4% Rate Shows How $ 60 Billion Lost To Tax Loopholes.

Well, That's Not So Bad...

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 21, 2010

Cartoon courtesy of Dave Granlund.

Jeez!! What's the big deal anyway?

The FHA announced today that the taxpayer bailouts of Fannie and Freddie could cost another $363 billion through 2013 in a worst case scenario (i.e: double dip recession). This is in addition to the $148 billion in taxpayer dough that's already been spent since the government seized the bloated old couple. That's only half a trillion dollars! That's not so bad. Why's everyone freaking out? It's not like our government is running deficits or our debt to GDP levels are reaching scary levels....

Apple Hearts Facebook?

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 20, 2010
Image courtesy of Nick Bilton/ New York Times

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is soon to be the most valuable company in America. Oh yeah, and they have about $51 billion in cash sitting on their balance sheets. That's a super fat chump of change. So it begs the question...Will Jobs and Co abandon their time worn strategy of organic growth in the name of acquisitions? $51 billion can buy you a whole lotta stuff. But, what makes the most strategic sense for the Kings of Cupertino? In today's NY Times Dealbook section there is an excellent article on just that topic. I have some ideas of my own....

What can $51 billion buy?

Here's some ideas:

Warren Buffett: $47 Billion

Facebook: $35 Billion.

Sirius/XM: $5.3 Billion

NY Yankees: $1.6 Billion

Boston Red Sox: $860 Million

RIMM (Blackberry): $25 Billion

Electronic Arts: $5.1 Billion

Netflix: $7.1 Billion

Playboy: $175 Million

Yahoo: $21.7 Billion

Empire State Building: $1.5 Billion

Personally, I'd buy the Yankees and Playboy and the Empire State Building and turn it into my own private residence (Haha) but I digress. However, for strategic business reasons there is simply no better buy for Apple than Facebook. With it's 500 million membership base and superhuman growth rates Facebook is in the unique position as both a powerhouse tech company and one that is (depending on one's own feelings on the matter) "affordable" for Apple. There are, of course, natural synergies between the two. Both companies are lifestyle brands with high customer satisfaction and hip factor. Up till now, Zuckerberg has been reluctant to sell his baby. But perhaps Steve Job's fabled reality distortion field and a $ 40 billion dollar check might change his mind.

Tan Man Settles!

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 18, 2010.

Angelo Mozilo, God's gift to the tanning booth, has agreed to pay $ 67.5 million dollars to the SEC on charges that he committed fraud and insider trading during his stint as head of Countrywide Financial. Mozilo, who bares a striking resemblance to Syracuse University's beloved mascot "Otto The Orange" (see below), is the genius who brought us "liar loans" and nearly destroyed the world economy all while making himself and several California tanning salons very wealthy.

After pocketing a good chunk of change ($ 139 million) for selling his Countrywide stock in 2006 and 2007 as the phony real estate bubble which he helped to create burst, "Tan Man" now gets to ride off into the sunset. The rest of the world, however, isn't as lucky...

Google Crushes 3rd Quarter.

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 15, 2010.

Google, Al Gore's second favorite technology company, posted better than expected 3rd quarter results last night. Earnings came in at $7.64 per share, much better than the $5.89 the search giant posted in the same quarter last year. Wall Street, as usual, is unfashionably late to the party with a slew of hasty upgrades by "savvy" analysts. Here's a few ups for shits and gigs:

RBC raises GOOG target to $690 from $600.

Oppenheimer raises GOOG target to $650 from $630.

Barclays raises GOOG target to $675 from $550.

UBS raises GOOG target to $720 from $685.

With Apple trading at all time highs and Google making its way there, Vide President Al Gore was heard to collapse in a delirious (for him) joy...

Mr. T, Gold Bug.

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 14, 2010.

Pimm Fox better watch his back....

Hoenig To Fed: "Knock Off This Easing Bunk!"

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 12, 2010Photo Courtesy of Reuters/ Tami Chappell

Tom "The Bomb" Hoenig has about had it up to here with all this quantitative easing chatter! If Messrs Bernanke and Yellen don't knock off this cheap money kick, Hoenig may just have to layeth the smacketh down. Speaking before the National Association of Business Economics on Tuesday, Hoenig (who is a Fed inflation hawk) announced that "...the benefits are likely to be smaller than the costs," regarding a further round of Fed easing. Upon hearing Hoenig's comments an incensed Chairman Bernanke was heard to respond, "Tom better shut his 'effing mouth before I shut it for him!"

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure...

Posted by Sean Doyle, October 8, 2010.

"Junk Bonds Are Back On Top" So reads the headline in yesterday's New York Times. Due to historically low interest rates, companies with less than stellar credit ratings are in a mad rush to sell bonds to get financing. According to the Times, in the first nine months of 2010 $275 billion in junk bonds have issued worldwide. That number is up from $163 billion in the year before period, and by the way, an all-time record.

Photo Courtesy of Tina Fineberg/ The New York Times.

"Other than 1988 at Drexel, this is the best time I've ever seen, and it's getting better," said Jim Casey (pictured above), the new junk bond king, who runs the desk at JP Morgan.

Speaking of trash, take a look at this utterly scary jobs chart from the folks at Clusterstock. This nightmare graphic illustrates how truly anemic this post-recession "recovery" has been...