tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35772012861980607482009-09-10T02:13:30.473-07:00<a href="http://www.equityresearch.in/b/">ER Blog - The Equity Research Blog</a> provides regular updates on the significant happenings in the world of equity & investments research. See <a href="http://www.equityresearch.in">Equity Research</a> home page for comprehensive resources on equity researchEcacofonixnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-31595518732287306982007-08-29T22:31:00.000-07:002007-08-29T22:36:07.870-07:00<strong>Independent Equity Research Acquisitions & Consolidation</strong><br /><br />Shanny Basar, 23 Aug 2007, Financial News US Online<br /><br />Reuters has agreed to buy StarMine as equity analysts at buyside institutions are ramping up their use of independent research. StarMine, a San-Francisco-based firm, was established in 1999 by Joe Gatto who developed a quantitative model to track analyst estimates and recommendations. Its rankings help fund managers decide whose research to buy although sellside firms are also clients.<br /><br />Earlier August, John S Herold, a research firm covering the oil and gas sectors, was acquired as investment banks such as Goldman Sachs have been linking up independents. In January 2007, Goldman Sachs launched Hudson Street Services, an alternative research platform. As part of Goldman’s strategy, it takes minority stakes in the firms included in Hudson Street who retain their own branding.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-3159551873228730698?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-74164719433757588352007-08-29T22:25:00.000-07:002007-08-29T22:29:03.627-07:00<strong>Independent equity research gains users, but commissions remain static</strong><br /> <br />24 Aug 2007, Hedge Week<br /><br />Equity analysts at buy-side institutions in the US appear to be increasing their use of independent research, according to a new study from Greenwich Associates, but the institutions are not increasing the amount of commission paid out to third-party research providers.<br /><br />Among equity analysts interviewed by Greenwich Associates as part of its 2007 US Equity Analysts Research Study, almost 40 per cent say they expect to increase their use of products and services from independent or 'boutique' research providers. However, commission payments to independent research providers do not appear to be increasing in absolute dollar terms.<br /><br />Read the full story from here <a href="http://www.hedgeweek.com/articles/detail.jsp?content_id=162739&livehome=true">at Hedge Week</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-7416471943375758835?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-89440732375459509812007-08-29T22:08:00.000-07:002007-08-29T22:11:05.372-07:00<strong>Mid Market Bank Jefferies Expands Equities Research Team</strong><br /> <br />Stephanie Baum, 28 Aug 2007 <br /><br />Jefferies has hired two senior equity analysts as the mid-market bank continues to expand its research teams.<br /><br />Jefferies takes a sector-based approach to equities research and has added several staff this year. In April, two professionals joined Jefferies from Bank of America as co-heads of healthcare sector trading. In the second quarter, two more moved over from Credit Suisse to focus on utilities, metals and mining. And now, another two additional senior analysts have joined the firm.<br /><br />Read more from <a href="http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=ushome&contentid=2348632491">this report</a> @ Financial News Online<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-8944073237545950981?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-27577671126897866682007-08-29T10:31:00.001-07:002007-08-29T10:35:07.398-07:00Corporate valuations & the Private Equity - Corporate Dance<br /><br />Knowing how much to pay for a company was never easy ­- and the rise of private equity hasn’t helped<br /><br />Charlotte Moore, Financial Director, 24 Aug 2007<br /><br />Among the many forms of financial wizardry, valuing companies is a dark art. It combines complex financial skills with the ability to predict the future; it’s an unusual amalgam of statistics and crystal ball gazing.<br /><br />In this scenario, the entry and growth of private equity firms has enlivened the market even further. Many publicly quoted companies are finding that they lock horns ever more frequently with private equity giants like Blackstone and KKR as their fiscal firepower has increased over the past decade.<br /><br />Talk to any corporate finance practitioner and the message is resoundingly clear: private equity has shaken up almost every aspect of the M&A market, including the way that acquisitions and disposals are valued...<br /><br />Read more this <a href="http://www.accountancyage.com/financial-director/features/2197411/corporate-valuations">report @ Accountancy Age</a> how the corporates and private equity companies are fighting it out in the M&A scene.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-2757767112689786668?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-22255694463984085102007-08-29T10:21:00.000-07:002007-08-29T10:25:38.935-07:00<strong>Interview with Paul Taylor @ Motley Fool - On Peter Lynch & More</strong><br /><br />By Charly Travers August 28, 2007 @ The Motley Fool<br /><br />The Fool's Charly Travers recently had the opportunity to conduct a Q&A with Paul Taylor of Taylor Investment Services. Paul is a longtime poster on the Fool's Liquid Lounge discussion board, currently posting under the name IncrementalGuy. Read on to see what Paul had to say about his investment philosophy, superior returns, and things the beginning investor should keep in mind. <br /><br />While there are many nuggets you will take away from the interview, one answer stands out, in my opinion:<br /><br />"Travers: What's the secret of your success?<br /><br />Taylor: This could be a long answer, but suffice it to say that I do my best to mimic the approach described by Peter Lynch in his books One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street. <br />"<br /><br />Interesting questions and answers, useful read<br /><br />Read the full interview here @ Motley Fool<a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/08/28/lessons-from-a-lynch-disciple.aspx"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-2225569446398408510?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-75364159403244773722007-08-29T10:02:00.000-07:002007-08-29T10:11:58.666-07:00<strong>Doubts re Discounted Cash Flow as a Valuation Tool</strong><br /><br />The discounted cash flow is not an effective valuation tool for commodity (capital-intensive) industries. <br /> <br />The article says that a lot of retrospection is done on the widely accepted valuation tool DCF (discounted cash flow), similar to what PEG (price-earnings to growth) ratio, which was in vogue for valuing technology stocks during the boom of 2000 and 2001, went through in the recent past.<br /><br />It goes on to add that while there is nothing wrong with the tool itself, its current indiscriminate usage in many sectors like commodities, say in valuing refinery stocks, power generation companies (in this case, depreciation is pass through in nature since the ROEs are capped) etc makes many professionals wary about its use.<br /><br />Read more from <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=295853&leftnm=0&subLeft=0&chkFlg=">this report</a> @ Business Standard India, Aug 29, 2007<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-7536415940324477372?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-12177622315461613222007-08-17T00:11:00.000-07:002007-08-17T00:13:45.581-07:00<strong>PE funds & India Infrastructure Story</strong><br /><br />Aug 2007<br /><br />For the first time, India has crossed China in terms of PE investments in the first six months of 2007. According to data from the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research, India has seen $3.7 billion worth of private equity investments, just behind Japan, which saw $4.91 billion worth of PE funding in the same period, and ahead of People’s Republic of China, which saw investments to the extent of $2.6 billion during the first half of 2007. <br /><br />It is estimated that engineering and construction companies attracted 11 such deals worth $290 million between January and May 2007.<br /><br />The nature of infrastructure investments presents challenges to the PE investment funding. Infrastructure projects are characterised by high initial set up cost, long project tenors and returns spread over a large number of years. More importantly, the funding requirements for a typical greenfield infrastructure project are of a very different nature compared to typical PE investments. <br /><br />Typically, PE funds prefer to channelise their funding in this sector through construction or development companies implementing such projects, rather than the projects itself.<br /><br />Read more from this <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Editorials/PE_funds__India_infrastructure_story/articleshow/2279186.cms">report @ Economic Times, India</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-1217762231546161322?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-15990070492571250032007-08-17T00:05:00.000-07:002007-08-17T00:08:52.208-07:00<strong>Private Equity Still Strong in Europe - Apax, KKR, PAI in the Act</strong><br />Aug 2007, Forbes<br /><br />The wisest investors are sometimes those who refuse to follow the crowd, and the big guns of private equity are hoping the credit crunch hasn't put off any European buyout fans. As of Thursday, Apax Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and France's PAI are all looking for over $10 billion each to fund their future conquests of Europe. <br /><br />Apax Partners is raising 10 billion euros for its Europe VII fund, while former BNP Paribas subsidiary PAI partners is also looking for the same amount for its Europe V fund. <br /><br />Further down the list, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts hopes to raise 7.7 billion euros , Carlyle Group is looking for 5 billion euros and Barclays Bank's private equity unit wants 2 billion euros.<br /><br />The squeeze on easy credit and a seeming lack of investor appetite for debt both have affected private equity deals with European companies like Alliance Boots, Cadbury Schweppes and Mitchells & Butler.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-1599007049257125003?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-41298226867316113312007-04-14T09:36:00.000-07:002007-04-14T09:37:39.101-07:00<strong>Private equity firm 3i extends Enterprise offer</strong><br /><br />Apr 13, 2007 3:47 PM BST<br /><br />LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - Kirk Newco representing private equity group 3i said on Friday its takeover offer for British maintenance and support services firm Enterprise Plc had been extended until April 27.<br /><br />On March 23, Enterprise agreed to a 486.4 million pounds ($966.4 million) takeover by management backed by 3i. <br /><br /><a href="www.reuters.co.uk">Reuters,UK</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-4129822686731611331?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-22064055516618364082007-04-14T09:32:00.000-07:002007-04-14T09:34:40.884-07:00<strong>Beware of These Dogs - Cos That Score Poorly on S&P Radar</strong><br /><br />by Michael Kaye, CFA - From Standard & Poor's Equity Research<br /><br />S&P's latest screen finds 10 outfits that score poorly in four key categories. Among them: Eastman Kodak and Qwest Communications <br /><br />It can be just as important to know which stocks Standard & Poor's Equity Research doesn't recommend as it is to know which stocks we do recommend. After all, as they say in baseball, sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make, says the report.<br /><br />Read <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/apr2007/pi20070412_106838.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_investing">the full report from here</a> @ Business Week, Apr 12, 2007<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-2206405551661836408?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-11413452500400700112007-04-14T09:28:00.000-07:002007-04-14T09:29:37.891-07:00<strong>Google buying DoubleClick, Huge Payback for Investors</strong><br /><br />Eric Auchard<br /> <br />Apr 14, 2007<br /><br />SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it would pay $3.1 billion for Web ad supplier DoubleClick Inc., its biggest acquisition, accelerating a push into the graphic ad market led by Yahoo Inc. <br /><br />The agreed price represents a huge payday for San Francisco private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, DoubleClick's majority owner, which 21 months ago paid $335 million for the assets acquired by Google, a source familiar with the deals said.<br /> <br />Read <a href="http://maconareaonline.com/news.asp?id=16935">the full report</a> from here @ Macon Daily<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-1141345250040070011?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-44246630352254733562007-04-14T09:24:00.000-07:002007-04-14T09:25:48.766-07:00<strong>Deutsche Bank Equity Research Significantly Expands Coverage of the Financial Institutions Sector</strong><br /><br />April 12, 2007<br /><br /><strong>Press release</strong><br /><br />Michael Mayo covers Money Center Banks, Processing Banks, Regional Banks and Investment Banks <br />Robert Rutschow covers Midcap Financials <br />Matthew Fischer covers Online Brokers <br />Christopher Spahr covers Asset Managers <br /><br />NEW YORK - Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. today announced that research analysts Michael Mayo, Matthew Fischer, Robert Rutschow and Christopher Spahr have initiated coverage of thirty-seven stocks within the financial institutions sector. Deutsche Bank rolled-out coverage of the following stocks today: <br /><br />Citigroup (NYSE: C) <br /><br />JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) <br /><br />Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) <br /><br />State Street (NYSE: STT) <br /><br />Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) <br /><br />Bank of New York (NYSE: BK) <br /><br />Mellon (NYSE: MEL) <br /><br />BB&T (NYSE: BBT) <br /><br />Comerica (NYSE: CMA) <br /><br />Fifth Third (NASDAQ: FITB) <br /><br />KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) <br /><br />National City (NYSE: NCC) <br /><br />PNC Financial Services (NYSE: PNC) <br /><br />SunTrust (NYSE: STI) <br /><br />U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) <br /><br />Wachovia (NYSE: WB) <br /><br />Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) <br /><br />Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) <br /><br />Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) <br /><br />Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) <br /><br />Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) <br /><br />Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) <br /><br />City National (NYSE: CYN) <br /><br />Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) <br /><br />Investors Financial (NASDAQ: IFIN) <br /><br />Marshall & Ilsley (NYSE: MI) <br /><br />Synovus (NYSE: SNV) <br /><br />TCF Financial (NYSE: TCB) <br /><br />Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) <br /><br />Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) <br /><br />E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC) <br /><br />TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) <br /><br />Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) <br /><br />Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) <br /><br />T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) <br /><br />Blackrock (NYSE: BLK) <br /><br />AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB) <br /><br />Deutsche Bank <br /><br />Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) is a leading global investment bank with a strong and profitable private clients franchise. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With EUR 1,126 billion in assets and 68,849 employees in 73 countries, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services throughout the world. The bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people. <br /><br />Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., member NYSE, NASD and SIPC, is the investment banking and securities arm of Deutsche Bank AG in the United States. <br /><br />www.db.com <br /><br />Contacts <br />Deutsche Bank<br />Media Relations<br />Renee Calabro, 212-250-5525<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-4424663035225473356?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577201286198060748.post-27081319455391311802007-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:002007-04-14T09:22:05.709-07:00ER Blog, the Equity Research blog started!<br /><br />I hope to provide you with the latest happenings in the world of equity research and stock valuations in this blog.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3577201286198060748-2708131945539131180?l=www.equityresearch.in%2Fb%2Findex.html'/></div>Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com0