As the fracking boom has generated massive new interest in domestic oil and gas production, coal has become the red-headed stepchild of the energy industry.  Soaring new supplies of natural gas have led to a glut that has kept prices depressed for the past several years, but they’ve also pushed down the prices of energy...Read More

Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote a short piece on Hugh Hefner’s leveraged buyout of Playboy Enterprises and commented that the company was transitioning away from its adult media businesses and into licensing and brand management.  Essentially, founder Hugh Hefner wanted to turn his company into something like a Dolce and Gabbana, but with an...Read More

Japanese stocks are off to a nice start this year.  The iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSE:$EWJ), a popular option among investors for getting access to Japan’s biggest traded companies, is up 4% for the year and 14% over the past month. Enjoy it while it lasts. Japan’s recent surge is due to its new quantitative...Read More

Constellation Brands (NYSE:$STZ) shot up 37% yesterday and Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:$BUD) rose a not-too-shabby 5% on speculation that the U.S. Department of Justice might let AB Inbev acquire  Grupo Modelo (Pink:GPMCF) after a few small revisions to the deal were made. The Department of Justice torpedoed the original deal last month on fears that it...Read More

Southerners are a proud, prickly lot who, not that long ago, used to demand satisfaction for slights real or imagined with pistols at dawn. The executives at Beam Inc, (NYSE:$BEAM) might want to watch out because their decision to water down their premium Maker’s Mark has offended the sensibilities of Bourbon lovers in the South...Read More