The relatively new currency of bitcoin recently peaked to a value near $240 per bitcoin from less than $20 at the start of the year. This 1,200% return in less than five months would pique anyone's interest. Many call this a bubble, while others are still bullish on the possibilities of an even richer bitcoin. No matter what side you are on, beware of these bitcoin-specific risks that other traditional investments lack.
Source: bitcoincharts.com
Extreme dependence on sentiment
Any value of an item comes down to what someone will pay for it. Some items have an intrinsic value because they can help produce goods or services that can be sold. As Warren Buffett described in his 2011 annual letter, contrasting the value of farmland and�ExxonMobil with all the gold in the world:
A century from now the 400 million acres of farmland will have produced staggering amounts of corn, wheat, cotton, and other crops -- and will continue to produce that valuable bounty, whatever the currency may be. ExxonMobil will probably have delivered trillions of dollars in dividends to its owners and will also hold assets worth many more trillions. ... The 170,000 tons of gold will be unchanged in size and still incapable of producing anything. You can fondle the cube, but it will not respond.
Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy For 2014: China Green Agriculture Inc.(CGA)
China Green Agriculture, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products in the People?s Republic of China. Its fertilizer products include humic acid-based compound fertilizers, compound fertilizers, blended fertilizers, organic compound fertilizers, slow-release fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizers. The company markets its fertilizer products to private wholesalers and retailers of agricultural farm products in 22 provinces, 4 autonomous regions, and 3 central government-controlled municipalities. It also engages in the development, production, and distribution of agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The company sells its decorative flowers to flower shops, luxury hotels, and government agencies; fruits and vegetables to supermarkets and upscale restaurants; and seedlings to city planning departments in Shaanxi and its neighboring provinces. China Green Agriculture, Inc. is based in Xian, the People?s Republic of China.
Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy For 2014: Microgen Hdg(MCGN.L)
Microgen plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology services and solutions to the business community primarily in the financial sector in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company?s Microgen Aptitude Solutions division offers enterprise level application products and solutions to financial and digital media organizations. This division?s products include Microgen Aptitude, an enterprise application platform that is used by enterprises to automate complex business processes, manage dynamic calculations and rules, and integrate data across existing infrastructure; Microgen Accounting Hub, which provides a single point of control for financial and accounting data for wholesale and retail banks, asset and wealth managers, and insurance providers, as well as for the finance function in the telecom, digital media, and commercial sectors; and Microgen DBClarity Developer that offers an approach to graphically design, implement, and control SQL logic. Its Microgen?s Financial Systems provides software products and services for the financial market. It delivers wealth management software and solutions, banking software and solutions, asset management software and solutions, and energy software and application management services. This segment provides solutions for front and back office administration, performance measurement/analytics, and fund and product design to trust administrators, and fund and asset management organizations. The company also offers consultancy, software support, and maintenance services. Microgen plc was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Top 5 China Companies To Buy For 2014: National Financial Partners Corporation (NFP)
National Financial Partners Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides advisory and brokerage services to corporate and high net worth individual clients in the United States and Canada. It operates in three segments: Corporate Client Group, Individual Client Group, and Advisor Services Group. The Corporate Client Group segment operates as corporate benefits advisor in the middle market, offering independent solutions for health and welfare, retirement planning, executive benefits, and property and casualty insurance; and offers property and casualty insurance brokerage and consulting services. It serves corporate clients by providing advisory and brokerage services related to the planning and administration of benefit plans that take into account the overall business profile and needs of the corporate client. The Individual Client Group segment delivers independent life insurance, annuities, long term care, and wealth transfer solutions; and wholesale life brokerage, retail life, and investment advisory services. It serves wealth accumulation, preservation, and transfer needs, including estate planning, business succession, charitable giving, and financial advisory services. The Advisor Services Group segment provides broker-dealer and asset management products and services to independent financial advisors. In addition, the company provides IndeSuite, a wealth management platform for the independent registered investment advisor market. National Financial Partners Corp. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in New York City, New York.
Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy For 2014: Overseas & General Ltd (MALAY CUFS)
OGL Resources Limited engages in the exploration, development, and mining of coal and other minerals in Australia. It is also involved in the cultivation and development of tropical hardwood plantations, as well as the sale and marketing of plant seedlings in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. OGL Resources Limited was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Douglas, Isle of Man.
Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy For 2014: Desmarais Energy Corp (DES.V)
Desmarais Energy Corporation, a junior oil and gas exploration and production company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and gas reserves in western Canada. The company operates approximately 40 sections of prospective lands and approximately 25 kilometers of pipelines in the Barrhead area of west central Alberta; and holds a 100% interest in 1600 acres of undeveloped lands in south east Alberta. Desmarais Energy Corporation was founded in 1994 and is based in Calgary, Canada.
Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy For 2014: Techne Corporation(TECH)
TECHNE Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells biotechnology products, and hematology calibrators and controls worldwide. The company?s Biotechnology segment offers proteins, such as cytokines, and enzyme substrates and inhibitors; antibodies, including polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies; immunoassays comprising quantikine kits for the detection of human and animal proteins, and immunoassays that allow researchers to quantify a specific analyte in a biological fluids sample; clinical diagnostic immunoassay kits consisting of erythropoietin, transferrin receptor, and beta2-microglobulin immunoassays for use as in vitro diagnostic devices; flow cytometry products, such as fluorochrome labeled antibodies and kits; intracellular cell signaling products, including antibodies, phospho-specific antibodies, antibody arrays, active caspases, kinases, and phosphatases, and ELISA assays to measure the activity of apoptotic and signaling molecules; and natural and synthetic c hemical compounds for use as agonists, antagonists, and inhibitors of various biological functions by investigators. Its Hematology segment provides whole blood CBC controls controls and calibrators; linearity and reportable range controls for the assessment of the linearity of hematology analyzers for white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and reticulocytes; whole blood reticulocyte controls for manual and automated counting of reticulocytes; whole blood flow cytometry controls for the identification and quantification white blood cells; whole blood glucose/hemoglobin control to monitor instruments, which measure glucose and hemoglobin in blood; erythrocyte sedimentation rate control to monitor erythrocyte sedimentation rate tests; and multi-purpose platelet reference controls, such as Platelet-Trol II and Platelet-Trol Extended for use by automated and semi-automated analyzers, which monitor platelet levels. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in M inneapolis, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Nicolas73]
Digitalized data (documents, books, articles) volume is growing at an incredible pace. Moreover, it would be simply not possible (nor useful) to print everything.Company and institutions encourage people to print something only when strictly needed, both for environmental and for cost-cutting purposes.Fax machines will quickly become (tech) museum pieces, replaced by emails (people are free to print an email whenever it is really necessary).Combo printers (scanner and printer) will quickly replace most photocopiers (people will scan everything and print only when it is really necessary).
I think Xerox's management felt the responsibility to deal with these kinds of business dangers as soon as they became evident. I also think they brilliantly addressed and solved them. - [By Rich Duprey]
Medical device maker Techne (NASDAQ: TECH ) announced today that it's taking a 100% ownership stake in�Bionostics Holdings for $104 million cash.
No comments:
Post a Comment