Hank Greenberg, the ex-chairman of AIG (AIG), the guy who made AIG what it is today, hired an investment banker to help him figure out what the company is worth. He is thinking about unloading the stock. If Hank doesn’t want to own this financial conglomerate – and he knows a lot more about its [...]
I talked to Jim Ellis at BusinessWeek about my book Active Value Investing (here is a link to the video). As you will see, if you tie my hand I’d go mute. At about the same time I talked to TheStreet.com (here is a link to the video) about Apple (AAPL) and Jackson Hewitt (JTX). [...]
I welcome the Bank of America (BAC) acquisition of Countrywide (CFC), as for the first time as I can remember BAC acts as a contrarian investor. I really don’t know what CFC is worth but I know it is worth more in BAC’s hands than as a stand alone company. BAC will be able to [...]
I originally wrote this short story to be a part of the article about Jackson Hewitt and IRS’ (possible) allegations that refund anticipation loans create an incentive for tax preparers to commit fraud.
The avoidance of taxes is the only pursuit that still carries any reward.
John Maynard Keynes
Jackson Hewitt (JTX) declined significantly yesterday on news the IRS proposed regulation to ban refund anticipation loans, or RALs. Fear of the impact the new rules could have on JTX’s business drove it and H&R Block (HRB) down, although HRB faired better as it had already been beaten down by company specific issues stemming from its subprime mortgage business.
RALs are originated to customers who don’t want to wait a couple of weeks to get their tax refund from the IRS, and thus are willing to pay a 2-2.5% (capped at $95) fee to get their money right away. Though RALs are as controversial as payday loans that charge annualized triple digit interest rates, this is not the reason why the IRS is zeroing in them. After all, the IRS mandate is to collect taxes, not to legislate morality.