In Search of the Perfect Investment

U.S. Adds 175,000 Jobs; Unemployment Ticks Up to 6.7% is today’s Wall Street Journal headline. The unemployment numbers are neither an upper, nor a downer. But OK, given the horrendous weather and better than the economists predicted. For the Journal’s piece, click here.

Ladder Capital got a “target” of $22.25 from Deutsche Bank, one of its IPO underwriters.

LADR closed last night at $17.28. Deutsche Bank wrote:

We expect LADR to generate attractive returns given the improved operating environment and the supply-demand imbalance for CRE debt. We believe LADR is well-positioned for a range of different market conditions given the three complementary business lines: 1) loan origination and securitization, 2) CMBS investments, and 3) net lease and other real estate assets. Our target of $22.25 per share is based on a 50% premium to our post-IPO adjusted BVPS estimate. Given our ROE estimates and the attractive valuation, we are initiating coverage with a Buy rating.

For the full report, click LadderCapitalfrom DB.

Analysts at Argus upped their price target for APO to $40. APO closed last night at $33.22.

More on APO here.

I don’t huge faith in analyst reports. If their company helped underwrite the IPO, you got to expect the analysts to like the stock. Still, positive reports don’t hurt. As they say in Australia, they’re better than a slap in the belly with a cold fish.

Visa (V) has done well for us. They recently presented at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Here’s a transcript. What I found fascinating is the discussion of fraud and counterfeiting of credit cards (easy with today’s miserable credit cards). Click here.

Harry’s best advice:

+ Get multiple cards, so you can kill one easily.

+ Scratch the three-digit “security” number off the back. There’s no reason a waiter should see that number. And you’re probably bright enough to remember it. (I’m training myself.)

+ When in doubt, use cash. It’s hard to hack — unless you’re using Bitcoin. Don’t.

STWD spun off SWAY. My Fidelity online system showed I’d lost huge on the deal. Fidelity put my SWAY purchase price in at $30. It should have been zero. Why they did this, I don’t know. I’ll check this morning. They also do weird accounting if you sell something and buy it back, or if the stock (God forbid) pays a dividend.

Hold that railing. Here’s what happened to my friend Pete when he twisted his ankle falling down the last stair. Be wary of the last stair, please. He was lucky he didn’t break his ankle. Still, he feels like an idiot. He knew better.

The Italian Funeral. (Tasteless, but funny.)
Scene: an unusual Italian funeral procession approaching the nearby cemetery.

A black hearse was followed by a second black hearse about 50 feet behind the first one. Behind the second hearse was a solitary man walking a dog on a leash.

Behind him, a short distance back, were about 200 men walking in single file.

A man respectfully approached the man walking the dog and said: “I am so sorry for your loss, and this may be a bad time to disturb you, but I’ve never seen a funeral like this. Whose funeral is it?”

“My wife’s.”

”What happened to her?”

“She yelled at me and my dog attacked and killed her.”

He inquired further, “But who is in the second hearse?”

“My mother-in-law. She came to help my wife and the dog turned on her and killed her also.”

The man then asked, “Can I borrow the dog?”

The Italian man replied, “Get in line.

Harry Newton who’s playing tennis in 85 degree heat. Time to buy stocks in sun-screen and sun-hat makers.  You could be here too. Virgin America has non-stop flights from New York to Palm Springs and back — once a week. On Saturdays. Nice ride.

The Indian Wells Tennis is on The Tennis Channel.

Still not easy to get up at 4:00 AM.