The Serial Capitalist

Where’s The Love @Twitter?

The Advisor — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:30:15 +0000

Although the popular micro-blogging platform Twitter owes much of it’s success to third party applications, developers are not feeling the love. Last week, instead of thanking developers for their support, Twitter’s top investor Fred Wilson referred to their creations as “hole fillers” and went on to say that Twitter would be better off making it’s own applications. Then, as if that wasn’t hurtful enough, Twitter announced an official BlackBerry app and acquired Atebits, the maker of the popular iPhone app Tweetie.

In response, many developers will be attending secret meetings before Twitter holds its first ever developers conference this week. They’ll be discussing an “an open alternative” to Twitter. These meeting have even been given the name “Project Shark.” One source close to the matter was quoted as saying, “Discussion is not whether to launch an open federated standard, but when.” Sounds like this one is going to get interesting.

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Money and Infidelity

The Advisor — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:56:45 +0000

According to recent surveys, 21% of men that earn less than $35,000 annually are involved in extramarital affairs. That number increases to 32% when you raise the annual compensation to $300,000. In other words, a roughly tenfold increase in income correlates with being 50% more likely to cheat on your wife and these are just the numbers from cheaters honest enough to admit their infidelity. An evolutionary biologist would probably tell you that men with less money don’t cheat as much, because they have less options in finding mates. I’m guessing that this comes as less-than comforting news to the wives of Wall Street bankers and professional athletes.

[via: Fast Company]

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Hot Chile

The Advisor — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:21:51 +0000

Back on February 27, a massive 8.8 earthquake rocked the South American country of Chile causing approximately $30 billion in damage. Prior to that Chile’s economy grew at a disappointing 2.7% – much smaller than expected – for the month of February. Now thanks to all the destruction, Chile’s central bank bank is holding off on raising rates and the government is contributing a third of the $30 billion needed for post-quake reconstruction which should be in full bloom by Q3. I smell money in Chilean copper, says Mr. Obvious. Thank God for natural disasters [not really].

Although February’s monster quake produced many casualties, crushed infrastructure in south-central Chile and tossed a sizable monkey wrench into data collection for economic activity and industrial output, it appears that there is one major silver lining in this disaster storm cloud – The mining sector. Standing tall amongst the ruble has been rising copper prices in Latin American and Chile’s unscathed position as the world’s top copper producer, a fact not unnoticed by investors. Because of that and the expectation of a major capital injection to aide reconstruction, Chile’s peso even survived worst than expected data that normally would have devalued the currency.

While Finance Minister Felipe Larrain anticipates initial speed bumps in Chile’s recovery, he also tells reporters, “We are going to have a strong (second) half in terms of economic activity, but we are going to have responsible fiscal policy. This is an extraordinary year, and we are coordinated with the central bank and will be careful to ensure we do not have undesired macroeconomic effects.” Sounds to me like Mr. Larrain giving us his best Latin American Sarah Palin impersonation – Build baby build [with Chilean copper]!

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Gene Simmons Rocks… Life Insurance?

The Advisor — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:41:33 +0000

Don’t look now GOP, but it appears that under Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi, Congress will reinstate the currently lapsed estate tax spawning another nightmare scenario for ultra wealthy conservatives aside from the obvious – the amalgamation of the fire breathing, blood spitting Kiss co-founder, bass man and real life serial capitalist, Gene Simmons, with the insurance industry.

Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy – a Franklin, Tennessee based insurance company – recently partnered up with the 60 year old rocker hoping to cash in on Mr. Simmon’s celebrity and marketing prowess. Cold Spring’s co-founder David R. Carpenter, formerly of Transamerica, is banking on Gene’s propensity for shameless self promotion to tap into a market of a-listers with a net worth of $20 million or more who need a life-insurance policy of $10 million or more.

Assuming that Congress does what we all know it will, attractive life insurance policies with saving components and tax benefits will become super sexy when compared to high estate taxes and as they say on MTV Cribs – That my friends is where the magic happens.

Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy, in conjunction with it’s investment banking partners, business model focuses on making a way for wealthy people to buy massive insurance polices without paying annual premiums. Basically, the investment bank loans clients money to cover the premiums with the loan being repaid via the policy’s accumulated savings or death benefit.

Before you order Benson to crack open the Cristal in celebration of no more annual premiums, you should know that Estate Attorney Joshua Rubenstein of Katten Muchin Rosenman in New York is among a number of skeptics with serious questions about borrowing money to cover life insurance premiums. Rosenman ask, “What if collateral value drops or interest rates spike… or tax law changes – it did this year – or in some way the plan doesn’t perform as projected?” David Barkhausen, of Life Insurance Advisors Inc., in Lake Bluff, Illinois is similarly cynical saying, “Premium financing is a riverboat gamble with the odds heavily stacked against the borrower. While it may appeal to those with an appetite for a free lunch, it depends on winning a combination of bets.”

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The Future of Energy

The Advisor — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:32:40 +0000

Bloom Energy, the secretive eight year old company that raised nearly $400 million from Kleiner Perkins, has finally decided to introduce us to their game changing fuel cell device – The Bloom Box, an $800,000 power plant in a box. [more...]

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Money Never Sleeps

The Advisor — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:21:40 +0000

It’s been twenty-three years since Oliver Stone first introduced us to Gordon Gekko and his morally bankrupt mantra of “Greed is good.” Reprising the role that scored him an Oscar, Michael Douglas returns as the infamous Gekko, in this sequel to the 1987 motion picture classic, Wall Street. [more...]

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Investors Break For Tiger Woods

The Advisor — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:11:20 +0000

According to Bloomberg’s CHART OF THE DAY, NYSE volume fell to it’s lowest levels (1 million shares) as investors took a time out to watch Tiger Woods televised speech from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for his “repeated irresponsible behavior.”[more...]

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