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fitchjo's comments

fitchjo | 8 years ago | on: Priceline now worth $100B

My comment was not to say that there are not situations where brand plays less of an influence, only to provide a counterpoint to the parent's comment that "brands provide no value." There are certainly industries or products where brands are less valuable, but that doesn't diminish those industries or products where brands do provide real value to both the buyers and sellers (although not always both each time and certainly not in equal amounts).

fitchjo | 8 years ago | on: Priceline now worth $100B

In the eyes of who?

To the company and its owners, if my brand allows me to sell an equivalent widget for a higher margin, how is that not value? Just because value can be created or destroyed by a single action doesn't mean that value is somehow less valuable.

To the user, if I derive greater pleasure because I believe I have bought a more valuable product (attributable only to the brand), just because there is an equivalent widget out there, does that somehow discount my pleasure?

What even, is the basis on which, in this hypothetical scenario, we have determined the widgets are equivalent? Surely there is some subjectivity that would be driven by people's opinions, influenced directly or indirectly by brands, in that decision.

fitchjo | 8 years ago | on: Chicago taxi industry sliding towards collapse

I do feel a bit for those individuals that bought a taxi medallion recently and are unlikely to be able to pay it off due to the change in dynamics; on the other hand, the only reason the price of the medallions were so high was that the market dynamics were being manipulated (by controlling the supply). The risk that those market dynamics could change should have been included in the price of the medallion - if someone did not properly consider whether that risk was appropriately priced when purchasing a medallion, that is their fault. The only real costs they talk about that are different for a taxi versus uber aren't significant (1,176 taxi fee and 1,000 every two years for the medallion renewal) and do provide them a competitive advantage (being able to pick up rides hailed on the street.

fitchjo | 8 years ago | on: Why do so few people major in computer science?

I know not exactly what the author is discussing in his post, but as someone that did two years in CS before switching (to accountancy), one of the main reasons I switched was the stark contrast in interest in the field between myself and (seemingly) everyone else. In hindsight, I think I would have made a good project manager (instead of a developer), but that path was not really communicated to me in a way that resonated with me. So I just saw a bunch of people with a much greater zeal for coding than I had and decided I should try something different. Maybe in another life...

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: If War Can Have Ethics, Wall Street Can, Too

Specially related to insider trading, the enforcement of the rules you mention is made more complicated by the fact that there are actually no laws (rules) on the books that make insider trading illegal (as well as there being no SEC rule against insider trading). When people get in trouble for insider trading, they normally point to it being securities fraud. That leaves the interpretation of what is insider trading up to the courts. I agree there are plenty of people in Wall Street that would do just about anything (including breaking a black and white rule of law) to make a buck, but there is also a pretty significant grey area for what constitutes insider trading. If you are interested, just google "Matt Levine insider trading" and a number of his daily columns with updates on various cases (and his much better explanations of the nuances of insider trading) will come up.

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: People Like Netflix’s Original Content More Than Its Other Content

What is the equivalent for TV content producers that concerts are for musicians? Seems to me there can be some advantage to having your music available for streaming as you provide significantly more access to your music, which you can then monetize through concerts/apparel, but would think those producing the in-demand content would not want someone else to be able to capitalize on that.

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: Libor: the bankers who fixed the world’s most important number

One other clarification for you, many floating-rate lending agreements actually allow for the borrower to select between the Fed rate and LIBOR throughout the term of the agreement. As I understand, the prevalence of LIBOR in US contracts at least somewhat coincided with the increased globalization of US business as, from a risk management perspective, sometimes you may want the interest rate on your borrowings to reflect a different economic sentiment than just the US. Clearly, once LIBOR started being manipulated by the bankers, it no longer accurately reflected the market it was supposed to represent, but its not always about having the most "accurate" rate, but aligning/managing your risk appropriately.

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: Charts That Scare Wall Street

All the average investor needs to know how to do is sell their shares and in four simple steps the media person/short seller makes their money:

1. Media person shorts stock

2. Media person tells viewers stock is worthless

3. Viewers holding stock get nervous, sell shares

4. Stock price goes down, media person cashes in.

I do think it is a bit unfair to say they need to hold their investments in a blind trust, but definitely agree that disclosures about their positions should clear and abundant.

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: Why Are America's Most Innovative Companies Still Stuck in 1950s Suburbia?

According to Merriam-Webster[1], racism is defined as one of the following:

1. a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2.a. a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles

2.b. a political or social system founded on racism

3. racial prejudice or discrimination

As far as your comment you are simply "protecting oneself from populations with, on average, markedly higher violent crime rates than other populations," if that population is defined by race, you are being racist unless there is some newly published study I have yet to hear about that "blacks love crime."

[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: Unity raises $181M round at a reported $1.5B valuation

Just want to point out that in many industries a revenue multiple of less than 1.0 is expected [1], such that generating greater than $15 billion in revenue does not automatically result in a company worth $15 billion. That being said, FB's net assets are $50 billion (and it's market cap is much, much (holy cow it's alot) higher), so clearly those that got in at a $15 billion valuation are very happy right now.

[1] http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/...

fitchjo | 9 years ago | on: A Plan for a Long-Term Stock Exchange

Just to clarify, the main reason that the "Coca-Cola" tradename is not a recognized asset is because it was generated by the Company and not purchased, not because of how difficult it is to value. I agree that accounting is very different than it was ten years ago, but I think that has more to do with SOX and the increased requirements related to financial controls. The FASB (accounting rule-making body) has tried to improve the disclosures for those items that are difficult to value, but the subjectivity of these valuations will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.
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