Some wish that we were tougher on Wall Street in 2008. AIG (NYSE: AIG ) shareholders were almost wiped out. AIG bondholders didn't get touched. That was dangerous. Bondholders should have taken a hit, they say.
Others counter that making bondholders take a hit would cause a virtual bank run on the financial system. Indeed, there's good precedent for that after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt.
I asked Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist, to reconcile the two opinions. Here's what he had to say (transcript follows).
Morgan Housel: When I think back to 2008, one example I think of is the Reserve Primary Money Market Fund. It owned some Lehman Brothers' debt. Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, and it caused a run on the money market fund, as Reserve Primary broke the book, which instantly overnight caused the corporate credit paper market to freeze up, which had real-world impacts on growth restorers and automakers. So it does seem like 2008 did give us examples of a bank run on debt that had real-world consequences.
10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)
Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Nutrisystem have gained 20% to $18.05 at 1:34 p.m., while Weight Watchers (WTW) has risen 3.6% to $39.42. Medifast (MED), however, has dropped 1.9% to $24.94.
Best Growth Companies To Own In Right Now: Delphi Financial Group Inc. (DFG)
Delphi Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated employee benefit services. The company operates in two segments, Group Employee Benefit Products and Asset Accumulation Products. The Group Employee Benefit Products segment provides disability, group life, and excess workers? compensation insurance products to small and mid-sized employers. It also offers travel accident, voluntary accidental death and dismemberment, group dental, and limited benefit health insurance products, as well as assumed workers? compensation and casualty reinsurance. This segment markets its group products to employer-employee groups and associations in various industries primarily through independent brokers and agents. The Asset Accumulation Products segment primarily offers fixed annuities, such as single premium deferred annuities, flexible premium annuities, and multi-year interest guarantee products to individuals through networks of independent insurance agen ts. The company also provides integrated disability and absence management services, including event reporting, leave of absence management, claims and case management, and return to work management. Delphi Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Some of Elliott Management�� top equity positions in the first quarter 2012 are Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD), Delphi Automotive (DFG), Iron Mountain (IRM) and News Corp. (NWS).
Best Growth Companies To Own In Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)
Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The day’s winners include Nordstrom (JWN), which gained 3.4% to $60.79 and is scheduled to report earnings on Thursday, and Mosaic (MOS), which jumped 3.2% to $43.85 and continued its strong showing following a Friday upgrade.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
They also drove up the share prices of its suppliers and department store rivals. Nordstrom (JWN) and Kohl�� Corp. (KSS ), both reporting Thursday, rose more than 2% each. Its suppliers Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) and Calvin Klein parent PVH Corp. (PVH) saw their shares up 2% and 4% each.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Not that the actual service Kmart is providing is unique, mind you. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) offers a free ship-to-store feature, as do J.C. Penney,�Radio Shack, Toys R Us,�Nordstrom� (NYSE: JWN ) , and a number of other retailers. Actually, so committed to customer service is Nordstrom that it's even had employees drive items to a customer's house at no charge to ensure they get it.�
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Nordstrom (JWN) gained 15% this week after beating earnings and announcing that it would try to sell its credit card receivables, while Fossil Group (FOSL) plunged 7.8% to $101.90 after offering disappointing guidance, making it the benchmark’s biggest loser. Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) gained 5.5% after Coca-Cola (KO) upped its stake in the company.
Best Growth Companies To Own In Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) dropped 7.5% to $55.30 this week–making it the Dow’s big loser–after missing earnings forecasts, while Pfizer (PFE) dropped 7.2% to $29.86. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) plummeted 13% to $439.63 after it said it miss first-quarter revenue forecasts. AbbVie (ABBV), meanwhile, plunged 11% to $46.46 after Merck’s (MRK) competing hepatitis C drug worked well in a trial. Merck fell 0.4% to $55.92 this week.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Providing disappointing numbers before the fact can be a good strategy as long as a company does a good job of setting the right expectations. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) clearly didn’t.
Best Growth Companies To Own In Right Now: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)
Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rustic Nomad]
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), a Minneapolis-based restaurant chain, recently declared its fourth-quarter financial results and they were not impressive. Amid tough competition from its rivals such as Dine Equity (DIN) and McDonald�� (MCD), analysts were expecting better financial results, which the company failed to provide.
- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, restaurant operator Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD ) has earned a respected four-star ranking. �
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