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Category: Stock Buybacks

This category includes articles that deal with the corporate practice of repurchasing outstanding equity, usually for the purpose of manipulating stock prices upwards and often associated with the exercise of stock options by corporate executives.

Corporate governance in 2005

Stock buybacks become less effective

Executive financial gluttony is a deadly sin

Repurchases of company stock, mostly under the safe harbor exemption from market manipulation provided by SEC Rule 10b-18, set an all time record of $366 billion (net) in 2005. This was 260% of levels in 2004 and 880% of buybacks in 2002.

Despite extremely aggressive tactics of corporate management to manipulate stock prices upwards and give value to option and bonus plans, stock prices rose only about 3% in 2005, on average.

Fund management

Legg Mason argues for stock buybacks

Avarice disguised as prudent management

Legg Mason, the giant asset management company that was recently sold off by Citigroup, issued a report on January 10, 2006 by Michael Mauboussin, Chief Investment Strategist, entitled, “Clear Thinking About Share Repurchases”.

The general tenor of the Legg Mason commentary seems to be favorable towards buybacks, especially extremely large buybacks that are aggressively pursued and that, presumably, are more effective in jacking up stock prices and making investment managers look good.

'Defined Benefit' Pension Plans

Why pension managers like stock buybacks

Fiduciary duty corrupted by self-interest

The sponsors of ‘defined benefits’ pension plans controlled, as of December 2004, about US $2.5 trillion in equities. Common stocks, even after the crash of 2000-2001, were substantially over-valued. In order for stock prices to reflect values that were customary before the advent of stock buybacks, prices would have to drop between 20% (earnings basis) and 50% (dividend yield basis).

In the case of ‘defined benefits’ pension plans, this would represent a loss of between US$500 billion and US$1.2 trillion in market value of pension portfolios.

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Featured articles on inside pages

Stock buybacks

Warren Buffett attacks buyback schemes

In the 2005 Berkshire-Hathaway annual report, Warren Buffet points to the unethical aspects of the buyback-option schemes so common in the US stock market. He noted that "Too often ... the deck is stacked against investors when it comes to the CEO’s pay. ... every dime paid out in dividends reduces the value of all outstanding options"
More ...

Securities Analysis

Some banks are too complex to manage

It is no secret that Citicorp no longer earns the same respect in financial circles as in days of yore. The problem is excessive complexity. This article describes the simplicity of the Citibank operation in 1956 when the bank was the world's most powerful financial institution.
More ...

US Politics

What is the future of private pension plans?

Between 1999 and 2002, US private pension funds lost US$ 1.2 trillion in value. It would almost seem that pension fund managers had been speculating with retirement money, attempting to beat each others' short-term performance statistics, with little interest in safeguarding the assets of plan beneficiaries. More ...

US equities

Stocks surge on spurious earnings

In Q1 2009, stock buybacks came back, driving up equity prices and sparking a rally by dominating a thin market. These equity repurchases were financed from depreciation reserves and bond issues. More ...

US Bonds

The collapse of the dollar and US bonds?

The extreme spending of the Obama government, combined with irresponsible bank lending policies promoted by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, portend rising interest rates, the collapse of the bond market, and the end of dollar supremacy. More ...

World Economy

Working off the US trade deficit

Foreigners hold $16.8 trillion in US financial assets as a result of selling more goods to Americans than they buy from them. Since the 'deficit' is in dollars, the US has no problem in 'paying it off'. More ...

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