Microsoft - Face(off)book

Everyone knows about the talk of the town - Microsoft MSFT buys 1.5 % stake in Facebook for $240 million. Microsoft also gets to serve ads in the social-networking website. This makes the valuation of Facebook at a whooping $15 billion ! The very next day Microsoft released their quarterly result and we see the stock has jumped almost 10% in couple of days. While many argue that this deal makes no sense, some say it is a fair deal.

Mostly companies are valued with what they have today and what they can offer tomorrow. In that sense, Facebook with about 50 million customer base - each customer is valued at around $300. This is quiet a good money, considering the fact that these are young people (often students) and serving ad. to them may not make them spend more. In this perspective, the money paid by Microsoft looks too much for the return it gets.

What is Facebook going to do with this money? May be it will hire more talent and set path towards a successful technology company. May it will grow to take on Google GOOG and the likes. May be when it starts showing up signs of ready for a war, will Microsoft invest more in them. If you look in that prespective, may be Microsoft is feeding a pet (heavily) to take on its rival. There is also a phenomenon brewing up recently - Microsoft's going the way of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A (just saw this theory in a blog). May be all these are focussed towards this direction.

One thing is sure - until someone from inside say the real reason, it will take time for others to understand. Till that time there will be theories and its gonna keep the company name reflected in many places (brining in free publicity). No wonder, why Warren Buffet doesn't interests investing in Techonology companies.

Do you get the underlying business here?

Microsoft pays $240 million for stake in Facebook
Microsoft's Facebook deal makes no sense
The greed of Facebook
More evidence Microsoft's going the way of Berkshire Hathaway

(Uncanny) Canned drinks ?

Do you see the dirt in the paper towel?

Well, this is how it started. Thought of having a drink and when I open the refrigerator, I found it filled with cans. Choose the guava - the one I like the most. As usual, showed it in tap and wiped it out with a paper towel. I was about the open the seal and thats when I noticed it.

It looked to me that the rim is still black. Out of curiosity, I folded the paper towel and with the sharp edge started wiping the rim thoroughly. When I finished this is what I got.

I have read about articles that say "be careful with canned drinks, quite possible that the elements in the rim may lead to serious disease". And here is the real proof !

Be careful when you get your next canned drink - be it a soda, a light beer or my way a simple fruit juice - you gotta be careful.

The tao of Warren Buffet

This is one book that I finished reading recently. I got interested with Warren Buffet ideas after reading few articles from newspaper. When I saw this book in the library, I decided to give it a shot. This book is not a biography of Warren, rather a collection of his quotes. Some of the quotes are really interesting and I like the book. Here are couple of quotes that I like:

"Our method is very simple. We just try to buy
business with good-to-superb underlying economics
run by honest and able people and buy them at
sensible prices. That's all I'm trying to do."

This one is about hiring people:

"In looking for someone to hire, you look for three
qualities:integrity, intelligence, and energy. But the
most important is integrity, because if they don't
have that, the other two qualities, intelligence and
energy, are going to kill you."

Warrens' philosophy of buying business with excellent underlying economics at good price is superb. He has built an excellent portfolio with his business model. There are a lot of lessons that one can learn from his investment concepts. The concept of buying business is something new for a normal trader, it takes time to get it. Once a person gets this, he will start understanding Warrens' concepts.

I have to figure out one thing though, how to hold on to a stock when the business you bought goes down?

(Note: The quotes above are from the book, if it is against any copyright, let me know and I will remove it)

Michael Clayton

Yet another George Clooney movie - in his own class. The movie starts with a midnight poker game played by Clooney in a New York bar. No sooner we see his car burst into pieces in a blast, when he just walks out. The movie goes back in time and it takes a while to catch up the entire plot. From then on the movie goes on and on ...

A 2 hr movie with an excellent plot. There were moments when I was checking my watch - not because the movie was not good, but because it took a while to catchup with the story. Nevertheless, it is a Clooney movie. I see the typical Ocean's series Clooney in his own deep - will worth a nomination.

Another best thing I liked in this movie was the camera - great credit goes to Cinematography. Excellent coverage. Quiet artistic to see the camera rightly focusing the object of attraction in a crowd and in another scene a complete discussion goes on and on while the camera sweeps around the place without showing the persons who talk.

Overall, it is a movie worth watching.

Disneyland visit

I visited Disneyland with my brothers' family last weekend (22nd and 23rd). The trip was excellent, with Rahul taking the charge. Here is the slideshow from the photos taken there.

------ Edited on Oct 21 ------

Replacing photo slideshow with the link to album.