"The intelligent investor is likely to need considerable will
power to keep from following the crowd."  - Benjamin Graham


Stingy Links
http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/articles/articlearchive.shtml

Pyramids crumbling
http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Featured+Market+Commentary/IO/2008/IO+January+2008.htm
Bill Gross, Jimmy Stewart, and banking

Ambac cut to AA
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asLtTQyLRQQs&refer=home
"Ambac Financial Group Inc., the second-largest bond insurer, was stripped
of its AAA credit rating by Fitch Ratings after the company abandoned
plans to raise new equity. Ambac Assurance Corp. was lowered two levels to AA
and may be reduced further, New York-based Fitch said yesterday in a
statement."

Do cholesterol drugs do any good?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_04/b4068052092994.htm
"Yes, Wright saw, the drugs can be life-saving in patients who already have
suffered heart attacks, somewhat reducing the chances of a recurrence
that could lead to an early death. But Wright had a surprise when he looked
at the data for the majority of patients, like Winn, who don't have heart
disease. He found no benefit in people over the age of 65, no matter how
much their cholesterol declines, and no benefit in women of any age. He did
see a small reduction in the number of heart attacks for middle-aged men
taking statins in clinical trials. But even for these men, there was no
overall reduction in total deaths or illnesses requiring hospitalization -
despite big reductions in "bad" cholesterol."

Homebuilding: Sharpest drop in 27 years
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/17/news/economy/housingstarts/index.htm?postversion=2008011718
"Housing starts and building permits plunged in December much more than
expected, resulting in a full-year decline in new home construction that was
the sharpest drop in 27 years. And there is little sign things will get
better soon. According to government data released Thursday, the full-year
total for building permits posted the biggest drop in 33 years. The sharp
dropoff in building is one of the reasons that many leading economists are
growing increasingly fearful that an economic recession is near, if it
hasn't already struck. The pace of housing starts in December dropped 14
percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.01 million in December,
according to the Census Bureau report."

Appraiser exposes toxic debt tie to inflated values
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aKTGgOD1teG4&refer=home
"Perez valued eight unfinished properties at the Deere Lofts development on
April 2. Some were missing ceilings, cabinets or sinks. Each had been
bought the previous week for $90,000 to $167,000. Perez said they were worth
$177,000 to $330,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta."

Why people believe weird things about money
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-schermer13jan13,0,1195880.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
"Would you rather earn $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000, or
would you rather earn $100,000 a year while other people get $250,000?
Assume for the moment that prices of goods and services will stay the same.
Surprisingly -- stunningly, in fact -- research shows that the majority of
people select the first option; they would rather make twice as much as
others even if that meant earning half as much as they could otherwise have.
How irrational is that?"


S&P/TSX60 Value Screens
http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/strategy.shtml 

High Dividend Yield Stocks                     P/E P/B P/S P/C P/D Yield*
============================================== === === === === === ======
Biovail (BVF)                                   5   5   3   5   5    5
National Bank of Canada (NA)                    3   4   4   4   5    5
CIBC (CM)                                       5   4   4   3   5    5
Bank of Montreal (BMO)                          3   4   4   3   5    5
Royal Bank (RY)                                 4   3   3   2   5    5
Telus (T)                                       3   4   3   4   5    5
Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)                       4   3   2   2   5    5
BCE (BCE)                                       3   3   3   4   5    5
Shaw Comm Cl.B (SJR.B)                          2   4   3   4   5    5
TransCanada (TRP)                               2   3   2   3   4    4
More Info: http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/strategy/dogs.shtml 

Value Ratio Stocks                             P/E P/B P/S P/C P/D  VR
============================================== === === === === === =====
Biovail (BVF)                                   5   5   3   5   5   0.5
CIBC (CM)                                       5   4   4   3   5   1.3
Teck Cominco Limited (TCK.B)                    5   4   4   5   4   1.8
Thomson (TOC)                                   5   4   2   3   4   1.8
Bank of Montreal (BMO)                          3   4   4   3   5   2.4
Royal Bank (RY)                                 4   3   3   2   5   2.6
Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)                       4   3   2   2   5   2.7
National Bank of Canada (NA)                    3   4   4   4   5   2.8
Telus (T)                                       3   4   3   4   5   3.1
BCE (BCE)                                       3   3   3   4   5   3.2
More Info: http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/strategy/valueratio.shtml 

Graham Stocks                                  P/E P/B P/D   G$   dG$(%)
============================================== === === === ====== ======
MDS Inc. (MDS)                                  5   5   0   40.88 125.84
Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN)                 5   5   0   16.98 118.01
Biovail (BVF)                                   5   5   5   18.96  47.43
Thomson (TOC)                                   5   4   4   49.02  40.65
Teck Cominco Limited (TCK.B)                    5   4   4   41.83  37.51
Magna Cl.A (MG.A)                               4   5   3   99.33  32.70
CIBC (CM)                                       5   4   5   78.60  17.25
ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. (ACE.B)              5   5   0   26.14  12.43
Talisman Energy (TLM)                           5   3   2   17.27   3.07
Sun Life (SLF)                                  4   5   4   49.13   2.45
Canadian Tire Corporation Limited (CTC.A)       4   4   2   61.43   2.37
More Info: http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/strategy/graham.shtml 

*Notes: http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/strategy/notes.shtml 

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Books for Stingy Investors

A Random Walk Down Wall Street
by Burton G. Malkiel

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Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393325350/


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ISSN 1499-2795 Copyright Dan Hallett and Associates Inc., 2008.
All rights reserved. The securities mentioned in this report are not
appropriate for all investors. Consult your professional investment
advisor before making any investment decision.  While all reasonable
effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information and data
contained herein, accuracy can not be guaranteed. Past performance is
not a good predictor of future performance.  Results are not
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information in this newsletter, and in its related website, is not
intended to be, nor does it constitute, financial advice or
recommendations.  Investing in stocks can be risky and may result in
substantial losses.  A Dan Hallett and Associates Inc.(DH&A)
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