"Investors repeatedly jump ship on a good strategy just because it
hasn't worked so well lately, and, almost invariably, abandon
it at precisely the wrong time."  - David Dreman


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

Why the OSC so rarely gets its man
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/281645
"Bruce McLaughlin took millions of dollars from the company he led to pay
off personal debts. That was the conclusion of a court-appointed accounting
firm that looked into suspicious transactions at Mississauga property
developer Mascan Corp. The findings of the audit pressured the Ontario
Securities Commission to take legal action on behalf of Mascan's minority
shareholders. That was 23 years ago. The case is still on the OSC's books,
listed on the commission's website under 'Current Proceedings.'"

Why white-collar crime team fizzled
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/281772
"Today when the enforcement team makes the news, it's usually because of
its dismal track record. Instead of reaping glory, the vaunted police squad
is becoming a public whipping boy in the debate about Canada's perceived
tendency to let white-collar crime go unpunished."

Beware our shadow banking system
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/27/news/newsmakers/gross_banking.fortune/
"The tangled web of subprimes has claimed more than its share of victims in
recent months: homeowners by the hundreds of thousands, to be sure, but
also those who created, packaged, insured, distributed, and ultimately
bought what should have been labeled "junk mortgages" but which by a
masterstroke of marketing genius received a more respectable imprimatur."

Video tour of Berkshire Hathaway
http://www.cnbc.com/id/22045978
"CNBC's Becky Quick traveled to Omaha, Nebraska recently to shoot
additional material for her one-hour special focusing on Warren Buffett's whirlwind
tour of Asia. While she was there, Buffett gave Becky an on-camera tour
of the Berkshire Hathaway offices. He talked about some of the mementos
he's collected and their personal significance to him, and to his investing
style."

How to lose $9 trillion in a bull market
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/29/pf/bull_market_timing.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2007112910
"Based on decades of data from 19 countries, Dichev thinks that the average
investor incurs a "timing penalty" of 1.5 percentage points a year by
buying high and selling low. Impatience will cost you dearly."

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=806246
"We analyze the performance of Berkshire Hathaway's equity portfolio and
explore potential explanations for its superior performance. Contrary to
popular belief we show Berkshire's investment style is best characterized as
a large-cap growth. We examine whether Berkshire's investment performance
is due to luck and find that beating the market in 28 out of 31 years
places it in the 99.99 percentile; however, incorporating the magnitude by
which Berkshire beats the market makes the ?luck? explanation unlikely even
after taking into account ex-post selection bias. After adjusting for risk
we find that Berkshire's performance cannot be explained by assuming high
risk. From 1976 to 2006 Berkshire's stock portfolio beats the S&P 500
Index by 14.65%, the value-weighted index of all stocks by 10.91%, and the
Fama and French characteristic portfolio by 8.56% per year. The market also
appears to under-react to the news of a Berkshire stock investment since a
hypothetical portfolio that mimics Berkshire's investments created the
month after they are publicly disclosed earns positive abnormal returns of
14.26% per year. Overall, the Berkshire Hathaway triumvirates of Warren
Buffett, Charles Munger, and Lou Simpson posses' investment skill consistent
with a number of recent papers that argue investment skill is more
prevalent than earlier papers suggest."

Freddie and Fannie's Achilles' heel
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/23/magazines/fortune/loomis_freddie.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007112520
"Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae need capital - in today's
credit crisis, there's no doubt about that. Freddie even said last week that it
was "seriously considering" cutting its $2 annual dividend by half, a
radical step indicating how strapped the company is. Freddie also reported it
had hired two Wall Street firms to explore "capital-raising
alternatives." And Freddie and Fannie are going to need some especially creative
alternatives. Why? When either Freddie or Fannie attempt to build capital, they
are handicapped by a peculiarity that very few investors know about: They
cannot sell the most popular kind of preferred stock, the "cumulative"
variety, because their regulator will not let these securities count toward
capital."


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   2   5   5    5
National Bank of Canada (NA)                    5   4   4   3   5    5
Bank of Montreal (BMO)                          3   4   3   3   5    5
CIBC (CM)                                       5   3   4   3   5    5
Telus (T)                                       3   4   3   4   5    5
Royal Bank (RY)                                 4   3   3   2   5    5
BCE (BCE)                                       4   3   3   4   5    5
TransCanada (TRP)                               2   4   2   4   5    5
Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)                       4   3   2   2   5    5
Husky Energy (HSE)                              4   2   4   5   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   2   5   5   0.7
National Bank of Canada (NA)                    5   4   4   3   5   2.0
Thomson (TOC)                                   5   4   2   3   3   2.3
CIBC (CM)                                       5   3   4   3   5   2.4
Teck Cominco Limited (TCK.B)                    5   4   4   4   4   2.8
Royal Bank (RY)                                 4   3   3   2   5   3.3
Bank of Montreal (BMO)                          3   4   3   3   5   3.4
Telus (T)                                       3   4   3   4   5   3.7
Husky Energy (HSE)                              4   2   4   5   4   3.7
BCE (BCE)                                       4   3   3   4   5   3.7
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   40.85 102.44
Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN)                 5   5   0   16.92  72.80
Thomson (TOC)                                   5   4   3   49.01  26.64
Biovail (BVF)                                   5   5   5   18.97  24.74
Magna Cl.A (MG.A)                               4   5   3   99.31  24.14
National Bank of Canada (NA)                    5   4   5   59.23   9.73
Teck Cominco Limited (TCK.B)                    5   4   4   41.93   9.47
Petro Canada (PCA)                              5   4   2   48.71   0.84
More Info: http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/strategy/graham.shtml 

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

Switch to the HTML version if the tables aren't formatted properly.
http://www.stingyinvestor.com/cgi-bin/email.cgi 


Books for Stingy Investors

Security Analysis
by Benjamin Graham & David Dodd

Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis is the investment bible for
smart investors. Regrettably the breadth of material that it
covers can be intimidating and only dedicated students are likely to
make it through its 770 pages. However, Security Analysis is
filled with Graham's practical investment philosophy and if you're
a serious investor then you should read this book.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071448209/


Stock Research From Dan Hallett & Associates

The Rothery Report
http://www.rotheryreport.com/ 

The Rothery Report provides research on select deep-value stocks in
North America. Discover overlooked and undervalued stocks in quarterly
investment reports which provide detailed analysis of Canadian and
U.S. stocks.  Weekly email news and additional updates keep
subscribers informed about new opportunities and developments.

Rothery Report Performance (03/31/2001 to 09/30/2007)
  Average Capital Gain    Average Holding Period
          53.4%                   2.5 Years

Learn More
http://www.rotheryreport.com/store/store.shtml

Subscribe Today
http://www.rotheryreport.com/store/order.shtml 



If you'd like to suggest The Stingy News to a friend, please point them to:
http://www.stingyinvestor.com/cgi-bin/email.cgi

Please visit the StingyInvestor website at
http://www.stingyinvestor.com
To (un)subscribe please use our email centre at
http://www.stingyinvestor.com/cgi-bin/email.cgi
Email comments or questions to
info@stingyinvestor.com
Refer to legal & conflict of interest disclaimers at
http://www.stingyinvestor.com/SI/legal.shtml 

ISSN 1499-2795 Copyright Dan Hallett and Associates Inc., 2007.
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
guaranteed and we assume no liability whatsoever for any material
losses that may occur.  No compensation for suggesting particular
securities or financial advisors is solicited or accepted.  The
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)
publication.  DH&A is registered as Investment Counsel in the province
of Ontario. DH&A, or related-parties may have an interest in the
securities mentioned.