Sony Has It All Now: Acquisition Of Bertelsmann’s 50 Percent Stake In Sony BMG Done, BMG Dropped -- The second-largest record company in the world is now all Sony’s. As announced in August, Bertelsmann’s 50 percent stake in Sony BMG has been acquired by Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE). The former joint venture is now being renamed Sony Music Entertainment – a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corp. of America. The purchase values the company at nearly $1.8 billion, according to WSJ. Record labels Arista, Columbia, Epic, J, Jive and RCA all fall under the Sony umbrella, which holds contracts with artists such as Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and Usher.

Morningstar Biz News Site Buying Investors Database For $19 Million -- Investment research firm Morningstar is buying Fundamental Data Limited, a UK provider of online information about so-called “closed-end funds”, a type of of investment scheme, for £11 million. Fundamental’s products include the web-based dashboard FundWeb and info feeds, offered to investment banks, brokers etc. Morningstar, whose CEO Joe Mansueto later bought Inc and Fast Company magazines, also publishes information to financial professionals, tracking 280,000 investments; its UK site has a tenth of that plus company and executive biographies.

Washington Post Company Buys Foreign Policy Magazine -- The Washington Post Company isn’t just an for-profit education company, as it’s still making moves to bolster the media side. Today it announced the acquisition of Foreign Policy magazine, along with its website Foreignpolicy.com. The bi-monthly glossy, which was originally founded in 1970, will become part of the Slate group, and the plan is for former WaPo foreign affairs editor Susan Glasser to edit the magazine. The magazine claims circulation of 100,000 and it notes that its website is “fast growing,” though no numbers were given out. Terms of the deal weren’t announced, and it’s not clear what Foreign Policy’s financials look like. But it might be a good guess that highbrow, almost-academic, long-form writing on foreign policy might be less exposed to some of the brutal forces impacting the magazine industry.

In spite of what's going on, are insurance companies still a viable alternative for safety of your money while providing competitive returns?

http://www.three-streams.co.uk/blog/2008/08/29/peter-wagner-on-the-todd-bentley-lakeland-incident/

Who cares what Peter Wagner has to say????? Until he did his dog and pony show on the stage at Lakeland for the GODTV viewing audience most christians had never heard of him. I’ve been a spirit filled christian for over 30 years and had never heard of ICA or Peter Wagner. I personally think the guy is more than a little bit weird.  He's on a self justifying ego trip.

SO WHO CARES WHAT SOME OLD WHITE-HAIRED IDIOT HAS TO SAY? All he’s been doing is publicly running his mouth at Todd Bentley’s expense spreading lies and rumours to make himself look important as the ONE WHO WILL PUT IT ALL IN ORDER.

Nevermind that the truth is that Todd’s own ministry did deal with Todd’s problems - they didn’t need bad daddy cop Peter Wagner to “save the day.”

His assessment that “they did not have the ability to deal with it.” is a real clue to his own egotistical beliefs. [God gives me more authority than you poor slobs because I AM AN APOSTLE.]

What a piece of work. Crawl back under your rock Wagner…………..

I happened to catch one broadcast of a meeting he conducted in which he had drawn 7 mountains on a board and labeled each one as a sphere of influence.  I  was surprised at his comments to someone in the audience who he pointed out as a "key intercessor" that he said was assigned to a geographical area and she had a squad of intercessors plus herself hiring themselves out to corporations as "prophetic advisers."  Prophecy in the new testament is said to be for instruction, comfort and training according to 1 Cor 14 chapter.  while it doesn't say specifically that it's to the believer I find it strange that these people are using it as a profitable business tool - I thought that was what phychics do?  And Palm readers.  And Wagner seems to think that's a great idea.  Who needs Jesus?  We christians are supposed to become a force to be reckoned with and infiltrate every area oF influence as we rise to RULE THE WORLD.

God what a scary idea.  Sorry I've been around churches too long.  What's the average lifespan of a whole church nowadays? Two years maybe before an ugly soul killing split with people who say they follow Christ cannibalizing each other as they rally round their particular flags.  Christian rulers to me means having a death wish.  We've had a "christian" president for years.  Need I say more?  He has spent millions killing Iragi's and our economy is at death's door because nobody was minding the store.  I love christian music and having a relationship with Christ but as far as authority figures?  Nope they are all control junkies like Wagner and his friends.

Like we’ve never seen what church rule has meant before? read some history.

The church ran the governments and all the world bowed to the church for well over a thousand years. The church killed people who disagreed with it and having your own bible was punishable by extreme torture and death. Martyrs were mostly killed by the church not the unsaved. So if Wagner’s high-handed opinion of Todd Bentley is extremely critical and biased maybe it’s because his only desire was to be seen as a big dog ruler apostle coming in to “save” us all from that bad Todd man. He didn’t show one iota of love to the guy. He came in to be the cop - the enforcer. that’s all. Not christian love - oh no apostle ass whipping is more like it.

My main issue with Wagner is that he stood up before over 200 million people and to all appearances was committing himself to Todd Bentley and his ministry PERSONALLY.  But immediately upon hearing that Todd had stepped down VOLUNTARILY from public ministry he turned into this scum bucket attack dog saying that he was not doing what it appeared to us all he and the other high profile ministers were doing.  Judas' all if they were doing one thing and meaning something else. Oh yeah he was secretly thinking that Todd was a LOSER (Wagner's words from the link you posted) and this was an attempt to protect the entire body of Christ from Todd.

Sorry I don't buy it.  I watched those guys closely that night.  I'm sure Todd had no idea that Wagner hated him secretly.  They put a ring on his finger and prophesied great things over Todd and his ministry.

Judas Iscariot would be proud of those guys for their clever masquerade of appearing to be friends and brothers but really intending to cut him off and feed his corpse to the fishes.

it's just face saving bullshit on Wagner's part.

Would the Lord instruct anyone to glorify an adulterous drunkard perpetrating fraudulent miracles, signs and wonders? Well, at least they are nice enough to include a decent list of false prophets.

Beloved GOD TV viewer,

In the light of many statements having been released about the LAKELAND OUTPOURING and concerning Todd Bentley’s marital situation, we sensed that the Lord has released us to write concerning this situation, so that you, our viewers would know our heart concerning this matter.

The first thing we feel led to do is to state unequivocally that in the same manner as the Lord instructed us to broadcast and serve TheCall gatherings with Lou Engle; to broadcast what was happening at the International House of Prayer with Mike Bickle; Rick Joyner and MorningStar; the Solemn assembly in San Francisco; BattleCry and Teen Mania with Ron Luce; Focus on the Family’s prayer event for America; the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem; and hundreds of other anointed events over the past three years, we believe that the Lord instructed us to broadcast the Outpouring services at Lakeland with Todd Bentley.

It was not a mistake.
It was not by mistake.
We believe it was a clear instruction from the Lord.

Over the past twelve years, but especially since our launch in America, we have in obedience to the Lord searched through the earth for those events and anointings that the Lord has laid on our hearts – to amplify their message and anointing to the Body of Christ in this crucial endtime hour that we live in.

The Lakeland Outpouring with Todd Bentley was one of those events. We received over 45 000 e-mails many, many of these heart rending, powerful testimonies from viewers across the earth of their bodies or their families bodies healed, their lives transformed and their hearts revived.

None of us have ever seen such significant fruit in all the years of broadcast.

Far more profound than that were the desperate cries for help. I (Wendy), would go through the live inbox and see the desperate cries from mothers, wives, sons and daughters, so many with TERMINALLY ILL husbands, wives, children, sometimes babies in arms – sensing HOPE in their situation that for so long had been without hope.

Just reading these prayer requests would bring one to tears –

We are often so cloistered from the agony of peoples day by day real life agonies - and their agonies were written there.

So much so - that we both sensed that would need the word of the Lord under the fear of God to stop these broadcasts with the life changing impact they were having in homes not only in the UK and America but all across the world. And the Glory of the Living God that was being imparted.

We both kept a very close pulse on the revival since the start of its broadcast - we had first hand knowledge of the enormous criticism, persecution and reviling that Todd Bentley was receiving (often we were second contenders for it) but it was Todd Bentley and the Fresh Fire team who received the terrible weight of this.

Todd ministered each day as the revival continued but was consistently and unrelentingly criticized, maligned, persecuted - the attacks grew increasingly violent - and the heartbreaking thing was that so much of it came from the Church.

At the same time, Todd was facing a second wave of attack. This was from the covens, the warlocks - we heard firsthand concerning some of these assignments. The enemy had heard of the great honoring of the Lamb and was determined to destroy it - BY ANY MEANS POSSIBLE AND AT ANY COST.

And the cost was Todd Bentley.

Was it because Todd was vulnerable and certain areas of his life were not surrendered wholly - Yes - like so many of us - in all probability.

Was it because the character of Christ was not yet formed in him in the equivalent measure to his gifting? Yes - like so many of us - in all probability.

Could it be the case that there by the grace of God go YOU AND I… Yes - In all probability.

Some of the areas in our lives are watertight and have been honed and refined and polished by the Lord while still other areas in our lives are often still in desperate need of attention. We are an ongoing work and we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Well - all ministers who preach should ensure their lives are in order, you may be saying.

Yes - we and our board and our minister peers across the globe agree wholeheartedly.

And yet, beloved - unfortunately, THERE ARE TIMES when satan comes unawares and targets a vulnerable area whose weaknesses only become apparent under the most enormous and unrelenting pressure brought to bear.

We believe and of course this is just our personal opinion, that the revival stirred up the satanic realms in a manner that has rarely been seen and with a violent wrath.

It is difficult to understand the degree of spiritual battle that comes against a leader. We have learned we need to protect the move of God with greater prayer for leaders, including ourselves. The body of Christ is growing in greater transparency and accountability, and this too should be a subject of prayer.

Should all of us wait till we are as perfect and as watertight as can be and mature in every area - that of course, would be the safest course of action, but the truth is that most of us would be 90 years old!

The Lord who made us and knows that we are as dust and yet looks on us with His great mercies and compassions knows this and He the sovereign God of heaven and earth still chooses to take a GOD-risk on you and I every day of our lives.

That even under the most intense pressure that we would choose HIM.

That we would love HIM.

That in times of intense duress and temptation that we would follow HIM.

And let it be so - even more in all our lives, but beloved - let us not forget so many of those who walk in ministry across the earth today with such COURAGE and FERVOR and lay their lives down for HIS CAUSE at great cost to themselves - Todd and Shonnah sowed their lives to sow the seeds of revival and we believe became a supreme target of the enemy.

On the June 23rd, Todd actually spoke openly and with great vulnerability of his and Shonnah’s previous marriage challenges and how they had faced those challenges and the Lord had begun His work. He did not try to hide their struggle but shared their ongoing journey.

As Rick Joyner so wisely put it -
“In marriage, I have learned there are those who admit they have been through times when they wondered if their marriage would make it, and then there are liars. Relationships are hard, and the closer they are, the harder they can be. I tell everyone that I give premarital counseling to that the Lord has ordained their marriage in order to kill both of them! That is true. It is also worth it! The greatest gift He gave to man was marriage and family. However, to have a marriage that is good, both will have to die to themselves. If either one does not make the commitment to lay down their life for their mate and their family, then what was meant to be heaven can be hell.”

It is an ongoing walk - and we all are ongoing works. But the Lord said something to us some years ago - He said - When you hate sin because it HURTS ME - then it will lose its grip on you. When you hate sin because it displeases ME - its hold diminishes.

The Lord also shared with us that someone can be deceived in an AREA of sin but it does not necessarily mean that in every area of his or her life or ministry, they were walking in deception as some critics of the revival may lean to believe.

And who is to judge that the Lord does not hold the violent unleashing of criticism and faultfinding and tearing down and divisiveness of the heresy hunters, as severe a sin as separation in a marriage?

We will find out before the judgment seat in eternity.

One of our greatest grievings has been to see how many in the church backtracked to protect their own reputations. We have been truly refreshed by several close ministry friends with their uncompromising love of truth and lack of a man pleasing spirit that has arisen in the church in the light of the Lakeland aftermath. They have given us fresh courage when we grew weary.

So beloved friend –

Do we at GOD TV refute the Outpouring? NO.

We are presently planning to broadcast other offshoots of Lakeland in both the United Kingdom and America, including revival meetings in Dudley, England.

We have determined in our hearts to follow the Lord with all our might as courageously and as boldly as we can, to reject the pressures to bow to a man pleasing spirit but instead to humble ourselves under the Fathers leading.

For HE is our all in all.
He is our great desire.

Finally, dear friends, while we defend and rejoice in the many ten thousands that God lifted and healed, we also know that there were dear souls, sheep, who were scattered as a result of Todd’s personal choices. The Bible says that “hope deferred makes the heart sick” and this is the last thing GODTV would want to see happen. We are praying for any that stumbled and believing that the Lord will restore them to Himself.

Remember: this was never about Todd Bentley. It was always about the Holy Spirit and the fact that God loved you and I. It was GOD who touched our lives.

One thing, we felt impressed upon our hearts thirteen years ago when we first launched this ministry. That the Father will allow none of us - whether in ministry or as a viewer to hold idolatry in our hearts for any man.

For the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit alone are to receive our worship.
We continue on the road to maturity.
We continue our efforts to serve an end time spiritual army.

We continue to try each day to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of the ONLY one who is worthy of ALL adoration.

Of ALL HONOR.

Of ALL WORSHIP.

Remember also, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Let’s turn our eyes toward Him and away from our trust in man.

He who sent His only begotten Son.

The Great Father of Compassions.

To Him alone we bow.

Personally we believe that the best is yet to come.

But I know Gryfft definitely wouldn't want this to sideline the blog.  So, some inanity:

This morning I wake up way early because I'm going to do my 3-4-page paper on the bus to school.  Short paper, long bus.  Hopefully it'll all w*rk out.  Anyway, tired that I am, I stumble and groggle to the fridge to find breakfast.  I putter around in there for a second, and then think to myself in that almost-out-loud way: "I'll have one of those Spicy Black Bean Burgers.  And maybe a squirrel.  I mean, yogurt."

Hey brain: what?

WE LOVE YOU GUYS TOOO!!!!

I know I put in a lot of Tags but I wanted to encourage as many of us who love Todd so that they could rejoice.

Oh this doesn't have to do with Todd directly but I help out on prophetic teams ministry at my church which is a bridge church - Streams International - google it - anyhow there was a young guy that came for ministry on Sunday and the team I was on ministered to him.  God gave me a word that he would be used in power, like Todd's gifting, if he would give himself wholeheartedly to the Lord and abandon all worldliness.   I was a little stunned that this 25 year old whose grandma prayed him into the kingdom was a candidate for something so wonderful given by the Lord but then I realized that things are speeding up and our young ones will overtake us and pass us by as the follow Jesus.  We can be mothers and fathers to the next move of God when we encourage and intercede for and press in for the younger believers.  It's the parable of the ones who come to work at the end of the day and get the full wages.  It's just great too!!!!!!!

Exhibit A:

The credit crisis that rattled global financial markets this week has been unusually kind to battered US airlines, whose shares rallied on Tuesday as financial turmoil weighed on fuel prices.

The prospects for tighter lending conditions were largely a nonevent to major airlines, which have recently restructured and are largely refraining from projects that require large loans, experts say.

Instead of the credit crunch, carriers focused on a 10 percent decline in oil prices so far this week. Oil fell on concerns that chaos in financial markets would erode fuel demand.

"Obviously the dramatic nature of this move down in oil is going to impact their route profitability," said Bill Warlick, a senior analyst at Fitch Ratings.

The airline industry -- battered severely this year by record-high fuel prices -- for now is largely immune from credit concerns that plague other industries. Airlines have posted hefty losses in 2008, but worries are related to oil, not credit.

For most of this year, airline shares have moved in the opposite direction of oil prices, which is directly related to the price of jet fuel. NYMEX crude fell to USD$90.51 on Tuesday.

Crude traded at a record USD$147.27 on July 11. Since then, the price of a barrel of oil has fallen precipitously, and airlines are moving ahead with massive downsizing plans aimed at cutting costs and raising fares. As a result, carriers have been able to bolster their cash positions, which provide insulation from economic shocks.

"The fall in crude oil has helped substantially from a cash-burn perspective," said Basili Alukos, a Morningstar equity analyst. "My gut would say that (airlines) are better off."

Warlick agreed, noting recent guidance from Continental Airlines, predicting a cash and short-term investments balance of USD$2.8 billion at the end of the third quarter, which is steady from its 2007 year-end balance.

UAL, parent of United Airlines, ended the second quarter with USD$2.9 billion in unrestricted cash and investments, compared with a balance of USD$3.6 billion at the end of 2007.

If airlines have any fallout to fear from the credit crisis, it likely will be in the form of flagging business travel demand.

"To the extent that it may lead to more profound problems in the main economy... global air travel demand could be impacted dramatically," Fitch's Warlick said.

He also noted the growing chance that airline hedges, which are designed to lock in fuel prices and smooth out market volatility, may become worthless if fuel falls below the price guaranteed by a hedge.

Some experts have predicted significant losses related to fuel hedges that lock in above-market prices.

(Reuters)

I also had a pear after my game.

While many on the right say that any attack on her religious beliefs is unfair, it is difficult to say where these concerns were as the mud flew about Obama being a Muslim.  But when watching a football game, no one seems to mind all that much if a bad call works out in their team's favor, and this seems to be the same mentality at work here.  Adding to the humor is the Right saying that attacks on her faith are completely unrelated to the office she is seeking, even though the fact that she is blatantly using this faith to get the conservative Right to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket is not in dispute. 

And not that long ago, the GOP was holding Obama accountable for remarks made by his pastor, but clearly this situation is entirely different.  Why, you might ask?  Well, it just is.  But what made me laugh the most is the following.

There is a religious organization with loose ties to Palin called "Morningstar Ministries."  As to how in the world they thought that was a good name for a Christian organization, who knows.  You see, if they had bothered to look up what the "Morning Star" was, they would have found out a little tid-bit of information.  Another name for Satan is "The Morning Star."  While there are many names for Satan, it seems beyond comprehension that someone would be so dense as to name their Christian organization after him.  Why not just call it "Satan's House of Christian Worship?" 

I am sure they meant well, but honestly, if you can't even figure out your own faith, just what can you figure out?  Who knows what else they have gotten wrong, hopefully they aren't sacrificing virgins or anything like that.  Then again, maybe sacrificing virgins is how they were able to get Palin on the ticket, but won't they be surprised when the afterlife turns out to be a little warmer than they had planned on.  What was that warning in the Bible about following false prophets?  Never mind that now, they are starting to speak in tongues!  

And in the middle east, we are busy fighting a war against religious extremism, because everyone knows how dangerous extremists can be.  Especially the ones we elect.

By the time I got home (8:30pm) I was starving...I snacked on some Annie's cheddar crackers and dark chocolate chips. I wanted something quick for dinner so I made a spinach omelet using egg beaters, spinach, jalapeno mexican cheese, avocado and salsa. On the side I had a morningstar sausage patty and an english muffin with lowfat cream cheese.

1 whole wheat english muffin, or 2 slices Ezekiel bread - toasted
1/2 avocado, sliced and mashed slightly onto toast
1/2 tomato, sliced and placed on top of avocado
1 oz lowfat cheese or veggie shreds soy "cheese" - divided to top both toasts
sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and a bit of freshly ground sea salt on top
Toast slightly under broiler or in toaster oven until cheese melts slightly and seeds brown.

Serves two people, or one really hungry one.

Following is the breakfast I've been bringing to work every day lately. I don't get tired of it, it gives me a good pickup in the morning, and it's HUGE and complex enough that I'm not hungry again for about 4 hours, and it holds me through a workout two hours later.

1 Morningstar veggie "sausage" patty
1 hardboiled egg - organic, cage free, etc.
1 container Activia Nonfat yogurt. Any flavor, but I prefer peach.
1 whole piece of fruit, cut into bite sized pieces (peach, apple or banana) or 1 cup berries
1 cup mini wheats (frosted if you want a little bit of a splurge)

Eat patty, cold but thawed. Follow it with egg - the mixture of flavors is wonderful.
Mix yogurt, fruit and cereal in a large bowl and eat.
Have coffee if you feel the need. I often have 2 espresso shots over ice with a couple pumps of sugarfree vanilla syrup and a tablespoon of milk. It's wonderful.

Now I made the pitas, but did not know what to eat them with. Don't get me wrong, they were really tasty, however I wanted it to be complete healthy meal. When I opened the refrigerator to see what all I had, I had nothing substantial. J and I are going out of town for the long weekend and I have been avoiding going to the grocery store till after the trip. All I found were frozen Morningstar products, marinated onions that I keep on hand for sandwiches, etc., and cheese. J and I whipped this dish out and it was quite tasty for not using any fresh vegetables. It may seem like a lot of work, but trust me, it just took us 40 mins to prepare the meal..including 30 mins. of marinating time. However, there was a lot of cleaning after the everything was done, but J took care of it :-D

Ta

PS: I marinate one onion at a time and it stays good for at least 10 days in the refrigerator.

Recipe: Sizzling Fajita Whole Wheat Pita
(Serves 3, Makes 8 pitas)

Ingredients

For Whole Wheat Pita

2 cups Whole wheat flour
2 tsp dry yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup warm water

For Vegan Steak Fajita

1 packet Morningstar Steak strips
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp dried garlic (you can use fresh..I was just lazy to use the fresh one)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp brown sugar
salt
pepper

For marinated onions (Can be made few days ahead)

1 red onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

For Yogurt-Feta Sauce

2/3 cups yogurt
1/3 cup feta cheese (I used mediterranean herb feta cheese)
1/2 tsp dried garlic
salt
pepper

Method

For pita bread

Knead all the ingredients together into a soft dough. The dough should be smooth and it may be slightly sticky. Add olive oil, just enough to coat the dough and let it sit covered in a warm place for 1.5 hrs. Deflate the dough and knead for one min. Divide the dough into eight equal parts and roll them into balls. Place the balls in a baking sheet and cover them with a towel to prevent them from drying. Place a baking stone (if you are using a baking sheet, place it inside the oven when you are ready to bake pitas) and preheat the oven to 500 degree F. Take one ball and roll it out so that it is 3/16 of an inch thick, sprinkle semolina/cornmeal if using baking sheet, and place it in the oven. Bake it for 4 mins. approx. If it starts browning, take itout immediately even if not puffed up. Once done (does not smell yeasty), take it out of the oven and let it cool on wire rack. Repeat till all dough is used up. Once cooled, wrap the pitas in aluminum foil.

For marinated onions

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Slice the onion into thin rings. One trick I have learned for slicing/chopping onions is that put the onion in the freezer for 15 mins. Take it out and then chop/slcie to avoid "crying" over the onions. When kept in the freezer, the gas that gets released while chopping an onion also freezes. So no more crying! Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the onion slices on the sheet. Bake the onions for 30 mins. While the onions are getting baked, in a bowl mix balsamic vinegar, oil, brown sugar, herbs and salt and pepper. Once onions are baked, cool them and add them to the balsamic mix. Store them in an air tight container for a later use.

For fajitas, mix all the ingredients other than the morningstar vegan steak in a bowl. Add herbs or anything else you might want to add per your taste. Pour the marinade in a ziploc bag. Add frozen vegan steak to the ziplock bag and shake it to coat all the pieces. Let them sit for at least 30 mins. Heat a skillet on medium heat and cook the steak pieces for about 5 mins.

For yogurt-feta sauce, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerator it, until you are ready for assembling the pitas.

For assembly, spread about 1.5 Tbsp of the yogurt-feta sauce on the pita. Add pew pieces of vegan steak and onions. Fold it and tada..its ready to serve. You can also do the same in a pita pocket.

This goes to Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen for the Tried & Tasted event featuring Jugalbandhi for the month of August and to Sia of Monsoon Spice hosting the JFI - Soya blog event.

Avoid mini caps and firms that trade on bulletin boards (or pink sheets); avoid firms that don't file regular financials with the SEC; avoid initial public offerings (IPO).

Has the company ever made an operating profits?...

Avoid promising (or young start-up) firms. For example: novel treatment abt some rare-disease, exciting new products that the world has never seen.

Does the company generate consistent cash flow from operations?

Are ROE consistently above 10%/12% with reasonable leverage?

Is Earnings growth consistent or erratic?

How Clean is the Balance Sheet?

Firms with a lot of debt require extra care because their capital structures are often very complicated. If a nonbank firm has a financial leverage ratio >4% - or a debt-to-equity ratio over 1.0 - ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the firm in a stable business? Firms in industries such as consumer products and food can withstand more leverage than economically sensitive firms with volatile earnings.
• Has debt been going down as a percentage of total assets?

Does the firm generate free cash flow?

Divide free cash flow by sales, and use 5% as a rough benchmark. Don't automatically write off firms with negative free cash flow if they have solid ROEs and pass the other tests in this chapter. Just be sure you believe that the firm really is reinvesting the cash wisely.

Is the firm has a habit of making one time charge?

Has the number of Shares outstanding increased markedly over the past several years?

If so, the firm is either issuing new shares to buy other companies or granting numerous options to employees and executives. If shares outstanding are consistently increasing by more than 2% - assuming no big acquisitions - think long and hard before investing in the firm.

However, if the number of shares is actually shrinking, the company potentially gets a big gold star.