Boy Broker: Investment Classic Returns

The Frost Report is proud to announce the re-release of the 1888 investment classic, The Boy Broker: Among the Kings of Wall Street.

Though The Boy Broker has been available as a re-print for some time, the quality of these earlier reproductions was very low.  One version, for instance, actually includes an apology for the poor quality of the printing.  Another version (obviously edited by non-English speakers) boasts that is was “restored by human beings.”

We felt compelled to do it right.

From the Amazon.com description:

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In 1888, one of the richest men in America published his masterpiece on becoming successful.  More than a century later, the wit and wisdom of Frank A. Munsey's "Boy Broker" still shines through.

This edition maintains all the integrity of the 1888 edition, while adding valuable new features including "Notes for the Modern Reader," which provide information and context to the 21st Century reader.

- Edited for Clarity
- Now includes Historical Biographies and Information
- Contains New Illustrations

From his own experience, Frank Munsey noted that when young people are given lectures or advice, it often proves valueless (they ignore it).  Instead, he reasoned, people are influenced by their friends and peers, and also their heros.  Munsey therefore wrote this book as a story with a hero, where the subconscious mind is the recipient of its advice.

The story follows the adventures of young Herbert Randolph, in his quest for independence and achievement in the great city of New York.

We hope that you will find this updated edition far more readable than the original, while enjoying all its 19th century wit and character.

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Thanks again to all the readers of The Frost Report!

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BlackBerry's Bold Move

Reuters news agency this week released an article with the hopelessly biased title, “RIM’s BlackBerry May Have New Hope in One Market.”  Within that article, however, Research in Motion outlines a great new sub-strategy to further increase sales in emerging market countries.

When I was in India just a few years ago, it was impossible not to notice how everyone – no matter how poor - has a mobile phone.

That bicycle-rickshaw driver may live in a hut made of dried cow dung and tin, yet he owns a mobile phone.  The street vendor who sells curried rice for $0.20, then washes the plates in a pothole filled with rainwater and cow piss…she has a mobile phone too.  The young call centre employee, who lives in his parents “condo” (three rooms and almost no furniture), owns both a mobile phone and a laptop: he is middle class.

RIM’s strategy is to capture the lucrative “trade up” market: the billions of people who currently own older mobile phones capable of talk and text but little else.  These people could never realistically afford an iPhone 4S, yet are willing to spend a few months’ salary to get a simple, reliable smartphone like RIM’s new BlackBerry Curve 9220.

The Curve 9220 is a sleeker version of the 8520, with improved Web browsing, Facebook and Twitter apps, FM radio, long battery life, and $48 US worth of free application downloads – including both business applications and games like "Ultimate Cricket." In other words, the features are simple, but are the most important ones for the customer base RIM is trying to capture.  Monthly plan fees start at as little as $5!

The Curve 9220 will sell for about $210 US (without contract), which compares nicely to the older iPhone 3GS which sells for $350 or more and has higher monthly plan fees.

Earlier this year, RIM made a great move by upgrading its Playbook tablet operating system, and slashing prices down to $199 to compare positively to the Kindle Fire.

RIM has been struggling of late, and no one yet knows if these and other strategies will give RIM its profitability back.

I’m not willing to make a huge investment in RIM – but I am willing to throw a few investment dollars their way.  I think RIM has been written off far too easily.

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"Asia is not going to be civilized after the methods of the West.  There is too much Asia and she is too old."

Rudyard Kipling

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Disclosure

Do not buy stocks, or take this or any other financial advice without doing your own analysis; including, but not limited to: reviewing business models, financial statements, management style and philosophy, recent developments, market macroeconomic analysis, and chart analysis. If you do not know how to do these things, you shouldn't be buying stocks in the first place. Seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate.
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Terrorism Doesn't Pay

At least, not as well as it used to.

OJSC Izhmash, maker of the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifles (favorites of terrorists and rebels worldwide for their remarkable reliability) filed for bankruptcy last week.

Though OJSC’s product line remains extremely popular, the AK-47 and other famous rifles have been relentlessly copied and sold by foreign manufacturers.  These mostly inferior copies – for which OJSC receives no royalties – have long been biting into the company’s bottom line.

Similar to a US Chapter 11 filing, OJSC Izhmash has proposed a restructuring plan that will allow it to maintain regular business operations until the restructuring takes hold.  To help out the iconic brand, it’s widely expected that the Russian government will place large, unnecessary orders for new weapons (how do you say “bailout” in Russian?).

OJSC Izhmash’s long-term strategy is to develop a new family of automatic weapons to retrieve its falling market share.

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"I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists.  I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example a lawnmower."

Mikhail Kalashnikov, age 82

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