Select Discomfort

I see where SCSS has dialed their sleep number down to 2.79 from over 18 this past summer. SCSS was on the list in the summer and this shows that MFI doesn't always give you the "Good Companies at a Cheap Price" mantra. I don't own SCSS, but I am sure some readers do. They did say they're going to start closing some shops and stuff, perhaps that'll be good for my TPX.

I was right about BBSI crashing post-earnings. Down about 18%. Now down 40% for me since last September. It is frustrating. I am getting a Pavlovian reaction of dread when my companies ring their earning bells.

FTO had a very positive piece in Barrons. They commented that these are tough times for refiners, but FTO is the best positioned company. Here is a small excerpt:

However, many of the company's woes aren't likely to dog the stock. That makes Frontier, one of the industry's most profitable independent refiners, an attractive opportunity for value investors.

Despite its recent woes, the company boasts some of the highest returns among independent refiners. Its return on capital of 42% is more than twice that of Valero Energy (17.4%), Sunoco (20.2%) and Tesoro (13.5%).

Pretty consistant with what I wrote a couple weeks ago comparing WNR, HOC and FTO.

The NY Times had a very negative piece on laser surgery this week. I don't know how much of it is media hype, but they profiled people who actually lost vision in an eye or had their poor vision return post-surgery. The article made me wonder if I really mind wearing glasses?

WSTG had an earnings announcement on Thursday evening (no, no, please say they don't!). Yes they did. And they were poor. The stock was down about 10% on Friday, making them down over 30% for me as they approach their one year anniversary. The management write-up was quite downbeat:

"net sales for the first quarter of 2008 decreased 14% or $6.4 million to $40.5 million compared to $46.9 million for the same period in 2007. These results are entirely attributable to a continuation of the reduction of sales for our largest vendor because of intense competition and extremely low margins."

For me, I am having select discomfort with the MFI approach of late. Please, no more earnings announcements.