New Constructs
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footnoted.org vs New Constructs = Hype vs Substance

When I ran across the recent article "270,033 pages later, a chance to catch our breath…", I could not help but admire footnoted.org's marketing moxy. The article provides a count of the number of pages of 10-K filings that have poured in during the real earnings season. It also highlight a couple of the largest filings. At first glance, it is easy for one to assume that all of the 270,033 pages were also analyzed.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Should Directors Ignore Those One-Time Items?

I do not think so. The question, however, is not so much about what directors ignore. You cannot ignore something about which you are unaware. The real issue is that most directors and investors are simply unaware of the many one-time items because they are buried deep in the annals of footnotes in annual reports or 10-K filings.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
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Red Flag Report: Hidden Expenses/Income: What You Don’t Know Can Cost You

Most investors are not aware that companies hide one-time and unusual charges and income inside normal, operating line items (e.g. “Cost of sales”) on their income statement. These hidden items can mislead investors by artificially decreasing/increasing GAAP earnings. We found 13,000+ one-time items buried in normal line items like “Cost of Sales” by studying the Footnotes of 10-K filings from 1998 thru 2/15/2011. This research revealed that companies have concealed over $41 billion in one-time items.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Stock-Picking Matters More Than Ever

As follow-on to my 3-part Market Outlook series of posts, I am highlighting a quote from GaveKal research's Daily note today which supports my assertion that the "Easy Money Days Are Over" and that success in stock-picking will rely on superior analytical skills as opposed to the market-timing skills that have predominated most of the past 25 years (see Market Outlook Part 1: Rise of the Speculative Movement).
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Finance 101

Finance is the process for making accounting data useful. Per Accounting 101: accounting data by itself is not useful. Think of accounting data as the words used in the language of Finance. Just as with any language, words can be arranged to convey almost any meaning.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO