Apple (APPL) has been on a roll since Steve Jobs returned.  This could be their first major bump in the road.  A crippling patent victory by Nokia could put a bit of a halt to the meteoric rise of the iPhone.

My hunch is that there is some validity to the counter suit by Apple and there will be a settlement that might not even include licensing fees.

This might just take years to play out unless a judge decides that he/she wants to make a name for themselves.

Nokia opens new front in Apple patent battle| Reuters.

Shocking!  Not really, just sad.

U.S. banks that spent more money on lobbying were more likely to get government bailout money, according to a study released on Monday.

via Banks with political ties got bailouts, study shows | Reuters.

Not out of the woods by any means yet, folks.  In fact, some of the support that the government provided might just prove to be like a financial Vietnam…  A bad situation with  resolution options that are painful no matter which you choose.

Choices

1. I slap you in the face
2. I kick you in the shin
3. I take all of your money

…Get the picture?

Read the excerpt below.  Lovely.  The link to the full article continues below.

We still face serious headwinds in the economy and, as I’ve said many times this year, the current market valuations are ignoring the risk factors of owning equities – an amazing thing considering how recently those risk factors showed up and bit people’s faces off both last fall and this spring.  For example, according to the NYTimes this morning,  American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and GMAC, are not only unable to repay the government, they are in need of continuing infusions that make them look increasingly like long-term wards of the state.  The total risk they pose to the taxpayer far exceeds that of the big banks. Fannie and Freddie, in the final days of the year, are even said to be negotiating with the Treasury about greatly expanding the money available to them.

via Fa La La Friday – Scroogy Swap Prices Blacken Christmas | Phil’s Stock World.

I bought $10,000 of C at $4.19 and it is going down quickly. I’d like to think I will look back positively in 5-10 years and this will all be worth a good laugh.

But right now, it doesn’t feel very funny. Can we get some new leadership at this company?

I have spoken about Corning (GLW) enough to make you say, “enough already, we get it”.

GLW should be a core long term holding in your portfolio.  They had a little hiccup in share price about 6 weeks ago (down to the mid $14′s) but have moved up about 25% since that point.  It was kind of odd that they sold off, because Corning has made it a habit over the past few years to pre-announce in a way that essentially says that they are on track.  That is what they did on 10/22/2009.  After that announcement, they sold off about 7%-8% within a week.

I wish that I would have taken the opportunity to add to my current position.  Let me reiterate why GLW is a great long term buy.

A leader in the following core sectors:

• LCD
• Filtration Systems
• Fiber

Corning - GLW

Those three sectors alone are fantastic long term plays.  We haven’t even seen the real impact of climate regulation and the continued move toward larger and flatter TV’s, monitors, and devices will allow the LCD division to generate plenty of cash.  Let’s not forget about our constantly growing demand for bandwidth which ultimately leads to more fiber.

There are plenty of other markets that Corning is entering with plenty of R&D money.  This is a smart long term play.

The deal that Citi reached with Treasury and the IRS is a potential disaster.  I don’t know about you, but if I was in a position to seek a way to avoid taxation during a share transfer, I would certainly ask my tax attorneys to see if we can use this as precedence.

Forget the amount that they just gave up (primarily so that Citi could freely pay its year end bonuses out), this could cost many billions in the future.

The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.

via U.S. gave up billions in tax money in deal for Citigroup’s bailout repayment – washingtonpost.com.

Today, I spoke with a blue collar worker in his mid-thirties. He was asking about a small pet services business and wanted to know if he was getting a good deal. During our conversation, we realized the business owner is simply asking to much for the business. So, at one point, I asked him how much he had to invest. “8.8 million dollars,” he responded.

He is considering buying a business for about $3o0,000 and expects to cash flow about $65,000. That’s if he and his wife each put in 40 hours a week!

What would you do? I responded by asking if he knew how much 3% of 8.8 million was. He is a blue collar worker and probably earns about $40,000. He come upon 8.8 million in inheritance and wants to know what to do. Can you imagine? Anyway, I told him that 3% of 8.8 million dollars is $264,000. The reason I told him that is because if he puts his money in an annual interest bearing account and gets 3% interest, he can take $264,000 every year and NEVER touch the principal. In 400 years, he’d still have 8.8 million dollars. If he got 7% interest, the numbers get silly to the tune of $616,000 annually. If he takes only $250,000 and banks the rest of the $616,000, His 8.8 million turns into over $45,000,000 in 20 years. Remember, he is still taking home $250,000 annually!

For some of you, $250,000 isn’t enough to live on. For him, he’s in his mid 30′s and has gotten used to living on $40-$70K a year (wifes income added). At a minimum, it’s an almost 4x increase in annual income.

I advised him to sit on the money for awhile. I hope he doesn’t do anything hasty…like buying a 40 hour pain in the butt pet services company so he can add an extra $3-4K monthly to his $50 million he’ll have by the time he’s 55.

10% of all US homes are in foreclosure!  That is simply staggering!

US foreclosure filings will hit 3.9M in 2009, bringing the 3-year total to 10% of all US homes.

Foreclosure heat map

via Foreclosure Thursday – The Stealth Stimulus | Phil’s Stock World.

According to my commercial real estate broker, leasing commercial real estate involves giving free months of rent, allowing for a build-out or build-out allowance, and also paying for utilities?! My broker tells me that it is customary to offer several months free rent here in Middle Tennessee. I am going to call on a close personal friend to help me with the minimal build-out required and will probably trade some web services for his labor. I do remember reading something about “triple net” leases and how triple net refers to the payment of utilities by the real estate owner.  The extra stuff I was not aware of. I own an office condo and have an almost $1,400 monthly mortgage payment. The “rentable” square footage is 750 square feet.

This is not how I pictured it would go. I figured I would lease the space for an amount OVER the monthly expenses and make a profit…even if it was $5 a month.  At the least, I thought I would break even. For those of you considering an investment in commercial real estate, make sure you take this into consideration. I realize it is one example but the commercial real estate environment is in tough shape.

I have a person interested in leasing the space for 3 years at between $20-$22.50 per square foot. If the deal goes down like my commercial real estate agent has advised me, then I will be losing money on this property every month. Welcome to the new world of commercial real estate. This is not a good deal. But, it is far better than paying all the expenses myself. I have had this property on the market for over a year and only one person has looked at the property. 2 people have looked at leasing it. Talk about no action. This should make you think long and hard about commercial real estate and the potential impact on our economy. Be very cautious.

I will update this post as things happen.

This deal flies in the face of my continued rant that commercial real estate is in trouble… or does it?  Simon could be one of the solid players in commercial real estate.  Having the ability to issue shares for a part of this transaction is a big deal.  They only need cover costs until the economy rebounds.  If they paid pricing based upon current metrics, they can make this work.

Ahh… to be a buyer when everyone else NEEDS to sell.  Speaking of that, did you see that the “W” Hotel went for $2 million plus assumption of liabilities?  Dubai’s trouble is another’s gain.

Simon Property Group Inc. said Tuesday it will buy the outlet shopping centers owned by Prime Outlets Acquisition Co., solidifying its position as the nation’s largest public real estate company.

via Simon Property to buy Prime Outlets for $700M : 24 Hour Business : The Buffalo News.