2011 Areas Of Possible Investment

 Metro Pacific Investments Corporation

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation is raising the groundwork of basic services into a whole new level of systems and organizational initiatives to pave the way for a strategic response to the changing times. We are moving up on our commitment to meet the growing demand for vital services reaching far and wide, while providing continuous supply of clean and potable water, efficient distribution of electrical power, state-of-the-art tollway systems and world-class medical care. 

AGI's business units—Megaworld Corporation (Megaworld) for real estate (RE); Emperador Distillers, Inc. (EDI) for food and beverage (F&B); Golden Arches Development Corporation (GADC) for quick-service restaurants (QSR); and Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. (Travellers International) for tourism and gaming—are considered the building blocks of growth not only for the company itself but for the country as well.

Megaworld Corporation

Through the years, Megaworld has been developing integrated mega-communities that offer basically everything that tenants want and need. This the Company does in pursuit of its prime objective of providing the "perfect" community that offers comfort, convenience and everything else.

Emperador Brandy

Emperador Brandy, EDI's flagship product, continues to do very well in the market and is still considered the drink that features the distinct taste of success.

McDonald's

McDonald's leads the industry in terms of overall food quality, overall service, and value for money. GADC's thrust is to improve the quality of food that it serves and the overall experience in all McDonald's branches.

Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc.

Travellers' first project was Resorts World Manila, the country's very first integrated tourism estate that opened to the public in August 2009. Travellers International will spend over US$500 million to develop Resorts World Manila, which includes the all-suite Maxims Hotel, the five-star Marriott Hotel, the Luxury Hamilton Hotel, and the budget Remington Hotel. The resort also features a grand mall, a world-class theater that seats 1,500 people, restaurants, high-end luxury shops, an exclusive lifestyle club, spas, and gaming areas.

Warren Buffett's Worst Mistakes

Warren Buffett is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors of all time. Yet, as Buffett is willing to admit, even the best investors make mistakes. Buffett's legendary annual letters to his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) shareholders tell the tales of his biggest investing mistakes.
Lesson Learned
It's easy to get swept up in the excitement of big rallies and buy in at a prices that you should not have -- in retrospect. Investors who control their emotions can perform a more objective analysis. A more detached investor might have recognized that the price of crude oil has always exhibited tremendous volatility and that oil companies have long been subject to boom and bust cycles.
Buffett says: "When investing, pessimism is your friend, euphoria the enemy."
U.S. Air
Mistake: Confusing revenue growth with a successful business
Buffett bought preferred stock in U.S. Air (LCC) in 1989 -- no doubt attracted by the high revenue growth it had achieved up until that point. The investment quickly turned sour on Buffett, as U.S. Air did not achieve enough revenues to pay the dividends due on his stock. With luck on his side, Buffett was later able to unload his shares at a profit. Despite this good fortune, Buffett realizes that this investment return was guided by lady luck and the burst of optimism for the industry.
Lesson Learned
As Buffett points out in his 2007 letter to Berkshire shareholders, sometimes businesses look good in terms of revenue growth but require large capital investments all along the way to enable this growth. This is the case with airlines, which generally require additional aircraft to significantly expand revenues. The trouble with these capital-intensive business models is that by the time they achieve a large base of earnings, they are heavily laden with debt. This can leave little left for shareholders and makes the company highly vulnerable to bankruptcy if business declines.
Buffett says: "Investors have poured money into a bottomless pit, attracted by growth when they should have been repelled by it."
Dexter Shoes
Mistake: Investing in a company without a sustainable competitive advantage
In 1993, Buffett bought a shoe company called Dexter Shoes. Buffett's investment in Dexter Shoes turned into a disaster because he saw a durable competitive advantage in Dexter that quickly disappeared. According to Buffett, "What I had assessed as durable competitive advantage vanished within a few years." Buffett claims that this investment was the worst he has ever made, resulting in a loss to shareholders of $3.5 billion.
Lesson Learned
Companies can only earn high profits when they have some sort of a sustainable competitive advantage over other firms in their business area. Wal-Mart (WMT) has incredibly low prices. Honda (HMC) has high-quality vehicles. As long as these companies can deliver on these things better than anyone else, they can maintain high profit margins. If not, the high profits attract many competitors that will slowly eat away at the business and take all the profits for themselves.
Buffett says: "A truly great business must have an enduring "moat" that protects excellent returns on invested capital."
The Bottom Line
While making mistakes with money is always painful, paying a few "school fees" now and then doesn't have to be a total loss. If you analyze your mistakes and learn from them, you might very well make the money back next time. All investors, even Warren Buffett, must acknowledge that mistakes will be made along the way.