John Duncan posted this ISRG analysis on my facebook messages page and I thought it was rational so here it is:

The Robotic Surgery money machine

Phil, I would appreciate it if you could review my analysis of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG).  I purchased this business (okay, not the whole thing, but quite a few shares of it) when it was definitely on sale and made a good profit.  I recently sold it.  Since then it has run up even more in value.  Now I wonder if I made a mistake.

What is Intuitive Surgical?

ISRG is a manufacturer of a proprietary robotic surgical system – the “Da Vinci System.”  ISRG dominates this emerging industry in the medical field – surgical procedures done by robots acting as extensions of the surgeons hands  – giving the surgeon the kind of hand eye control and precision humans could only dream about having.  It, in essence turns the surgeon into a biotic man or woman!  The systems offers hospitals enormous savings and it offers patients less intrusive procedures with much faster recovery times.

MEANING

Although I have never had to undergo serious surgery, it was easy for me to find meaning in this company.  If I was to ever need surgery, the first thing I would do is research to find out if the procedure was qualified to be done with the Da Vinci system and if it was, I would then seek out a hospital and surgeon who had this capability.  It is easy to find overwhelming evidence of the benefits of using this equipment – much faster recovery times, less pain, lower risk of complications, and because of that – major cost savings for hospitals who employ Da Vinci.  The Da Vinci systems offer surgical capabilities in urology, gynecology, cardio, transoral, and a few others .  They continue R&D spending on new instruments to expand the capability into other specialties. ISRG’s confe

Read more…

If you’ve lived in your house for any length of time, you may find yourself bored by your home. If you watch too many shows on HGTV your own home can start to look unappealing by contrast. Maybe you’re tired of the carpet or paint colors, you hate the yard, or you’re frustrated by the lack of storage. You give some thought to doing some improvements but decide that it would be far too expensive so you abandon the idea.

It’s usually at times like this when you start thinking about moving. Maybe moving to a newer, bigger, swankier house would give you a lift, make things more exciting, or give you more room. The trouble is, moving is expensive and time consuming, if you can even accomplish it in this economy. By the

Read more…

Like many of you, I often find the need to fly to see family, take vacation, or go on business trips. And each time I’m struck by how little I get on the flight and how much I end up paying for the pleasure. So when I saw that American Airlines was filing for bankruptcy, I was shocked. Turns out 20 airlines have filed for bankruptcy in the last 10 years, and the future doesn’t look any brighter for the remaining ones.

We put together this graphic looking at the airline industry and its struggles since deregulation in 1978. It may not be obvious to the average US domestic air traveler, but prices are A LOT better now than they were 30+ years ago. In

Read more…

The Receivables Exchange won “Management Team of the Year” at the 2011 American Business Awards, also known as the Stevies, which were presented on Mondayat a gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Our CEO and Co-Founder Justin Brownhill accepted the award on behalf of the entire team of TRE employees.

Later, Justin reflected on the significance of the award: “The ‘Management Team of the Year’ award is a testament to the ongoing commitment, innovation and hard work of the entire Receivables Exchange team. Recognition from the nation’s premier business awards program affirms the tremendous value our employees are contributing to make The Receivables Exchange the truly innovative working capital marketplace it has become.”

In addition to winning “Management Team of the Year,” the Receivables Exchange was a runner-up for two other Stevie Awards: The Exchange’s Commercial Receivables Program and Invoice Import System were both finalists for “New Product or Service of the Year.”

To see the full list of winners, visit www.stevieawards.com.

A bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) has been recently signed between the Seychelles and Guernsey.

The tax information agreement was signed by the two parties in London.

Guernsey Chief Minister Lyndon Trott said that the Global Forum values Guernsey’s leadership in promoting tax transparency with developing nations and noted that the jurisdiction has built a strong relationship with the Seychelles through its engagement with the Southern African Development Community. He commented that this tax information agreement is a further illustration of Guernsey’s evolving international identity worldwide.

Even though the GST rate for trust distributions to grandchildren in 2010 was 0%, these distributions are required to be reported on a Form 706-GS(D-1) or 706-GS(T). No tax will be due. However, a trustee who fails to file a return will be guilty of a misdemeanor and can be fined up to $25,000 (or $100,000 if it is a corporate trustee) and imprisoned for up to 1 year.

This reporting requirement applies even if the trust was entirely exempt from GST tax due to the allocation of GST exemption. No return needs to be filed for distributions from trusts that are “grandfathered” from GST tax due to having been established prior to 1985.

The only good news is that the deadline to report distributions made on or before December 16, 2010 has been extended until September 19, 2011. Distri

Read more…