peHub Second Opinion

***It has to be said. After reading all about it on Infectious Greed today,  I declare, I am officially tired of people in finance labeling companies as either “sexy” or “unsexy.” There is nothing sexual about a company, or a balance sheet, or a business plan, first of all. Second of all, this is a classic example of misappropriated word usage, aka bad slang. Middle-aged rich white men never did too well with slang anyways. The word we’re all looking for is “exciting,” or “glamorous,” “over-hyped” or “trendy.” On the flip side, lets call “unsexy” companies what they are: “boring.” (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

***Daddy Thomson, now Thomson Reuters, recognizes its trading discount.

***Steve Case may have pulled off the greatest heist in modern financial history. A bold call, but Breaking Views makes its case.

***A number of LBO pros trumpet the “debt = discipline” line. It seems pretty obvious–of course you can expect performance when every penny is make or break. But today DealBook presents an opposing view.

***Megan Davies at Reuters points out what every journalist dreads: We are approaching the slowest M&A week of the year—the much loathed last week of August. While there are a few strategic deals in the works, I’m canvassing the PE world and coming back with blank stares. Someone, please, do a deal.

***For all you MBA students out there, despite conventional wisdom, Glass Hammer asserts that informational interviews are not (yet) passé.