A tough loss for Chicago

It's been quite some time since I've written and analyzed investments. Still staying on top of economic developments, but I thought I'd drop in on an unrelated topic to offer up gratitude for the Mayor of Chicago. Mayor Daley announced at a press conference that he will no not be running for re-election after his current term expires. This comes as quite a shock as he has remained a permanent fixture in Chicago, almost taken for granted. Whether you liked him or not, the city always needed a tough mayor that got things done. Sometimes those things were failures, but he made things happen. Very similar style to Rudy Guiliani of NYC. After living in both cities, I have to once again express my gratitude for simple yet tough mayors that got things done.

For profit Education Industry gets walloped
In other developments, the for-profit education industry has recently been smacked down due to the recent government inquiries into loan repayments. Strayer (STRA) specifically has been under the mindful eye of the government and the magnifying glass isn't helping their stock price. In February of 2009 I exited my position in DeVry (DV) as I felt there was simply too much focus around this sector given the economic collapse and favorable historical performance of this industry as unemployed workers sought out avenues to upgrade their skill sets. Fast forward to August 2010 and you have a massive decline in stock performance for both DeVry and Strayer. I was a big proponent of Strayer 2 years ago, but did not take up positions due to it's high valuation. Well, valuations for both companies have now been knocked down, but I suspect DeVry is experiencing collateral damage when only Strayer should be affected. I have started to put my focus back on DeVry to see where future prospects look good enough to take up position again since my last analysis in April of 2008 where I set the lower end target valuation at $44/share. Staying close to DeVry