We’ve been on strange schedules here in Gumshoeland for the last two weeks, and during that time we’ve seen a large number of quarterly reports come through that deserve some attention or comment… as well as a few other notable news items that I feel like I should pay attention to. And, of course, we’ve got my last “Idea of the Month” to reconsider after their CFO quit about 20 minutes after I published my article and made the stock look terrifically lousy. So let’s jump in.

First, since the questions are rolling in like the returning waves of Canada Geese here on Gumshoe Mountain (yes, the snow has all melted now!), I should tell you that yes, Dan Ferris’ pitch for Extreme Value over at Stansberry that’s headlined “If I had to pick one stock to put all my money in – this would be it” is indeed another pitch for Altius Minerals (ALS.TO, ATUSF).

Altius is one of my largest equity holdings personally, so I understand the enthusiasm Dan has for the stock — but this particular paragraph is a bit much…

“I recently told readers to SELL Microsoft, Intel, even Berkshire Hathaway. They no longer meet my high standards.

“But I would bet my savings, my house, and my career on a single, cash-gushing company in the world’s most lucrative business.”

Now, I’m sure he sold those stocks for other reasons, having to do with perceived overvaluation or having met his “target price” criteria, he didn’t sell them just to plow all that money into Altius — but still, implying that you should sell two brand-name blue chips to buy one commodity stock, even a great one like Altius, gives me a little bit of the heebie jeebies. He sold Berkshire last June, if you’re curious (he announced as much publicly, it was around $128 then), but the others were recent sells (Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart, Procter and Gamble, Microsoft, and Intel were sold from his portfolio, he says).

All were likely sold at large gains, I suppose, since they fall in his “World Dominators” category of long-term dividend growers, and I don’t think I would make that kind of a market call even with lots of big “blue chip” dividend payers being relatively expensive, so I guess we should give him some credit for being bold. It’s possible that he’s being terrifically ...