Hottest Links for July 30th, 2013 the afternoon edition (see Monday’s edition of hottest links here). Top stories for the day include; Twelve things you can learn from George Soros; Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) reported earnings that most considered strong, but Bill Ackman is not backing down; Dan Loeb has a strange way of describing Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758)’s entertainment business; Home country bias re-evaluated; the long case for Dart Group PLC (LON:DTG) (OTCMKTS:DRTGF); The DHS is relocating to an insane asylum (literally); David Einhorn is still a gold bug; Charts on the massive economic recovery; that and lots more below.
Hottest links: Stories
Herbalife Soars
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) wrapped up its earnings call this morning. The company announced strong results for Q2 and the stock has rallied close to 7 percent on the news. Nathan Vardi states ‘Bill Ackman’s Herbalife Nightmare Gets 100 Percent Worse’ [Nathan Vardi, Forbes]
Dan Loeb ups pressure on Sony
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758)’s entertainment division? Well if your Dan Loeb the answer might be a redheaded step child. See Dan Loeb’s Q2 letter here. [Tabinda Hussain, Value Walk]
A Dozen Things About Investing
A Dozen Things About Investing I’ve Learned from George Soros. Another great list here, although its highly unlikely one can match the skills and timing of Soros its always worth a read. [Tren Griffin, 25iq] Also check out George Soros’ book, The Alchemy of Finance.
Dart takes off
Dart Group PLC (LON:DTG) (OTCMKTS:DRTGF): A look at the long case for this growing London based value stock. Even after a 357 percent return there could be more room for this stock to go. [Richard Beddard, III]
Developed versus Emerging Markets
Default spreads in sovereigns and differences in CDS spreads are known to all investors, the question of whether equity markets price in differences in equity risk premiums is debatable argues the famous professor from NYU. [Aswath Damodaran]
What happened BloombergBlack?
Bloomberg made a (very) brief venture into the online wealth management business, called BloombergBlack and suddenly dropped the project before it even began. Davis has an interesting explanation for why Bloomberg pulled back, which might lead to the question of what were they thinking originally. [Davis Janowski, Investment News]
Unitek Global Services
The long case for UniTek Global Services Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTK). The company is a contractor with two business lines: (1) it installs and maintains home satellite and cable connections on behalf of two of the giant players in the industry; DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). [Red, Quinzedix]
Suit on Fannie and Freddie May Spell Trouble for U.S.
The lawsuit brought by the hedge fund Perry Capital against the federal government over the Fannie Mae – Federal National Mortgage Association (OTCBB:FNMA) and Freddie Mac – Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (OTCBB:FMCC) bailout could bring more scrutinity to future Government bailouts. [Steven M. Davidoff and David Zaring, NYTimes]
Gabelli, Samberg Pledge $40 Million
Arthur Samberg, the founder of Pequot Capital Management Inc., and Mario Gabelli, chairman of Gamco Investors Inc. (NYSE:GBL), have pledged a total of $40 million to Columbia Business School in an effort to fund a new campus. The Business school is famed, especially amongst value investors for its special program on that topic. [Oliver Staley, Bloomberg]
Japanese Hyperinflation?
Michael Casey from the Wall Street Journal wrote a recent piece on why Japan will experience hyperinflation Cullen debunks the Kyle Bass Japan will default and collapse etc etc. thesis here again. [Cullen Roche, Pragcap]
Wizard of Omaha
Warren Buffett is auctioning off a tour of See’s Candies, and the bid is currently at $40,000. We forgot to mention that Buffett will be providing the tour. All proceeds will go to charity, check it out here. [Warren Buffett, Charitybuzz]
Trading vs. Investing
Investors spend too much time worrying about volatility. We are talking about long term investors not traders here, and we should be more cognizant of how we do spend our time. Hint watching the VIX is not the best way to spend your day. [Josh Brown, Abnormal Returns]
Home Country Bias
The methods of measuring Home country bias studies are flawed, here is a new formula for how a pension fund in the US might approach investing abroad to a pension fund in Luxembourg [Helena Kleinert, Ai-CIO]
Brazil Fast Food Update
In this article Jason Rivers revalues Brazil Fast Food Corp. (OTCMKTS:BOBS), analyze its float since I was not doing that when I wrote the original article, talk about its continued improvement in profitability and other metrics,and talk about the catalysts that are still in place to help unlock the value of the company. [Jason Rivera, Value Investing Journey]
Superhero Inflation
A few fun infographics from Mashable/Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930). How much inflation is there? Dont look at shadow stats look at superman. [Bob, Mebane Faber]
21 Charts That Show The Economy Has Dramatically Improved
The economy has dramatically improved. These 21 charts demonstrate the growth in many areas of the US economy. [Mathew Boesler, Business Insider]
David Einhorn on Gold
Even though David Einhorn cut back his stake in gold during the second quarter, he confirmed today that he infact is still a gold bug and thinks the precious metal is a good holding amid global uncertainty. [Jacob Wolinsky, Value Walk].
Not the Onion
Meet The “Mental Asylum”
It’s the largest construction project in DC since the Pentagon was completed in 1943 and won’t be completed until 2026, but one of the most important offices in the US will be located in an insane asylum (perhaps its fitting?). [Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge]
