Hottest links for Friday August 16th, 2013 (see Thursday’s edition of hottest links here). Top stories for today include; A case from someone who knows the company quite well for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) to go private; Main Stream media is freaking out over Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s purchase of The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO), CNN is calling for Jeff Bezos ‘to state his politics; A little bit on accounting in China where it is BAAP not GAAP; Why hate on the hedge fund clones? They are killing it this year, while hedge funds continue to under-perform; Twitter is going to have an IPO, but can anyone say Dutch auction? Bloomberg has its new rankings of the best analysts, but how much attention should you pay to their study? A look at their rankings from 2008; Why your home IS an investment and an asset; A Princess is arrested in relation to a cock fighting match. That and much more on this Friday edition of hottest links.
NOTE: We hope to have a Sunday edition but will be off from hottest links for all or part of next week.
Hottest Links: Stories
Should Berkshire Hathaway Go Private?
Should Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) consider going private instead? The man who asks this is not crazy but rather he is the author of a very famous book on the company called, The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America. [Larry Cunningham, BeyondProxy]
It’s time for Bezos to disclose his politics
No matter what Jeff Bezos says now, once his purchase of the Post closes, he’s almost certain to begin imposing his standards and beliefs in its pages. [Allan Sloan, CNN]
The Fed Is Running Out Of Excuses To Maintain QE
The retail sales measure from the Commerce Department survey came in below expectations today with 0.2% month-over-month change vs. 0.3% expected. [Walter Kurtz, Prag Cap]
China SOE Accounting — BAAP Not GAAP Applies
If the last two years of crisis in investing in Chinese companies proves anything, it’s that any Chinese company that pays more tax than it should. [China First Capital]
Hedge Fund 13F Filings: Your Two Minute Wrap-Up
We provide a short round up of what all the big money is doing based on 13F data from Trian, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B), Greenlight Capital, Third Point, Pershing Square, Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) and Fairholme. [Value Walk] But why bother with 13Fs just check out the clones? Global X Funds (NYSEARCA:GURU) and other clone ETFs beating the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) solidly this year, and they are absolutely murdering hedge-fund returns. [Brendan Conway, Barrons]
Why a Twitter I.P.O. Should Go Dutch
Instead of a typical share sale, the Internet search giant catered to individual investors with what’s known as a modified Dutch auction. [Jeffrey Goldfarb, Deal Book]
Why Your House Is An Investment, And An Asset, Too
Your house is an asset and an investment. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise, and here is the reason why this is the case. [The Investor, Monevator]
Yorkville ETF Expense Ratios at 6.34% and 6.86%
The Exchange Traded Concepts Trust (NYSEARCA:YMLP) became the second C-corporation ETF with its March 2012 launch, and the Yorkville High Income Infrastructure MLP (NYSEARCA:YMLI) joined the menu in February 2013. [Ron Rowland, Invest With An Edge]
Bonds Still Deserve a Place in the Portfolio
The rise in interest rates over the past few months has led some observers to pronounce an end to a long bull market in bonds. [Greg Fisher, CFA Institute]
The Case for Active Management
Everyone is attacking active management these days, but here is the case for doing so from a famous value firm which has an incredible track record. [Royce Funds]
On Twitter, stock talk is ‘buyer beware’
You want to buy Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock because of a tweet by Carl Icahn?! Get real says StockTwits CEO Howard Lindzon [AbnormalReturns]
QTD and YTD Country Stock Market Performance
Long Argentina, short Chile has been the trade of the year. What you say long Argentina with their psycho leader? Yes, she might be crazy but with a PE of about 4, your bound to win eventually. Remember 2012 when Venezuela was up a few hundred percent? [Bespoke]
Market Valuation and Asset Allocation Decisions
How much if at all should market valuations impact investor asset allocation decisions. A look at some data on peak to peak earnings. [Rick Ferri]
The Best Analysts Redux
Five years ago, shortly after starting the original “research puzzle” site, I wrote a posting about “the research performance derby.” [Tom Brakke, Research Puzzle Pieces]
Gundlach dips toe into uber-indexing
When everyone was live blogging every word Jeff Gundlach said we called peak Gundlach. Now DoubleLine Capital LP plans to launch an enhanced index fund based on CAPE, investing in the undervalued sectors of the market. [Jason Kephart, Investment news]
Not the Onion
Romanian princess arrested in Oregon cockfighting sweep
A Romanian princess and her husband are scheduled to appear in court Friday after they were arrested in an alleged cockfighting ring in Oregon. [Jake Carpenter, CNN]
