Hottest links for Wednesday November 13th, 2013 the very very late edition (see Tuesday’s edition of hottest links). Get our free daily newsletter (which HAS BEEN RECENTLY UPDATED) and never miss a single linkfest. Also…. soon if you sign up you will get a free copy of our new e-book on value investing. Stay tuned for the news.
Top stories for today are included below. Lots of good stories no time for our little index today, but make sure to check out the latest Chuck Norris news (no its not a joke); And see our article which moved NQ Mobile down 10% today (no position); Top stories can be found below.
Hottest Links: Stories
Value Investing
Case Studies: Daily Journal and GVC Holdings
Daily Journal Corporation (NASDAQ:DJCO)’s stock price rose thanks to steady operating cash flows, gains in the company’s stock portfolio as well as higher market awareness. GVC Holdings PLC (LON:GVC) has paid out significant cash dividends – often equal to 20% of market capitalization – despite frequent (and profitable) acquisitions funded through a healthy mix of share issuance, operating cash flows and leverage. [Robert Leitz, BeyondProxy]
Emerging Manager Interview Series: Talamod Asset Management
I met Andersen Fisher of Tålamod Asset Management when I was working on a distressed equity that turned out to be a monster win as well as a number of names in the coals / materials space. Andersen has always provided a great sounding board on names and is very thoughtful in thinking about value and distressed investing with a more holistic view which can be seen from the interview below. [Hunter, Distressed Debt Investing]
Funds
ETF Deathwatch for November 2013: 1 in 5 Don’t Survive
This is the lowest quantity since March 2012 and represents a decline of more than 21% from the September 2012 peak of 403. The number of lifetime closures now totals 369, or 19.5% of the 1,894 total product launches. The 15 closures occurring in October were all on ETF Deathwatch, so the list has been doing its job of warning investors. [Ron Rowland, Invest With An Edge]
Balyasny Eyes European Expansion
Balyasny Asset Management, the $3.7 billion Chicago-based hedge fund manager, has Europe in its sights. [FINalternatives]. Also see Balyasny Will Reopen Funds, Set To Gain From SAC’s “Losses”
John Burbank Buys More Internet Companies In Third Quarter
Passport Capital recently disclosed a 11.8% stake in 58.com Inc (NYSE:WUBA), a Chinese classified ads site. As we noted earlier, Burbank has recorded major gains in Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd (NYSE:QIHU) so far, stock is up close to 200% YTD. [Tabinda Hussain, ValueWalk]
Toro vs. Muddy Waters: Those In Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones
Toro decried Muddy Waters’ short of NQ Mobile Inc (NYSE:NQ) and complaint that the company is a fraud. The firm also took shots at Muddy Waters’ track record, suggesting that to them, “the obvious trade appears to be getting long after a MW hit job.” [Michelle Jones, ValueWalk] Related; A quick look into Toro Investment Partners, the company that revealed this morning that it had taken a 5% stake in embattled mobile services company NQ Mobile Inc (NYSE:NQ), offers some interesting information. [Paul Shea, ValueWalk]
Now ETF Firms Are Proposing Funds On Assets That Don’t Yet Exist
State Street Global Advisors, the second largest ETF issuer in the U.S. by assets, has put in registration a fixed-income ETF that would serve up access to floating-rate Treasurys—a brand new security that doesn’t come to market until January of 2014. [Cinthia Murphy, IndexUniverse]
Puerto Rico Distress Spells Wall Street Opportunity
Puerto Rico debt is having its worst year since 1999 as a shrinking economy strains the island’s finances. In the last month, bankers at Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) made private presentations to investors in New York, according to people who attended the meetings. Lazard Capital Markets LLC said it hosted a similar event. [Mary Childs and Michelle Kaske, Bloomberg]
Everything You Need to Know About Stock Market Crashes
We’ll talk about how the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) behaved during these crashes as it is our oldest index; there was no such thing as the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) until 1957 and the NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) didn’t come along until later. [Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker]
Misc
Laid Off SAC Capital Employees May Find New Home
Besides Moore, SAC employees have had talks about potential jobs with people at Millennium Management, BlueCrest Capital Management and Balyasny Asset Management, according to people close to discussions with those firms. [Bess Levin, DealBreaker]
S.E.C. Tries New Tack in Hedge Fund Fraud Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission has for the first time employed a new tool to encourage individuals involved in fraud investigations to cooperate by deferring their prosecution. [Alexandra Stevenson, DealBook]
Larry Robbins: Hedge Fund Manager Of The Year
Unless something dramatic happens in the next six weeks, Larry Robbins’ Obamacare stock bet will probably make him one of the top-performing hedge fund managers of 2013. [Nathan Vardi, Forbes]
Hottest Links: Not The Onion
Putin trumps Chuck Norris
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been awarded the highest rank in taekwondo, it is reported. The Russian president has now eclipsed the likes of martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, who is reported to have an eighth-degree black belt in taekwondo. [BBC News]
