Hottest Links: Sell-Side Penguins, Golden Bets, And Ego Trips

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Hottest links for Wednesday, February 19th, the late edition. Get our free daily newsletter and never miss a single linkfest. Also, now if you sign up you will get our new e-book on value investing.

Top stories for today are included below.  Taking the edge off your mid-week blues, we’ve got some great stories, including super-duper brilliant beta, Ralph Nader learning to love Fannie and Freddie, and man who tried to feed himself to tigers only to be rebuffed by the tigers themselves.

Hottest Links: Stories

Value investing

A Better Way to Buy the Russell 2000

The study reported here examined the long-term impact of Russell 2000 (INDEXRUSSELL:RUT) rebalancing on portfolio evaluation. A buy-and-hold index portfolio outperformed the annually rebalanced index in the 1979-2004 period by an average of 2.22 percent over one year and 17.29 percent over five years. [Wesley R. Gray, Turnkey Analyst]

Comcast bids for Time Warner Cable: Synergy, Reverse Synergy or Ego Trip?

In perhaps a test of my cynicism about the M&A process, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last week announced that it was making an offer to buy the equity in Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) for $45.2 billion. [Aswath Damodaran, Musings on Markets]

Canadian Stocks: Investing without resources II

As of Feb 2014, Glentel Inc. (TSE:GLN) (OTCMKTS:GLNIF) declined 20%, Exchange Income Corporation (TSE:EIF) was flat and AutoCanada Inc. (TSE:ACQ) (OTCMKTS:AOCIF) increased 580%. Therefore, an equally weighted portfolio would have returned 187% versus the broader TSX which returned 23%. [Marr3060, Reddit]

Terra Energy as a bet on gas

I remember back in 2009 when I had a broker recommend Terra Energy Corp (TSE:TT) (OTCMKTS:TTRHF) to me.  He thought it was a great play on an improving economy and what was known to be infinite demand for natural gas. [Lsigurd, Reminiscences of a Stockblogger]

Hottest links

Funds

How Ralph Nader learned to love Fannie and Freddie

“Fannie Mae / Federal National Mortgage Association (OTCBB:FNMA) and Freddie Mac / Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (OTCBB:FMCC) should be relisted on the NYSE and their conservatorships should, over time, be terminated. –Ralph Nader, letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, May 23, 2013 [Bethany McLean, Reuters]

Bill Gross Will Give You Three Reasons Why Pimco Is Better Off Without Ole Whatshisface

Reason Number One the abrupt departure of Pimco Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian will not only not hurt the firm but will in fact help it: the old structure of having one chief investment officer sucked. The new structure of having six deputy chief investment officers rocks. [Bess Levin, DealBreaker]

eBay CEO talks Icahn with other tech CEOs

Carl Icahn wants eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) to spin off its PayPal subsidiary, arguing last month that separate management would improve the growth for both businesses. [Dan Primack, Term Sheet] Related: On how eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) and PayPal can be most successful, Donahoe said: “I continue to believe the best way is together, that eBay makes PayPal stronger. [ValueWalk]

A Golden Bet: Gold Mining Equities versus Gold

If there is a “long-run equilibrium” price relationship between gold and gold mining equities, then the price of gold “suggests” that in the short-run the price of gold mining equities could rise 100%. [Claude B. Erb, SSRN]

It’s Time for Super-Duper Brilliant Beta!

What is Super-Duper Brilliant Beta? I have no idea. It doesn’t exist. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want it to exist – and Wall Street knows it. Our quest for a perfect investment strategy gets the creative marketing minds in the industry flowing. [Rick Ferri]

Sell-Side Penguin Of The Day Award Goes To…

Morgan Stanley’s “research analyst” David Risinger, who today, February 18, 2014, a day after the WSJ broke the news yesterday around 10:30 pm that Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX) would be acquired by Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) for $25 billion. [Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge]

Hottest Links: Not The Onion

Depressed Man Tries to Feed Himself to Tigers, Gets Rejected

Entering the tiger enclosure at the Chengdu Zoo in China’s southwest Sichuan province, a man made vigorous, but unsuccessful, attempts to entice the animals to eat him, a Chinese newspaper reported on Tuesday. [Time NewsFeed]

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