Hottest links for Friday, March 14th, 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. We’ve got tension in Ukraine, psychopaths on Well Street, and frat boys breaking into SeaWorld to kick off what promises to be a fairly exciting weekend, one way or another.
Hottest Links: Stories
Value Investing
Dark Passenger
In Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work, Canadian psychologist Robert R. Hare blames psychopaths for the brutal excesses of capitalism, as they often flourish in fast-paced, changing industries with widespread uncertainty. [The View From The Blue Ridge]
Benjamin Graham’s 10 Rules for Stock Selection
A lesser known checklist from Ben Graham, profiled in a 1970s Forbes article: An earnings-to-price yield at least twice the AAA bond rate. [Under The Rock Stocks]
Funds
Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Market Is 1/6 The Size It Was in 2007
At the peak of the of shadow banking system in 2007 total asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) outstanding was over $1.2 trillion (or 8.3% of GDP). Today, ABCP outstanding is about $233 billion (or 1.4% of GDP) and still declining. [GaveCal Capital]
ETF Stats for February 2014 – Actively Managed ETFs Gaining Share
February had only 19 trading days, so it was not surprising to see trading activity diminish. Total monthly dollar volume dropped 2.3% to $1.4 trillion. The number of products averaging more than $1 billion in trading per day increased from eight to ten and grabbed 55.7% of all the action. [Ron Rowland, Invest With An Edge]
| February 2014 Month End | ETFs | ETNs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currently Listed U.S. | 1,366 | 202 | 1,568 |
| Listed as of 12/31/2013 | 1,332 | 204 | 1,536 |
| New Introductions for Month | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Delistings/Closures for Month | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Net Change for Month | +11 | 0 | +11 |
| New Introductions 6 Months | 92 | 7 | 99 |
| New Introductions YTD | 40 | 0 | 40 |
| Delistings/Closures YTD | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Net Change YTD | +34 | -2 | +32 |
| Actively-Managed Listings | 85 (+6) | n/a | 85 (+6) |
| Assets Under Mgmt ($ billion) | $1,704 | $24.7 | $1,729 |
| % Change in Assets for Month | +4.9% | +5.7% | +4.9% |
| Qty AUM > $10 Billion | 39 | 0 | 39 |
| Qty AUM > $1 Billion | 219 | 7 | 226 |
| Qty AUM > $100 Million | 683 | 33 | 716 |
| % with AUM > $100 Million | 50.0% | 16.3% | 45.7% |
| Monthly $ Volume ($ billion) | $1,369 | $54.4 | $1,423 |
| % Change in Monthly $ Volume | -2.7% | +9.9% | -2.3% |
| Avg Daily $ Volume > $1 Billion | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| Avg Daily $ Volume > $100 Million | 84 | 3 | 87 |
| Avg Daily $ Volume > $10 Million | 287 | 10 | 297 |
4 Capex Fallacies As Seen On CNBC
The excerpt is from a 1981 BBC documentary about Richard Feynman that was linked in a Zero Hedge post several years ago. Unfortunately, Feynman passed away in 1988 and never had the chance to watch the “experts” on financial television. [Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge]
Why bank preference shares could pop
One of the unusual opportunities thrown up by the financial crisis were the stricken preference shares of certain High Street banks. These once solid income-paying securities – or their descendants – from Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LYG) (LON:LLOY) and Natwest were hit for six in the turmoil. [The Investor, Monevator]
Greenberg: What to Expect from Herbalife Probe
A hard reset of the business models of multi-level marketers is possible. So much for those who laughingly insisted the FTC would never launch an investigation into Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF). [Herb Greenberg, Herb on TheStreet]
Should Probe at 200%-Lender, World Acceptance, Be a Surprise?
The body slam of World Acceptance Corp. (NASDAQ:WRLD)’s shares, after it disclosed that it is being investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, shows how some stocks are elevated from here to kingdom come on air and (at the first sign of trouble) weak-kneed investors. [Herb Greenberg, Herb on TheStreet]
Why did the stock market sell off today?
Wall Street Journal: Tensions in Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula, Yahoo Finance: Russians, Fox Business: Obamacare [Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker]
Hottest Links: Not The Onion
Frat Bros Arrested After Breaking Into Sea World to Steal Ice Cream, Take Selfies with Shamu
Five Texan frat bros broke into San Antonio’s SeaWorld early Thursday morning not to free Willy, but rather to take after hours selfies with Shamu. [Laura Stampler, Time]
