Hottest Links edition for July 28th 2013 (see Tuesday’s hottest links here). Among the featured articles over the past few days; David Einhorn is not only a great investor, he is a great human being; Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) could be headed to the moon and this somehow involves a 15 minute cooking video; Ben Bernanke not going to Bridgewater Associates anytime soon; Mauboussin on moats; Viking Global Q2 letters is out; the auditing industry just pushed the House to make some changes which could make financial statements even less reliable; Mike Mayo discusses how to read financial statements from large banks; and more!
Hottest Links: Feature Story
David Einhorn is a classy guy. While Einhorn has been very vocal about some of his shorts, he did not disclose one of his most profitable shorts until this past Friday, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Einhorn was at the Ira Sohn Conference when Bill Ackman pitched J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and did not say a word about his short, even though he could have made money on news he thought the stock could become worthless. Compare that to say…. Carl Icahn and Dan Loeb…. [ValueWalk]
Viking Global Q2 letter
MarketFolly has gotten a hold of the second quarter letter from Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global. Andreas explains why he thinks Valero has advantages over competitors and why it has more upside. Additionally, the hedge fund manager discusses some other recent buys by the firm. [MarketFolly]
John Hempton on Herbalife (redux)
John Hempton is back again on why he thinks Bill Ackman is totally wrong about his Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) short. He even has a 15 minute cooking video on the latest article, which somehow ties in with how Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF). Hempton has been defending the MLM company in a recent series of posts. [John Hempton, Bronte Capital]
Ben Bernanke: GDP forecasts
When Ben Bernanke leaves his post as the Fed Chairman he likely will not be finding a job at a macro hedge fund. The Fed chairman has not been great at forecasting GDP to say the least. Check out some new data on how the Fed forecasted future GDP under Ben Bernanke and compare it to the growth rate. [Wesley R. Gray, Turnkey Analyst]
361 Capital Weekly Research Briefing
361 Capital portfolio manager, Blaine Rollins, CFA, previously manager of the Janus Fund, writes a weekly commentary on The Reformed Broker. The analysts is always superb. This past week, Rollins discussed the ‘Great Rotation’, QE, small caps and more. Check it out… [Blaine Rollins, CFA, The Reformed Broker]
The audit industry’s fantastical thinking
While you were focused on earnings from Facebook and Apple, the House passed a bill which could make auditors even worse at their job (I guess that is possible). Companies will no longer be forced to switch auditors every 10 years, read more on that topic and other accounting issues. [Eleanor Bloxham, CNN Money]
An Hour with Mike Mayo
Mike Mayo the least favorite sell side analyst among bank CEOs sits down with the CFA institute to discuss. In the interview Mike Mayo discusses the difficulties investors encounter when trying to understand complex SEC filings from large financial institutions. He gives some tips for investors on how to go about the process of analyzing large financial institutions. [William Ortel, CFA Institute]
Moats
Michael Mauboussin and Dan Callahan, CFA are out with a new report on moats. Specifically, the report delves into what is a moat? how can or do companies sustain them, the difference of moats from the perspective of investors and company management, and a whole lot more [CSinvesting]
Fight breaks out at Chuck E. Cheese birthday party
Two women are pressing charges after a children’s party broke out into a birthday brawl at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Commack, Long Island. [N.J. Burkett, ABC Local]
