Hottest links for Monday November 11th, 2013 the weekend edition (see weekend’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 great links today! Great article on some money managers who cannot wait for 2014 begin (no it is not talking about me); A Great in-depth article on the long case for NQ Mobile Inc (NYSE:NQ); An investor reflects on lessons learned from J.C. Penney; Activism is taking off according to a new report from The FT; That and much more in today’s hottest links.
Hottest Links: Stories
Books
Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
In Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect, neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman, sets out to “get clear about ‘who we are’ as social creatures and to reveal how a more accurate understanding of our social nature can improve our lives and our society.” [Shane Parrish, Farnam Street]
Value Investing
A Dozen Things I’ve Learned from Jeremy Grantham
Only 2-5% of investors have the qualities that Grantham describes. “Many are called” to investing but few are genuinely capable of achieving success, especially emotionally. [Tren Griffin, 25iq]
One Answer to the Index Fund: Build a Better Index
Paul A. Samuelson made a startling and significant case for index funds in 1974. In a deliberately provocative essay, Mr. Samuelson, who had already won the Nobel in economic science and written the most influential economics textbook in history, said most professional investment managers should “drop dead.” [Jeff Sommer, DealBook]
Howard Marks’ Book: Chapter 15
Continuation of portfolio management highlights from Howard Marks’ book, The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, Chapter 15 “The Most Important Thing Is…Having a Sense for Where We Stand.” [PMJar]
Funds
European Stocks As The Last Refuge For Bulls
Consider this chart of the relative performance of the Russell 2000 small cap stocks against the large cap S&P 500 INDEX (INDEXCBOE:SPX). Small caps violated a relative uptrend line and started to roll over, indicating that the bears are gaining the upper hand. [Cam Hui, Humble Student]
Fortress’s Novogratz Says Bitcoin Is In ‘Inning 3 of a 9 Inning Game’
Michael Novogratz, principal and director of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG), says bitcoin is just heating up. He made headlines after praising the virtual currency at a conference in late October, adding that he had bought bitcoins a few months before, according to reports. [Saumya Vaishampayan, Market Watch]
Money Manager Titans Who Can’t Wait Until 2014
Bill Gross, who many like to consider the King of Bonds, lost one of his prized titles last week when his PIMCO Total Return Fund was stripped of its status as the world’s largest mutual fund because of lagging performance and a swamp of investor redemptions. [Jennifer Ablan, Reuters]
PwC To Acquire Booz
PwC and global strategic consulting Booz & Company have signed a conditional merger agreement. Announced on October 30, 2013, the proposed transaction depends on approval by Booz & Company partners, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and tying up any last minute details that may arise. [Francine McKenna, re: The Auditors]
The Muddy Waters NQ Mobile Report Card
As we head into the third quarter earnings release for NQ Mobile Inc (ADR) (NYSE:NQ) on Tuesday, 11/12/13, we wanted to take a brief break from our due diligence in China to remind investors of where things stand with the allegations that Muddy Waters issued about NQ two weeks ago. [Toro Investment Partners, Seeking Alpha]
Misc
Separating the Market-Moving Tweets From the Chaff
That effort, a partnership with a start-up called Social Market Analytics, is among several social data projects making inroads in an industry that has kept Twitter and Facebook at arm’s length. Faced with strict compliance requirements, employees of firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are blocked from accessing these sites on work computers, though many discreetly check Twitter on their smartphones. [William Alden, DealBook]
What I Learned From The J.C. Penney Fiasco
In December 2012, I sang praises to J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)’s stock. This summary my firm sold it at a loss. In this article I would like to put salt in the open wound and talk about what I learned from the J.C. Penney fiasco. [Vitaliy Katsenelson, Institutional Investor]
Shareholder Campaigns Double in Three Years
The number of activist campaigns waged against companies by their shareholders… [Sam Jones, FT]
Rules Force Banks to Innovate for Survival
Bankers complain that the government’s overhaul of the banking system has saddled the industry with a heap of new rules, stricter regulators and higher costs of doing business. Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), one of the nation’s top-performing banks, managed to achieve 1.53 percent in its latest quarter. [Peter Eavis, DealBook]
Hottest Links: Not The Onion
Batman Suparman Jailed
A 23-year-old man, Batman Suparman, was today (Nov 11) jailed two years and nine months for multiple theft and housebreaking offences. Batman admitted to six counts of theft, two counts related to house trespass, one for housebreaking and one for drug consumption between June and August this year. [The Real Singapore]
