Hottest links for August 1st, 2013 the afternoon edition (see Wednesday’s edition of hottest links here). Top stories for today include; Paul Singer on every topic in the world; UK hedge funds are confused; More Ackman, Soros, Icahn etc. drama involving J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF); NY Pension funds could face more regulations; the history of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) involving the euphoria and valuation of the social media website; various asset allocation strategies backtested to 1970s; Great notes on a recent speech by value investor Mohnish Pabrai at Columbia Business School; Which is better Linkedin Corp (NYSE:LNKD) or Twitter? If your in VC you might be surprised by a recent survey; that and more below.
Hottest Links: Stories
Paul Singer Elliott Management Q2 Commentary
Check out our story on Paul Singer and what he had to say in his 22-page letter letter to shareholders. Also ZeroHedge has some additional coverage on the topic (besides Argentina). [Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge]
Regulator Has NY Pensions in its Sights
New York public pensions could face pages of new regulation as the state’s financial regulator has announced he wants better accountability and transparency. Does that mean we can say good bye to 8 percent annual returns? Fear not, the situation is not that bad yet. [Elizabeth Pfeuti, AI CIO]
Reaching Back In Time
Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) has found its man to helm its upcoming magazine spinoff, naming former executive Joseph Ripp as CEO of Time Inc. Check out more from the spinoff expert, an area Joel Greenblatt has said is rich with value. [Spin Doctor, Stock Spinoffs] Also see You Can Be a Stock Market Genius, which I always note despite the cheesy title is probably the best book on value investing ever written.
Hedge fund managers troubled
The wave of regulations that have washed over the financial services industry since the great crisis have left many participant dazed and confused. [Sarfarz Thind, Institutional Investor] Speaking of which, we are surprised UK hedge funds get so little attention in the US financial media, but check out how Crispin Odey is crushing it again this year with returns.
VCs Favor LinkedIn Over Twitter
Twitter is often the toast of social networking for its broad reach, but LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) plays perhaps a bigger role among venture capitalists, a new study has found. No word yet on which service has more trolls and creepy types endorsing you for skills you do not have. [Mboslet, PE Hub]
Facebook Euphoria
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) history. A great piece on the history of the euphoria and valuation behind the world’s most famous social media networking website. [Aswath Damodaran]
Asset Allocation Strategies
Meb Faber does it again. Check out his new research about asset allocation using various methods from Rob Arnott, David Swensen, and how they would have performed going back to the 1970s. [Mebane Faber] Also see his book Shareholder Yield: A Better Approach to Dividend Investing.
Is Turkey Heading For Another Missed Target?
Turkey’s central bank has a reliable record on inflation: it consistently misses targets. Turkey was the second fastest growing economy after China in 2011. But the country could now be headed for a recession. [Yeliz Candemir and Emre Peker, WSJ]
Mohnish Pabrai lecture
Mohnish Pabrai gave a recent speech at Columbia University and John Huber has some great notes on the speech and what he learnt from Mohnish. [John Huber, Base Hit Investing] If you have not checked it make sure to read Mohnish book, Shareholder Yield: A Better Approach to Dividend Investing.
Ackman Soros Spat
Bill Ackman has contacted the SEC over the recent investment by George Soros in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF). Bill Ackman believes there could be grounds for a lawsuit involving a short squeeze attempt by longs. See more on the topic here. [Michelle Celarier NYPost]
J.C. Penney Cit group
Yesterday, was not a fun day for Bill Ackman. Shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) plunged yesterday after James Covert of the NY Post reported that CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) would be cutting off the retailers credit line. [James Covert, NY Post] However, the retailer is denying that story today.
Not The Onion
NSA is collecting ‘nearly everything’ about you
Get your tin foil hats ready for this one. A top secret NSA program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by the now famous whistleblower, Edward Snowden. [Glenn Greenwald,The Guardian]
