Hottest links for Saturday and Sunday November 16th – 17th, 2013 the weekend edition (see Friday’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 stories today, a new value piece from the famous Geoff Gannon; Here is one point which everyone is missing in the debate over the new tech bubble; Buffett explained; Geithner heads into Private Equity despite his lack of credentials in intelligence or military; All that and much more below.
Hottest Links:Stories
Value Investing
Geoff’s Avid Hog Watchlist: Catering International & Services
A few things appealed to me immediately about Catering International & Services SA (EPA:CTRG). The business sounded both mundane (catering) and niche (extreme conditions). It’s a business support services provider. Gross profitability was adequate. [Geoff Gannon, Gannon and Hoang on Investing]
An Introduction to the Balance Sheet: Non-Current Liabilities
This article is the fifth lesson in the ModernGraham Academy beginner’s course, An Introduction the the Balance Sheet. The ModernGraham Academy is a place to learn about the basics of investing, with an emphasis on the ModernGraham approach. [Benjamin Clark, ModernGraham]
Why Go Buffett?
The market’s greatest spokesman, and one of the world’s richest men doesn’t help, Warren Buffett’s folksy explanations of value investing are simple, but I feel miss the point. [Nate Tobik, Oddball Stocks]
Our Investment Case for Axia NetMedia
Axia NetMedia Corporation (TSE:AXX)’s flagship asset is a contract to manage the Alberta SuperNet, a fiber optic network launched in 2005. The contract is generating approximately 70% of the company’s EBITDA, and the market has long been concerned about a non-renewal. [Vanshap Capital, BeyondProxy]
Funds
Barron’s Gets the Bubble Meme Exactly Right
Today’s Tech and IPO bubbles are symptoms of the economic improvement this time around – people feeling good about the future – but they are not the drivers of it. [Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker]
The Best Bets in a Dangerous Global Market
Lucky sevens? Not so fast. Asset manager GMO’s seven-year forecast doesn’t show investors having much luck over that span, much less big returns. [Lawrence C. Strauss, Barron’s]
Geithner Heads to Private Equity
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, one of the architects of the federal government’s rescue of the financial system, is joining private-equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC. [Ryan Dezember, The Wall Street Journal]
Hedge funds
Hedge funds get ‘too cosy’ with prime brokers. [Ellen Kelleher, FT]
Misc
Ballmer on Ballmer: His Exit From Microsoft
Steve Ballmer paced his corner office on a foggy January morning here, listening through loudspeakers to his directors’ voices on a call that would set in motion the end of his 13-year reign as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s chief executive. [Monica Langley, The Wall Street Journal]
The Financial-Media Rollup Strategy
Now, with today’s news that Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) (ETR:DBK) has been hired to sell Forbes Media, it looks as though the opportunity to create just such a company has arrived. Throw in a bit of extra cash to bring it all together, then, and for say $700 million — significantly less than it would cost you to buy the FT on its own — you could buy Forbes and Business Insider and TheStreet, and probably Seeking Alpha as the cherry on top. At that point, you have the makings of a real digital powerhouse. [Felix Salmon, Reuters]
“A Form Of Delusion”
SnapChat is “worth” more than $3 billion. If by worth you mean what some other person is willing to pay for it, then yes, sure. But if by worth you’re referring to the amount of value that might someday be derived from it, well then keep smoking crack. [Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker]
Hottest Links: Not The Onion
Man pretends to be a police officer to get free donuts
A Florida man actually used a fake police badge and a gun to get free donuts. This makes complete sense, right? [Patrick O’Rourke, Canada.com] [drizzle][/drizzle]