Tag Archives: Competition and Strategy

Rumors Drive the Market Upward Again

As I have written before, any news rumor is good news for the market; the aftershock of disappointment is likely to be much more pronounced. From a Dow Jones Newsire report published online at 5:17pm today: On Tuesday, the market … Continue reading

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Many Well Known Hedge Funds are Having Bad Years

Where’s the hedging?… With data flowing in now, it is apparent that a large number of hedge funds are in the red this year and several dozen are down by double-digit rates. They include many well-known names that run billions … Continue reading

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Andy Kessler on the Source of Real Contributions to Society

Anyone who has studied Austrian School economics–Böhm-Bawerk, Hayek, von Mises, etc.–will not be surprised by Andy Kessler’s comments on the source of real social progress: Virtually all of it comes from our entrepreneurs who invent and create the goods and … Continue reading

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Excellent George Will Column on the Hyperactive Regulatory Environment

I found out last week that in my industry, the new Dodd-Frank law says that if I decide to manage investments in separately managed accounts (SMA) for my investors in addition to the private investment fund that I currently manage, it will trigger … Continue reading

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Another Great One by James Montier

Read the whole thing: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/77f0077c-c35a-11e0-9109-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1YtylE6lL “…there is a simple, although not easy…alternative (to  benchmark-focused investing)…use a value approach across a wide range of assets. Buy when an asset is cheap, and sell when an asset gets expensive – buy low and … Continue reading

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The Investing World’s Reaction to Buffett’s Hiring of Richard “Ted” Weschler

I am surprised at the reaction among investors and the media over Buffett’s selection of Ted Weschler as one of his portfolio management successors, but I suppose I should be used to it by now. The general reaction has been: … Continue reading

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Market Valuation, Deus Ex Machina, and Volatility

We have written several times to say that the market in general is overvalued based on earnings (the CAPE) and book value (Tobin’s Q). Even after the recent selloff, the market is still well above long-term averages. However, astute market … Continue reading

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Prem Watsa, CFA

I used to own Fairfax Financial, which smartly shorted financial stocks and bonds–to the tune of several billion dollars–before they blew up. Here is an enjoyable interview of its CEO–Prem Watsa, CFA–who is a value investor who is sometimes referred … Continue reading

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Whitney Tilson Had a Bad Month and is Having a Bad Year

I am somewhat surprised by this because I thought he was less than 50% net long. (Correction: Tilson made changes to the fund in August which resulted in the fund being 70% net long).  Covering his NFLX short may have hurt … Continue reading

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Frank Stonach Meets John Galt

It is rare to hear the Chairman of the Board of a public company publicly trash government bureaucrats, especially one from a car part manufacturing company, which is heavily dependent on government regulatory approvals. But, here is Frank Stonach, Chairman of Magna, an … Continue reading

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