Bear (BSC) for $2 a share and now a quarter point rate cut…..tomorrow will be interseting..
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120571194513840285.html??mod=djemalertNEWS
In reviewing Whitney Tilson’s 75 page presentation of the current crisis, one page jumped out at me. They say a picture says a thousand words?
If you want to know what happened to housing and mortgages, this slide tells it all.
In reviewing Whitney Tilson’s 75 page presentation of the current crisis, one page jumped out at me. They say a picture says a thousand words?
You can download the presentation here or email me and I will send it to you.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Tilson fan,
Watching Kudlow & Company the other night and saw this..
Don Luskin and Larry have a great discussion on Bear Sterns (BSC) and the current liquidity situation.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):None
Monday’s Picks
None
Friday’s Results
Joe Terranova recommends Calpine Corp. (CPN) $17.54 Close $17.22 LOSS
Guy Adami prefers Home Depot (HD) $26.48 Close $25.75 LOSS
Karen Finerman likes Goldman Sachs (GS) $165.44 Close $156.86 LOSS
Pete Najarian thinks Genentech (DNA) $81.43 is a buy. Close $78.83 LOSS
2008 Records:
Brian Schaeffer= 0-1
Carter Worth= 0-1
Jon Najarian= 4-1
Jeff Macke= 17-13
Tim Seymore= 9-6
Guy Adami= 18-19
Pete Najarian= 17-16
Karen Finerman= 16-20-1
Joe Terrenova= 0-1
2007 Results (Since 6/21):
Guy Adami= 58-46 = 56%
Jeff Macke= 60-40 = 60%
Pete Najarian= 49-41 = 54%
Through his control of “The Lion Fund” Western Sizzlin’ (WEST) CEO Biglari disclosed that on 3/12 he acquired interest in 2.4 million shares of Steak n’ Shake (SNS)
From the SEC filing:
1. Mr. Biglari, as Chief Executive Officer of Biglari Capital Corp., the General Partner of The Lion Fund, L.P. (“Lion Fund”), may be deemed to beneficially own the securities of the Issuer beneficially owned by the Lion Fund. Mr. Biglari disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.
2. Mr. Biglari, as a member of a Section 13(d) group with respect to the securities of the Issuer with Philip L. Cooley, may be deemed to beneficially own an additional 15,300 shares of the Issuer beneficially owned by Mr. Cooley. Mr. Biglari disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares.
3. Mr. Biglari, as Chief Executive Officer of Western Acquisitions L.P. (“Western Acquisitions”), may be deemed to beneficially own the securities of the Issuer beneficially owned by Western Acquisitions. Mr. Biglari disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.
So who is Biglari and what is Western Sizzlin’?
George, over at Fat Pitch Financials has done the most extensive work on the Western Sizzlin (WEST) to date. I suggest you read his reasoning for buying it here and here.
Regarding Bilgari and Steak n’ Shake, George addresses that in his most recent post on the subject.
Biglari has done some very interesting things at Western and his action are worth a closer look. I am going to look closer at this in the future.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):None
This list get larger every week…
Cabela S Inc (CAB)-$7,654,000
Aquila Inc New (ILA)-$4,053,000
XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (XTLB)-$3,881,000
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (LGF)-$3,448,000
Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD)- $2,623,000
Stereotaxis Inc (STXS)-$2,053,000
General Electric Co (GE )-$2,042,000
Ntelos Holdings Corp (NTLS)-$1,748,000
Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR)-$1,706,000
Citadel Broadcasting Corp (CDL)-$1,690,000
New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYB)-$1,590,000
WebMD Health Corp (WBMD)- $1,524,000
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co (LJPC)-$1,168,000
M & F Worldwide Corp (MFW)-$1,157,000
PSB Holdings Inc New (PSBH)- $1,019,000
Psychiatric Solutions Inc New (PSYS)-$1,019,000
Weis Markets Inc (WMK )- $1,005,000
Silverleaf Resorts Inc (SVLF)-$1,004,000
Here are the week’s top stories at Value Investing News
Forbes rankings are still topped by Business leaders even when hedge fund managers are earning mind boggling amounts of money. This article examines why that may be the case with help from an analysis done at Financial Times
Tonight I got to see A Conversation with Charlie Munger at Caltech in Pasadena. I took some notes on the discussion below. C refers to Charlie Munger speaking, while T stands for Tom Tombrello, the interviewer. These are not their exact words.
Buffett has pulled it off again. He’s made a creative, favorable bet that may pay off handsomely for long-term Berkshire shareholders. Over the past year, Berkshire Hathaway sold put options on the S&P 500 and three foreign indices. These options have a potential profit of over $36 billion.
Read Chapter 5 of Bud Labitan’s book, The Four Filters: What I learned from the Invention of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. This short read examines the invention that Buffett and Munger created to guide their investment decisions.
Marvel Entertainment runs an attractive business, licensing it’s stable of superhero characters for use in movies, TV, video games, and general merchandise. It’s position on the Magic Formula indicates it’s attractiveness as a value play. But can the company succeed in it’s new venture as a movie studio?
“I’ve reluctantly discarded the notion of my continuing to manage the portfolio after my death,” he wrote, “abandoning my hope to give new meaning to the term ‘thinking outside the box’.”
“Volatility equates to opportunity and not risk,” said Bruce Berkowitz, one of the fund’s FAIRX three managers. “Risk is the chance for a permanent loss. This is the kind of environment that Warren Buffett has been patiently awaiting for many years.”
The news that Warren Buffett is now the world’s richest man led to the predictable round of stories about his frugal habits – the cherry Coke, the well-done steaks and the bungalow in Omaha that has been home for 50 years. There is a point here. Like Bill Gates, whom he has toppled from the top spot, Mr Buffett is primarily interested in the business rather than the wealth that results.
If Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings, woke up as Ben Bernanke, he’d quit and close up the Federal Reserve for providing ‘socialism for the rich’.
My approach to investing has fit the philosophy, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man how to fish and you feed him for life.”
Today, I’ll make an exception and outline my analysis for Ternium Steel, one of the most profitable steel companies in the world.
A review of business efficiency statistics, how to calculate them, what’s “good” or “bad”, and examples that beginners can understand.
Context
A select band of great professional investors have shown that it is possible to beat the market averages consistently over long periods. They act as an inspiration and example to less experienced investors. Their methods can also act as a starting point for beginners seeking to familiarize themselves with the basics of growth or value investment.
Contents
1. Warren Buffett
What makes See’s Candy a cash-generating machine, and commentary on last week’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.
Ever since its release, much has been written whether or not Joel Greenblatt’s “Magic Formula” works. Joel Greenblatt has consistently said that results should be measured over time and every once in a while there would be stretches where the magic formula does not work.
Joe Ponzio’s F Wall Street Blog just announced a great new feature. You can now generate company specific RSS feeds for SEC filings using the F Wall Street Blog’s RSS Feeds for EDGAR Filings generator.
Perini is a construction company and the stock has been crushed because of that. But with half the share price in cash and continued strength in key sectors like gambling and government spending, should the stock be so low?
Perini is a construction company and the stock has been crushed because of that. But with half the share price in cash and continued strength in key sectors like gambling and government spending, should the stock be so low?
EMCOR might be a boring business, but with a soaring backlog and generous cash flows it shouldn’t be trading for a single-digit earnings multiple.
Carl Icahn filed a 13D regarding his stake in Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN) today.
Icahn now may be deemed to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 3,072,103 Shares, representing approximately 6.93% of Enzon’s outstanding Shares (based upon the 44,322,923 Shares
Also,
“The Reporting Persons have entered into a number of derivative agreements, commonly known as Total Return Swaps, with counterparties, which agreements provide that the profit to the Reporting Persons shall be based upon the increase in value of the Shares and the loss to the Reporting Persons shall be based upon the decrease in the value of the Shares, during the period from inception of the applicable agreement to its termination. The agreements provide that they settle in cash. In addition to the Shares which they beneficially own as shown in Item 5 above, the Reporting Persons currently have long economic exposure to an aggregate of 3,552,897 Shares through such agreements.”
Enzon:
Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Enzon) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of medicines for patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions. The Company has a portfolio of four marketed products: Oncaspar, DepoCyt, Abelcet and Adagen. Enzon’s drug development programs utilize several approaches, including its PEGylation technology platform. The PEGylation technology was used to develop two of Enzon’s products, Oncaspar and Adagen, and has created a royalty revenue stream from licensing partnerships for other products developed using the technology. The Company is also engaged in contract manufacturing for several pharmaceutical companies.
Why the interest?
“The Reporting Persons acquired their positions in the Shares in the belief that they were undervalued. The Reporting Persons have had conversations with members of the Issuer’s management during which the Reporting Persons expressed their concern with the current Share price. In addition, during these conversations, the Reporting Persons indicated that management should conduct a comprehensive review of strategic transactions that could enhance shareholder value, including a spinoff or other monetization of certain assets, such as royalty streams and products with limited market potential; or a sale of the entire company. No agreement, arrangement or understanding was reached between the Reporting Persons and management. The Reporting Persons intend to seek to have further conversations with management.”
Disclosure (“none” means no position):None
Sovereign Wealth,Cramer on Eliot, Southwest (LUV), Culture
– This is a great oped. Why are we so afraid of these funds when we already have them?
– Watch this, does it make me terrible that I just started laughing……hysterically?
– In case you were not nervous enough to fly..
– This makes sense. With the deterioration of the family, culture takes on more prevalence.
Nothing to do with investing… but am I the only one who is sick of seeing these two? Every segment they are in dissolves into this stuff..
Here is an interview with Buffett in which he talks about the current situation.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):None
Here is a Bloomberg interview with Fairholme’s Bruce Berkowitz in which he talks about Sears Holdings
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Long SHLD
As gas approaches $4 a gallon, are consumer going to switch to two wheels to save money? It would seem early results are ..yes.
The questions was posed to an Illinois Harley Dealer recently.
Shad Zimbro, co-owner of Black Diamond Harley Davidson in Marion, Illinois says,”It really is the truth because they do save a lot of money in gas by going to a motorcycle.” He says his sales have doubled since last year.
Motorcycles tend to average about 50 miles a gallon and Harley makes models that get 70. Zimbro says he commutes 40 miles a day to work on his Harley and saves about $100 a week by doing so.
It does make perfect sense but obviously we need more data to see if it is just a regional trend or a larger on. The significance of his increase though, is impressive and that does lead me to believe it may be more than a local event.
In January Harley did issue 2008 guidance above the consensus estimates so perhaps they are seeing something?
We’ll have to wait until late spring to get more info but I am thinking that this may actually be something larger..
Disclosure (“none” means no position):Long HOG
Upgrades
UnionBanCal (UB)- Punk, Ziegel & Co Mkt Perform » Buy
JA Solar (JASO)- Needham & Co Buy » Strong Buy
Unisource Energy (UNS)- Soleil Hold » Buy
Leap Wireless (LEAP)- Wachovia Underperform » Mkt Perform
Millennium Pharm (MLNM)- Piper Jaffray Neutral » Buy
Humana (HUM)- UBS Sell » Neutral
JA Solar (JASO)- Lehman Brothers Equal-weight » Overweight
NIDEC (NJ)- JP Morgan Neutral » Overweight
GSI Commerce (GSIC)- Jefferies & Co Hold » Buy
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (WBD)- Credit Suisse Neutral » Outperform
Monsanto (MON)- Banc of America Sec Neutral » Buy
AstraZeneca (AZN)- UBS Sell » Neutral
Downgrades
Hot Topic (HOTT)- BB&T Capital Mkts Buy » Hold
Raven Industries (RAVN)- Dougherty & Company Buy » Neutral
Sigma Designs (SIGM)- BWS Financial Strong Buy » Hold
Orbcomm (ORBC)- Oppenheimer Outperform » Perform
Glu Mobile (GLUU)- Deutsche Securities Hold » Sell
PNC Bank (PNC)- Keefe Bruyette Outperform » Mkt Perform
Fed Investors (FII)- UBS Buy » Neutral