Fat Pitch, Gore, FireFox, Klarman
– Nice work George……
– I agree
– Anything he says should be listened to
Visit the ValuePlays Bookstore for Great Investing Books
Ackman, iPhone, Fuld, Klarmen
– Some very interesting thoughts on Sears’ Home Services
– Yea, but you’ll actually sell some…
– At least the other CEO’s stood there and took it, he hides
– 20% plus a year returns…listen
Visit the ValuePlays Bookstore for Great Investing Books
Ackman, iPhone, Fuld, Klarmen
– Some very interesting thoughts on Sears’ Home Services
– Yea, but you’ll actually sell some…
– At least the other CEO’s stood there and took it, he hides
– 20% plus a year returns…listen
Visit the ValuePlays Bookstore for Great Investing Books
More big-time investor are taking stakes in Borders (BGP)
Baupost Group, a hedge fund run by deep value investor Seth Klarman, showed a 8.22% stake in (4,971,600 shares) as of the quarter ended 3/31/08. The firm did not show holdings in Borders at the quarter ended 12/31/07.
Baupost Group manages $7+ billion and has returned approximately 20% annually since its inception. Klarman was in the first group of inductees to Alpha magazine’s Hedge Fund Hall of Fame.
Klarman is the author of “Margin of Safety”, one of the hardest finance books to track down today. Published in 1991, it is now out of print, and sells on Amazon and Ebay for over $1000. It is even one of the most-stolen library books, making it very difficult to find a copy to read.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):
Here are the week’s top stories at Value Investing News
1. Vitaliy Katsenelson Interview with Active Trader Magazine
(via contrarianedge.com)
I was interviewed by Active Trader Magazine. The question comes to mind – what do I know about trading? Absolutely nothing! This is exactly what I told David Bukey, the editor of the magazine, when he asked me for an interview. He assured me that he read my book and thought my (investing) message was very important to his readers. How can you say no to that?
2. Buffett tips off MU crowd
(via www.columbiatribune.com)
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett takes part in a question-and-answer session with business college students during the “Emerging Issues and Trends in Real Estate” forum and educational conference yesterday at the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri.
3. Right Price Checklist: Business
(via mikesnewsletterinvesting.blogspot.com)
I detail my checklist for evaluating the business then apply it to Best Buy.
4. Warren Buffett Named ‘Manager’ of 2008 Boardroom All-Star Team
(via msnbcmedia.msn.com)
Warren Buffett ranks number one on Directorship magazine’s new list of the most admired board directors. Its Annual Survey of Exceptional Directors is compiled using “data from proxy firms, reader polls and governance experts.”
5. Special Situations Real Money Portfolio March 2008 Update
(via www.fatpitchfinancials.com)
Another update of the Special Situations Real Money Portfolio, my experiment in arbitrage investing. This month I talk about a profitless tender offer and the decline in price of three positions that have been held for several months.
6. Prof. Bruce Greenwald’s Talk on Value Investing
(via fundooprofessor.blogspot.com)
The talk, titled, “Value Investing Frameworks and Business Analytics” was delivered by Prof. Greenwald to an audience of 220 guests from the Indian investment community at Hotel Taj President in Mumbai On January 8.
7. Interview with Robert Rodriguez of FPA
(via www.investors.com)
Nice little interview with Bob Rodriguez, who along with Seth Klarman, always seems to have a good handle on the pulse of the financial markets.
8. Third Avenue Q1 Shareholder Letters
(via www.thirdavenuefunds.com)
Martin Whitman devotes a section of his quarterly letter to refuting William Ackman’s views on MBIA. My favorite sentence: “The argument that if an entity is in trouble, every liability on the balance sheet of that entity is also in trouble is strictly ‘amateur hour’.”
9. Altria’s Spin Cost Basis
(via valueplays.blogspot.com)
Here is the cost basis for your shares
10. Buffett Beats Bernanke
(via www.fool.com)
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is in a rough spot these days. When he lowers interest rates, the specter of stagflation is raised. When he rescues Bear Stearns from potential bankruptcy by brokering a sale to JPMorgan Chase, he’s chided for guaranteeing billions in private subprime loans with public money.
11. Bill Miller’s wishful thinking
(via money.cnn.com)
The value manager wants a better deal for Yahoo, but like so many takeover targets it has no better offers.
12. Value investing is supposed to get ugly
(via www.advisor.ca)
One of the tenets of value investing is there will be times when it’s going to get ugly. Problem is, for a lot of established value firms, things have never looked uglier — leading some advisors to question the wisdom of the strategy. But fund analysts say there is merit to what value firms are doing right now and investors should wait before they write off their value holdings.
Posted April 9th, 2008 by SilverSlime | Tags:
13. Q & A: Which Gurus Are Not Hurt By Credit Crisis?
(via www.gurufocus.com)
This is an interview GuruFocus had with Swiss magazine BILANZ. The questions and answers.
14. FDA Tobacco Bill: A Partnership
(via valueplays.blogspot.com)
This bill will end up being an FDA endorsement of tobacco
15. Swimming Happily Against the Tide — Third Avenue’s Marty Whitman Finds Lots to Buy
(via online.barrons.com)
In the midst of the market mayhem last August, Third Avenue Management sent a two-page letter to shareholders in its four mutual funds, including its flagship $10 billion Third Avenue Value Fund. The message: It’s time to buy.
16. Credit crisis over says top fund manager
(via www.citywire.co.uk)
Bill Miller of Legg Mason Investment Management believes the Bear Stearns bailout two weeks ago marks the end of the credit crisis.
17. MBA Advice from the Oracle of Omaha
(via www4.gsb.columbia.edu)
On March 21 I flew to Omaha — along with 150 of my classmates — to meet Warren Buffett, MS ’51, a man I have admired (some friends would say fanatically idolized) for close to 15 years.
18. Free Cash Yield: The Best Valuation Statistic?
(via magicdiligence.com)
There is only one valuation statistic that takes into account a company’s free cash production and balance sheet risk, and allows you to compare it’s valuation against other stocks, bonds, and treasuries. That statistic is the little used free cash yield measure.
19. Beware of Blind Contrarianism!
(via streetcapitalist.com)
Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Those words aren’t mine, they belong to Warren Buffett. For now though, they remain incredibly relevant to the type of investment environment we’re in.
20. Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio First Quarter 2008
(via www.fatpitchfinancials.com)
A review of the performance of the Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio for the first quarter of 2008.
Disclosure (“none” means no position):
Visit the ValuePlays Bookstore for Great Investing Books
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Here are the top stories of the week at Value Investing News
Pabri, Ackman, Berkowitz all added shares last quarter.
A list of 5 interesting super-investor buys in the fourth quarter. Includes picks from Eddie Lampert, Mohnish Pabrai, Joel Greenblatt, and Warren Buffett.
Consider the following scenario: A great company faces a languishing stock price. A few quarters of managerial efforts fail to revive profits. The stock continues to decline. As a result, the CEO is ostracized for having lost his ability. Sound all too familiar?
I’ve updated my stock report, and am stepping up to the plate and buying AEO.
This shareholder friendly company is exposed to housing but has durability and a consistent dividend. It is a good contrarian investment before the housing industry picks up again.
Recent financial market events, including subprime loan losses, hedge fund and quant fund woes, and the bailout or takeover of numerous financial institutions and structured vehicles, that are suddenly strapped for cash, highlight the extreme risk taking and leverage that have lately permeated our financial system.
Surprisingly, Value Investing at one point did not exist. At the turn of the 20th century, Wall Street was a place where insider information and speculation ruled.It was until a man by the name of Benjamin Grossbaum brought structure to a rather lethargic Wall Street. Below is a list of defining moments that in my opinion has molded value investing to what it is today.
Comparing the Microsoft/Yahoo! merger to past mega-mergers shows that these two companies are unlikely to live in perfect harmony.
VIN favorite Vitaliy Katsenelson makes some 2008 predictions on the Value Investing Congress Blog
These 3 small caps have strong financial positions and bargain valuations. But can they grow in the midst of strong competition?
Whitney Tilson talks about getting investing ideas from 13-f filings.
Hi, this is a link to the Buffett MBA Talk link at www.ei-forum.com
There are a total of 10 posts that summarize and have video links to the talk. This is a 10 part series that is really woth watching… Warren at his best!
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to start – Enjoy!
The London Business School’s Global Investment Returns yearbook shows investment winners since 2000 have been old industries such as tobacco and mining. Anthony Hilton says finding such sectors is the secret of success for legendary investor Warren Buffett…
Barron’s examines Wells Fargo and finds them in better shape than most other banks and likely to come out of this credit crisis unscathed.
Detailed analysis of a great DOW stock
A pitch for Bed, Bath, and Beyond – a best in class retailer and rock solid company trading at it’s lowest multiples ever.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Prem Watsa, whose insurance company posted record earnings last year by betting against financial firms, said credit problems in the U.S. aren’t over yet. “It’s still early days,” Watsa said in an interview today from his Toronto office. “This is a very extensive credit problem.”
Michael Chren, senior director of large-cap value investing for Allegiant Asset Management, says that the topsy-turvy market is a “fertile hunting ground [for value stocks], but the problem is that a lot of stocks are cheap for a very good reason. Those are value traps and you want to avoid them.”
Ackman calls the bond insurers bluff..
Here are the top 10 from VIN
In a live interview this morning on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Warren Buffett called his purchase of a big Marmon stake as a “bet on America over a long time.” He also revealed that while he has been approached by financials companies about buying a stake, “we have not seen a deal that causes me to start salivating.”
Greenblatt’s calculation of ROIC in TLBTBTM is a useful quick and dirty tool but when it comes to really analysing companies it may need some adjustments to give a clearer picture.
In 2005, Seth Klarman of Baupost Capital warned a group of Wharton business school students that a new class of “value pretenders” had emerged. Klarman, whose fund has earned more than 20% annual returns on more than $5 billion in holdings, provided the following description: “These investors apply a dip strategy.
More bad news for WAMU. SEC is investigating the possible use of inflated appraisals.
“If they are in the strike zone at all, the business ‘pitches’ we now see are just catching the lower outside corner. If we swing, we will be locked into low returns. But if we let all of today’s balls go by, there can be no assurance that the next ones we see will be more to our liking. Perhaps the attractive pries of the past were the aberrations, not the full pries of today.
VALUEPLAYS NOTE: Read a similar post from February at ValuePlays
Rockefeller and Buffett parallel
Diversity Breakdowns and Invisible Vulnerability. For he who is acquainted with the paths of nature, will more readily observe her deviations; and, vice versa, he who has learned her deviations will be able more …
DVW is currently trading at a 14% discount from its acquisition price. This provides a relativley risk free 14% return in just a few months.
Insight on why he is investing in Asia, with Marty Whitman, Third Avenue Management and CNBC’s Erin Burnett
Donate to the ValuePlays Project for KIVA
Another month has gone by and here is the final tally for the month of May.
2- Whitney Tilson: not To Be Missed Tips- FT.com
3-Wally Weitz on Berkshire and Dell- Youtube.com
4-Seth Klarman: World Class Worrier- NYtimes.com
5-Cheap Stocks: Value Investing Congress Recap- stocksbelowncav.blogspot.com
Here they are. Please visit George’s site Value Investing News as it has great information from many different sources and is a truly democratic site as registered users vote on stories. There is no webmaster cherry picking going on here. Here are the top 5 for May to date:
1- Sears Holdings: A “Techinical” Look– ValuePlays
2- Financial Blog Watch: Controlled Greed– Radio.wallst.net
3- Monish Parabi 13-F for 3/31/2007– sec.gov
4- Wally Weitz on Berkshire Hathaway and Dell– youtube.com
5- Seth Klarman: World Class Warrior- nytimes.com
Good Reading and have a safe holiday….
