Insomniac Hedge Fund Guy

Google vs. Apple

by

As I sit here typing out this post on my MacBook, occasionally running a question by Siri on my iPhone just for the heck of it, I can’t help but notice I’ve been blindsided by the Apple lifestyle… and I don’t seem to mind a bit.  An iPod sits in my car, next to the two iPod shuffles that I take on the mountain when I ride, and I’m long Apple stock.  My old HTC Incredible smartphone sits in a box, long forgotten.  And I’m certainly not the only one to completely buy into the way of life that Steve … Read more

‘s Roundtable

by

The first thing I look at when I read Barron’s round table is the results of the panelists picks from last year.  On that accord, one would do well by skipping most of it.  There are though, two investment gurus, Bill Gross and Felix Zulauf that tend to make me money. None the less read the whole article and make up your own mind..  It can be found here. Gross: Next, in a world of financial repression where 10-year Treasury bonds yield 2% and 30-years, 3%, certain state bonds and utilities yielding 5% and 6% are decent relative values. It … Read more

Shocking fact about Iran oil embargo consequences

by

Without question, if I knew that a disruption of oil supplies from Iran would occur, I’d bet the farm on a dramatic rise in crude oil prices.  But how rationale is this popular consensus opinion?  I quote from Daniel Yergins, The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of  the Modern World. “Currently, IEA nations have about 1.5 billion barrels of public stocks, of which about 700 million barrels are in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Were Iranian exports to disappear from the market, the 1.5 billion could compensate for the shortfall for more than two years.” So rationale expectations and … Read more

Paypal: online powerhouse is stepping up in-store payments

by

Shares of Paypal’s parent company Ebay are up toward the end of todays session on the news that Paypal is expanding their in-store payment network to include 2,000 more stores.  A spokesman for the online payment service said that a trial run in 50 Home Depot locations is currently under way in the San Francisco area, with the goal of increasing Paypal’s future avenues for income.  While little profit is initially expected, it does provide some diversification to their income stream and challenges transaction companies like Visa and Mastercard on yet another front.   More info can be found via … Read more

Marc Faber Resumes Bloodfeud With Treasurys, Still Sees Entire Financial System Imploding

by

From Zerohedge: “In an interview with Bloomberg’s Sara Eisen and Erik Schatzker this morning, he does what he does best – cuts to the chase: “if you think it through and you are as bearish as I am, and you think the whole financial system will one day collapse, we don’t know if in 3 years, or 5 years, or 10 years, but one day there will be a reset, and everything will be essentially started anew, then you are better off in equities than in government bonds, because a lot of government bonds will either default or they will … Read more

Ex-Wife Says Gingrich Wanted ‘Open Marriage,’ ABC Reports

by

In the sport of mudslinging timing is everything.  And Mitt Romney is breathing a sigh of relief as ABC’s report detailing his attempt to initiate an open marriage between his ex-wife (his current wife at the time) and current wife (his mistress at the time) hit headlines just in time to draw attention away from his admittance to multiple offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands.  Tax evasion just doesn’t seem to pique the interests of the American population the same way a spousal approved Ménage à Trois does.. Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich asked for … Read more

Buying Gold On More QE

by

From Seeking Alpha: Gold bears point to simple fact that investors cannot value gold in a similar fashion to stocks and bonds. Gold earn and yields nothing. As Jim Grant has stated, gold holds no quarterly conference call. Unlike other precious metals, gold has limited industrial use. Gold bulls point to the monetary base as confirmation gold is not in bubble. The chart below the U.S. monetary base, the price of gold and the U.S. consumer price index. As the chart shows, gold prices and the consumer price index have responded to historical growth in growth of the monetary base. … Read more

Arctic Adventure – A 1,500-Mile Trip by Sea Kayak

by

Two incredible athletes from vastly different backgrounds are brought together by the love of both kayaking and adventure.  Having had the opportunity to paddle with the same crew of whitewater kayakers that Eric Boomer films with, I can say that making the transition from a whitewater boater to distance explorer, with little experience in some of the harshest conditions imaginable, is most impressive. Odd Couple’s Amazing Trek: 1,500 Arctic Miles by Kayak To stave off a breaching 3,000-pound walrus from the cockpit of a small sea kayak, Erik Boomer recommends using the paddle.  Sort of like a Heisman stiff-arm, hit … Read more

Einhorn Ends 2011 Just Over +2%, Closes FSLR Short, Warns On Asia, Mocks “Lather. Rinse. Repeat” Broken Markets

by

Anyone wondering why FSLR just jumped, it is because as was just made known, David Einhorn’s Greenlight has decided to close its FSLR position, after bleeding that particular corpse dry. “Our largest winner by far was our short of First Solar (FSLR) which fell from $130.14 to $33.76 paper share and was the worst performing stock in the S&P 500.” Einhorn also announces that he was among the “evil” hedge funds who dared to provide market clearing transparency and buy CDS on insolvent European governments: “We also did well investing in various credit default swaps on European sovereign debt.” As … Read more

Yahoo Shares Rise as Co-Founder Jerry Yang Resigns (YHOO)

by

  Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), the online media company, are gaining in early trading today after the Sunnyvale, California-based company said that its co-founder, Jerry Yang, has resigned. Yang co-founded Yahoo in 1995. His departure has pleased shareholders, who were upset with him for obstructing deals which could have transformed the struggling company. Yang’s resignation comes two weeks after Yahoo announced the appointment of Scott Thompson as its new CEO. Analysts believe that Yang’s departure from Yahoo clears the way for a major infusion from private equity firms or a deal to sell a major portion of the … Read more

Euro and stocks volatile on talk of IMF fundraising – FT.com

by

Trading Post. Is eurozone headline risk becoming asymmetric? It’s an ugly piece of jargon but in recent days it is the question some in the market have been posing. It refers to the view that traders may be reacting positively to news deemed “eurozone supportive” but quickly putting “eurozone negative” factors behind them. In market terms, it means many of the bad scenarios – Greek default, French downgrade – may have been discounted, at least partly. Or, more simply still, it means “crisis fatigue”. If true – and it’s a big if – this has implications for the broad financial … Read more

Facebook Integration May Be Coming To iOS 5

by

With the integration of Twitter into iOS 5 and so much cash sitting on Apple’s balance sheet, many investors are left wondering when rather than if Apple will make the move to purchase the social media stream.  So how will this new proposed partnership translate into an increase in value?  Well, a step toward being more open source friendly is a start..   After finally bringing Twitter to iOS 5, it looks like Apple is considering integrating other social networks as well. This weekend, iMore discovered references to Facebook integration in the latest developer beta of iOS 5. They also … Read more

Iran To Give Back Drone As A Toy

by

Iran Says It Will Give Back The Downed US Sentinel Drone — As A Toy Model Is Iran’s display of a sense of  humor a break in the tension between the two Nations or an attempt to belittle the American military in the eyes of Iranian citizens?  I think the $4 price tag suggests the latter.. After losing the RQ-170 drone in the skies over Iran in November, the White House first admitted the drone was real, and then further outraged the Iranians by asking for it back. With a burst of Irony, Tehran has agreed to comply, but instead … Read more

France Said to Seek Faster Start to EU Iran Oil Embargo

by

Oil markets see a bit of a boost from France’s push toward cutting the grace period before implementing a ban on Iranian crude in half, breaking a 4 day loosing streak. Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) — France is pushing for faster enforcement of the European Union’s proposed ban on oil imports from Iran, two officials with knowledge of the matter said. France wants the embargo to be delayed by no more than three months to allow nations including Greece, Italy and Spain to find alternative supplies, according to a French government official, who declined to be identified, citing state rules. While … Read more

Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Index Performance December 2011

by

he Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Indexes Performance data for Dec 2011 has been updated. Please visit our site at http://www.hedgeindex.com for further details.     Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Index Performance Index / Sub Strategies Value** Dec 11 YTD 1 Year Annl* Std Dev* Sharpe* Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Hedge Fund Index 92.60 -0.41% -7.40% -7.40% 6.22% 6.75% 0.65     Convertible Arbitrage 92.34 1.29% -7.66% -7.66% 3.04% 11.44% 0.11     Emerging Markets 97.60 0.16% -2.40% -2.40% 9.38% 10.76% 0.70     Event Driven 87.47 -0.95% -12.53% -12.53% 4.40% 8.28% 0.31     Fixed Income Arbitrage 98.74 -0.40% -1.26% -1.26% 7.33% … Read more

Your Reading, Watching, And Cooking Habits Will Start Showing Up On Facebook This Wednesday

by

Secretly enjoy a good cry to a romantic comedy?  Well , you’re about to know a lot more than you wanted to about the personal habits of your ‘friends’.. Think this could be a nice avenue for exposure for companies like Netflix?  Other than the benefit of name recognition, the intrusive nature will very possibly be a negative attribute.. In September, Facebook announced a variety of partners for its new Open Graph platform like Netflix, Nike+ Plus, Spotify, and others. These Open Graph apps will pop updates into your live News Ticker like “Ellis Hamburger ran 2.8 miles using Nike+” … Read more

Romney Pays Less In Tax Than His Secretary

by

Romney Pays Less In Tax Than His Secretary First Buffet, now Mitt Romney. Via Bloomberg: ROMNEY SAYS HIS EFFECTIVE TAX RATE CLOSER TO 15% ROMNEY SPEAKS TO REPORTERS IN FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA ROMNEY SAYS MUCH OF HIS INCOME COMES FROM INVESTMENTS Next thing you know he too will offer all Republicans a one for one match on all US sovereign debt repayments, and will demand that all millionaires generously hand over their income. As for us, we quietly wonder whether the account clerks at Zurich banks are sweating already? via Romney Pays Less In Tax Than His Secretary | ZeroHedge.

Euro Woes Could Revive Bout of Market Volatility – NYTimes.com

by

Euro Woes Could Revive Bout of Market Volatility Alex Domanski/Reuters By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ Investors are bracing for a return to volatility when markets in the United States reopen on Tuesday as renewed gloom about the debt crisis in Europe threatens to end the calm that has prevailed on Wall Street in recent weeks. Traders at the bourse in Madrid. American markets will be affected by earnings news as large companies report results. “We’ve had a lull, but I expect the pressure to start growing again with a renewed round of financial market agitation,” said Charles Wyplosz, a professor of … Read more

Hedge Funds to Draw $80 Billion in 2012, Most in Five Years, Barclays Says – Bloomberg

by

Hedge Funds to Draw $80 Billion in 2012, Most in Five Years, Barclays Says By Bei Hu – Jan 15, 2012 8:47 PM MT Investors may add about $80 billion of new capital to hedge funds globally this year, the most since 2007, Barclays Plc (BARC) said in a report. About 56 percent of investors surveyed by Barclays plan to increase such investments in the coming year, more than seven times the number that plan to reduce their allocations, the U.K. bank said in an e-mailed statement dated Jan. 13. Endowments, foundations, private banks and public pensions will most likely … Read more

‘s Roundtable

by

Schafer: Most of us have been in the business long enough to remember when the Aug. 13, 1979, cover of BusinessWeek declared the death of equities. The next year the market was up 13%. In the next five years it was up more than 50%. In the next 10 years it rose more than 250%. There is a lot of pessimism around, and a lot of opportunity.

” To Consider – Seeking Alpha

by

7 ‘Diamonds In The Rough’ To Consider A few ideas to mull over during your snowless weekend..  If only you could short squeeze La Nina out of the picture.     Contrarian investors, like David Dreman, tend to focus on stocks that are against the crowd. These are the stocks that a lot of people are not buying, the underdogs. But, investing is not a popularity contest. Sometimes, just the momentum of trading (or lack thereof) can push a stock’s price lower, leaving more upside for the “contrarian” investor. Here is a list of 7 “diamonds in the rough” to … Read more

‘t Mourn For Kim Jong-II To A Labor-Training Camp

by

North Korea Is Sending Anyone Who Didn’t Mourn For Kim Jong-II To A Labor-Training Camp Sounds totally reasonable… Appreciate your weekend.     North Korea is punishing citizens who didn’t participate in the organized mourning period following Kim Jong-Il’s death by sentencing them to six months in a labor-training camp, according to The Daily NK (via Msnbc.com). The decision to ship North Koreans off to re-education camps follows a series of “criticism sessions” that began on Dec. 29. A source from North Hamkyung Province told The Daily NK that officials are also punishing those “who did participate but didn’t cry … Read more

Hedge Fund Performance in 2011 Not All Lemons

by

Hedge Fund Performance in 2011 Not All Lemons Chase Coleman Hedge fund may have had a tough year, on average – Amid political uncertainty, the debt-ceiling debate in Congress and mounting fears of a European financial crisis, the Eurekahedge index, which measures average returns, dropped 4.1 percent for the year – but that is just an average. For every hedge fund that lost over 50%, like John Paulson’s Paulson & Co., there is another one that had returns in the upper double digits. Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management had a stellar year, posting a 45% gain through mid-December, reports Barrons. Carl Icahn … Read more

Six Reasons to Avoid Japan In 2012

by

Guest post: Ron Rowland One of the best ways to make money in ETFs is to not lose money.  I know it sounds obvious, but I can assure you that many people don’t get this key point.  So if I can help you do that, then I count it as a success.  And today I’ll talk about an ETF category I think you should avoid in 2012: Japan. What’s Wrong with Japan? I’ve been to Japan many times.  I love the country and the people.  Yet I have to tell you that now is not the time to invest in … Read more

| Reuters

by

Goldman sees 2012 upside in oil, gold, copper Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:07pm IST REUTERS – Goldman Sachs said it expected upside in prices of oil, gold and copper this year, citing greater supply risks and stronger fundamentals. “We view gold and copper as providing the best value opportunities relative to our view of fundamentals in 2012,” the investment bank said on Friday, citing remaining risks of substantial supply shortfalls. via Goldman sees 2012 upside in oil, gold, copper | Reuters.

Trade ideas for week 2 of the Mayan calendar year 2012

by

  We don’t often open the whole kimono so enjoy:  These are our major positions in order of descending market weight. SLB is showing bullish divergence and with significant insider buying, we like it.  Also there is a possibility of extended rise in crude oil prices due to Iranian oil boycott political issues. AAPL short-term overbought and we have no idea where it’s headed now although its cheap by any metric HES  don’t like the chart although we like the stock K we nailed this one and still like it GLD contrary to Kyle Bass, we like the ETF over … Read more

Options Players Wager On Recovery For Urban Outfitters

by

  Outfitters, Inc. – Options activity on the specialty retailer jumped on Wednesday morning as news of the CEO’s resignation saw shares in Urban Outfitters tumble more than 20% to an intraday low of $23.42. Still feeling bullish on Urban?  Take a look at the Feb12 25 calls.  Although I generally prefer to be a writer rather than a buyer of options, URBN’s decrease of almost 19% saw a 75% reduction in the February 25 calls from $3.30 down to $.80      via Options Players Wager On Recovery For Urban Outfitters, Gains For Textron – Forbes.

| ZeroHedge

by

Anti-Tilson ETF Basket Leads The Way Early In 2012 So why are investors willing to pay the industry standard 2 and 20 to underperform when they can show hedge fund like returns with zero management fees?  That, is a good question…     The most popular talking-head on financial TV (after Bill Miller and Byron Wien), Whitney Tilson, has not had a winning year so far. In fact the simple pair trade Anti-Tilson (Long GMCR-Short Netflix which we closed when it returned 50% in just over a month), that was so popular last year, has been expanded to include his … Read more