STAY IN STOCKS OR “SELL IN MAY”?

Apr 30, 2012

“Sell in May and go away” is strategy that some investors and traders are likely contemplating right now. The adage is based on the historically weaker performance of stocks during the May through October time period. Adherents shift from stocks to cash at the beginning of May and then invest back into stocks at the start of November.

Why John Burbank’s Passport Capital Is Net Short: Q1 Letter

Apr 30, 2012

John Burbank’s hedge fund firm Passport Capital is “net short both in dollar and beta terms” according to their first quarter letter to investors.  But even with this positioning, they obviously still have some sizable longs so we’ve also posted up Passport’s top 10 holdings. 

Their Passport Global Fund started the quarter with net exposu…

2 Stocks To Trade, What’s Next For The Market

Apr 30, 2012

By The Oxen Group:

Market Recap: The market finished out April on a slightly weaker note to finish the month at a loss. It was not a great month for stocks and the market with a lot of volatility in the markets and rising fears over Europe continuing. Earnings have been s…

Investing For Income In Bank Of America

Apr 30, 2012

By Michael Terry:

Bank of America (BAC) has had a tough couple of years. The bank has gone from a national powerhouse to basketcase to waking giant – all within 4 years. The troubles at the bank are well known and have been written about more than …

Bill Ackman on Burger King and Barnes & Noble

Apr 30, 2012

The founder of hedge fund Pershing Square, Bill Ackman, guest hosted CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday morning and we wanted to highlight his comments for those who might have missed them.  His first segment talked about Barnes & Noble (due to the Microsoft investment news) as well as his position in Burger King.

On Barnes & Noble: He joked t…

Ackman on His Hong Kong Dollar Trade

Apr 30, 2012

It’s been so long since we’ve seen commentary about Bill Ackman’s Hong Kong Dollar trade that we wanted to quickly highlight his comments on CNBC yesterday.

He says Pershing Square still has the trade on and they believe it’s a good play.  He says that, “if you own the options, it’s a 50:1 or 80:1 payoff, even if you renew the bet every 18 mont…

Bill Ackman & Hunter Harrison on Canadian Pacific & Running a Better Railroad

Apr 30, 2012

Guest hosting CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday, Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman talked about his activist investment in Candian Pacific (CP) and how to run a better railroad.

His hedge fund has waged a proxy fight with the company as he strives to shake-up management.  He hopes to place Hunter Harrison as the new CEO.  He says the profitabi…

Purmamarca, Argentina

Apr 30, 2012

Yesterday we drove from Tucumán north about 4 1/2 hours to the town of Tilcara, which is about 40-50 miles south of the northern border of Argentina and Bolivia, and about an hour by car north of the city of Jujuy, which is the northernmost point in Argentina that you can fly into. Since this is a 4-day weekend, we had no choice but to stay one nigh…

Richard Russell – A Chapter of the World Has Come to an End

Apr 30, 2012

With continued volatility in global markets, the Godfather of newsletter writers, Richard Russell, had some very interesting charts and warnings in his latest commentary. Here is what Russell had to say: “I woke up this morning with the distinct feeling that a chapter of the world had come to an end. I felt that a new world is being heralded. W…

Better, Stronger, Faster: The Myth of American Decline and the Rise of a New Economy

Apr 30, 2012

Dan Gross, economics editor/columnist at Yahoo!Finance, has a new book coming out titled “Better, Stronger, Faster: The Myth of American Decline and the Rise of a New Economy,” here’s an excerpt that appears as the cover story in the current issue of Newseek: “The lows of March 2009 marked the beginning of an unexpected recovery—not the beginn…