The Bitcoin mania continues as greed is part of human nature and grandmas to professionals get involved. The professionals' argument is that it's not correlated to other asset classes and adds to diversification. Former portfolio manager of the University of Chicago and current CIO of a crypto hedge fund, Ari Paul, thinks that endowments should look into crypto. He is quoted … [Read more...]
Pecking Order
Out of all the animals we keep on our “farm”, chickens are the only ones that bring me no joy. Chickens are, by nature, brutal and cruel. They will torture the weak to death with their pecks, not because they have to, but because they can. It’s the way their brains are hard-wired, and it works for them, as a species. So I pretend that chickens aren’t evil and I’m not complicit. … [Read more...]
Will Shrinking CB Balance Sheets Bring Down the Market?
Investors probably underestimate the tailwind from global central banks quantitative easing. Over the last five years, the expansion of the Federal Reserve balance sheet has expanded and with it the S&P 500. In the chart below, by Michael Lebowitz of 720 Global we see this relationship. (Source: 720 Global) Deutsche Bank published a chart which shows the balance … [Read more...]
My Latest Trade: DVMT – VMW
Yesterday, I took a position in my own account which I will share with you. I took a long in DVMT and an equal amount short in VMW. To give you some background, in 2015 Dell acquired EMC Corp which had an 81% position in VMware (VMW). To help pay for the acquisition they created a tracking stock (a spin-off would have resulted in a large amount of tax because of EMC's low … [Read more...]
Applying My Risk Checklist To General Electric And Mylan
Summary Part of my process is to go through a risk checklist. Stocks that don't pass are put aside. Debt ratios and 3 models (Piotroski, Altman, Beneish) are used and shown. The article will go over the debt ratios and the 3 models that investors can use in their own process. General Electric and Mylan are used as examples of stocks that looked interesting but … [Read more...]
Absurdities in today’s markets
John Mauldin and Yra Harris both touched on the absurdities we see today in the financial markets. As Mauldin puts it "I have gone from the occasional smile to scratching my head now and then to “WTF” moments several times a week." I couldn't agree more. With their permission to reprint here on my blog, I've posted parts which you shouldn't miss. Click on the titles if you … [Read more...]
Carl Icahn
While Carl Icahn is probably known by the millennials as the guy who argued with Bill Ackman over Herbalife, or for his Apple position or for his investment in Lyft, he has a career that spans back for over 50 years. An activist investor but also businessman and philanthropist. I recently saw an interview he did at the DealBook Conference and if you don't have time for … [Read more...]
