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Monday, July 16, 2012

Europe: When Losing Money Makes Sense

Bucher Vaslin Delta Vistalys optic sorter (Photo credit: niallkennedy)

There is a remarkable trend developing in European bond markets, where investors are increasingly willing to lend money to certain governments in exchange for next to nothing.

In the most extreme example, yields on 2-year German bonds turned negative this week, falling to a record -0.5%. That means, in theory at least, investors could end up losing money if they hold the bonds to maturity.

Germany is the eurozone’s largest economy and its bunds are considered among the safest assets available for investors who are expecting the worst. But the flight to safety is becoming more widespread as investors hunt for a marginally better return.

This week, 2-year yields briefly turned negative for France, while Denmark and Switzerland are more firmly below zero. Short-term yields for AAA-rated Finland and the Netherlands fell to record lows.

The trend reflects a heightened aversion to risk as Spain and Italy struggle to avoid falling victim to the crisis that dragged down Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Yields on bonds issued by Italy and Spain rose this week as investors demand higher premiums to hold debt that is considered risky.

“The rise in benchmark yields in say Italy and Spain to worryingly high levels shows a deep concern amongst many participants about their fiscal sustainability,” said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments. ... Continue to read.

Premier Wen Urges Efforts to Boost Dynamism of Economic Growth

Wen Dao Shi 搵到食 (Photo credit: Xin Li 88)

Premier Wen has called for greater efforts to strengthen vitality and dynamism of economic growth. Speaking during an inspection tour of southwest China's Sichuan province from Friday to Sunday, Wen said the economy is running at a slower but more stable pace. "The economic growth rate is still within the government target range set early this year, and stabilization policies are working," Wen said. In March this year, the nation pared its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2012 to 7.5 percent from the previous 8 percent, in the face of a persistent slump in the United States and spreading debt woes in the European Union. Dragged down by lackluster external demand and government efforts to cool the property sector, the country's GDP growth slowed to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the second quarter. Wen said China's economic fundamentals remain sound and the country still enjoys huge growth potential, citing the bumper summer harvest, cooling inflation and rising incomes. However, the country's economic rebound is not yet stable and economic hardship may continue for a period of time, the premier warned at a conference on Saturday in Chengdu city attended by provincial officials from Henan, Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan and Shaanxi. ... Continue to read.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

James Carville: Middle Class 'Hit by a Truck'

James Carville (Photo credit: jdlasica)

A decades-long decline in the American middle class requires serious, long-lasting measures, former Democratic strategist James Carvilletold CNBC on Friday.

“This is a long-term problem. Middle-class decline has been going on for 30 years. We tend to think that the world stopped and started with the financial crisis,” he said on “The Kudlow Report.” “To them, as I say in the book, it’s like someone with pneumonia getting hit by a truck. And it’s a long way back for these people.”

Carville, a political author who previously served as an advisor to President Clinton, recently co-authored with Stanley Greenberg an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, titled, “The Middle Class Needs a Lifeline.” In it, they write, “Today, high school graduates' first jobs pay less than they did in 1973. We are looking back on three decades with fewer and fewer jobs offering health-care or retirement benefits, with people working longer hours and taking on more debt. College costs take a higher proportion of income, even as it becomes harder for the non-college-educated to get their kids to college and social mobility declines. The working-class family is collapsing and only the college-educated are seeing real gains in life expectancy. ... Continue to read.

PFGBest chief arrested, admits 20-year fraud, FBI says

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Russell Wasendorf Sr was arrested on Friday after allegedly stealing more than $100 million from clients of his now-bankrupt brokerage PFGBest, using little more than a rented P.O. Box, Photoshop and inkjet printers to dupe regulators for decades. In the dramatic conclusion to a week-long drama that has shaken trader confidence in the trillion-dollar U.S. futures markets, FBI agents arrested Wasendorf, 64, at the Iowa City hospital he was taken to after he tried to commit suicide on Monday, and they released parts of the detailed confession he had left.

In that signed statement, released as part of the criminal complaint, Wasendorf said he began forging bank documents after the business he built from his basement risked failing without additional capital. "I was forced into a difficult decision: Should I go out of business or cheat?" he wrote. He chose to cheat, and described the deceit that extended for nearly the entire life of his firm, known as PFGBest and formally named the Peregrine Financial Group. ... Continue to read.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Italy faces bond sale test after Moody's downgrade

Moody's Jewelry Neon Sign (Photo credit: Lost Tulsa)

comItaly's auction of up to 5.25 billion euros in bonds on Friday looks altogether more testing after Moody's cut its rating on the euro zone's third-largest economy to just two notches above junk status.

The agency downgraded Italy's sovereign rating by two notches to 'Baa2', citing rising risks of higher funding costs and a loss of market access. It warned it may cut it further. The unexpected move weighed negatively on Italian bonds in early trade but a new three-year bond on sale on Friday still traded at levels which pointed to a fall in the cost of borrowing from a month ago. "The (Italian government bond) futures have opened sharply lower, we have a tough day ahead of us," an Italian bond trader said. "The negative outlook is particularly worrying." Ten-year Italian government bond yields rose 13 basis points to 6.04 percent, while five-year yields were up 15 bps to 5.55 percent in response to the Moody's action. The Treasury is offering a new July 2015 bond carrying a 4.5 percent coupon and new tranches of three bonds due in 2019, 2022 and 2023 that are no longer issued on a regular basis. ... Continue to read.

Mutual Funds Vs. ETFs: European Equities

Europe Simulator (Photo credit: wigu)

According to Morningstar, has in the past year, the average return on funds in the category of European equity markets have been negative and hovered around 17.70%. The category was much stronger in the past three years and has returned close to 7.99% annually. But over the last five years, which includes the credit crisis, the return appears again in negative territory, with an average annual loss of more than 7% The above data, Navigating Europe has been pretty frustrating for investors in recent years. On average, mutual funds that invest in Europe, or regions that are close to Europe, posted negative returns with only a small window in the positive area between the credit debacle, the current round of sovereign debt problems and needs national banking systems.
All actively managed funds have a dismal record, surpassing the underlying indices. The small-cap international chamber was recently released as a category in which active managers at least have some skill set in the beating of their bogeys proved bound, but for the most part managers have no added value for investors.

excessive fees were also to blame. In the European fund category, calculates the most funds tracked by Morningstar annual expense ratios that were significantly greater than 1%. . Many fees are close to 1.5% while a few were charged in the European small-cap category, rates above 2% ... Continue to read.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

New foreclosures jump 9%

English: Foreclosure Sign, Mortgage Crisis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Foreclosures showed few signs of slowing during the first half of the year, with a sharp increase in new filings occurring during the second quarter.
More than one million homes had foreclosure filings -- notices of default, auction notices and bank repossessions -- during the first six months of 2012, up 2% from the previous six months, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties. And while the number of filings was down 11% from the first six months of 2011, 20 states still saw a marked year-over-year increase. Foreclosure filings in Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Connecticut, Florida and Illinois increased by 20% or more.
Even more troubling was a surge in new foreclosure starts that occurred during the second quarter. The number of homes with new foreclosure filings was up 9% from the first quarter and was 6% higher than the second quarter of 2011, marking the first year-over-year increase since the last quarter of 2009. Much of the uptick is due to the $26 billion foreclosure abuse settlement that was reached in April, said Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac. Among other things, the settlement set clear guidelines for the banks on how to properly foreclose on delinquent borrowers. ... Continue to read.

Krugman on How to "End This Depression Now"

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Krugman on How to "End This Depression Now". Paul Krugman, "End This Depression Now!" author, discusses the financial crisis that triggered the greatest downturn since the Great Depression, and offers ways to move ... Continue to read.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Iowa broker PFGBest collapses after hiding millions

"TUESDAY" production sign (Photo credit: Vaguely Artistic)

The U.S. futures industry reeled on Tuesday as Iowa-based broker PFGBest collapsed after regulators accused it of misappropriating customer funds for more than two years, dealing a new blow to trader trust just months after MF Global's demise.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which along with industry regulators had given a clean bill of health to dozens of brokers following spot checks in January, alleged that the firm's regulated Peregrine Financial Group (PFG) unit and its owner had defrauded customers and lied to regulators in order to hide a shortfall that now exceeds $200 million.

"The whereabouts of the funds is currently unknown," the CFTC said in a complaint against PFG and its founder and chairman, Russell R. Wasendorf Sr., whose suicide attempt on Monday morning outside the firm's Cedar Falls, Iowa, offices appears to have precipitated the crisis.

On Tuesday evening, Peregrine filed to liquidate under Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, with between $500 million and $1 billion of assets, between $100 million and $500 million of liabilities, and between 10,000 and 25,000 creditors. The Chapter 7 filing suggests the company is winding down. ... Continue to read.

Apple Gains as Major Sector ETFs Fall

Image representing Apple as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) has managed to buck the trend as major sector ETFs have been losing ground in recent sessions. The technology powerhouse was able to break the $600 mark, and make gains while the overall market has suffered in the wake of the disappointing June jobs report.

“The markets start the new week in gloomy spirits as economic growth concerns are clearly back in investors’ minds,” UralSib bank said in a morning note. “The weak U.S. payrolls report on Friday added to already-negative sentiment and ensured that markets ended the week in a risk-off mode.”

PowerShares QQQ NYSEArca: QQQ) lost 0.2% to begin the week, despite the large allocation to Apple. About 19% of holdings are allocated to AAPL, with Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT) and Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) rounding out the top companies represented. [Chart of the Day: Apple and Tech ETFs]. AAPL reversed course as major sectors, such as materials and financials, plummeted lower, reports Eric Dutram for Nasdaq. The stock climbed $8.01 to $613.89. The technology sector has been hit by the troubles in the Eurozone and the slow growth in emerging economies. However, Apple is said to be the largest contributor to growth in the sector, reports Katie Little for CNBC. [ETF Spotlight: Nasdaq 100]
“Overall in tech, we’re looking for about 3% (growth) as well, but if you remove Apple ,that growth rate drops down to a decline of about 2.5%,” John Butters, senior analyst at FactSet, said in the report. ... Continue to read.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Gold Drops After Weak Chinese Report And Incomprehensive Euro Area Finance Ministers` Decisions

"McKinley and Hobart Gold Standard 1896&q...

"McKinley and Hobart Gold Standard 1896" Ink Well (Photo credit: Cornell University Library)

Precious-Gold slipped on Tuesday trading after rebounding yesterday on worries after weak Chinese data and with some issues not tackled or detailed by the euro area finance ministers. The shiny metal found support at the critical level of $1580 an ounce yesterday to rise to a high of $1593.24 yet it retreated today to trade around $1584.36, where $1580 remains a critical support while resistance is expected to be seen at $1600. Data from China added to worries global recovery is faltering after a parade from downbeat figures from major global economies last week. China`s weaker than anticipated imports gave evidence demand is weak in the world`s second-biggest economy. However, gold may gain as an inflation hedge as the slowdown in growth along with the drop in inflation may prompt the Chinese central bank to ease monetary policy further to reinvigorate the economy. Moreover, the euro area finance ministers` meeting that took place in Brussels yesterday sparked some optimism after they agreed to provide Spain with a 100 billion euro bailout in direct cash for Spanish banks while granting the government an extra year till 2014 to its deficit reduction targets. Spain will receive a tranche of 30 billion euros by the July while the rest of the aid has not been finalized yet. The positive effect did not last long as worries increased once again as their discussions fall short of bailout terms for Greece and the mechanism to be taken in intervening in the bond markets to ease the surging bond yields in Spain and Italy. Regarding fundamentals, data from France showed a drop in industrial production by 1.9% in May from a revised of 1.4%, where manufacturing production slipped 1.0% from a revised of -0.9%. ... Continue to read.

Fund Managers Seduced by Facebook

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Investors who thought they steered clear of Facebook Inc.'s FB +1.39% initial public offering should take a closer look at their mutual funds. At least 160 U.S.-based mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, including those run by Fidelity Investments, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and OppenheimerFunds Inc., bought shares of Facebook in May, according to monthly disclosures made in June and July compiled by investment-research firm Morningstar Inc. for The Wall Street Journal.
Some of the funds that bought shares wouldn't normally be considered natural investors in a high-growth technology company like Facebook. For example, some of the demand for Facebook came from funds designed primarily to invest in dividend-paying companies or low-priced "value" stocks. Facebook is neither. The disclosures show the wide latitude afforded to mutual-fund managers, and serve as a reminder for investors of the herd mentality that governs many asset managers' buying decisions, say fund analysts and financial planners.

"Even if John Q. Public didn't buy [Facebook] directly, he may own one of the hundreds of mutual funds that did," said Geoff Bobroff, a mutual-fund consultant in East Greenwich, R.I.

About 55% of the funds known to own Facebook appear in companies' defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, according to plan tracker BrightScope Inc. ... Continue to read.

Monday, July 9, 2012

The 10 Commandments Of Investing

English: 10 Commandments within St Mary Woolnoth, near to London, City of London, Great Britain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The biblical Ten Commandments were intended to act as a driver's manual for the road of life. “Thou shalt not kill.” “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” These are life's versions of the stop-at-the-red-light-and-advance-when-safe rules of the road. In other words, they are all guidelines to keep people out of trouble. Because life’s highways are full of potholes, blind turns and bad drivers, the investing world also suffers from scandals, scams and dishonest companies. Here are 10 commandments for the investing world designed to help keep investors – and their money – safe.

1. Thou Shalt Set Clear Goals

If you don’t have a purpose or a set of clear goals to guide your investment strategy, don’t invest. This sounds harsh, but there are so many types, styles and flavors of investing that, without a particular destination, you will be lost at sea. ... Continue to read.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Will Europe Sink U.S. Stocks?

stock market (Photo credit: 401K 2012)

A story of opposites is a fitting description between European and U.S. markets. Sitting on one side of the Atlantic is the S&P 500 Index (SNP: ^ GSPC), which traded only 10% below its 2007 all-time high just a few months ago. U.S. companies also reported record earnings.

On the other side of the pond is Spain’s stock market (NYSEArca: EWP) which now trades more than 50% below its 2007 high. But Spain is not the only weak link in the chain. France’s CAC 40 also trades 50% below its all-time high and even Germany’s DAX is off by more than 20%.
Even the broader MSCI EAFE Index (NYSEArca: EFA) is down some 40% since its 2007 high.

Market dislocations this large are unusual, so the key question is this: Will the U.S. market lift Europe or will Europe (NYSEArca: FXE) drag it down?. Monkey See, Monkey Do

This week the European Central Bank (ECB) took a page from the playbook of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The ECB lowered the deposit and main refinancing interest rate between 0.75% and zero percent. “Downside risks to the euro-area economic outlook have materialized,” said Mario Draghi, ECB President. Draghi’s statement can easily be categorized as understatement of the week and possibly of the year.

The ECB follows the same path as Australia, China, Japan, U.K. and U.S. Here’s what’s occurring: Financial maneuvering by global governments, from asset purchases to near zero percent interest rates, are being tried. And yet other tactics will be tried.

Thus far, the ECB’s tactics haven’t worked. Unemployment in the region reached a record of 11.1% in May and confidence has fallen to its lowest point over the past two years. The European Commission expects 0.3% shrinkage in economic activity and more downward revisions are ahead. ... Continue to read.

Friday, July 6, 2012

China's Surprise Rate Cut Signals More Trouble Ahead ?

Aerial, Overhead shot of parade at Tienanmen square, China's 60th National Anniversary Oct. 1 2009_0046 (Photo credit: \!/_PeacePlusOne)

China’s unexpected cut in interest rates – the second in less than a month – suggests that the world’s second-biggest economy is in worse shape than it appears and the government is getting worried about growth prospects ahead of the release of key economic data next week. By surprising markets and slashing the one-year lending rate by 31 basis points to 6 percent and the deposit rates by 25 basis points to 3 percent, Beijing is signaling that it is getting serious about bolstering the economy by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and lifting private-sector investment, economists tell CNBC. “The timing is earlier than expected, even if we already penciled-in one more cut in the third quarter. This may foreshadow worse than expected growth numbers that are due to release next week,” HSBC economists Qu Hongbin and Sun Junwei wrote in a report on Thursday. China is due to release closely-watched indicators, including inflation and trade figures for June and second-quarter GDP

growth, which economists say may show that the Chinese economy is slowing faster than the government would like. Beijing is targeting a growth rate of 7.5 percent for the economy for 2012. ... Continue to read.

Is it time, the airline ETF (FAA) buy?

Ethiopian Airlines 757-200 (Photo credit: caribb)

The airline industry continues to face challenges of concerns associated with business and oil prices and the never-ending turmoil. The major threat to the airline industry is the fuel price volatility, which is next hedging techniques that are outside the control of airlines (Read: Airline ETF requests turbulence on oil surge). While higher oil prices make the operation of aircraft, expensive, lower price point to a slowing economy and lead to a decline in global demand for air travel. The fluctuating trend in oil prices and growing tensions over Iran and other Middle East nations to keep pressure on airlines (Read: Three ETFs for an Iranian crisis). These concerns are wide fears of the rise in oil prices in the second half of the year and declining demand from key emerging economies, the rise is already in its development the majority of air travel in the recent past. Behind these emerging market suffering, developed markets are not much better, especially in the case of Europe. Despite a series of bailouts in Europe intensified suffering of all eyes on Greece, Spain and Italy, as to stop the slide in its business (Read: Spanish Bailout: Did it help European ETFs) to try. In fact, threats of a recession looming on the economy at large. In such a scenario would jeopardize the warning before a decline in demand for air travel airlines that violate the value of the shares of airlines and every ETF with exposure to the sector ... Continue to read.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Room for Optimism on Europe: Mark Mobius

Squawk Box Europe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is room for optimism that Europe's economy will recover, Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman at Templeton Asset Management's Emerging Markets Group told CNBC on Thursday, as companies in fast-growing emerging markets look to make acquisitions in the region. "One of the reasons why I'm optimistic about Europe is that all this money in emerging markets is waiting for the opportunity to buy assets in Europe," he said.

"So there's going to be plenty of opportunities for Europe to sell state assets or other assets... So the picture looks very good," Mobius told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe". Despite the global impact of the euro zone debt crisis, Mobius said emerging markets would continue to outpace their Western counterparts. “The emerging markets are doing very well. Economically this year average growth for all these markets would be around five percent and the debt to GDP levels are low compared to developed countries,” he added. ... Continue to read.

3 Bond ETFs I Consider To Be Cheap

Investors United (School of Real Estate Investing) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many investors and potential investors have asked me how I determine the value of a specific company's stock. When it comes to ETFs there are few things I consider, but one of the most important things to look at in my opinion, is the fee the fund charges potential investors when they are considering establishing a position.
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV): BSV, which trades in a 52-week range of $80.59 (52-week low) and $81.94 (52-week high), yields an estimated 1.67% ($1.36), making the stock an affordable option considering its dividend. Shares have been pretty flat during the last few trading sessions and could continue to demonstrate similar behavior through the second half of the year. One the key catalysts for potential investors would be the expense ratio when compared to that of its peers. Currently, BSV charges investors an annualized expense ratio of 0.11%, when compared to the category average of 0.18%. That difference equates to an estimated savings of 39% annually. ... Continue to read.

Benjamin Graham Was A Crappy Hedge Fund Manager

Jack Bogle, the outspoken godfather of index funds and passive investing strategies, didn't approve of a recent Wall Street Journal article defending hedge funds.

In particular, he took issue with the author's reference to Benjamin Graham, the legendary Columbia finance professor who literally wrote the book on Security Analysis and mentored Warren Buffett.

Bogle wrote a letter to the editor. Here's an excerpt: Citing Benjamin Graham as the first "hedged fund" operator is an especially unfortunate example. "The trick," Mr. Rice writes, was Graham's "clever way to make money . . . whether it [the market] continued to rise, or started to fall." ...

Proposal for New Hedge Fund Fee Structure: 1% + 33% of Alpha

By The Big Picture

One of my pet peeves is the way that insiders -- whether corporate CEOs, hedge fund managers, or elected politicos -- capture compensation (or credit) for normal cyclical gains they had little or nothing to do with.

This is the approach favored by the Crony Capitalists — those people pretending to be free market participants, and who merely pretend to be creating value. They are taking credit for structural successes that would have occurred with or without them. What they are actually doing is capturing value, not creating it — and then transferring it from its true owners (shareholders/investors) to themselves.

This is wrong; it is legalized theft.

If you want to see a good example of how CEOs transfer shareholder wealth to themselves, a good place to start is Roger Lowenstein’s 2004 book, Origins of the Crash: The Great Bubble and Its Undoing. The section on CEO compensation is astounding; these guys were essentially getting wildly overcompensated for being CEOs during a bull market. The prime example was the CEO of Heinz, who gave himself (with the tacit approval of his Board of~~Crony~~ Directors) a $90 million bonus. And this was back in the early 1990s, when $90 million was real money.

Why Do You Want To Be A Hedge Fund Investor?

www.ritholtz.com

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced that it would launch a new mutual fund that — apparently — will bring the joy of hedge fund investing to the masses. For as little as $1,000, the Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund (GMAMX) allows mom-and-pop investors to put their life savings into some of Wall Street’s riskiest and most expensive products. This “fund of funds” will, according to its prospectus, let investors gain exposure to the trading strategies of hedge funds...

Public pensions fare well with hedge funds

Big public pension funds reaped strong returns from their hedge fund portfolios in 2012, with most of them handily surpassing their own benchmarks and well-used industry indexes. The hedge fund portfolios, for the most part, achieved close to what chief investment officers wanted, despite a 1,500-basis-point difference between the best and worst performers, according toPensions & Investments' analysis of the returns of 19 hedge fund portfolios from 17 U.S. public retirement plans with aggregate hedge fund assets of $60.7 billion.

Daniel Loeb surfing to the top of the hedge fund charts again

Something must be in the water over at 399 Park Avenue, where Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point is headquartered. His Third Point Ultra fund has already gained 12.42 percent this year through the 13th of March, according to data from HSBC’s Private Bank.

The portfolio added 3.3 percent alone between March 1 and March 13. By comparison, hedge funds have returned about 4 percent year-to-date, according to HSBC.

The roughly $1.7 billion Ultra portfolio is a levered version of the firm’s flagship Offshore fund, which manages about $5.7 billion and has gained 8.5 percent over the same period. ...

CHART: Hedge Fund Gold Allocation Falls

After taking a cursory look at the recent 13-Fs filed by hedge funds, it became apparent that hedge funds were scaling back their exposures to gold. George Soros was among the big names that unloaded his position. According to Goldman Sachs' new Hedge Fund Trend Monitor report, hedge funds in aggregate scaled back big time.

Despite low turnover, hedge funds notably reduced holdings of underperforming long-time favorites Apple and gold while raising allocations to rallying Financials. For the first time in three years AAPL was not the top stock in our VIP list, instead ranking as the third most frequent top-10 holding... Continue to read.

10 Publicly Traded Hedge Funds That Pay a Dividend
Investing in publicly traded hedge funds is a great way for an investor to see returns through capital appreciation and dividend payments in the financial sector. When it comes to investing, many think of the process as a choice between growth and value stocks; you’re either taking on risk in search of capital appreciation, or you’re seeking out stable sources of current income through dividend payments. Luckily, Wall Street has many investment options and investors don’t have to make a clear-cut choice between capital gains and dividends. There are a lot of misunderstandings about dividend stocks out there; make sure you’re investing for the right reasons, check out 5 Common Misconceptions About Dividend Investing. ... Continue.

Hedge Funds Love These 3 Outperforming Semiconductor Stocks ...
Do you like to follow the buying trends of smart money investors? We ran a screen to find semiconductor stocks currently in favor by hedge fund managers. We began by screening the semiconductor industry for stocks that are rallying above their 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day moving averages, indicating that these stocks have strong upward momentum.
We then screened for those with bullish sentiment from institutional investors, with significant net institutional purchases over the last quarter representing at least 5% of share float. ... Continue.

10 REITs Absolutely Adored By Hedge Funds
After identifying the most popular stocks among hedge funds (see our full Top 10 here) according to their third-quarter 13F filings, we have decided to break down the top 10 REIT stocks that hedge funds love. The REIT industry, notably specialized REITs in hospitality and healthcare, should see positive growth from a rise in job growth and expansion due to freeing up of the credit markets. Our list includes 400 hedge funds and prominent investors that are required by the SEC to disclose their public equity holdings quarterly. In descending order, we have outlined the most-loved REIT stocks based on the aggregate number of funds owning each. ...Continue.

Apple Stock Hit by Panic Selling: 'Someone Yelled Fire'(Yahoo) Forget the "fiscal cliff." The real panic on Wall Street is over Apple's stock. Nearly every mutual and hedge fund has piled into Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during its spectacular rise over the past few years. Now, these same funds are scrambling for the exits as the stock goes through an equally spectacular decline. Apple plunged to a six-month low Thursday as funds rushed to take profits on the stock before it's too late. Shares are now off 25 percent since late September-shortly after the iPhone 5 launch and a month before the iPad Mini introduction. The stock, once up 74 percent on the year, is still up 30 percent for 2012. That's why Wall Street is getting out while it can. ...

Billionaire George Soros’s Latest Stock Picks (InsiderMonkey) George Soros is best known for the fortune he made shorting the British pound in 1992, but he currently invests a considerable amount of money in equities and so is required to report many of his long positions in 13F filings. We’ve gone through the 13F for the third quarter of the year and compared Soros’s holdings at the end of September to three months earlier. Read on for our impression of his moves and compare them to what he's bought and sold before. AIG. American International Group, Inc. (NYSE::AIG) became Soros’s largest 13F equity holding during the third quarter with a position of over 15 million shares being reported in the filing. A number of value investors have been getting into the insurer over the course of the year, and at a P/B ratio of 0.5 it certainly looks cheap compared to the book value of its equity. We also like its earnings multiples- it trades at 9 times forward earnings estimates- and revenue was up strongly in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2011. Fellow billionaire Dan Loeb had initiated a position during the second quarter of 2012 and we think that it still looks like a good buy for investors. ...

Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers still facing issues as tough year nears an end (BizJournals) In late 2011, Jim Rogers seemed almost golden. He was about to close his last big merger deal. He was poised to take a corporate chairmanship tailored to his penchants for energy policy and reshaping the utility-business model. He was ready to bask in the spotlight of a national convention he’d helped bring to Charlotte. But by late 2012, it’s evident things have not gone so well. “It has been a year of challenges,” the Duke Energy Corp. chief executive concedes. “Nothing in life is perfect.” Dan Fogel, associate director of the Wake Forest University Business School’s Center for Energy, ...

Argo unveils emerging markets hedge fund (InvestmentWeek) Argo Group has launched an emerging markets hedge fund investing in bonds and currencies from a universe of over 40 emerging market countries. The Argo Local Markets fund aims to hold between 20 and 30 positions and has been launched with an initial $7m of seed capital. It will offer investors weekly liquidity and has a mandate to take on moderate leverage. Argo chief executive Kyriakos Rialas said: "The case for investing in emerging markets is compelling. ...

Argentina's President Is Making Great Political Theater Out Of Paul Singer Seizing The Country's Naval Ship(BusinessInsider) Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is turning her feud with hedge fund manager Paul Singer into a political rallying cry in Argentina. The President has refused to pay Singer's firm Elliott Management the $1.3 billion it owes the fund after it defaulted in 2010. de Kirchner says it's because Singer was given multiple chances (in 2005 and 2010) to restructure, like other hedge funds did, and take a haircut to recoup at least a portion of their losses. Singer, needless to say, did not. Instead, he decided to capture one of Argentina's naval vessels as collateral, and got Ghana to give him an order to detain the ARA Libertad last month. ...

Tom Steyer New Investments
FARALLON CAPITAL Hedge fund billionaire into politics (DailyDemocrat) Hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer staked millions of his own money to take on big oil and then to close a corporate-tax loophole costing California $1 billion a year -- and won both times. Ever heard of him? Don't worry, you will. With his latest behind-the-scenes win at the polls as the man who stared down big business by standing up for Proposition 39, this Stanford MBA and top Obama fundraiser has become an out-of-nowhere big-time political player in California. So what does Tom Steyer want now? "I am an enormous lover of California and to the extent that I see something wrong, I will be involved in trying to fix it," Steyer, 55, said Monday. "What form that takes, I don't have a fixed idea." ...

This Hedge Fund Returned Nearly 25% Last Quarter
Artis Capital Management was a top performing hedge fund during the third quarter. Coming in with the fourth best Q3 performance, the fund’s picks had a weighted average return of 25.5% during the first half of the year, and returned 24.6% for the third quarter, boosting the fund’s year to date performance to 56.4%. Artis Capital was founded in 2001 and is a San Francisco-based hedge fund with a focus on public technology companies. ... Read more.

More ETFs Play Hedge Fund Copycat
What if you could emulate the actions of the most successful hedge fund managers for a fraction of what they cost? Two ETFs that debuted this summer are trying to do that by using public filings to replicate their portfolios. And a third, which launched early this month, promises to add another hedge fund dimension to ETF copycats by adopting what its sponsor calls the only true market-neutral strategy in the lot. Researchers have been trying to emulate hedge fund strategies since the 1990s ... Read more

BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé.

BMW and Pininfarina are two of the most tradition-swathed names in the motoring world. Each is a byword for cutting-edge technology, style, dynamics and aesthetics. With the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé, the two

time-honoured companies are unveiling the outcome of their first collaboration at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013. The BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé is a one-off and represents the exclusive interpretation of a luxurious BMW Coupé as seen through the eyes of Pininfarina.

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All Time Record Gold Transactions Reported By LBMA

The precious metals have been weak again in May with gold falling 4.4% despite this weeks’ recovery. Silver is down 7% and platinum by 2.6%. Palladium has recovered from recent weakness and those who accumulated on weakness are set for the best month since November after it surged 6.6% in May.

Weakness in gold and silver is leading to robust demand internationally as store of value buyers accumulate gold and silver on this dip. This is particularly the case in Asia where premiums remain robust and supply demand imbalances remain. ...

6 Tips to Work From Home Successfully

The future of work is the work itself, not where and when the work takes place. Workplace flexibility programs are already catching on and will soon become standardized as more millennials enter the workplace. All workers, not just millennials,want freedom and flexibility and some are even quitting their jobs to becoming freelancers in order to gain that freedom. oDesk.com has 3.3 million registered freelancers, and Intuit predicts that by 2020, 40% of Americans will be freelancers. When it comes to working from home, 13.4 million people (9.4% of all American workers) work from home at least one day per week compared to just 9.2 million in 1997 according to one Census Bureau.

Today's top Green Energy Good News

Russia is funding research into powering its airplanes with solar energy. The airline industry is being hurt by high fuel prices, and solar-powered planes would not only be cheaper but also would remove a major source of carbon pollution that contributes to global warming.

Texas is set to double its wind energy generation from 60 gigawatts to 120 gigawatts in 2013.

Britain has made substantial investments in wind energy and its technology. British PM David Cameron is touting his country’s green expertise on his trip to India to promote trade with that country. ... Continue.

High-Dividend ETFs with Reasonable Valuations

Investors have picked over the ETF universe in search of any kind of yield in an extremely low-rate market for bonds. As a result, ETFs tracking many traditional high-yield sectors have been bid up to expensive levels, but there are still places investors can go for income without paying nosebleed valuations. “Unfortunately, valuations [for dividends, high-yield junk bonds, MLPs, and REITs] are approaching sky high levels in many instances as more investors fall in love with these products ... Continue.