Thursday, June 9, 2011

Stock Tips & News

Top News

S Stock Futures Higher After Jobless Claims; DJIA Up 46

Wall Street Journal - 28 minutes ago

By Jonathan Cheng US stock futures climbed higher Thursday morning after US exports surged to a new high and the European Central Bank signaled further rate rises, putting stocks on a path to break its recent string of losses.

Natural Gas Market Is Substantially Oversupplied

Seeking Alpha - an hour ago

The following chart shows the price of natural gas in amber, Managed Money net shorts in white, and Producer net shorts in green. As can be seen, Managed Money has aggressively covered their ...

Opening View: Dow Futures Up as Street Awaits Key Economi...

Schaeffers Research - an hour ago

by Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com) 6/9/2011 8:30 AM Stocks fell for a sixth straight day on Wednesday, as the Street continued to process Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's Tuesday ...

Long-Dollar Trade Signals Forming

TheStreet.com - an hour ago

By Marco Hague 06/09/11 - 08:24 AM EDT The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the ...

How Merkel's Visit Could Tank or Catapult the Dollar

Seeking Alpha - an hour ago

By Paul Quintaro President Obama welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Tuesday, for the first official visit of a European leader to the White House during the Obama ...

Dollar Steady Ahead Of US Weekly Jobless Claims, April Tr...

RTT News - an hour ago

(RTTNews) - The weekly US initial jobless claims report will be made public by the Labor Department at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to have declined to 418,000 in the week ended June 4th ...

Bank Said No? Hedge Funds Fill a Void in Lending

By AZAM AHMED

Hedge funds are becoming lenders, but there are risks for those involved and for the broader economy.

U.S. Is Falling Behind in the Business of 'Green'

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Strong incentives in European and Asian countries have given them the lead in clean energy technologies.

A Russian A.T.M. With an Ear for the Truth

By ANDREW E. KRAMER

A.T.M.'s being tested in Russia use voice-analysis software to assess whether questions are answered truthfully.

Sapato.ru, The “Zappos Of Russia”, Raises $12 Million From Intel, Others
( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

Hong Kong land auction fails to smash record price as expected, indicating market cooling
HONG KONG — A Hong Kong government land auction failed to achieve the expected record price, indicating that higher mortgage rates and government measures to cool the property market are having some effect.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Major China drug maker latest target in crackdown on pollution
SHANGHAI — Foul waste emitted by one of China’s biggest drug makers has become the latest target in a widening campaign to crack down on the country’s severe pollution problems.
( Associated Press Associated Press , AP)

Six Apart Releases Movable Type Updates To Plug Security Holes, Following PBS Hack
( by TechCrunch.com , TechCrunch.com)

China Drags Feet on Affordable Housing
Despite issuing stern warnings in countless meetings and through official newspaper editorials, China's central government appears unable to get local governments to act on long-standing orders to build affordable housing.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/?p=13887?mod=djemChinaRTR_t

Video: Chinese Cows Produce Human Breast Milk
A new solution to the melamine-tainted milk powder problem? Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/?p=13885?mod=djemChinaRTR_t

What a China Slowdown Means for the World
China's frothy property market seems finally to be taking a leg down, which could be bad news not just for China, but for some of its biggest trading partners.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/?p=13882?mod=djemChinaRTR_t

Jim Rogers: China's Not Going to be Communist Ever Again
In an interview with WSJ's Simon Constable, famed investor Jim Rogers weighs in on the problems China's economy faces and the ways in which China's rise parallels that of the U.S.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/?p=13880?mod=djemChinaRTR_t

India Starts Push to Stop Food Wastage

From the field to the table, India is preparing for a massive drive to stop rampant wastage of food which could feed millions of people who are now going hungry despite successive years of strong farm output.

Citi Confirms Data Breach

Citigroup said hackers have viewed some of its bank card customers' account information. The company said roughly 1% of customers' accounts were viewed but didn't estimate the actual number affected.

Investors Keen to Be Part of India's Green Growth

India has made it into the A-list of global investors in renewable energy, a recognition of the country's proactive government energy program, natural resources and mushrooming swathe of entrepreneurs.

India This Evening: Finance Ministry Sets Up Another Panel on Black Money

Here is a roundup of news from Indian newspapers, news wires and Web sites on Wednesday, June 8, 2011. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Three reasons why gold is going to have a big summer - Embry

As concerns grow once more about the health of the global economy and the nature of gold demand shifts, so the yellow metal is likely to shrug off its traditional summer funk. Wednesday , 08 Jun 2011

Bearish on currencies so silver and gold companies interesting investments - Jason Mann

Mann, a senior analyst with Freestone, explains why about one third of $2.1 billion in assets under management are invested in non-traditional assets, including precious metals. Gold Report interview Thursday , 09 Jun 2011

Steeply rising mining costs may impact mining company earnings

Despite high metals prices mining company earnings are likely to be adversely impacted by ever-rising capital and operating costs Wednesday , 08 Jun 2011

India set to overtake US in diamond jewellery sales

India, which was in fourth position in terms of purchasing power parity in 2009, is set to climb to the second spot after China, with the US slipping to third Wednesday , 08 Jun 2011

Bernanke speech gives no hint of QE3 - gold falls back

Comments by Ben Bernake in a speech have punctured expectations for imminent QE3, leading to reduced pressure on dollar and gold price slipping Wednesday , 08 Jun 2011

Gold could hit $1,650 this summer - Embry

Problems in both the U.S. and Europe as well as continued growth in investment demand are some of the reasons why Sprott's John Embry believes gold is likely to have a good summer.
Morning Market Briefing

Japan Revised Q1 GDP Down 3.5% On Year

Japan's gross domestic product contracted a revised 3.5 percent annualized in the first quarter of 2011, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - missing forecasts for a decline of 3.0 percent following last month's preliminary reading for a 3.7 percent fall. (Jun 9, 2011) Full Article

Australia Unemployment Holds Steady At 4.9%

The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.9 percent in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, matching both forecasts and the previous month's reading. (Jun 9, 2011) Full Article

IMF Calls On China To Strengthen Yuan, Rely More On Interest Rates

Allowing yuan to appreciate further will help China achieve its objectives set out in its twelfth five-year plan and catalyze the country's economic reforms in the coming years, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. (Jun 9, 2011) Full Article

European Central Bank Keeps Rates Unchanged

The European Central Bank kept its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, in line with expectations, but at the post-meeting press conference, the central bank chief is expected to signal a rate hike for July. The Governing Council kept the main refinancing rate at 1.25 percent at the meeting held in Frankfurt. The rate on the marginal lending facility was retained at 2 percent, while the rate on the deposit facility was left unchanged at 0.50 percent. (Jun 9, 2011) Full Article

BoE Keeps Record Low Interest Rate

The Bank of England left its record low interest rate as well as the size of quantitative easing unchanged once again, given the softness of the economy amid huge fiscal consolidation. (Jun 9, 2011) Full Article

Taxes on the menu in debt-reduction talks WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top lawmakers on Thursday are expected to discuss one of the biggest hurdles in the way of a debt-reduction deal that would allow the United States to continue borrowing at rock-bottom rates -- taxes. | Full Article

Facebook gives regulators info on facial recognition June 08, 2011 04:10 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook is providing European regulators with information about its use of facial recognition technology, in response to concerns about the company's roll-out of the technology's availability outside of the United States. | Full Article

Fed: U.S. default would be dangerous; Fitch may cut rating 09 JUN 2011 08:54 BST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. default would have severe reverberations in global markets, a top Federal Reserve official said just hours after Fitch Ratings warned it could slash U.S. credit ratings if the government misses bond payments. | Full Article

Sharp drop in consumer demand narrows trade deficit 09 JUN 2011 11:10 BST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's goods trade deficit with the rest of the world narrowed more than expected in April, although the improvement was driven by a sharp fall in demand for consumer goods, rather than any big improvement in exports. | Full Article

Home Retail sales slump adds to spending fears 09 JUN 2011 09:50 BST LONDON (Reuters) - Home Retail , the No. 1 household goods retailer, said cash-strapped and fearful shoppers had cut back dramatically on purchases of consumer electronics, raising fears of another downturn in spending. | Full Article

Brent near $118 as OPEC talks collapse 09 JUN 2011 09:20 BST SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent was steady around $118 on Thursday, after surging in the previous session as Saudi Arabia failed to convince OPEC members to raise output targets and data showed U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week. | Full Article

The Daily Crux

This simple chart shows why trillions of dollars in new money-printing can't fix the economy "It is time to face the music..."

Eight high-yielding stocks that could grow dividends for years
All pay 3% or more with super-low "payout ratios"...

Eighteen terrible signs the collapse of America is accelerating
"Frustration is starting to boil over, and it is only going to get worse..."

One of the world's most undervalued commodities could finally be set to soar
Here's the safest way to profit from the inevitable rally...

Former governor Ventura: Two simple ways to bring integrity back to America

"It's a corrupt system... It's based upon panhandling and bribery..."

HFN

Ex-SAC Trader Testifies to Using Inside Info A former SAC Capital portfolio manager testified in federal court he conducted about 20 trades based on alleged inside information received from ex-Primary Global expert networking consultant Winifred Jiau. [more

Harbinger Offers LightSquared Stake for Redemptions Hedge fund manager Phil Falcone, who is betting a lot on the development of a next-generation wireless network through his stake in startup LightSquared, is hoping his investors will stick with him as he rides that bet out. [more

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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.

...

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.