Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Bank Of America's website has been barely functional the majority of the day (there is a warning on the front page) and was apparently down much of the weekend. Oh, but everything is okay.
Uh ... wha?
I have not had a high opinion of Leuthold over the last couple of years, but I'd be VERY curious why he's suddenly leaving. I mean, I know he's not in his 20's, but he certainly has seemed into the whole process. Very strange.
Reply to @Maurice: Very different. There's a fund investing in "commercial disputes"
(Burford Capital Limited is a closed-ended investment company registered in Guernsey and publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market. The Company’s …
Reply to @kevindow: Thank you for that.
This was the best part:
ANDREW: I have not been invited. Warren has not invited me. Am I invited to the dinner tonight?
BUFFETT: No.
_____________________________________
Now, I hate CNBC, but Sorkin i…
Reply to @hank: Buffett was also telling people to buy in October 2008. He's always aw shucks optimistic and who can blame the guy - he's sitting on a huge pile of money. He may be right, but when you're Buffett and have the money he does and the ab…
I was going to do a few different things - I did add to AQR Risk Parity today and may throw a couple of dollars at Bill Ackman's Hong Kong dollar trade, but other things I'd planned to do will not be done now and may not be done at all this year. Th…
"Pile upon this (again related to the U.S.) another push to "force" China or any other country determined by a quasi-intellectual group of folks in the U.S. to have an unfair or manipulated currency exchange and one finds a new problem for growth; b…
Reply to @Anonymous: I continue to fail to see - and will probably continue to - what the investment thesis is for the banks. If you're going to institute a $60 a year fee to use a debit card, you're going to alienate a fairly large degree of your c…
Buying a little Greenlight Capital RE (GLRE) this morning, likely for a mid-to-long term holding. Not much and I'm still not particularly positive overall (I do lean towards the idea that things do look on the bleak side), but thought it was an attr…
Reply to @CathyG: Rydex Managed Futures was the first Managed Futures product (I believe) made available to the retail investor. It is long/short (based on trends) financial (t-bonds and developed currencies) and commodities. The positioning is chan…
Reply to @CathyG: Pretty awful.
The only other thing that performed well in 2008 was managed futures. Rydex Managed Futures (RYMFX) was up 8% or so. Managed Futures would potentially do well in another 2008, as if we get a consistent trend down, th…
Reply to @Maurice: The fund will make random "return of capital" distributions during losing years, which will be called - for the purpose of the fund - "comps".
"In other words, the solution to the European debt crisis is to create much more debt--out of thin air, of course."
(sarcasm) Wait, isn't solving this crisis with way more debt out of thin air the best way to solve it?(/sarcasm)
Oh, and we can do …
"That would be a "nano-moment" in today's market place, yes ?"
Is there something less than a nano-moment? That would likely be an accurate description.
The "short bond" trade worked out terribly to those who suggested it a year or two ago. Howeve…
Probably about 3%, I also hold small 1% holdings in AQMNX and ASANX. I could see AQRNX being a bigger holding (5%?), but I'm not particularly eager to add to anything or start new positions in this looney market at this point in time. I did short bo…
A couple of thoughts at 5:30 in the AM:
1. I like Groupon, although the deals of interest have gotten a little thinner in the last 6 months or so.
2. The "local deal" sites will persist, but there were too many piling on (I believe facebook ended …
Reply to @bee: I believe that inflation is the end result, but if problems remain unchecked and that's left to play out, then I could certainly see another 2008-style scenario. Neither end result is good.
I'm definitely in agreement with you regarding illiquid investments. I don't like them either, but have wound up with a handful of them aside from Jardine, including a couple that are more illiquid than Jardine. I'd like to be able to invest directl…
As I've discussed recently, I do have some concerns about what's currently going on in emerging markets, such as Brazil's recent tariff action (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/218488/20110922/brazil-tariff-china-trade-war.htm), among other things.
…
I'd suggest reading this article for a further discussion regarding currency action recently:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/financial-warfare
I'd suggest reading this on Brazil's decision to slap a 30% tariff on certain imports from China:
http://w…
Reply to @Anonymous: Do I agree that it's a little late and little obvious? Sure. However, Jaffe's points about ego getting in the way may be - I think - valid (I still think the Bank of America conference call and the "thank you note" to the govern…
Another EM Debt fund: "Schroder filed to launch an emerging-markets debt absolute return fund. According to the prospectus, the offering will invest at least 60% of its assets in emerging-markets debt securities and emerging-markets currencies."
Reply to @Kenster1_GlobalValue: I think he held a big position in AHM or something like that right into the credit crisis. There was some story about that fund in 2008, I forget the details, but I think it was AHM. SLSDX, Selected International, had…
A few notes:
1. Stupid Investment of the Week? There are probably worse.
2. Stupidest Manager of the Year? Certainly in the running. Other formerly smart managers having stupid years: Brent Lynn (Janus Overseas, JAOSX) and, again, Heebner (CGMFX) …
Reply to @CathyG: Admittedly, I have no experience with the situation (yet), but I think if you went in and presented some of your concerns (maybe not in a specific way, but in a way that addresses the fiscal status of the industry as a whole and th…
It's not looking too good stock-wise; it was down 10% yesterday and is near a 52-wk low. A lot of these companies were thought (in some circles) to be safe havens (and I definitely get the logic behind the thought that these companies were going to …
Reply to @CathyG: This is what I was saying yesterday. It's remarkable to me that people would rather have treasuries at these levels than a Kraft, a P & G or other, similar companies, but that's what you're seeing again. Additionally, as I men…
Regarding EM, I'd suggest reading this article. Some may not like the source, but some of the points made regarding currencies and EM may be of interest, whether in regards to EM stocks or bonds.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/financial-warfare
Reply to @AndyJ: I didn't think this was going to end well a few years ago, but I continue to be surprised with how bad things have been allowed to get - and that's really what happens when cans get kicked down the road for ages. Greece is bad enoug…
Thankfully not a big position and some other things have been doing well (I had a few bucks sitting in cash yesterday and put it in shorts - not enough to make a difference, but something.), but this is a day where nothing is really doing well aside…
