Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
The stock market may seem complicated if not rigged. But the fact is that many people have done quite well over the years. So to make things easier — and increase the odds of success — there’s a new iOS app to help out. It’s called Robinhood. …“Robinhood is a great tool for surfacing the next generation of Warren Buffets,” said Vladimir. “Investors are constantly on the lookout for new information and ideas. Financial advisors, brokers, and investment research firms derive much of their edge from being gatekeepers of this information. With Robinhood, the aim is to make a transparent and free social platform for investing ideas, and give every investor equal access to this platform. This way, individuals gain access to a wide variety of opinions, and those who perform best are rewarded with more exposure and recognition.”
Kids to pitch businesses to Warren Buffett (NewsTimes)
A select group of young entrepreneurs have won an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to investor Warren Buffett. The kids, who are between 7- and 16-years-old, were chosen out of nearly 4,000 entries in the online contest. The contest is tied to “The Secret Millionaires Club” cartoon that Buffett appears in to teach financial lessons. The contest is sponsored by the Fairholme Foundation and overseen by the By Kids For Kids Co. Five individuals and three teams will be flown to Omaha to present their ideas to Buffett and a panel of judges.
12 Days of Berkshire Hathaway (Fool)
On May 4, thousands of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) faithful will descend on Omaha for the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting. They will be there to toss newspapers onto the porch of a Clayton Home. They will be there to try on Justin boots, buy GEICO insurance, eat at Gorat’s steakhouse, wander the Nebraska Furniture Mart, and run in the Brooks “Invest in Yourself” 5k race. And, of course, they will be there to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger — two of the greatest investors of our time — answer questions from shareholders and the media. …Forever is a mighty long time, but in terms of being a long-term owner, Buffett practices what he preaches. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) have been in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s portfolio for more than two decades. While Buffett hasn’t been an active buyer in Coke for quite a while, he’s added significantly to the Wells position in recent years.
He’s Not Short: Dude Likely Cheered On IBM Plunge (YCharts)
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) 8.3% face plant on April 19th following a disappointing quarterly earnings report likely didn’t set off any quaking in Omaha. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) chairman Warren Buffett just might be a little pleased that IBM retreated. After spending $10.9 billion in 2011 to scoop up 5.5% of IBM’s outstanding shares — making Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) its largest shareholder — Buffett wrote in that year’s shareholder letter: “We should wish for IBM’s stock price to languish throughout the [next] five years.” Buffett’s reasoning boiled down to wanting to get the most bang for the buck as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) anagement continued on its long-term path of stock buybacks.
The Trouble Ahead (ETFDailyNews)
Warren Buffett recently opined that bonds should come with a warning label these days. That is doubly true of most bond funds. Many investors are about to get steamrolled. But if you act now, you can avoid getting hurt. Let me explain… Historically, the best-performing bond funds have had one thing in common: low expenses.For example, Vanguard’s fixed-income funds are routinely found in the top quartile of annual bond fund performance. Why? Because, unlike stocks – where security selection is the key to outperformance – it’s tough to increase returns by picking individual bonds. I’ll concede, however, that it is possible.
Top Returns From ‘Wide-Moat’ Stocks (TheStreet)
Warren Buffett has long talked about the virtues of businesses with “moats.” Such companies rely on strong brands or other advantages to defend their markets from encroachments of rivals. Buffett’s favorites include The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). Can wide-moat stocks outperform the markets? Maybe so. Several wide-moat ETFs have delivered solid returns. Among the most promising choices are two products that track a Morningstar index, ELEMENTS Morningstar Wide Moat Focus ETN (WMW) and Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF (MOAT). During the past five years, the Elements ETN returned 10% annually, compared to 4.6% for the S&P 500, according to Morningstar.
Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club “Grow Your Own Business Challenge” Announces Finalists! (SacBee)
As part of the NYSE celebration of Financial Capabilities Week, last years’ Secret Millionaires Club ‘Grow Your Own Business Challenge’ Grand Prize Winner, Aria Eppinger helped ring the closing bell at the NYSE and announced this year’s Finalists. Almost 4,000 kids ages 7 to 16 entered their creative business ideas to the competition for a chance to win the grand prize of $5,000 and an opportunity to present their ideas to Warren Buffett. The Secret Millionaires Club is an animated series created by A2 Entertainment airing on The HUB Network and with online webisodes, featuring the voice of Warren Buffett as a mentor to a group of kids as they learn important financial and entrepreneurial lessons.
Is Gold a Disappointing “Safe Haven”? (GoldSeek)
What is a “Safe-Haven”? It should be defined as a long-term investment that holds its value internationally, in extreme financial times. Is gold one of these? After all, it has fallen from $1,921 at its peak to $1,344 at its trough. This is a 30% fall over the last year plus. At one time George Soros described gold as the “Ultimate Safe-Haven”, before saying it was a “disappointing Safe-Haven”. Alan Greenspan described gold as being “money in extremis.” …In the “Bear Raid” we have seen over the last fortnight when gold was smashed down $200 after declining $100 before that, the physical gold sales came almost exclusively from the SPDR gold ETF before being accompanied by a massive 400 tonne gold short on COMEX. In addition, two large U.S. banks, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch appeared to act ‘in concert’ to ensure the raid was successful.
What Wall Street’s Gossips Are Saying About George Soros Shorting Gold (BusinessInsider)
Before I relay this, let me first make sure you understand that I am simply discussing a rumor here – I have no way of knowing whether or not it is true and have no opinion as to whether anyone should or should not act on it. Thank you for being an adult…And over the last week or so, the one rumor I keep hearing from different hedge fund people is that George Soros is currently massively short gold and that he’s making an absolute killing. Once again, I have no way of knowing if this is true or false. But enough people are saying it that I thought it worthwhile to at least mention.
George Soros and the ghost of Christmas future (WashingtonPost)
On Thursday, Reuters accidentally published an advance obituary for financier and liberal philanthropist George Soros. What gave it away were the headline that stated his age as “XX” and the lede noting that “George Soros, who died XXX at age XXX, was a predatory and hugely successful financier and investor, who argued paradoxically for years against the same sort of free-wheeling capitalism that made him billions.” (“Soros didn’t look a day over YYY,” Jeffrey Goldberg quipped on Twitter.) “A spokesman for Soros said that the New York-based financier is alive and well,” a follow-up Reuters article noted. “Reuters regrets the error.” Whoops.
George Soros’ son puts his $12 million New York townhouse on the market (and it has a rooftop basketball court) (DailyMail)
George Soros’ son Gregory is selling a $12 million home in Manhattan, which features a rooftop basketball court, less than three years after he bought it. Gregory, a 20-something artist, bought the single-family townhouse at 5 Centre Market Place in Little Italy in late 2010 for $11,999,900 – down from the original sale price of $18 million in 2008. Soros is now selling the house for $12 million, just $100 more than what he paid in 2010, according to the real estate website Curbed.
‘Japan’s finance is sinking into the ocean’ – Ex-advisor of George Soros (Ruvr)
Takeshi Fujimaki, former advisor of the renowned speculator George Soros, told Bloomberg that the Japanese economy will experience a market crash and that the economic policy of Japanese government and Central Bank is “a double suicide”. “The volatility in the Japanese government bonds market as well as the fact that there is large selling represent fear among investors,” Fujimaki said. “They are early signs of a larger sell off and we should continue to monitor the moves in the long-term bonds.” The former advisor of George Soros has made large bearish bets on Japanese government bonds of various maturities but he declined to offer more specific details regarding his trades.
How to Make $800 Million in 6 Months, Carl Icahn Edition (WSJ)
Back in January Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) +6.31% disclosed that in late 2012, activist investor Carl Icahn had acquired about 10% of the company, at an average price of $58 per share. That means his stake of just over 5.5 million shares would have set him back about $321 million. “We have no further news about his intentions, but have had constructive conversations with him about building a more valuable company,” Netflix wrote in the January SEC filing. Mr. Icahn’s final intentions may still be a work in progress, but the “more valuable” part has certainly happened: After reporting positive first quarter results today, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock is up almost 25% in after-hours trading, at about $217 per share on Monday evening. That values the company at about $11.2 billion, and Mr. Icahn’s stake somewhere north of $1.1 billion.
As Netflix Soars, Carl Icahn Must Be Smiling (WSJ)
Somewhere, Carl Icahn is smiling. Plenty of shareholders are profiting from Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) +6.31% after-hours gains, but few as much as the activist investor, who acquired a nearly 10% stake in the streaming video and DVD-by-mail company last summer at about $58 a share. Given that Netflix’s stock price is trading up 20% after hours at $208.61, that’s a nice gain for good ol’ Carl. There was a market rumor earlier this month that Icahn was selling some of his stake, but that was refuted. Of course, when Icahn bought the shares, he was angling for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) to sell itself. It’s hard to think he could have envisioned this great a return then.
Dell suitors steer away amid PC sales slump (TimesOfIndia)
Buyout specialist The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) is dropping its effort to acquire Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), and billionaire investor Carl Icahn is reportedly unlikely to follow through on his preliminary acquisition offer, as suitors digest studies showing a staggering decline in PC sales. The Wall Street Journal said Icahn will now likely wait to see if shareholders approve a February deal for the company to be taken private by a group that includes founder and CEO Michael Dell for $24.4 billion. The newspaper, citing an unnamed person familiar with Icahn’s thinking, said that if the deal is rejected, Icahn may pursue a hostile takeover.
Blackstone’s withdrawal is ominous sign for Dell’s prospects (BizJournals)
It’s the software, stupid — and services too. Private equity firm The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX)’s withdrawal in the leveraged buyout of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shareholders combined with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s strong quarterly earnings report underscored just how precarious Dell’s financial future really is. CEO Michael Dell has indicated that he wants to ramp up the Round Rock-based company’s diversification and restructuring process out of Wall Street’s glare. The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) initially wanted to outbid Dell for his own company but a glimpse at Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) books apparently provided the firm with a sobering reality check. It’s not worth the bother. The plummeting demand for Dell’s computers and servers has cut into profits and dimmed its future so it’s not even a good buy at a bargain price.
With Blackstone Out, It’s Icahn Vs. Dell (Fool)
A couple of weeks ago, up-for-sale PC purveyor Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) offered Carl Icahn and Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) $25 million to play nice in its bid for the company. The move was an olive branch from Dell’s board, wisely trying to avoid a proxy battle involving the company’s already frustrated shareholders and other potential suitors, including founder Michael Dell. Though he didn’t take the bribe, Icahn and Dell reached an agreement — a sort of Rules of Engagement for the buyout procedure. The deal should protect investors, while still enabling the board to shop the company to the best bidder. Here’s what you need to know. …Carl Icahn is well known for pushing corporate board buttons to get what he wants — it’s kind of how he built his empire. The investor builds formidable stakes in his target companies to influence other shareholders and, ultimately, the company decision makers.
SAC of trouble for Cohen from ex-wife (NYPost)
The ex-wife of hedge fund honcho Steve Cohen is turning up the heat in her bitter legal battle with her former husband. Patricia Cohen is talking with trial lawyers about taking on her case after a New York appeals court revived her lawsuit accusing her ex of cheating her out of millions during their divorce more than two decades ago, The Post has learned. No decisions have been made, but she is “evaluating how to go forward,” said a person close to the case. Patricia claims that her billionaire ex — whose wealth is estimated at nearly $9 billion — hid $5.5 million he received in a settlement over a soured $8.7 million real-estate deal during their divorce proceedings. She is seeking damages of $8.25 million.
Has the Art Market Gone Medieval? (HuffingtonPost)
On the 26th of March, several news sources reported that casino magnate Steve Wynn had sold Picasso’s 1932 painting “Le Rêve” to hedge fund owner Steven Cohen for $155 million dollars. Mr. Cohen apparently felt like doing some art shopping and image burnishing after having paid a fine of $614 million to settle accusations of insider trading without any admission of guilt. Cohen had been coveting “Le Rêve” for some time, but a previous sale agreement had fallen through after Steve Wynn, who suffers from the degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa, accidentally tore a small hole in the work with his elbow in 2006. Mr. Wynn, who has a reputation as boss who treats his employees generously, said something quite remarkable a few hours after the painting was damaged: “My feeling was, it’s a picture, it’s my picture, we’ll fix it. Nobody got sick or died.”
SAC’s Cohen Buys West Village Properties (Finalternatives)
SAC Capital Advisors founder Steven Cohen is in the midst of a frenzied real-estate deal-making spree. The hedge fund manager recently bought a $60 million East Hampton home down the block from his current Long Island getaway, and listed his Midtown Manhattan duplex for $115 million. Now comes word that he’s bought the site of a failed hotel project in the West Village for $38.8 million. The site, 145 Perry Street, at the corner of Washington Street, currently houses a freight-loading station and a two-story row of storefronts along Washington. But Cohen hasn’t stopped there, buying an apartment at the Abingdon, a recently-renovated apartment building a few blocks to the north and east as he works on his Perry Street plans, the New York Post reports.
Steve Cohen Is Pitching To New Investors At Yankee Stadium Today (BusinessInsider)
Reuters/ Steve Marcus Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, who runs SAC Capital, will be making an appearance at Yankee Stadium today, the New York Post’s Michelle Celarier reports. According to the Post, Cohen will be attending the annual Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) U.S. Hedge Fund Symposium, a cap intro event put on by that bank’s prime brokerage division. Cohen, who owns a stake in the New York Mets, will be pitching perspective investors at the stadium along with other hedge fund hot-shots. He was at the event last year.
