We continue to like using a short Euro position in combination with risky assets. In our Fixed Income Strategy we’re invested in senior loans through closed end funds such as BlackRock Defined Opportunity Credit Trust (BHL) and ING Prime Rate (PPR). They’re both at a modest discount to NAV of around 5%, and yield over […]
This looks on the surface to be good news across the board. Private payrolls up almost 100K greater than consensus; increased hourly workweek, and a drop in the Unemployment rate in spite of an increase in the labor force. Not a 4% GDP type of number, but good enough to reassure that the 2-2.5% type […]
It’s hard to watch JC Penney’s CEO, Ron Johnson, give his presentation yesterday without feeling a tinge of excitement that we’re at the beginning of something new in retailing. His absorbing performance promises a new paradigm in retailing. Turning around JCP won’t just be a question of spending ad dollars more wisely or weaning customers off perennial […]
Bloomberg TV invited me back on this morning – the sorry results of hedge fund investors are just too incredible to be believed and so they asked to produce a chart illustrating how fees have been split. It turns out that if you calculate how much money hedge funds generated BEFORE fees from 1998-2010, and […]
To make any money in natural gas E&P stocks you need to look carefully at balance sheets and production costs. Natural gas prices have been collapsing because of oversupply and a mild winter. The success of shale drilling is hurting many natural gas E&P companies whose activities have led to an abundance of cheap gas. […]
The Euro has been a good hedge on a portfolio of long stock recently. Equities are attractively valued for a long-term investment; the equity risk premium remains high. But who can think about investing in stocks for the long run and shunning bonds when the Euro sovereign debt crisis rolls on. For us, the solution was […]
Today’s interview on Canada’s Business News Network.
Natural Gas prices have been declining for years. The shale gas boom has been great for servicers and consumers, but drillers have been producing so much natural gas that they’re almost giving it away. The Wall Street Journal has an article highlighting the steady increase in domestic production (up around 50% since 2005) and the […]
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The overall investment experience for hedge fund investors has been so abysmal that most industry professionals are sensibly keeping their heads down. There are great hedge funds to be sure, and happy clients, but the data shows indisputably that these are not the norm. Hedge fund managers themselves of course aren’t responsible for the industry, […]
