EUROPE’S ENERGY CRISIS IS KEEPING ENERGY PRICES AND INFLATION HIGH

America leads the world in oil and gas production. We believe midstream energy infrastructure offers predictable cash flows to investors..

An Activist Chooses an MLP

We’ve written before about the benefits of being the General Partner (GP) in a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) rather than a Limited Partner (LP). MLPs are a great asset class; the more stable, midstream businesses that invest in energy infrastructure operate a toll-type of business model with fairly predictable cashflows. Their 5-6% distribution yields are […]

These Two Deserve One Another

Aubrey McLendon is the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy (CHK). He’s a swing-for-the-fences kind of CEO; he almost bankrupted himself with leveraged holdings of his company’s stock when it plunged in 2008. In 2011 Forbes named him America’s most reckless billionaire. He famously negotiated a sweetheart deal allowing him  to personally invest in individual wells […]

Too Many Quant Hedge Funds

The Economist turned its critical eye at quantitative hedge funds recently, noting the poor performance of such “black box” strategies since the 2008 Financial Crisis. The article’s headline (“Computer Says No”) is a wry reference to a British sitcom called Little Britain, a humorous touch that will have been missed by many U.S. readers. Quant […]

Amazon's Octocopter

You had to watch 60 Minutes on CBS to know what an octocopter is, but after watching Jeff Bezos discuss Amazon and some of their plans I just love Amazon as a customer! I buy things from them probably every other day. My recent orders include: New battery for my Samsung Galaxy smartphone Toner cartridge […]

The Corvex Discount

A year ago Corvex, a hedge fund run by Keith Meister, published a detailed analysis of why ADT was a cheap security. ADT is the largest market leader in home security monitoring in North America. They were spun out from Tyco earlier in 2012. Meister identified an underleveraged balance sheet supporting a business model with […]