Yes and Not Yes

Jack Byrne, Geico CEO Buffett Cited for ‘Brilliance,’ Dies at 80

Doug — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:34:04 +0000

Via Bloomberg: John J. Byrne, whose turnaround of auto insurer Geico Corp. led billionaire Warren Buffett to buy the company and call him “the Babe Ruth of insurance,” has died. He was 80. Byrne died on March 7 at his home in Etna, New Hampshire, according to Robert E. Snyder, a family spokesman. The cause [...]

Regarding the Rumours of a Coach (COH) Buyout

Doug — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:21:00 +0000

This morning there were rumours that Coach (COH) was looking to sell itself. Since my first post on Coach, the share fell slightly more to about $46 and now they are up to about $49 in pre-market trading. This is one example of how good things can happen to cheap stocks. With that said, however, [...]

Alleghany’s (Y) 2012 Annual Report

Doug — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:51:29 +0000

Alleghany (Y) just recently posted their 2012 annual report. The past year was transformational for Alleghany as it acquired TransRe on March 6, 2012, for approximately $3.5 billion at a discount to book value. With the transaction, Alleghany more than doubled shareholder’s equity and investments per share increased by about 86%. To summarize Alleghany’s performance: Alleghany’s [...]

Flagstar Found Liable for $90.1 mln in Assured Guaranty’s Mortgage Case

Doug — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 02:56:44 +0000

This was a long time in coming, but the verdict finally arrived. Judge Rakoff ordered Flagstar Bancorp to pay $90.1 million to bond insurer Assured Guaranty (AGO) in a contract dispute over loans underlying $900 million in mortgage-backed securities. Flagstar materially breached contracts specifying the quality and characteristics of the loans to be packaged into [...]

Is Mr. Market Mistreating Coach (COH)?

Doug — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 04:26:52 +0000

Lately, Mr. Market seems to have been mistreating shares of Coach (COH). The stock has fallen from $62 to less than $49 in two weeks after sales and earnings disappointed analysts. Some people have also been making a lot of hay about Michael Kors (KORS) taking market share. However, although this is all true, these [...]

Bruce Berkowitz Interview

Doug — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:16:26 +0000

Bruce Berkowitz, managing member of Fairholme Capital Management LLC, discusses mutual-fund rules, investment strategy and his decision to close existing funds to new investors as of the end of this month. He talks with Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers.”

IGT Proxy Fight Website Announced

Doug — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:48:35 +0000

Looks like we can learn a bit more about the Ader Group’s thoughts on how they think they can improve IGT. Via their most recent proxy filing: Jason N. Ader of Ader Investment Management (AIM) today announced the launch of WWW.RESCUEIGT.COM in connection with the Ader Group’s solicitation to elect stockholder representatives to the Board [...]

Freedom of a Freelancer

Doug — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:53:50 +0000

Today was my last of work as an analyst and portfolio manager at my old employer. I’m looking forward to building up my new venture and making a go at freelance work and also managing a small number of investment accounts on my own. I’ve got a few plans in the works that investors will [...]

Activist Knocking on the Door of International Game Technology (IGT)

Doug — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:27:26 +0000

Just going through the proxy statement filed by the activist group going up against IGT‘s board and management. Things have got to be pretty bad for the former CEO, who led the company from 1986 to 2003 and who is now 84 years old, to try to make a comeback and help turn this company [...]

Pershing Square’s Website About Herbalife (HLF)

Doug — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:32:43 +0000

Just finished watching the video of Bill Ackman’s presentation on why Pershing Square is shorting Herbalife (HLF). You need to visit this website and submit some personal info, but it’s well worth it. The presentation is over three hours long, but I learned a lot about how multi-level marketers operate. Ackman has said Pershing Square is [...]