claphands22

Barton Biggs's Hedgehogging had a thinly veld profile on Leon Cooperman of Omega -- Greg of Mega. Described him as a screamer. I like his picks and generally gives good reasoning behind his picks. He once mentioned Tetragon Financial, which looks like a cheaper version of Annaly. http://books.google.com/books?id=DgAv6GaGUjoC&pg=PA192&lpg=PA192&dq=greg+mega+hedge+hogging&source=bl&ots=pjpSMbrlLY&sig=Cp-Sm3sZd_FnZ-TdwqcbzLLTZMY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0mHJU7CzJ5CnyAThtYHQCA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=greg%20mega%20hedge%20hogging&f=false

This was originally posted over at reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/SecurityAnalysis/) Part 1: https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/24852/sp/2485200/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/15401271/partner_id/24852?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura_player_1400007160&entry_id=1_fi06rgf3&flashvars[streamerType]=auto Part 2: https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/24852/sp/2485200/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/15401271/partner_id/24852?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura_player_1400007186&entry_id=1_38g90ebo&flashvars%5BstreamerType%5D=auto

Planet Money had an episode called The Last Mile that talked about a FTC ruling that allowed the companies to control the cable they installed. This is unlike long distance in America which got opened up and competition drove down the prices. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/04/04/299060527/episode-529-the-last-mile Maybe this doesn't answer your question fully, or isn't a great answer -- best one I can give.

Hi, I am looking for resources to understand the analysis of REITs; something like a good industry primer, good shareholder letters or a great valuation on a REIT that shows the dynamic of adjusted occupancy rates, interest rate changes and rental yields. Thanks

Hey Parsad, I got a feeling we would never fully agree on this subject. Hempton seems eccentric but I would never say he is a dick. If I genuinely believe someone is holding a stock I believe has accounting gimmicks and could go to zero -- I hope I would do exactly what Hempton did. I think it's the right thing to do. Definitely wouldn't consider Hank Greenberg or Jim Chanos "retards". They both have a long history of uncovering frauds and warning investors about bubble'ish stocks. I know you know this. The foreign subsidiaries (Fairfax Gibraltar, nSpre Re in Ireland) and NMS Cayman transaction + all the characters involved make it a fascinating story.

The Divide right? I'll definitely check it out, thanks!

I wonder when they did their discovery. If it was before the CDS boon then it's interesting, but if it was after they could have been easily shored up with their CDS bet. It's an interesting read -- Hempton comes off genuine and knowledgeable.

The call options do seem cheap. I'm looking at Interactve and December 21 2018 call options at a 68 strike price go for 5.60. Nestle is at 65.60 today. Could be interesting, thanks.

Looks great, thanks Parsad!

Anyone know of a good course/book/site that explains how SEC files work? I'm not talking about the basics. I want to know how long a company has to file and how that changes for foreign/jobs act companies. I'm looking for nitty-gritty books explaining SEC filing law. Thanks!

Basic question: Are companies allowed to do a press releases of their unaudited financial statements without filing with the SEC?

I wrote extensive notes (7,000+ words) on the Art of Short Selling here: http://walrusvalue.blogspot.com/2014/02/notes-on-art-of-short-selling.html I hope someone will find them useful.

I wonder why certain countries have a higher rate of default than others.

Hi randomep, Check out Quality of Earning by O'Glove the book does a great job of showing potential signs of fraud in the balance sheet. The Art of Short Selling is great as well, but I would suggest Quality of Earnings first. Just because you have a Big 4 auditor doesn't mean the company will be fraud free. If it is a smaller accounting firm, research them -- often times they are fine but if they have worked with other fraudulent firms it is generally best to stay away. I would heavily discount inventory of a small cap (or large company for that matter) if you are taking a balance sheet approach to valuing a company. I don't know if I have answered your question. Reviewing financial fidelity can be tricky, it takes three measures of skepticism for each measure of optimism.

The Art of Short Selling is a great book, which is why I started the thread. The main takeaway from the book is the general pattern of short selling. Find a great short candidate, watch it run against you for a year(s) but with patience you should get rewarded. Short candidates have repeating themes: fads, frauds, accounting gimmicks and obscene valuations. You'll need to watch the short interest as a percentage of float because of squeezes; Staley recommends staying away from shorts where the short interest, as a percentage of float, is higher than 15%. She gives lots of case studies of good shorts, some that were stressing to short, some that were instantly rewarding. No way to tell before hand how a short is going to go. The book was published in 1997 so it might seem dated to some people but I enjoyed the aged case studies, it reinforces the cyclical nature of the markets. I am rereading it again before I have to return the book, I'll try to type up some notes for whoever is interested.