Tuesday 31 December 2013
George Soros takes stake in debt-laden construction firm FCC
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has bought a 3-percent stake in heavily indebted Spanish construction firm FCC from the group’s founding family. Last week, Esther Koplowitz, whose father founded the company, sold 3.8 percent of her majority stake for 15 euros a share, amounting to 72 million euros. Soros is the second internationally renowned investor to take a stake in the company in recent months, following Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ purchase in October of nearly 6 percent.
FCC registered losses of 675 million euros ($923 million) in the nine months to September.
Esther Koplowitz, who inherited the firm from her father, now owns 50.01 percent of FCC. The sale is part of a debt-refinancing deal organized by B-1998, the company through which Koplowitz controls FCC, and which includes the Aguinaga family and Bodegas Faustino, each of which have 5 percent. The deal included the sale of these shares.
Bill Gates is now the second-biggest shareholder in FCC. The Microsoft founder bought 5.7 percent in October for 113 million euros, paying 14.85 euros a share.
FCC is currently refinancing some 5 billion euros of debt, the bulk of the 6.6 billion euros it had accumulated by September.
As the world, and Spain in particular, has faced financial troubles and a downturn in construction activity, the company has suffered and its share price has dipped. This year FCC faced restructuring of some $2 billion in debt as well as the restructuring and refinancing of its subsidiary Alpine in Europe. Early this year, there were rumors that Guggenheim Partners might inject equity, but no deal was announced. This all means Gates could be getting quite the bargain, presuming the price will eventually bounce back.
FCC has operations in 56 countries, according to its latest financial report. It is building the new, 6-billion-euro Riyadh metro, to be the longest subway in the world at 176 kilometers, and Central America’s first subway, a 1.1-billion-euro project in Panama. Other projects include a $650-million replacement for a failed bridge in Long Beach, California, as well as a hospital outside Belfast inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II last year.
Sunday 29 December 2013
Billionaire George Soros Bought This Texan Oil Stock
Located in the heart of West Texas, the nearest major city is a four-hour drive away. This town is about as close to the 'middle of nowhere' as it gets. Yet Midland could be sitting on the largest oil discovery in American history.
Thanks to new technologies like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, millions of barrels of previously unrecoverable oil are now being pulled up from the nearby Permian Basin.
One company has been quietly buying up tracts of land in this area since the 1980's. And the firm's prospects are so exciting that billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros owns a $200 million stake in the firm. Other smart money operators like Stanley Druckenmiller and John Paulson are pouring money into the stock as well.
I'm talking, of course, about Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD ) .
George Soros owns 964,000 shares of this stock
For those of you unfamiliar with this name, Pioneer is one of the country's largest independent oil and gas companies. The firm was the first non-integrated player to produce oil from Alaska's North Slope. Today, the company boasts a great set of high-quality assets in the Eagle Ford, Barnett Shale, and other fields.
But it's the company's assets in the West Texas Spraberry Wolfcamp that are really impressive. For instance...
Source @ The Motley Fool
Friday 27 December 2013
Warren Buffett donates $10m to Rambam Hospital
The contribution was announced by his close friend Eitan Wertheimer at an event to celebrate 75 years since the hospital's establishment.
Wertheimer has been a close friend of Buffett since the sale of the family's precision tool developer and manufacturer Iscar Ltd. to the American's company Berkshire Hathaway. In May 2006, Berkshire Hathaway bought 80% of Iscar for $4 billion, and in May this year it exercised an option to buy the remaining 20% for $2.05 billion.
Source @ Globes
3 Things Shared by Warren Buffett's Best Investments
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) didn't grow to become a $290 billion company without some help. HavingWarren Buffett at the helm helped a lot.
As Chairman of Berkshire, Buffett's made several outstanding investments in industries ranging from financial services to consumer products. And although these investments differed in some ways, they all shared surprising similarities.
1. Brands that have pricing power
Warren Buffett looks for companies that can survive and thrive over decades, and even centuries. One common attribute of Buffett's best portfolio companies is pricing power -- the ability to pass on price increases to consumers.
See's Candies is an excellent example. Berkshire Hathaway purchased the company for $25 million in 1972. Today, it earns $80 million per year. See's Candies has not grown tremendously -- it's still a West Coast confectioner -- but it has raised prices. In fact, Buffett's raised prices every single year for 41 years since he acquired the company.
Other Berkshire mainstays have this attribute. Coca-Cola prices have only gone up over time. In a similar vein, automobile values have gone up over history, and so have the insurance premiums Geico charges its customers. Prices for consumer goods have only risen, driving merchant processing volume at American Express.
When a brand has pricing power, it benefits from the consistent, perpetual tailwinds of inflation.
As Chairman of Berkshire, Buffett's made several outstanding investments in industries ranging from financial services to consumer products. And although these investments differed in some ways, they all shared surprising similarities.
1. Brands that have pricing power
Warren Buffett looks for companies that can survive and thrive over decades, and even centuries. One common attribute of Buffett's best portfolio companies is pricing power -- the ability to pass on price increases to consumers.
See's Candies is an excellent example. Berkshire Hathaway purchased the company for $25 million in 1972. Today, it earns $80 million per year. See's Candies has not grown tremendously -- it's still a West Coast confectioner -- but it has raised prices. In fact, Buffett's raised prices every single year for 41 years since he acquired the company.
Other Berkshire mainstays have this attribute. Coca-Cola prices have only gone up over time. In a similar vein, automobile values have gone up over history, and so have the insurance premiums Geico charges its customers. Prices for consumer goods have only risen, driving merchant processing volume at American Express.
When a brand has pricing power, it benefits from the consistent, perpetual tailwinds of inflation.
Soros’ ex-wife buys Shelter Island estate
Weber Soros bought the 4,358 square foot traditional home, on 1.37 acres, for close to its $5.95 million asking price. Built in 2005, the beach manse has five bedrooms and 5½ baths. There is no pool, but there is room for Weber Soros to build one. The property, in Dering Harbor, also comes with a deep water dock. The home has panoramic water views from the living room, which has double height ceilings and a fireplace. There’s also a chef’s kitchen, and a “Hollywood style serpentine staircase that wraps around the fireplace,” according to the listing. A “hand cut river stone” path leads to the bulkheaded sandy beach and deep water dock. There’s also a generator and cistern for irrigation.
Last year, Weber Soros put her 6,000 square foot pad at the Majestic, on Central Park West, on the market for $50 million — and then chopped it to $39 million — which doesn’t appear to be on the market any more, and she also bought a $22 million 1869 townhouse on E. 70th St. Listing broker Penelope Moore of Saunders & Associates declined to comment.
Last year, Weber Soros put her 6,000 square foot pad at the Majestic, on Central Park West, on the market for $50 million — and then chopped it to $39 million — which doesn’t appear to be on the market any more, and she also bought a $22 million 1869 townhouse on E. 70th St. Listing broker Penelope Moore of Saunders & Associates declined to comment.
Source @ nypost.com
Thursday 26 December 2013
Peter Schiff : Unbelievable Liberal Reaction to my Walmart Video
Peter Schiff: What Bernanke Should Have Left Janet Yellen at His Last Press Conference
A Spoonful of Sugar
By Peter Schiff
The press has framed Ben Bernanke's valedictory press conference last week in heroic terms. It's as if a veteran quarterback engineered a stunning come-from-behind drive in his final game, and graciously bowed out of the game with the ball sitting on the opponent's one-yard line. In reality, Bernanke has merely completed a five-yard pass from his own end zone, and has left Janet Yellen to come off the bench down by three touchdowns, with no credible deep threats, and very little time left on the clock.
The praise heaped on Bernanke's swan song stems from the Fed's success in initiating the long-anticipated (and highly feared) tapering campaign without sparking widespread anxiety. So deftly did the outgoing chairman thread the needle that the market actually powered to fresh all-time highs on the news.
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| Peter Schiff |
There can be little doubt that the Fed's announcement was an achievement in rhetorical audacity. In essence, they told us that they would be tightening monetary policy by loosening monetary policy. Surprisingly, the markets swallowed it. I believe the Fed was forced into this exercise in rabbit-pulling because it understood far better than Wall Street cheerleaders that the economy, despite the soaring gains in stocks and real estate, remains dependent on continued stimulus. In my opinion, the seemingly positive economic signs of the past few months are simply the statistical signature of QE itself. Even Friday's upward revision to third-quarter GDP resulted largely from gains in consumer spending on gasoline and medical bills. Another major driver was increased business inventories fueled perhaps by expectations that QE supplied cheap credit (and the wealth effect of rising asset prices) will continue to encourage consumer spending.
But to many observers, the increasingly optimistic economic headlines we have seen over recent months have not squared with the highly accommodative monetary policy, making the arguments in favor of continued QE untenable. Even taking the taper into account, the Fed is still pursuing a more stimulative policy than it had at the depths of any prior recession. As a result, as far as the headline-grabbing taper decision, the Fed's hands were essentially tied. But they decided to coat this seemingly bitter pill in an extremely large dollop of honey.
More important than the taper "surprise" was the unusually dovish language that accompanied it. More than it has in any other prior communications, the Fed is now telling the markets that interest rates - its main monetary tool - will remain far more accommodative, for far longer, than anyone previously believed. Abandoning prior commitments to raise rates once unemployment had fallen below 6.5%, the new statement reads that the Fed will keep rates at zero until "well after" the unemployment rate has fallen below that level. No one really knows what the new target unemployment level is, and that is just the way the Fed wants it. On this score, the Fed has not simply moving the goalposts, but has completely dismantled them. With such amorphous language in place, they appear to be hoping that they will never have to face a day of reckoning. This is a similar strategy to that of the legislators on Capitol Hill who want to pretend that America will never have to pay down its debt.
At his press conference Bernanke went beyond the language in the statement by hinting that we should expect consistently paced, similarly sized reductions through much of the year, and that he expects that QE will be fully wound down by the end of 2014. The outgoing Chairman may be writing a check that his successor can't cash. He also made statements about how monetary policy needs to compensate for "too tight" fiscal policy that is being delivered by the Administration and Capitol Hill. Does the chairman believe that $600 billion annual deficits are simply not enough... even with our supposedly robust recovery? By the time President Obama leaves office, the national debt may well have doubled in size, and he will have added more to the total of all of his predecessors from George Washington through the first five months of George W. Bush's administration combined! How can Bernanke possibly say that our economic problems result from deficits being too small?
It's easy to forget in the current euphoria that a majority of market watchers had predicted that the first taper announcement would be made by Janet Yellen in March of 2014. But perhaps with a nod toward his own posterity, Ben Bernanke may have been spurred to do something to restrain his Frankenstein creation before he finally left the lab. But no matter who pulled the trigger first, this initial $10 billion reduction in monthly purchases has convinced many that the QE program will soon become a thing of the past.
But without QE to support the markets, in my opinion, the US economy will likely slow significantly, and the stock and real estate markets will most likely turn sharply downward. [To understand why, pick up a copy of the just-released Collector's Edition of my illustrated intro to economics, How An Economy Grows And Why It Crashes.] If the economic data begins to disappoint, I believe that Janet Yellen, who is much more likely to be concerned with full employment than with price stability, will quickly reverse course and increase the size of the Fed's monthly purchases. In fact, last week's Fed statement was careful to avoid any commitments to additional tapering in the future, merely saying that further changes will be data dependent. This means that tapering could stall at $75 billion per month, or it could get smaller, or larger. In other words, Yellen's hands could not be any freer. If the additional cuts never materialize as expected, look for the Fed to keep the markets convinced that the QE program is in its final chapters. These "Open Mouth Operations" will likely represent the primary tool in the Fed's arsenal.
Despite the slight decrease in the pace of asset accumulation, I believe that the Fed's balance sheet will continue to swell alarmingly. As the amount of bonds on their books surpasses the $4 trillion threshold, market watchers need to dispel illusions that the Fed will actually shrink its balance sheet, or even halt its growth. Already fears of such moves have pushed up yields on 10-year Treasuries to multi-year highs. Any actual tightening could push them significantly higher.
We have much higher leverage than what would be expected in a healthy economy, and as a result, the gains in stocks, bonds, and real estate are highly susceptible to rate spikes. If yields move much higher, I feel that the Fed will have to intervene to bring them back down. In other words, the Fed will find it much harder to exit QE than it was to enter.
In the meantime, the Fed's open-ended commitment to keep rates at zero, despite the apparent recovery, should provide an important clue as to what is really happening. We simply have so much debt that zero is the most we can afford to pay. The problem, of course, is that the longer the Fed waits to raise rates, the more deeply indebted we become. As this mountain of debt grows larger, so too does our need for rates to remain at zero. So if our overly indebted economy cannot afford higher rates now, or in the next year or two, how could we possibly afford them in the future when our total debt-to-GDP may be much larger?
As he left the stage from his final press conference, Ben Bernanke should have left a giant bottle of aspirin on the podium for his successor Janet Yellen. She's going to need it.
Wednesday 25 December 2013
Jim Rogers: Tapering will be 'disaster'
Influential investor Jim Rogers has warned about the impact of the US central bank's tapering plans, saying they will be an "unmitigated disaster".
Bitcoin ~ soon Greed will be replaced by Fear
Warren Buffett's Letter to Santa Claus
Although I haven't had the chance to ask Warren Buffett what he'd like for Christmas, I image his letter to Santa would look something like this:
Source: recitethis.com
Dear Santa,
2013 has been a solid year for Berkshire Hathaway , and I'm thankful for that. We bought Heinz -- they make ketchup, which is red, just like your sleigh -- for a tidy $28 billion in partnership with 3G Capital, and I'm certain it was a great investment in a great company.
We also added a nice $3.4 billion position in ExxonMobil , which places it just behind Wal-Mart in our portfolio. I suspect your elves aren't the biggest fans of Wal-Mart, as it provides quite a bit of competition in the toy landscape, but I'm certain you all have a competitive edge. Exxon could likely help you out if you every run into any issues with heat in the North Pole -- they know a thing or two about energy. I also suspect they could make your coal production phenomenally more cost effective. I hear there have been some naughty CEOs this year.
As you know, I'm also a tremendous fan of Coca-Cola , and based on what I've seen, it looks like you are too. I have a nice cold Cherry Coke with the See's Candies -- they're better than cookies -- next to the fireplace for a little nourishment foe you before you journey out of Omaha.As you know, I'm also a tremendous fan of Coca-Cola , and based on what I've seen, it looks like you are too. I have a nice cold Cherry Coke with the See's Candies -- they're better than cookies -- next to the fireplace for a little nourishment foe you before you journey out of Omaha.
Source @ dailyfinance
Tuesday 24 December 2013
Abolish The IRS , Let the Economy breath
The complexity of the tax system led the recently deceased British economist Barry Bracewell- Milnes, who was a champion of lower taxation (he argued for the abolition of the inheritance tax), to exclaim: “An economy breathes through its tax loopholes.”
Why Warren Buffett Might Buy Campbell Soup
Campbell Soup has the consistency and durability of PepsiCoEveryone knows that PepsiCo is a great business, but few put Campbell Soup in the same league as the world's leading snacks company.
However, the evidence suggests just that. Campbell Soup may not have the global reach and worldwide name recognition that makes PepsiCo one of the world's most respected companies, but its financial performance suggests that there are many similarities between the two companies.
The following chart -- PepsiCo and Campbell Soup's operating margin for the last two decades -- illustrates the similarities.
Source: Mergent Online, author's calculation of adjusted operating margin (excludes one-time items)
The similarity between the two companies' operating margins through the years is striking. Both generate a remarkably stable operating profit from year to year and profitability has trended upward over the long term.
Source @ dailyfinance.com
Warren Buffett Dives Into Wind Power, Comes Up With Siemens Turbines
What’s really big news, at least to us, is comparing Iowa’s booming wind industry (including 100% wind for a new Facebook data center) to the situation in Wisconsin, where Republican lawmakers are still throwing one monkey wrench after another into that state’s struggling wind industry.
However, we digress. The new order is still big news for Siemens, which thanks to Buffett gets to win the week in wind power news with bragging rights to receiving the world’s largest ever single order for onshore wind turbines: 448 of its SWT-2.3-108 models with a combined capacity of 1,050 megawatts.
Souce @ cleantechnica
Monday 23 December 2013
Peter Schiff: Despite taper, Fed bond-buying isn't going anywhere
There can be little doubt that the Fed announcement is an epic attempt at rhetorical audacity. The message they hope to convey is that they are tightening monetary policy by loosening it. Based on the early market reactions, the trick has seemed to work.
In my opinion the seemingly positive economic signs of the past few months are simply the statistical signature of the QE itself. There is little evidence to suggest that the trends are self-sustainable. But seemingly strong data had made the arguments in favor of continued QE increasingly untenable. As they could no longer stay the course the Fed had to do something. Ultimately they decided to play it both ways.
As far as the headline grabbing taper decision, the Fed's hands were essentially tied by widely held expectations. Perhaps spurred by a desire to initiate the end of QE before he leaves the chairmanship, Ben Bernanke did surprise some by announcing the taper now instead of allowing Janet Yellen to do so in March. The $10 billion reduction has convinced many that the QE program will soon become a thing of the past. At his press conference Bernanke affirmed that he expects QE to be fully wound down by the end of 2014. Look for those forecasts to change rapidly.
Without QE to support the markets, in my opinion, the economy will likely slow significantly and the stock and real estate markets will most likely turn sharply downward. As a result, I expect the Fed will do its utmost to keep the markets convinced that the QE program is in its final chapters.
I suspect that when the economic data begins to disappoint, the Fed will quickly reverse course and increase the size of its monthly purchases. In fact, today's Fed statement was careful to avoid any commitments to additional tapering in the future. It merely said that further changes in the amount of purchases will be dependent on the data. This means that QE could go in either direction.
Source @ yahoo
Tech Stocks Are Soaring Soros
Today’s midday gainers are Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE:RHT), Marketo, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTO), Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (NYSE:MHR) and midday losers are TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ:TIBX), InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD).
George Soros soars with tech stocksOn the top of our midday gainer list is Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE:RHT), the tech company increased +17.35% to $57.50 after a great Q3 earnings report. Billionaire George Soros holds 550,000 shares (0.28% of his fund) acquired for $52.07 per share. Another investor with a position in RHT is Ray Dalio who owns 318,000 shares, composing 0.12% of his holdings. Dalio paid an average price of $51.97 per asset.
Following Red Hat Inc. is Marketo, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTO), which rose +13.26% to $37.25. This was a well-received news for George Soros who holds 60,000 shares of the tech firm. This position represents 0.02% of his holdings and he paid an average price of $24.58 per asset.
Last but not least is Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (NYSE:MHR), the energy company climbed +8.34% to $7.27. This is another hit for Soros since he owns 2.4 million shares (0.17% of his fund) acquired for $4.81.
Source @ valuewalk
Saturday 21 December 2013
Faber : Gold Shares could easily appreciate 30% in 2014
“I think Gold shares are very inexpensive. So a basket of Gold shares I think next year could easily appreciate 30%.”
ROGERS: If Indians Start Selling their Gold, Then Who Knows How Low Prices Can Go? (GLD)
Jim Rogers : [1] The anomaly of the 12-year rise, for one thing. [2] India as we have discussed before. Indian politicians are blaming their problems on gold, so [they] have added special taxes, tariffs, controls, and regulations. Pakistan and Bangladesh even totally banned imports of gold at one time.
The politicians are now trying to figure out ways to force Indians to sell gold. There are staggering amounts of gold there. The politicians are now trying to hit the temples which have accumulated an unimaginable amount of gold over the centuries. I have no idea if they will succeed at either, but the effort is having an effect. If they are successful to any degree, it will have an even bigger effect. India has been the largest buyer of gold for decades. Cutting back the purchases has already had an effect. IF they can force the largest buyer to become a seller [much less a larger seller], who knows how low gold could go? [3] A lot of people leveraged themselves too which hurts on the downside. Etc., etc.
The politicians are now trying to figure out ways to force Indians to sell gold. There are staggering amounts of gold there. The politicians are now trying to hit the temples which have accumulated an unimaginable amount of gold over the centuries. I have no idea if they will succeed at either, but the effort is having an effect. If they are successful to any degree, it will have an even bigger effect. India has been the largest buyer of gold for decades. Cutting back the purchases has already had an effect. IF they can force the largest buyer to become a seller [much less a larger seller], who knows how low gold could go? [3] A lot of people leveraged themselves too which hurts on the downside. Etc., etc.
Friday 20 December 2013
Buffett's Big Energy Bets Go Beyond ExxonMobil
Warren Buffett grabbed his share of recent headlines when he disclosed a $3.45 billion stake in ExxonMobil. And although this story received large amounts of attention from the media, it's only fair to acknowledge Berkshire Hathaway's subsidiary, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which has also been busy lately.
Green with NV
On Monday night, Nevada utility regulators approved the sale of the state's largest electric utility, NV Energy (NYSE: NVE ) , to MidAmerican Energy for $5.6 billion. Before being finalized, the deal needs to be approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but that is expected to be coming any day. The acquisition of NV Energy will add approximately 2.4 million customers to MidAmerican Energy's current 6.4 million electricity and 700,000 natural gas customers.
An investment in NV Energy is an investment in renewable energy. Nevada's renewable portfolio standard states that at least 25% of the company's retail energy sales are derived from renewable sources by 2025. Working toward that goal, NV Energy reached 1 GW of renewable energy under contract. Further demonstrating its commitment to renewable energy sources, NV Energy is working toward bringing its Crescent Dunes Solar Thermal project online in 2014. The 110 MW, concentrated solar thermal project will be able to store energy and provide it to customers at night or when it's cloudy.
An investment in NV Energy is an investment in renewable energy. Nevada's renewable portfolio standard states that at least 25% of the company's retail energy sales are derived from renewable sources by 2025. Working toward that goal, NV Energy reached 1 GW of renewable energy under contract. Further demonstrating its commitment to renewable energy sources, NV Energy is working toward bringing its Crescent Dunes Solar Thermal project online in 2014. The 110 MW, concentrated solar thermal project will be able to store energy and provide it to customers at night or when it's cloudy.
Source @ fool
Faber's Best Shorts for 2014: Facebook, Tesla, Twitter, Netflix, and Veeva Systems
“If you look at the entire market, some stocks are not terribly expensive and some stocks are very expensive. It’s like in year 2000, not every stock was overpriced. At that time, the NASDAQ was grossly overvalued but, say, resource shares and so-called ‘old economy’ companies were relatively inexpensive or absolutely cheap. In the present instance, I think that stocks like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), [and] Veeva Systems are grossly overvalued and that the basket of shorts in these stocks will return you at least 30% next year.”
Source @ etfdailynewsJim Rogers : Iran Libya and Syria are on my list of Countries to Invest in
Yes, at one point I did invest in Iran, back in the 1990s and made something like 40 times on my money. I didn't put millions in because there was a limit on how much a person could invest. But this was over 20 years ago. I would like to invest in Iran again, but I don't know the precise details on the sanctions and the current status of Americans being able to invest there. But Iran is certainly on my list. And so are Libya and Syria. I'm not doing anything at the moment in these countries, but they are places that are on my list.
Thursday 19 December 2013
The Peter Schiff Show Tuesday 12/10/2013
Stefan Molyneux is guest hosting today's show. ObamaCare's Next Legal Hurdle. Stephan Kinsella, patent attorney & director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom, on how ObamaCare still fails any reasonable legal test, whether anything constructive may come from the Apple/Samsung battle, and why entrepreneurs needn't worry about their intellectual property
George Soros: It’s Time to Make Justice Central to Development
George Soros recently intervened in the post-2015 debates, noting the need for universal access to justice. He identified four target areas issued considered crucial for post-MDG success by the legal empowerment movement:
“1. LEGAL IDENTITY: Being recognized as a person under the law is critical to everyday life. You need it to send your children to school or to receive medical care. State-issued legal identity documents, such as birth registrations, are usually needed.
2. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. People should be able to find out about the laws and regulations that govern their lives.
3. Both individuals and communities need to have their PROPERTY RIGHTS protected. Giving communities protection against land grabbing and the misappropriation of natural resources would be a great contribution to the fight against poverty.
4. People need access to LEGAL SERVICES, both at the community-level and in formal justice institutions like the courts. For access to justice to be fair, people need to have legal aid—either through lawyers or through paralegals.”
Read More @ post2015Wednesday 18 December 2013
Here is How You Buy Stocks Like Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett's single greatest piece of wisdom and advice, at least in this investor's opinion, is this: When buying a stock, imagine you're buying the whole business.
In Buffett's 1988 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, the Oracle of Omaha listed his six criteria for buying a business. Could great investing really be about following those six steps? Let's put this theory to the test.
Today, I'm going to use Buffett's six essential criteria for buying a business to help better analyze regional banks U.S. Bancorp , Fifth Third Bancorp , and Regions Financial .
Today, I'm going to use Buffett's six essential criteria for buying a business to help better analyze regional banks U.S. Bancorp , Fifth Third Bancorp , and Regions Financial .
Read more @ dailyfinance.com
Faber : Market to drop 20% in 2014
Marc Faber admits that he got stocks wrong in 2013, but now says that a drop of over 20 percent is likely, with CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis and the Futures Now Traders.
Tuesday 17 December 2013
George Soros Donates Funds to Help Heat Schools in Greece
Greek students have had a rough winter in extremely cold classrooms due to the lack of heating resources, resulting from local authorities who are simply unable to cover the unbearable cost of heating oil. The organization Open Society Foundation, founded by the great American investor George Soros, offers donations worth millions of euros in oil so that children can sit in a warm classroom.
Schools in the 2 biggest municipalities of Greece have been lucky enough to have their oil tanks filled thanks to Mr. Soros’ donations.
The municipality of Thessaloniki has accepted up to 90 tons of oil since March 2013, for schools and other institutes. The municipality of Athens follows with a total of 40 tons of oil. Next in line is the city of Naousa, considering that students have to take lessons in polar temperatures. The mayor of the town, Mr. Tasos Karampatzos, despite the reactions and disagreements on the parents’ side, has already contacted the Foundation and asked for an oil supply that would cover the needs of the region’s schools.
Source @ greece.greekreporter.com
The Whole U.S. Economy Is Based On Debt
Our whole economy in the U.S. is based on debt. Its based on borrowing to consume, borrowing to speculate. The government is financing itself based on debt, all these checks they are mailing out are based on debt.
The rates need to be practically zero in order for anybody to afford servicing the debt. That is how enormous the debt is and when the FED eventually lets interest rates rise, everything comes crashing back down, much worse than 2008.
Monday 16 December 2013
Marc Faber: Taper will be Very Cosmetic
When they introduced Quantitative Easing one (QE1) in November 2008, my view was that this would be a permanent stasus, in other words that we would go up to QE99 and that they would not abandon the asset purchases. Now there has been talk about tapering for the last 6-8 months, but in my view if they taper, it will be a very cosmetic gesture and on any sign of further economic weakness, or if asset markets decline again like the stock market drops 10-20 percent they will actually increase the asset purchases. My sense is that the Federal Reserve will continue to buy assets in order to try to support the asset markets. - inmoneycontrol.com
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquires Hartford UK variable annuity business
Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway firm, has purchased Hartford Life International Limited (HLIL) in a transaction valued at approximately $285m.
Jim Rogers: I prefer silver because silver a cheaper investment
"At the moment I'm getting neither Gold nor Silver. But if I have to take a day I prefer Silver because silver a cheaper investment,"
Sunday 15 December 2013
They Bravely Chickened Out
Earlier this week Congress tried to show that it is capable of tackling our chronic and dangerous debt problems. Despite the great fanfare I believe they have accomplished almost nothing. Supporters say that the budget truce created by Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray will provide the economy with badly needed certainty. But I think the only surety this feeble and fictitious deal offers is that Washington will never make any real moves to change the trajectory of our finances, and that future solutions will be forced on us by calamity rather than agreement.
Read more @ peterschiffbulletin
Water shortages a crucial issue in China: Jim Rogers
War, famine, civil war or recession can be overcome but drought cannot; people cannot build a society or a country without water, the investor said during an interview with the media.
Read more @ jimrogersbulletin
Saturday 14 December 2013
Soros Soars Thanks To Sarepta Therapeutics and Towerstream Corporation
Today’s midday gainers are Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT), Towerstream Corporation (NASDAQ:TWER), Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) and daily losers are IAMGOLD Corp (NYSE:IAG), Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH), Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd (NYSE:TRQ).
Friday 13 December 2013
BNSF CEO Rose shifts role, renewing Buffett succession talk
NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc's BNSF Railway Co has moved Chief Executive Matthew Rose to an executive chairman role, renewing speculation he might be in line to replace Warren Buffett at Berkshire's helm.
As executive chairman, Rose, 54, will work on organizational planning, market positioning and public policy at BNSF over the next decade, the company said on Wednesday.
Carl Ice, 57, will replace Rose as chief executive at the nation's largest railroad, starting on Jan. 1.
Read more @ warrenbuffettbulletinCan Mutual Funds Invest Like George Soros?
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- George Soros and other star hedge fund managers famously made fortunes by betting on global trends. Global macro funds can range widely, holding foreign currencies one year and U.S. stocks the next. But the macro strategy is hard to execute, and not many managers have succeeded. Most mutual funds that have tried the macro game have failed and shut their doors. For mutual funds, the strategy is particularly difficult because managers cannot use the leverage that hedge funds employ.
Jim Rogers: "US Heading for Disaster. Be Prepared"
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Thursday 12 December 2013
The “Small” Solution to a Big Tax Problem by Marc Faber
If the government levies taxes on landowners, retailers, corporations, and individuals, it is far from certain that the targeted interest groups will actually pay the tax. Depending on a variety of factors, they may be able to roll over or shift the tax to other people (tenants, consumers, workers, etc.) either partly or entirely. As Alfred Marshall said: “There is scarcely any economic principle which cannot be aptly illustrated by a discussion of the shifting of the effects of some taxes.”
The Swedish Nobel Laureate, economist, sociologist, and politician Karl Gunmar Myrdal also contended that the results of taxes can “diverge greatly” from the intentions. (All government interventions in free markets lead to unintended consequences.) This was already obvious to David Ricardo, who commented: “Almost all taxes on production fall finally on the consumer.”
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