Lions Gate no longer worth it for Carl Icahn

Icahn ends battle with Lions Gate, agrees to sell stake

Los Angeles Times

Activist investor Carl Icahn has agreed to sell all of his holdings in Lions Gate Entertainment, ending his bitter, three-year-long battle to take over the film and television studio and oust its management.

Warren Buffett tosses $5 billion into BAC

Warren Buffett, the bottom-feeding investor from Nebraska, is picking up shares of Bank of America just when major hedge fund managers are dumping shares with record losses. And, right on cue, the financial media is applauding his daring, wisdom and good looks.

Polo and David Lauren Discover the Internet Independently Without Help from Al Gore

Fast Company, the business magazine that has still not discovered what it wants to be after all this time and that continues to see circulation fall year after year; has fallen in love with Polo's David Lauren.

Naturally.

Polo [the "acquired" trademark of Ralph Lauren] continues to get on magazine covers with ease [regardless of any actual measurable successes]

Meanwhile, it is true that Fast Company has still not discovered itself after all these years.

Here is the central question that Fast Company editors have been toying with over the past 10-15 years: Should Fast Company be a) a Silicon Valley version of GQ? b) a hip-hop business rag? c) a contra-company indicator for hedge fund shorting d) [supply your own idea here].

Yeah, Fast Company has provided some really amazing winners on their covers over the recent months: Arnold Love Child Schwarzenegger, Matt Water Boy Damon, John Chambers and Cisco, Lance EverReady Armstrong, Barack Unemployment Rate Obama, Conan Where's My Ratings O'Brien, and far too many others to list.

David Lauren: who talked you into the "interview" and cover of ..... Fast ?? Company???

Carl Icahn Sets to White-Wash Clorox

By ANNIE GASPARRO

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said Friday he intends to nominate 11 people, including himself, to replace Clorox Co.'s whole board at the company's next shareholder meeting.

The move, revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, further escalates the battle between the household-products company and the activist shareholder, who owns about a 9.4% stake between him and his affiliate entities.

"We believe that Mr. Icahn is nominating candidates solely to advance his own agenda," Clorox said Friday. "Clorox has an outstanding board of directors that has demonstrated its commitment to acting in the best interests of all Clorox stockholders."


WSJ Article

David Tepper out of BAC and WFC

David Tepper, billionaire hedge fund manager of Appaloosa Management LP; aka David "Balls to the Wall" Tepper; aka Mr. "Tepper School of Business" at Carnegie Mellon University, where he achieved his MBA has zeroed out his stock positions in Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) according to CNBC.

Warren Buffett is Wrong Again

Over the years, Warren Buffett has been noted for his (solicited and unsolicited) comments across a wide range of subjects. Interpersonal relationships included.

For example, Warren Buffett really thinks this quote regarding the subjects of money and marriage is one of his true all-time gems:

"Marrying for money under any circumstance is never a good idea, and that is especially true when you're already rich!" 

And if you really consider the above quote, you'll come to see that it is always all about Warren.

But, in this case, it does not universally apply. Warren!

Take the case of billionaire Stan Kroenke. Who? Yes Stan Kroenke.

Many years ago Stan married into billionaire quality money with the last name Walton. Yes, Walton as in WalMart Walton.

You see, Stan has done the smart thing contrary to Warren Buffett's thoughts on marriage. (Would he have voided the transaction?)

Stan has stayed married and has done the smart financial thing. He has diversified!

He has diversified into sports!

Check this list of teams Stan owns:

Colorado Avalanche - NHL
Denver Nuggets - NBA
St. Louis Rams - NFL

And, Stan's latest addition, is Arsenal - the third most valuable soccer club in the world behind Real Madrid and Manchester United. Arsenal's value is $1.1 billion and very profitable!

By contrast, Warren Buffett continues to hang out at Omaha Storm Chasers games watching minor league baseball.

To summarize, getting marriage advise from Warren Buffett on "not marrying rich" just isn't a good idea. What is Warren thinking? Why is Warren preaching? (Yes, because Warren is always on the pulpit).

And on second thought, if you do the corresponding research, Warren's advise on a whole host of issues outside of his core investment holdings have been very poor over the past 5 to 10 years.

For instance, he has advised both ex-Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Obama on economic matters. The economy is down, not up.

Warren has been very bullish on the stock market this year. The S&P500 is now down 4.6%, not up.

And, not surprisingly, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), the giant tax-sheltered company that Buffett mostly owns is down this year as well, down 10.9%.

So why would we be surprised that Warren's advise on marrying the wealthy is also a downer!

In conclusion, Stan Kroenke is happily married and happily rich. And most of his sports teams are doing well on the field and on his financial statements.

Warren Buffett is also happily married and happily rich. Yet, one must hedge or avoid altogether these days some of his very random comments distributed to the mass market. Risk is always "on" with commentary supplied by Warren Buffett, Himself.