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.

Eric Savitz: Not a fan of Groupon, Not a fan of Bubbles

In a recent Forbes article, tech writer Eric Savitz explains why he is an old school investor in Google and Microsoft, rather than a bubble-school one with Groupon and LinkedIn.


article: You Call This A Bubble?

Wildcat optimist loves his oil

Wild-Eyed Optimist
Christopher Helman
Forbes Magazine dated July 18, 2011

Billionaire wildcatter Harold Hamm says he's sitting on one of the biggest oilfields in the world, right in America. Really?


Forbes article

Minority partners in the Mavericks basketball team sue Mark Cuban

Minority partners in the Dallas Mavericks basketball (Hillwood Investment Properties, Ross Perot Jr., etc) have sued majority owner Mark Cuban, alleging that he spent too much money on the team, among other items.

Cuban responded to this idiocy and lawsuit by using a photo of the team winning the 2011 NBA Championship (see above).

Glasgow hairdresser defeats Ralph Lauren

In a defeat for the global brand that has largely gone unnoticed, Lord Glennie of the Court of Session decided that a Glasgow hairdresser was entitled to lease the space in a shopping district, which had been empty for ten years.

Lawyers for Ralph Lauren attempted to bully the court and bully the hairdresser into not allowing this. Lawyers for Ralph Lauren lost this one.




article

Gisele Bundchen: The hottest next future supermodel billionaire

We all know Gisele Bundchen (aka Mrs. Brady) is a little on the HOT side, right?

But her personal balance sheet is on fire. Five alarm financial fire.

Her bod made her a multi-millionaire - she has been the highest-paid supermodel since 2004. Now her brain and business savy could make Bundchen the world’s first billionaire supermodel (by the time she turns 32 next summer).

The Brazilian bombshell is branding herself so effectively, via licensing agreements and her own lingerie company, that Forbes estimates she could very well be worth more than a billion dollars in the very future.

Bundchen has been the top-earning model in the world for seven consecutive years, thanks in part to endorsements for labels such as Versace and Dior.

Now you can help her to earn more by buying products from her new eco-friendly cosmetics company (Sejaa Pure Skincare) and also Gisele Bundchen Brazilian Intimates.

Forbes estimates her cumulative earnings over the past ten years at more than $250 million. Bundchen and husband NFL player Tom Brady also have a number of significant real estate investments.

If all of this happens according to Gisele's strategic plan, Bundchen would be Brazil’s first female self-made billionaire.

Where was Warren Buffett?

As readers of Think Billions know and realize, we think Warren Buffett (yes, that Warren Buffett) has been given a completely free pass when it comes to Moody's, the credit scandal and the recent financial meltdown.

Well, now the SEC might not be giving away those free passes away any longer. Statute of limitations nonewithstanding.

Today's Wall Street Journal headline on page c1 reports: Raters Drawing SEC Scrutiny.

"U.S. securities regulators are weighing civil fraud charges against some credit-rating companies [Moody's] for their role in developing the mortgage-bond deals that helped unleash the financial crisis..."

Now, we don't think Uncle Warren will be called in front of a congressional sub-committee anytime soon. Our continued bet is on another appearance on MSNBC with his friends explaining it was really no big deal.

Really.

As part owner of Moody's [via Berkshire Hathaway] the question will remain until the end of time: Where was Warren Buffett?

Congratulations Dallas Mavericks!

Congratulations Dallas Mavericks on winning the 2011 NBA World Championship!


As readers of the Think Billions blog know, we have been frequent critics over the years of Dallas owner Mark Cuban. But because we feel that he did a great job of keeping this team together and keeping them focused, we can easily say.......


Congratulations Dallas Mavericks!!!

The Nice Billionaire That Saves You Money

Yes, there are nice billionaires out there and Eric Lefkofsky is one of them.

It just so happens that this 41-year old family man living in suburban Chicago will be worth $4 billion or so after his start-up company goes public (IPO) later this year.

That company is Groupon of course.

Enjoy the savings North America.

Enjoy the financial rewards, Mr. Lefkofsky.


WSJ article

Should You Short Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) ?

Update On Ralph Lauren (RL) Short

via Serge Berger, Head Trader at Blue Oak Advisors LLC