Seth Klarman interview with Charlie Rose

Seth Klarman was recently interviewed by Charlie Rose. Needless to say it is a fascinating interview. The interview is around 46 mins long but I highly recommend watching. Seth Klarman is easily one of the top if not the top value investor in the world.

Enjoy.

An Interview with Seth Klarman and Charlie Rose from Facing History and Ourselves on Vimeo.

Pershing Square - Q3 2011 Letter

Pershing Square is out with their Q3 2011 Letter. In it Bill Ackman & Co discuss their portfolio in great detail. He gives updates on JC Penny (JCP), Fortune Brands which is now Beam and Fortune Brands Home Security, Family Dollar, General Growth Properties, Citigroup, and Canadian Pacific Railway. YTD Pershing Square I is down 15.6% net of fees and Pershing Square II is down 15.9% net of fees.

Overall its a decent letter and is nice to get updates on the portfolio companies. Enjoy.

Pershing Square 3Q2011 Letter to Investors

Kyle Bass on BBC Hard Talk

Kyle Bass was recently on BBC Hard Talk discussing a number of his positions. In the 24 min interview he discusses what he saw back in 2006 that clued him in on the impending US crisis. He goes into detail on how they started to look for asymmetric hedges. Overall its pretty interesting.

Enjoy.

Carson Block / Muddy Waters - on Focus Media

Carson Block / Muddy Waters is out with their latest short thesis on Focus Media (NASDAQ: FMCN). It is worth noting that after they took down Sino Forrest the independent audit committee came out with a report saying they found no wrong doing (trading is still halted on this name - as they are still sorting through the mess).

Muddy Waters research centers around a significant overstatement of the number of screens in Focus Media's LCD network and acquisition overpayments. The $1.1 billion in write-downs from its acquisitions exceed one-third of FMCN’s enterprise value. FMCN insiders have sold at least $1.7 billion worth of stock (two-thirds of FMCN’s enterprise value) since FMCN’s IPO. At the same time, the insiders and their business associates further enrich themselves by trading in FMCN assets, while costing FMCN shareholders substantial sums of money.

Pretty interesting read - already has driven FMCN down 30% in the first couple hours of trading. Enjoy.

FMCN Strong Sell

Latest from Howard Marks - It's All Very Taxing

Below is the latest memo from Howard Marks of Oaktree. The memo discusses the debt issue, the recent efforts to stem the bleeding by taxing the rich, and a deeper discussion on potential solutions.

Enjoy.

HM_OakTree_All Very Taxing

Graham and Doddsville Fall 2011

Columbia Business School is out with their latest installment of the Graham and Doddsville newsletter. In this issue they have interviews with Leon Cooperman (Omega Capital), Mario Gabelli (GAMCO), and Marty Whitman (Third Avenue).

They also go in to two student writeups on Madison Square Garden (MSG) and Great Lakes Dredge and Dock (GLDD).

Enjoy.

Graham Doddsville - Issue 14 - Fall 2011

Kyle Bass on Japan

Kyle Bass was at the University of Virginia investing conference on Friday, where he updated his thoughts on Japan and his short thesis. While it is a bit of a rehash of his thesis from the past it does a good job of summarizing it. He then goes on to discuss the current issues in Europe and how he foresees it playing out.

Enjoy.