Stock crash likely if rally continues: Marc Faber (MoneyControl)
In the near-term, the US stock market is overbought and adding that any more near-term gains portend big trouble for the market, “The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report” publisher Marc Faber told CNBC on Monday. “If we continue to move up, the probability of a crash becomes higher,” Faber predicted in a ” Squawk Box ” interview, saying it could happen “sometime in the second half of this year.” By his calculations, Faber said the bull market began four years ago with important stocks recently “breaking down,” such as Oracle and FedEx “Can we go up just on a few stocks like Johnson and Johnson, Procter and Gamble, Wal-Mart, and so forth?” he asked and answered: “Possibly.”
Icahn Enterprises MLP Surges 8.8% Early Monday (Barrons)
Clearly a lot of people read the current issue of Barron’s this weekend. Within it, on page 17, one can find a story by my colleague Andrew Bary arguing that there’s value to be found in Icahn Enterprises (IEP), the eponymous publicly traded master limited partnership of one Carl Icahn. …The $6 billion MLP has a concentrated portfolio of about 10 holdings. At $55, the units (as shares of an MLP are known) trade at a discount to the $64 sum-of-the-parts value, based on the company’s analysis, which has been updated by Barron’s based on the current share price of key publicly traded investments. The units yield a hefty 7%, reflecting a recently initiated $4-a-share annual payout.
Carlyle Says Saudi Opening Will Draw Investors on Ease of Exits (Bloomberg)
Saudi Arabia’s stock market will attract investors such as Carlyle Group LP (CG), the world’s second- biggest private-equity firm, when it opens to foreign investors, said Firas Nasir, co-head of the company’s MENA fund. “The Saudi market opening would attract investors like us more to Saudi as it would be easier to exit,” Nasir said today at the Bloomberg Doha conference. The Washington-based firm has made two of its about six investments in its $500 million Middle East and North Africa fund in Saudi Arabia, he said.
Steve Cohen’s Art Dealer Explains Why The Purchase Of A $155 Million Picasso Was Not A Slap In The Face To The SEC (BusinessInsider)
Reports surfaced a couple weeks ago that billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, whose SAC Capital has come under scrutiny lately, secretly bought Picasso’s “Le Rêve” from Steve Wynn for $155 million. It was assumed that Cohen had just purchased the painting after settling a $616 million insider trading probe with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s not the case.
Maples Hires New Americas Fund Services Head (Finalternatives)
Maples Fund Services has hired Jason Brandt, regional head of fund services for the Americas, to lead the firm’s growing presence in the region. Brandt, who joins Maple from Deutsche Bank Alternative Fund Services in London, has more than 18 years of experience in the financial services sector, focused primarily in hedge funds and private equity. At Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB), he was responsible for client relationships globally, as well as growing the EMEA and Asia business. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he served as managing director and chief operating officer of Hedgeworks, which was acquired by Deutsche Bank in 2008. Brandt’s early career included positions with Capital Guardian Trust Company, Ernst & Young and Coopers & Lybrand.
Buy Herbalife! Ackman’s Foresight Under Fire Following JCPenney (JCP) Shakeup (StreetInsider)
Does Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman still have the magic touch? Following the ouster of Ron Johnson as CEO of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) on Monday night, some are asking hedge fund giant Bill Ackman what his thought’s are on the situation. Unfortunately, Ackman isn’t talking right now. The NY Post, which has been vocal on JCPenney and its problems since at least the start of 2013, points to one JCPenney insider who said, “Ackman is looking pretty foolish, as he is the guy who was beating the drum to get rid of Ullman in the first place.”
