The place was packed and jumping. 750 attendees. At $7,500 a piece, that’s $5.6 million. All to charity. I took this photo (with my trusty Canon G16) late in the day. That’s why you see some empty seats.
Much of the market’s leap yesterday (Dow closing above 16,000 for the first time ever) was because there was so many positive presentations yesterday — including and especially David Tepper’s exhortation that we’re absolutely NOT in a bubble and we’ll see 20% to 40% gains in the stockmarket in the next year or so. Tepper is very persuasive.
Cast your eyes down these charts. As speakers spoke positively about their favorite stocks, they jumped. I noticed this first with David Einhorn’s pitch for Micron. But also check out W.R. Grace (below). Einhorn liked Micron because of the DRAM industry consolidation and the rationalization of Micron’s DRAM business.(It’s primarily a DRAM company.)
All these charts are intraday. You can pretty well see when each speaker started:
Solar is now competitive with grid electricity. Moreover solar is getting cheaper. Grid electricity is getting more expensive.
As I was finishing these charts (they take time), I realized I should have done a two-day chart. That shows the full impact of the positive comments. Anyway, here’s a chart on one stock that one of the speakers loved:
Some of the speakers pitched shorts — after all they are hedge funds. These included:
+ Great Wall Auto.
+ Progressive Insurance.
+ OPKO Health.
I’d love to give you all their logic. But it’s 2:28 AM. I got to be back at the Sheraton by 7:00 AM. That’s not long. And I’m beat.
I’d also love to tell you about Charlie Rose’s interview with Mayor Michael Bloomberg — clearly one of the world’s most amazing people.
As I crawl into bed, I pose a quiz: What’s the Mayor worth?
You guessed wrong.
He’s worth $31 billion.
And he’s going to give it all away.
Harry Newton who really digs what the Robin Hood Foundation does. Their mission: To fight poverty in New York City. It’s an amazing charity. Every nickel of administrative expense is picked up by the board members, though the conference’s expenses were paid by JPMorgan. Hence all donations, including my $7,500 admission fee go directly to their poverty-fighting projects. Their signature mantra is to apply rigorous financial analysis to all the projects they fund. They want solid, measurable returns — just like in their own hedge funds. You can (and should) read more about them on their web site. Click here.
I owe you more background on the picks and also the Vanguard index funds I like. But do look at VTV. More Monday.
Why are you here? I asked a bunch of attendees at Robin Hood. Sample answers:
+ I’m just here to listen.
+ I didn’t want to go to work to day.
+ Hearing some of the people is interesting, though I could get more ideas if I sat at my desk.
+ I’m just here to hear the speakers.
On page C4 of today’s Wall Street Journal, I note that Goldman Sachs has a “Conviction Buy” list. Goldmans just took Philip Morris off its Conviction Buy List. I guess they just lost PM’s merchant banking business.
Good night. Have a great weekend.
I am not a big fan of Bank of America, however, I have just learned (maybe everyone else knew it) BankAmericard now offers a “Free” Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card with advantages for travelers. No foreign exchange fee on foreign purchases (regular card is 3%) and the card has a chip in it for use in other countries…especially important on European Toll Roads. Air Miles on “any” airline at 1.5 per buck spent..however, no “bags checked free” or “priority boarding” like airline specific cards for which you pay a fee, such as Chase and American Express. You can use their points to pay for checked bags.
If you really, really want one of these cards be prepared to be the most tenacious bastard you ever knew…I applied for the Travel Rewards card to be added to my account…I have had a BankAmericard since 1977 and have a $60,000. line of credit with a zero balance. It took me 26 minutes plus 2 disconnects several “hold for just a minute” and a few raised voice threats to be connected to a supervisor before the, very poorly trained rep, finally consulted his manager who approved adding a card to my existing account, using part of my credit line. Then I was forced to listen to an unbelievable diatribe on “conditions” before I was able to hang-up, hopefully to receive a card before we leave for Europe on the 15th. I hate Bank of America! I want a card with a chip in it.
CORRECTION: Bloomberg is NOT “going to give it all away”. Like most supper rich people, he and his family will continue to live lives most can only dream about, largely avoiding taxes through cleaver accounting. Mansions, private airplanes, et al. And if he loves Big Brother/Big Government so much, why doesn’t he give his billions to the local and federal governments, rather than giving large sums to charity? Better I guess to have a building or three named after him and winning politically correct “do good” awards and media accolades. Sorry, I don’t buy into the media version of Mayor Bloomberg. His types vote higher taxes and costly regulations on the working middle class (if you’re lucky and working), while treating themselves as heroic saviors. BS!
CORRECTION: Bloomberg is NOT “going to give it all away”. Like most supper rich people, he and his family will continue to live lives most can only dream about, largely avoiding taxes through cleaver accounting. Mansions, private airplanes, et al. And if he loves Big Brother/Big Government so much, why doesn’t he give his billions to the local and federal governments, rather than giving large sums to charity? Better I guess to have a building or three named after him and winning politically correct “do good” awards and media accolades. Sorry, I don’t buy into the media version of Mayor Bloomberg. His types vote higher taxes and costly regulations the working middle class (if you’re lucky and working), while treating themselves as heroic saviors. BS!
mark it…cliff made a prediction 11-22-2013
Stocks may well jump 20 to 40% in the next year as Tepper claims. But, not before at least a 10 percent – and probably 15 percent – pullback first.