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Bill Ackman: This Is The Market's 'Best Kept Secret'

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By: Josh Sparrow of Street Authority

The name Bill Ackman carries more weight now than it did a year ago.

2014 was a rough year for most hedge fund managers. The average fund returned just 2% and the first six months of the year saw 461 hedge funds close shop.

Yet Ackman's fund, Pershing Square Holdings, returned an astounding 40.4% in 2014 and went from managing around $11.5 billion assets at the start of the year to more than $18 billion currently.

Ackman was named top dog in Bloomberg's 2014 ranking of the world's best hedge fund managers.

And that success helped make Pershing Square Holdings' (AMS: PSH) recent IPO that much more successful. The firm's October IPO -- which opened on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange -- was one of Europe's largest in 2014, at $2.7 billion.

Investors who bought shares of the company at the time of its IPO have already seen a nice 12.7% gain in just a few months.

In the company's first letter-to-shareholders, Ackman laid out what he believes to be the company's primary competitive advantages. He wrote, "When compared with other investment holding or operating companies, PSH benefits by its favorable tax structure and long-term track record." Continue reading "Bill Ackman: This Is The Market's 'Best Kept Secret'" →

A Presidential Order That Could Save Energy Drillers

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By: Joseph Hogue of Street Authority

In his six years in office, President Obama has stressed his support for strict environmental regulation. He has expanded powers for the Environmental Protection Agency and has repeatedly deferred approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline System.

One key stat: The number of oil and gas leases approved during the first three years fell by more than 40%, compared to the final three years of President Bush’s administration. Drilling permit approvals on federal lands fell by a similar amount.

In addition to the regulatory headwind, falling oil prices are also impeding drilling permit activity. Against this one-two punch, some analysts are questioning the emergent theme of U.S. energy independence and shale production.

But is an unlikely supporter about to throw the sector a lifeline? Continue reading "A Presidential Order That Could Save Energy Drillers" →

The End Of BRICs... Here's How To Profit

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By: Joseph Hogue of Street Authority

The days of dartboard investing in emerging markets are over.

Over the two years ended April 2008, a basket of these markets, as represented by the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEM), surged an impressive 60%. You could have invested in any number of these economies and seen solid returns.

This group of markets eventually swooned and rebounded, but it's increasingly clear that the days of heady returns are gone. In the two years to 2015, the fund lost 11% and individual country funds are posting huge disparities in returns.

As an emerging markets analyst and an expatriate living in South America, I see the shifting economic environment first hand and it's not just down here. The Russian market is crumbling and stocks of African countries have not done any better.

Yet you can't paint these markets with a broad brush. Some markets, notably China and India, have done very well over the last year. The iShares China Large-Cap fund (NYSE: FXI) has risen 14% and the WisdomTree India Earnings ETF (NYSE: EPI) has zoomed 38% higher in that period. Continue reading "The End Of BRICs... Here's How To Profit" →

10 Reasons Why You Need an Offshore Bank Account

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By: Nick Giambruno

You may have wondered: “What’s the difference between having a bank account at Bank of America and having an offshore bank account?”

The truth is, there’s possibly all the difference in the world.

Here are the top 10 reasons why you need an offshore bank account.

Reason #1: Dilute Your Political Risk

Doug Casey has said over and over that the biggest risk you face today is not market or financial risk—as big as those risks are—but rather the risk from your own government.

There’s no doubt this kind of risk is rising in most parts of the West. Governments are hopelessly sinking deeper into insolvency. They’re turning to the same desperate measures they always have throughout history, and it’s a big threat to your savings.

It’s only prudent to expect more bail-ins (as we’ve seen in Cyprus), bank deposit taxes (as we’ve seen in Spain), retirement savings nationalizations (as we’ve seen in Poland, Hungary, Portugal, and Argentina), and capital controls (as we’ve seen in Cyprus and Iceland), among other destructive actions. And these are just a few recent examples.

If you think these kinds of things can’t happen in your country, think again. Continue reading "10 Reasons Why You Need an Offshore Bank Account" →

Want to Avoid Oil's Gloom? Turn to the Sun, Says Outsider Nick Hodge

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The Energy Report: You call yourself an "outsider," and have founded an investment club of that name. In what sense are you an outsider?

Nick Hodge: Being an outsider stems from my upbringing. Both my parents were middle to lower middle class, and I never had anything given to me. I've always had to work for what I have, starting with a lawn-service business when I was 12 and working my way through college as a butcher. I look at the "mainstream" with a skeptical eye. I'm a contrarian. I'm not on the inside of big business, big banking and politics, and don't want to be.

The Outsider Club has been around for about a year now. I founded it after writing for several newsletters over the past decade about energy and speculative investments.

TER: What does being an outsider mean with regard to your views on energy?

NH: I'll give two examples. First is my belief in the peak oil theory. Second is my early adoption of a belief in renewable technologies, such as solar and smart-grid technologies.

TER: It would be safe to say you're not an admirer of our financial elite? Continue reading "Want to Avoid Oil's Gloom? Turn to the Sun, Says Outsider Nick Hodge" →