Liberty

Apple stores are becoming the new mall anchors: http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-gets-sweet-deals-from-mall-operators-1426007804

I wish we had cards with huge signup bonuses in Canada, but afaik we don't (at least not in cash -- I don't care about points or miles).

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/03/12/why-valeant-is-expected-to-prevail-in-the-war-for-salix/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-12/charter-said-in-talks-to-buy-newhouse-s-bright-house-networks

Looks like Endo offer might be only 25% in cash. Update: Here's the letter that Endo sent to the board of Salix: http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/181077-Salix-Non-Binding-Proposal_3_11_15_Letter-only.pdf

http://www.wsj.com/articles/endo-makes-takeover-offer-for-salix-pharmaceuticals-1426092445 Never a dull moment!

https://oraclefromomaha.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/the-security-i-like-best-interactive-brokers/

Pretty long interview with Musk. A bit old, but I'm just getting around to it and I don't remember seeing it here. Sorry if it's a repost.

What about engineering the friendly acquisition of Zoetis by Valeant? Zoetis is a $22 billion company in market cap with almost $5 billion in revenue, and it is the largest manufacturer of medication for pets and livestock in the world. Ackman describes Zoetis’s portfolio as “highly durable and diverse, not subject to high levels of generic competition”. Do you think animal health could be another interesting platform for Valeant to develop? Gio I used to think so when the stake was first announced, but comments by Pearson later made me think that this was probably not a high probability. But maybe he was just playing his cards close to his vest. We'll see.

From the same article: “They would have to pay an astronomical number,” said one source. “They are not well liked by Vivendi.” Malone has a history with Vivendi. Liberty won a $950 million verdict against Vivendi in 2013, after it sued the French company for allegedly inflating the value of the shares it used to purchase Liberty’s stake in USA Networks more than a decade earlier. Vivendi vowed to appeal the decision. That's true. But these guys are pragmatic and do deals. We don't always have all the motivations behind the scenes. For example, Charter and Liberty were fighting against Comcast for TWC, then they got a very sweet deal for seemingly all the assets they wanted and a great management contract for Great Land, etc. Maybe Malone has something that Vivendi wants, etc. Or maybe nothing will come of it. We'll see. Just interesting to see these glimpses of the predator on the hunt.

3 month exclusive on Apple TV 8)

Increasingly, the phone is people's primary (and often only) computing device. Especially true in the poorer countries where people leapfrogged right over the PC and into mobile computing. I'm writing half of what I write here on an iPad, by the way :)

http://nypost.com/2015/03/08/malone-approaches-bollore-with-universal-in-mind/

It is. I'm sure they'll clean that up soon, probably just keeping Macbook and Macbook Pro. But right now they're keeping the old Air because of the lower price point (the new Macbook will migrate down there over time, I think). They might be able to sell a ton just in China. Buying gold things is very dependent on culture and the social circles you travel in. In Asia, it'll probably do well. And elsewhere, at the country club.

FWIW, it's from The Economist.

You mean eventually swallowing the new AGN-ACT? I'd certainly love to be a fly on the wall next time Ubben and Ackman meet...

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150309006213/en/Pershing-Square-Announces-Position-Valeant-Pharmaceuticals-International#.VP32s4HNGPS

They'll never break this out, but they could make billions just from selling additional bands. Imagine the margins on those.

I'm happy with what I saw. Stainless pricing is lower than I expected, which could mean it'll sell better at no doubt very good margins compared to the Sport. Until this gets in the hands of reviewers and ships, people will keep doubting it. But I think that once it's out in the wild and people have lived with it for a while, they will probably realize that taking your phone out of your pockets every 5 minutes to quickly glance at a message or look up some info, or carrying your phone around in your pajamas when you're home, isn't all that great, and that'll start to feel like going to boot up your laptop to read your email felt after the iPhone came out. Apple has built its success on making the stuff that you do all day, every day, better. So the concept of notifications and apps on your wrist might not sound impressive at first (certainly not as impressive as the Amazon Fire Phone 4 cameras tracking your eyes to create fake 3D!), but I think it does something helpful and it'll be a successful product and help strengthen the iPhone ecosystem. Also, the new Macbooks are pretty amazing.

If true, the question is, what's Ackman's angle? Could this be a rare passive position for him, just ride along with Pearson? Pearson didn't seem too excited about teaming up with Ackman again when he was asked in a recent interview, but he's nothing if not pragmatic, so if Ackman brings him the right deal, that could happen. Or would Ackman be happy to just provide capital and be a kind of minority partner in some big future deals? Not sure that's his style, but he's also very pragmatic. Update: From the Reuters writeup: "The source, who asked not to be named, said the fund would take a passive approach to Valeant, instead of pressuring it to change management or pursue strategic options as it does with most of its investments." http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0M51PE20150309?irpc=932

No idea if it's true, but there's a rumor that Ackman has taken a 5% stake in Valeant. That's why the stock just jumped. Update: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0M51PE20150309?irpc=932

I was reading something interesting on that the other day:

I don't think it's being updated anymore, though.

2 caveats first: 1) I don't know the specifics of this company and 2) you probably already know what I'm about to say, but I want to say it in case a newbie investor is reading this and only looking at the numbers. What sometimes looks like a big discount to IV can actually be quite an efficient price, because bad management can have a large negative IV. The value that is there can be destroyed, or it can be diverted away from shareholders. If you can't trust management, most of the rest is on very shaky ground.