Just when you thought the very public war of words between activist investor Carl Icahn and eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) was about to go nuclear, peace broke out.
In a letter to eBay shareholders, Icahn charged eBay leadership with the most “blatant disregard” for accountability that his firm Icahn Enterprises “has ever seen.”
This doesn’t happen very often.
Carl Icahn has been foiled in one of his activist investing ploys, and by none other than Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).
Einhorn wasn’t ready for the world to know he was short. He liked that the price was high; it gave him an opportunity to short discreetly at elevated prices.
Carl Icahn wants to be clear about his seemingly bearish stock market comments yesterday.
The famed activist investor was speaking at the Reuters Global Investment Outlook Summit Monday when he made remarks that halted markets’ gains.
“I am very cautious on equities today,” Icahn said. “This market could easily have a big drop.” His reasoning is that earnings at many companies have been juiced more by low borrowing costs than by strong management.
As usual, Wall Street smiled upon Icahn’s triumph; Transocean stock went up 3.59% to $55.37 yesterday.
“I believe that Transocean is now on the road to realize its great potential,” a clearly thrilled Icahn said in a statement. He also tweeted: “Grt news for Transocean and activism today.”
This year activist investors have been busier than ever, but they’re just getting started.
That’s because conditions in the market right now couldn’t be any more ideal for activist investing, and the hedge fund managers who do this sort of thing are not known for letting opportunities go to waste.
Thanks to the hit gold prices took in mid-April, other precious metals also got caught in the downdraft – but some still look to be among the best investments of 2013.
Take platinum, for example.
It is currently trading at about $1,500 an ounce, well off its 52-week high of $1,734 an ounce. During the height of the selloff last month, it touched a low of $1,381 an ounce.
Investors sold it along with all other precious metals, even though the fundamentals for platinum may be better than ever.
While platinum’s long-term outlook is bright, a short-term price catalyst is about to take place, as early as this week.
The world’s biggest platinum producer, ANGLO American Platinum (Amplats), could take a significant amount of platinum off the market. The restructuring could cost 14,000 jobs and close two South African mines.
It’ll also help drive a supply deficit that will only expand in the years ahead, making platinum one of the best investments to make now before prices soar.
No wonder Sprott Holdings’ Rick Rule bought $280 million worth of platinum and palladium earlier this year…
This is a syndicated repost courtesy of Money Morning. To view original, click here. Reposted with permission. In a move that potentially staves off a battle over Dell Inc.’s (Nasdaq: DELL) $24.4 billion proposed deal to go private, activist investor Carl Icahn said today (Monday) he signed a confidentiality agreement with the personal computer giant.…
