Friday 31 May 2013

$AAPL: Apple AAPL -0.43% shares slipped 0.8% after strong gains in the previous session. Einhorn said during Greenlight Capital Re’s GLRE +0.85% conference call earlier Tuesday that the reinsurer lost money on Apple in the first quarter but he still built up its position on Apple.

“The biggest problems for our Apple investment are disappointing earnings and a diminished forecast,” said Einhorn.

But the thesis remains that Apple has a terrific operating platform and its loyal customer base will make repeated purchases of Apple products, he said.

Einhorn also lauded the company for issuing debt and announcing it will return $100 billion to shareholders.

“We’ve added to our Apple position and now we wait for Apple’s next blockbuster product,” he said.

Einhorn is chairman of the board of Greenlight Capital Re and president of Greenlight Capital Inc.

Why Apple is a value stock, for now

Commentary: Next product cycle may not fuel enough buzz

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-apple-is-a-value-stock-for-now-2013-05-07?siteid=bigcharts&dist=bigcharts

Shoppers in Toronto stand in line for Apple's iPhone 4 in Toronto.

Apple shares juiced with ‘massive’ buyback

Stock up more than 13% on heavy volume since program announced

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-shares-juiced-with-massive-buyback-2013-05-07?siteid=bigcharts&dist=bigcharts

“I think the buyback’s about 75% of it,” Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray told MarketWatch of the recent share gains. “I think that’s getting investors to realize that it’s no longer trying to catch a falling knife.”

Brian Marshall of ISI Group told MarketWatch that the buyback, if done evenly through 2015, works out to about 1.2% of the stock’s trading volume each day, which he described simply as “massive.”

Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital raised his price target on Apple’s shares to $525 from $465 on Monday morning — barely two weeks after he lowered it. He cited several factors in his note to clients, but added that he hadn’t realized the “relief” the bigger buyback would bring.

“As a result, the buyback’s size may help the multiple a little more than we even thought a few weeks ago,” he wrote.

Munster of Piper Jaffray told MarketWatch that his clients are now showing greater interest in Apple’s product cycle than in the stock’s momentum.

“I think investors are starting to warm to the idea of investing in the product cycle over the next six quarters, he said.

“It is interesting that equity investors have a concern that Apple could turn into Nokia while there are debt buyers for 30-year paper,” he added, speaking of Apple’s $17 billion bond sale last week, which is helping to finance the share buybacks and dividend.

Monday 6 May 2013

Billionaire Buffett tells investors to not lose their heads when everyone’s excited
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=35717&icid=1&d_str=20130506

FED FORTUNES

The Federal Reserve's aggressive bond-buying program has helped stimulate the economy, but Buffett said it may be hard for the Fed to safely unload its US$3.4 trillion investment portfolio.
“It's a lot easier to buy things than it is to sell them,'' Buffett said.
The Fed has been buying US$85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to try to keep long-term borrowing rates down and get the economy moving.
Buffett said it's hard to predict what will happen when the Fed starts unloading bonds, but it's likely to be “very inflationary.''
“We really are in uncharted territory,'' Buffett said.
--AP