FA Notes Friday October 28, 2011
Bill Ackman Lecture “If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?” Link
Hedge funds reduced bets that stocks will rise to almost the lowest level since 2009 this week, according to International Strategy & Investment Group. ISI’s index of “net exposure” to stocks slipped to 44.7 on Wednesday, compared with its 2011 high of 54.2 in February, according to a note sent to clients. The measure climbed to 45.5 on Oct. 12 after declining to 44 on Sept. 21, the lowest level since April 2009. Link
Chinese and European officials sought to play down expectations about when and how China may deploy its vast financial resources to help bail out indebted countries in Europe. A Chinese Vice Finance Minister said China must first see the details of a new European bailout fund before making any commitments. "We of course must wait until its structure is extremely clear," Zhu Guangyao told a press briefing. "And moreover, this investment must be decided on after serious, technical discussions." Jin Liqun, chairman of sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp., made clear in London last month that CIC wouldn’t offer handouts. "The $3 trillion in reserves are the fruits of the hard work of the Chinese people," he said. "We’re willing to work with those European countries in distress for a better solution. But…we have to be accountable to the people." Link
WHR – "During the quarter, we experienced weaker than expected global industry demand and elevated material costs," said Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool Corporation chairman and chief executive officer. "Consumers continue to show strong preference for our unmatched global brand portfolio and new product innovations, and we are beginning to see the benefits from previously announced price increases. However, our results were negatively impacted by recessionary demand levels in developed countries, a slowdown in emerging markets and high levels of inflation in material costs.