Let's get right to it: here are five items you might wish to check out over the weekend.
- I was actually hoping to not ever post anything about the absurd hysteria over AIG. But Michael Lewis writes such an outstanding Bloomberg column on the subject that it deserves highlighting. If you haven't read it yet, be sure to. Even if you're sick of the lousy coverage of cable news, you'll want to read this.
- Wilbur Ross says he's considering buying and merging reinsurance firms with market caps between $1 billion and $2 billion. The linked Bloomberg report mentions several companies, including Montpelier Re, which trades at 89% of book value and Ross owns. It is also a holding of some funds run by Cundill and Sivaram of the Can Turtles Fly? blog.
- Bill Fleckenstein makes his case for gold (HT: RealClearMarkets). The bottom of the linked article reveals that Fleckenstein owns gold bullion and gold futures. Regular readers know I don't own gold but am thinking of it. I continue to like Felix Zulauf's views of gold bullion expressed in the latest Barron's Roundtable in January.
- Richard Rahn's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal defending tax havens is compelling reading. A tiny bit: "The so-called tax havens are for the most part no more than way-stations to temporarily collect savings from around the world until they are invested in productive projects, such as building a new shopping center or semi-conductor plant in the U.S. This enables a better allocation of world capital, leading to higher, not lower, global growth rates."
- Africa Confidential reports on developments in Darfur. It's fortunate to be able to read an in-depth story on this subject, one that doesn't use the tragedy as an excuse to mention Hollywood actors. But perhaps I'm being unfair.
Have a great weekend, and see you next week if not sooner.
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