Five for the Weekend #49

Let's get to it -- five items for your review between now and the start of next week.

• The big geopolitical news is the terrorist bombings in Jakarta. Kerry Collison is an Australian novelist and analyst who lived in Indonesia for a long time. His blog is a good one-stop source for news on this event, as well as broader Asian news.

• Anthony Bolton writes in the Financial Times about appreciating the role short sellers play: "It’s time short sellers were viewed in the board room and by regulators not as the devil incarnate but as a potential mine of information that could help forestall a repeat of last year’s near-death experience." I've never shorted anything in my life -- and have gone up against shorts in the past with stocks like Fairfax Financial -- but I'd never ban short selling for any reason.

• There are no shortage of reinsurance companies around, apparently. And especially in Bermuda. This Bloomberg report expects consolidation: Montpelier, Aspen and Endurance are among reinsurers in Bermuda that have a market value of $1 billion to $2 billion, according to Bloomberg data. More deals may emerge within five months, Paisan said. "Capital is king, more so today than it ever has been," he said. "There seems to be that imaginary threshold of $3 billion. You need more than that to be a viable longer-term player in the industry."

• Real estate writer John T. Reed pens occasional columns for his website free of charge. Interesting guy (which is to say I frequently, but nowhere near always, agree with him). Here's a piece where he considers the massive US debt burden.

• Personal finance columnist Jane Bryant Quinn writes on Bloomberg about the various options the average investor has for adding a "commodity hedge" to his or her portfolio. I'm not big on personal finance columnists in general, but Quinn is the real deal who has proven herself over time.

And with that -- have a great weekend.

Comments

[Daniel M. Ryan]

Regarding short selling: I would think that any value investor would tolerate short sellers rather than curse them. They could be seen as teachers providing object lessons on the benefit of re-checking the fundamentals...and of legging-in, if called for.

[John]

@Daniel: Oh, I've cursed them over the short term. ;-) It's no fun seeing a stock of yours get crushed when the shorts gang up on it. That's happened to me over the years with Fairfax and a former holding, Deckers. But I came out ok long term.

Of course, you're right. They play a legit role in markets and anyone wanting them banned is clueless, IMHO.