Ira Sohn Conference 2011

  • 25 May 2011 at 5:32 PM

Live-Blogging The Ira Sohn Conference: David Einhorn Thinks Steve Ballmer Is The Fucking Rake, Carl Icahn Is Recommending Carl Icahn

By Bess Levin

5:42 Speaker 14, David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital

5:43 Presentation: “Two Longs And Two Types Of Overhang”

5:43 David wants to start with a quote by Jean Claude Juncter: “When it becomes serious you have to lie”

5:44 Einhorn’s first long idea is… Continue reading »

  • 25 May 2011 at 4:51 PM

Live-Blogging The Ira Sohn Conference: Part III

By Bess Levin

On tap: Ackman, Joel Greenblatt, David Einhorn, Eike Batista, Carl Icahn

4:55 Speaker 11, Bill Ackman, Pershing Square

4:56 “A lot of people think of Pershing Square as an activist fund- well this is going to be a passive idea”

4:57 Bill is recommending… Continue reading »

  • 25 May 2011 at 4:28 PM

Ken Langone’s Rallying Cry: Charity, America, Freedom

By Bess Levin

Ken Langone just gave a speech at this year’s Ira Sohn conference on why the hedge fund industry should be writing checks to charitable causes. Why? KEN LANGONE TELL YOU WHY! Continue reading »

  • 25 May 2011 at 3:44 PM

Jeff Gundlach Just Kicked Off His Ira Sohn Presentation With A Slide Of This Painting

By Bess Levin


Okay, back to the live-blog.

  • 25 May 2011 at 2:52 PM

Live-Blogging The Ira Sohn Conference, Part II

By Bess Levin

And we’re back. To recap, Erez Kalir likes MBIA, Dinakar Singh likes Zhongping Inc and Sprint, Jeff Aronson likes CIT, Robert Howard likes WABCO and HSNI, Phil Falcone likes Crosstex Energy Inc, Jim Chanos dislikes First Solar and Michael Price, who’s not a speaker but has ideas, says Goldman Sachs is a buy “if you’ve got guts.”

2:49 Speaker 7: Steve Feinberg, CEO of Cerberus Capital Management

2:50 There are “a lot of opportunities” in Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

3:10 Speaker 8: Peter May, Trian Fund founder, presenting on Tiffany & Co

3:08 Peter loves Tiffany. His lawyers want you to know none of the info you’ll hear today is “inside information” (everyone nods gravely)

3:09 Everyone loves Tiffany! From 12 year-olds buying their cheapest necklaces to Anne Hathaway [flashes slide of Hathaway at the Oscar's this year, looking ravishing]

3:22 SPEAKER 9, STEVE EISMAN, Frontpoint Partners

3:23 Cross every single one of your fingers and toes that he brings the thunder

3:24 He’s not going to talk about for-profit education, except to say that he hates the picture the kid from Indiana flashed of him earlier.

3:29 Eisman “sees opportunity in the property casualty sector-commericial lines” (yes, I fell asleep while typing that line) Continue reading »

  • 25 May 2011 at 12:23 PM

Live-Blogging The Ira Sohn Conference

By Bess Levin

This year’s conference will not include David Tepper’s balls but the show must go on. Scheduled speakers, in order of appearance: Erez Kalir, Dinakar Singh, Jeff Aronson, Robert Howard, Phil Falcone, Jim Chanos, winner of the inaugural Ira Sohn investment contest, Steve Feinberg, Peter May, Steve Esiman, Jeff Gundlach, Marc Faber, Bill Ackman, Joel Greenblatt, Mark Hart III, David Einhorn, Eike Batista, Carl Icahn.

12:20 Speaker 1: Erez Kalir, founder and CEO of Sabretooth Capital, presenting: “Economic Death As A Special Situation”

12:21 The last time he spoke in front of this many people “was at my bar mitzvah”

12:22 You don’t have to make money the Warren Buffett way.

12:25 Holding MBIA stock is “favorably asymmetric” Continue reading »