Would the last big investor to unload a big stake in Ford (NYSE: F) please hit the lights on the way out? In a press release accompanying a filing with the SEC, Kerkorian's investment vehicle, Tracinda, said it had sold 7.3 million shares because it sees "unique value in the gaming and hospitality and oil and gas industries and has, therefore, decided to reallocate its resources and to focus on those industries." Kerkorian was careful to hedge his language in the filing not to sound overly pessimistic about the company's future; he still has another 133.5 million shares, or 6.1% of the company, that he'll have to find something to do with.

As recently as June, Kerkorian was buying shares of the company, back when the stock was trading at considerably more than three times its current price.

It's interesting that there is an established history of prominent activist investors getting interested in the big Detroit automobile manufacturers and then throwing in the towel in short order. Kerkorian had just such an experience with General Motors (NYSE: GM) two years ago, and so did Carl Icahn back in 2000.

There's a hint in here for small investors tempted by the beaten down car companies: more than a few brilliant investors have kicked the tires but quickly lost interest.

It's become nearly tiresome by now -- car companies, especially one of the Big Three, announcing yet another production cut or shift, job cut, reorg, sales decline, losses, what not. If Thursday it was GM's turn, Friday it was Ford's turn. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) said it "will delay introduction of its new F-150 pickup truck by two months and further cut production because of the declining market for pickups and sport utility vehicles."

If it wasn't so genuinely sad, and the implication of this, big picture wise, weren't so alarming, I might just say, boo hoo. The problem is, though, as much as I tend to shake my head when reading this and think "haven't you seen the writing on the wall," I'm more concerned about what all this could mean.

What does Kirk Kerkorian know that others on Wall Street don't know?

That was one analyst's meditation after the billionaire investor's Tracinda Corp. indicated in an SEC filing that it has increased its stake in Ford(NYSE:F) by about 20 million shares to a 6.49% stake from 5.5%, The Associated Press reported Thursday. Tracinda now owns 140.8 million shares of Ford.

Ford's shares were virtually unchanged on the news, gaining 5 cents to $6.27 in Thursday morning trading.

Kerkorian now owns 140.8 million shares in the U.S. automaker, and stock analyst C. Leonard Bauer said Kerkorian is either venturing forth where no seasoned investor would go, or is on to something.

A high-risk investment

"On its face, this is a high-risk stake, a calculation that could hurt dearly. There's not a lot running in Ford's favor right now, from an operational standpoint," Bauer said. "Ford wants us to believe their transformation is progressing reasonably well, but it isn't. I've seen little in Ford's fleet or prototypes that suggest a whole new generation of young adults will suddenly run out and buy Fords, and they are still behind-the-curve on efficiency, styling, innovation, and must-have vehicles." Bauer added that he does not have a rating on nor own shares in Ford.

Shareholders tendered billionaire investor Kirk Kirkorian 1.02 billion shares -- almost half of Ford's shares outstanding -- on growing concern that CEO Alan Mulally's turnaround plan won't work, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

Kerkorian is seeking and will buy an additional 20 million shares at $8.50 per share to add to his existing 100 million shares, held by his Tracinda Corp., The Associated Press reported Tuesday. Prior to the 20-million share tender, Kerkorian's average share cost was $6.91.

Shares of Ford (NYSE: F) fell 19 cents to $6.17 in Tuesday afternoon trading.

"I guess one can call Kerkorian's latest tender sufficiently oversubscribed," said C. Leonard Bauer, independent stock analyst. "Seriously, the flood of shareholders willing to sell is investors' statement regarding Ford's remake. It's a sign their's deep doubt regarding the near-term probability of a return on investment. A price of $8.50 looks like a pretty good price for Ford's shares right now." Bauer added that he does not have a rating on nor own shares in Ford.

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian said he has added $100 million to his pool of capital for buying shares of Ford, and may borrow as much as $600 million to buy shares, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

Kerkorian now says he may borrow up to $600 million, up from $500 million, from the Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), according to the filing, Bloomberg News reported.

Ford's (NYSE: F) shares fell 40 cents to $6.75 in mid-day Friday trading, amid a broader market sell-off.

Kerkorian's announcement occurred one day after Ford advised analysts and investors that it had abandoned its profitability target for 2009, due to rising steel and gasoline costs, among other factors, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Ford's shares: not overpriced

Independent stock analyst C. Leonard Bauer said Kerkorian's tactic, should he follow-through and increase his 5.5% Ford stake, is daring, but risky. "Let's just put it this way: Kerkorian would not be radically overpaying for Ford at these price levels," Bauer said.

When General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) reports quarterly earnings tomorrow, the Detroit automaker is expected to post a steep loss in profit due to sales of SUVs and large trucks dropping off a cliff. Gas prices have increased sharply and have caught GM off-guard as its margin-heavy SUV segment has been hit hard. The automaker has not shifted its product mix fast enough to compensate.

Curiously though, investor Kirk Kerkorian planted more seeds in the auto industry yesterday by increasing his stake in rival Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), upping his ownership of the company to 5.7% after Ford reported a surprising $100 million profit late last week. Kerkorian invested in GM a few years ago, but dumped his shares after GM rebuffed efforts to become a partner with France's Renault SA. Why would Kerkorian re-enter the auto market after years of turbulence and the highest gas prices in a generation, even with Ford's recent profit?

Kerkorian may like what he sees in Ford CEO Alan Mulally. Mulally has said that Ford is re-sizing its capacity output to fit market conditions in terms of demand. This includes production capacity as well as product mix, which is the flexible golden ticket any automaker needs in a world of constantly changing variables. GM just hasn't gotten there, and it's hard to see if it will. GM lost $39 billion, although that amount was mostly due to tax changes not bad decision making. Will Kerkorian have success with Ford as his renewed interest in the auto sector picks back up? Ford will need it, as one quarter doesn't make a turnaround.

Today was a mixed day, which is evident in the tape. Today we had one of the top food deals announced, yet Warren Buffett came out and said we were in a recession. There were also concerns that the housing market will continue to slide along with general credit conditions, and that black stuff in the barrels was up $0.25 at $118.77 on last look.. Here were the unofficial closing levels:

• DJIA 12,872.97 (-18.89; -0.15%)
  
• S&P500 1,386.35 (-1.49; -0.11%)
  
• NASDAQ 2,424.40 (+1.47; +0.06%)
  
• 10-YR TBond 3.835% (-0.03%)
• 52-WEEK LOWS
• Top 10 Analyst Calls

Bebe Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEBE) fell after a downgrade by Roth Capital Partners from a Buy to a Hold rating, citing disappointing sales and conservative guidance. The company reports earnings Thursday. Shares fell by more than 10% to $9.86 on the news.

Add Kirk Kerkorian to the list of legendary investors making big bets on energy. Kerkorian's trading vehicle Tracinda has purchased a 35% stake in Delta Petroleum (NASDAQ: DPTR) for $684 million, sending shares of Delta up more than 20%.

The deal will give Delta a direct capital infusion, since Kerkorian is acquiring the stake from the company, rather than buying shares on the open market as most investors. Delta will use the cash to invest in its drilling activities in the Piceance and Paradox Basins.

Delta also got a fair price from Kerkorian, extracting $19 per share from the investor. That Delta got a premium of more than 20% in the private placement indicates that there was strong interest in the company; often private placements are at substantial discounts to the market price, as was the case with Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) which received a cash infusion from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Kerkorian will be able to control one-third of the company's board of directors as part of the agreement.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), a leading international developer of multi-use integrated resorts operated by Sheldon Adelson, is recently up $4.42 to $142.73. LVS October option implied volatility of 56 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Belden (NYSE: BDC) designs, manufactures and markets signal transmission solutions for data networking and specialty electronic markets. BDC is recently up $3.74 to $52.03 on overseas takeover chatter. BDC has a market cap of $2.1 billion with June quarterly total revenue of $549 million. BDC call option volume of 1,240 contracts compares to put volume of 193 contracts. BDC October option implied volatility of 47 is above its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

In this corner, hailing from Beverly Hills and Las Vegas, is 91-year old billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, one-time amateur boxer know as "Rifle Right Kerkorian." And in the other corner, hailing from New York, is 71-year-old corporate raider and activist private equity investor, Carl Icahn, who is never afraid to go toe to toe with an opponent.

Let's get ready to rumble.

Round One begins: Kerkorian drops out of school and becomes a pilot. He gets his start in business buying surplus planes after World War II, as well as Las Vegas properties, becoming the landlord of Caesar's Palace. Icahn, meanwhile, establishes his reputation as a corporate raider during his hostile takeover of TWA in 1985, and becomes one of the inspirations for the character of Gordon "Greed Is Good" Gekko, the antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street.

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Kirk Kerkorian has dropped his plans to acquire two of MGM Mirage's (NYSE: MGM) gems, the Bellagio Hotel and the $7.4 billion project City Center, opting instead for a joint venture with Sol Kerzner to create a multi-billion dollar resort at the north-end of the Las Vegas strip.

That news today sent MGM shares down more than 10% in pre-market trading. The stock currently sits at $80.97, down 6.4% this afternoon.

Kerkorian's announcement to acquire the Bellagio and City Center last month seemed to put all of MGM in play, with the company forming a special committee to advise management on how to proceed. Shares of MGM Mirage -- which Mr. Kerkorian owns a 56% stake in -- have jumped as much as 27% since last month's offer.

The real question: Is MGM Mirage still a takeover target? There are a number of analysts who remain convinced that MGM is a prime candidate, possibly by private-equity players looking for land deals. MGM owns a third or more of the Vegas Strip and the land could fetch a pretty penny -- BMO Capital believes a successful bid for MGM could be worth more than $100 a share.

But what about Kerkorian? Dana Cimilluca, a writer for the WSJ, considers Kerkorian's decisions a sign that it may be time for him to retire. She says that Kerkorian has now swung and missed three times: The unsuccessful attempt to ally with another auto maker--General Motors (NYSE: GM), the failed Chrysler (NYSE: DCX) bid and now the retreat from MGM's two gems.

That may seem harsh, but hey, the man is 90.

Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. has dropped its attempt to cherry-pick MGM Mirage's Bellagio and CityCenter properties after the corporation announced a new deal with Bahamas casino owner Sol Kerzner to build a multi-billion dollar casino complex on the Strip in Las Vegas.

Many thought that Kerkorian's intention was to nudge MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) onto the sale block, to see what his 56% of the remaining company assets might fetch in a buyout-friendly climate. The latest deal, with its implications for increased debt and holdings value, apparently caused him to rethink this move, at least for the moment.

MGM Mirage already has a huge footprint in Las Vegas, but remains very aggressive (i.e. carrying a considerable debt load) in pursuing further growth. Its new $725 million Detroit casino is scheduled to open late this year. The CityCenter complex in Las Vegas has tied up $7.4 billion and won't be ready until 2009, and MGM has put another $1 billion into a cooperative venture, MGM Grand Macau, opening later this year. It is also in talks about another huge development on the Cotai strip in Macau.

Those punters who jumped on the bandwagon at the initial announcement of Kerkorian's interest in Bellagio are jumping back off this morning. MGM Mirage stock was down more than 10% in early trading.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) -- volatility Elevated on renewed Kerkorian speculation. HOT, a leading hotel and leisure company, is frequently mentioned as a private equity break up/recapitalization candidate. Chatter is circulating that Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda has a mid-$90's offer on the table for HOT. HOT is recently up $0.63 to $70.64. HOT has a market cap of $15 billion with long term debt of $1.8 billion. HOT reported quarterly March 2007 total revenue of $1.4 billion. HOT July option implied volatility of 34 is above its 26-week average of 27 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) -- volatility not confirming renewed takeover speculation. CFC, the largest U.S. home mortgage lender, is recently up 26 cents to $38.16. CFC July option implied volatility of 36 is near its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price fluctuations.

Option volume leaders today are: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Freeport McMoran (NYSE: FCX), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

After dueling with Daimler and losing again, Kirk Kerkorian has decided to take on someone his own size: himself. In a move that has analyst's opinions all over the map, Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation announced it will negotiate with MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) for its two best properties. The Bellagio and the under-construction CityCenter could fetch as much at $12 billion.

The odd part of the story is that Kerkorian owns 56% of MGM Mirage. Other stockholders are not responding well to what they perceive as an attempt to cherry-pick the company's assets, questioning Kerkorian's motives. Some suggest he is trying to force the company onto the sales block, drooling at the potential price in light of Harrah's recent $17.1 billion sale.

He could also be hoping to play both ways; strip off the most lucrative assets, then hope the remaining package is still alluring enough to draw venture interest. Left on the table for the moment is MGM's Grand Macau, possibly signaling Kerkorian's uncertainty about that market.

A key part of this deal is MGM's CityCenter development, a casino-retail-hotel- condominium complex that will cost an estimated $7.9 billion. With the recent cancellation of other Vegas high-roller condo developments, CityCenter is either well poised to take advantage of the Vegas property boom or vulnerable to the slackening housing market. Probably the former.

The market has shown love for the idea, so far, jumping up 30% by midmorning on the news.

If the market scowled when Kirk Kerkorian sold off 14 million shares (or about a quarter of his stake) of General Motors (NYSE: GM) stock, now it's bound to be positively queasy. The news that Kerkorian has sold off 14 million more shares of GM is disquieting enough; that he sold them for a loss (at $28.75 apiece, or $2.75 below the average price he paid when he began buying in a year and a half ago) is a clear sign that his days of calling for widespread reform are over.

GM stock closed Thursday at $29.23, down 97 cents, or 0.9%.

Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. is currently building up a majority share in MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM), so it looks like he's content with the 67% run-up in the share price this year and is ready to cash out.