Kerkorian dumps entire stake in Ford originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The week between Christmas and New Year's is supposed to be slow. No one expected a little war in the Middle East, which pushed oil prices up, at least for a couple of days. Toward the end of trading, billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's holding company said it had sold of its Ford (NYSE: F) shares, and that pushed the stock down 5%.

The day opened with the market reacting to Kuwait pulling out on its $17 billion joint venture with Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW). The news hammered DOW down 20%.

The market was down most of the day but moved toward even at the close. The primary concern of traders still seems to be the poor retail sales from the holidays and whether consumer spending will stay weak well into next year. Certainly nothing happened to make traders glad they came back after a weekend off.

Today's unofficial closing numbers:

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Closing bell: Weak markets; Kerkorian dumps Ford, oil tips up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As we begin the trek to grandmother's house, it's worth reflecting on what we have to be thankful for. The answer? When it comes to money, most of us have a lot less than we did a year ago. But for those of you who have your health and your families to comfort you, it will cost much less to buy the gasoline to visit than it would have in July. And as you're driving to visit those families -- consider how much less you lost in the last year than the world's 10 biggest losers.

According to the web site, The Business Sheet, those unfortunate people suffered a mind-boggling $176 billion in lost stock market value in the last 12 months. It turns out that 52% of the losses were suffered by three executives based in India. Here they are:

• Anil Ambani - $32.5 billion. Ambani heads Reliance Communications that invested $500 million in Dreamworks earlier this year.
• Lakshmi Mittal - $30.5 billion. Mittal heads ArcelorMittal which has suffered from a decline in the price of steel.
• Mukesh Ambani -$28.2 billion is Anil's brother and controls Reliance Industries, a petrochemical manufacturer.

• Sheldon Adelson -$30 billion. I did consulting work for Adelson about 22 years ago and he is quite a character. His Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) casino is suffering from the economic slowdown and he's had some trouble with debt.
• Warren Buffett -$13.6 billion. As I posted, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) has had some problems this year.

Continue reading The world's 10 biggest losers

The world's 10 biggest losers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is Ford running on empty?

Is Ford running on empty? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kirk Kerkorian, who always has a tan and is a billionaire to boot, will end up with 5.5% of Ford (NYSE: F) when his current tender offer is done. If things don't get better at the car company, he may use that big chunk of stock to force some changes.

The founding Ford family owns 40% of the voting shares in Ford. For the time being, they can probably block any moves that Kerkorian would want to make. But, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "The next few weeks and months could show how well the team of the activist investor and the company's management co-exist."

They aren't going to get along very well. Much of the trouble at Ford cannot be fixed by Ford. If gas prices stay high, the car market is going to stay tough for every company selling autos in the U.S. If a recessions spread to Europe and Asia, things will be even worse.

What Ford didn't do in the past is also going to keep damaging sales. The firm still makes too many trucks and SUVs and designing enough smaller cars and putting them into production will take several quarters.

Kerkorian, and any other Ford shareholders for that matter, may ask the company to cut more costs. But, Ford may be close to the bone now, and it is impossible to say what there is left to take out of expenses without deeply damaging the company's chance of ever getting its market share back.

Owning a lot of shares in Ford may get Kerkorian a voice, but he may not have anything to say.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Kerkorian: A sort of takeover of Ford? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Kerkorian still willing to pay up for Ford

Kerkorian still willing to pay up for Ford originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 May 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) recently surprised Wall Street by posting its first profit in ages," notes Mark Skousen in The Turnaround Trader. Here's the advisor's bullish outlook on the auto maker.

"Ford announced a $100 million profit in the quarter, even though sales lagged General Motors and Toyota. I see Ford as a deeply undervalued company that finally is producing good quality cars, both here and abroad, and I don't think higher gasoline prices will have much effect on the turnaround.

"Ford must be seen as a global producer. And foreign sales are booming for Ford and GM. Moreover, now that Ford has decided to include Microsoft's Nuance-powered Sync voice control system in some of its 2008 models, it could help improve sales dramatically here in U.S. showrooms.

"If the profitable quarter continues, Ford now is selling for only 14 times next year's earnings. With revenues of close to $40 billion in the quarter, a smart business person certainly could cut the fat from that and turn a profit, and that is exactly what turnaround specialist CEO Alan Mulally is doing.

"Under his guidance, Ford saved $1.7 billion from cost reductions in the quarter and agreed to sell Jaguar and Land Rover. Wall Street likes what Mulally is doing, and so does billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who is buying its stock. Let's join him by buying Ford."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

There's also the bearish case: Ford (F): No short seller faith in turnaround

Ford (F): A bullish case for a turnaround originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 May 2008 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ford Motor Co.

Continue reading Ford's Alan Mullaly backed by Kirk Kerkorian

Ford's Alan Mullaly backed by Kirk Kerkorian originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ford (NYSE: F) is up over 7% on news that Kirk Kerkorian has taken a major position in the company.

Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) is up over 13% on good earnings.

Wrigley (NYSE: WWY) is up almost 26% on news of a buy-out by Mars and Warren Buffett.

Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) is off 12% on news of a delay in FDA action on one of its drugs.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the author of Ten Stocks Under $10.

Pre-market movers (F) (WWY) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Book review: Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman, and the Race to Own Las Vegas originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dubai gambles on Las Vegas (MGM)

Dubai gambles on Las Vegas (MGM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM), which launched a factory-building blitz five years ago, is now being urged by senior members of the founding family to stop building factories in the United States on fears it will hurt the company's efficiency.
• Kirk Kerkorian, who controls MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM), had planned to buy the Bellagio Hotel and Casino and the $7.4B Project City Center from MGM. But that deal now appears to be off, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• The U.K. Times reported that News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) has had preliminary talks with Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) about giving its social networking site MySpace to the online search company, in exchange for a 25% stake in Yahoo!.
• The New York Times reported that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will leave the Republican Party and register as an Independent.
• The New York Times also reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will pay Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) $50M for two exclusive downloadable episodes of Grand Theft Auto for the Xbox 360.

Newspaper wrap-up 6-20-07: Kerkorian deal for the Bellagio off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.

Option update 6-14-07: Starwood up on renewed Kerkorian speculation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kerkorian's new target: Kerkorian originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 May 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) and Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. are renewing their long-standing feud in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.

Kerkorian, the billionaire who tried to buy Chrysler in 1995, last week offered to by the money-losing automaker for $4.5 billion and even promised to put down a $100 million deposit. DaimlerChrysler's executives, though, aren't taking the bid seriously, the Wall Street Journal said.

According to the Journal, Tracinda wanted DailmerChrysler to shoulder some of Chrysler's $15 billion in pension liabilities and retiree health care costs, something that other bidders haven't sought. DaimlerChrysler also balked at Tracinda's request to for exclusive rights to conduct due diligence for 60 days, the paper said.

Of course "people familiar with the matter" in Tracinda's camp see things differently. DaimlerChrylser, which is holding meetings with the private equity companies interested in buying Chrysler, denied to the Journal that its discriminating against Kerkorian.

This is what people mean when they talk about negotiating though the press.

The campaign of leaks and counter leaks has just begun.

DaimlerChrysler snubs Kerkorian originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is in talks to buy the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the third largest options exchange in the U.S.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that Kirk Kerkorian wasn't invited to meet this week with DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) as it gets together with bidders for its Chrysler unit.
• Also in the Wall Street Journal, Xstrata will sell its aluminum unit to Apollo Management for $1.5B, higher than expected.

• According to the New York Post, citing sources familiar with the matter, the private-equity firms that bought out Clear Channel Communications Inc (NYSE: CCU), Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, are weighing their options as they wait for a "crucial" shareholder vote on the deal, which will come next week.

• According to Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column, Carl Icahn's investment groups reported that in the last two weeks they have increased their Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) holdings to 69.1M shares, or a 2.9% stake, from 64.9M shares, or a 2.7% stake.
• DigiTimes.com reported that Samsung is reportedly switching capacity from DRAM back to NAND flash.

Newspaper wrap-up 4-11-07: Nasdaq in talks with Philadelphia Stock Exchange originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the Chrysler Group in play, the company's parent -- DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) -- is fielding a variety of big-money calls. The buzz is that private equity firms Blackstone Group, Cereberus Capital Management and Centerbridge Capital Partners are preparing bids.

But, hey, it's really not a mega auto deal without billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, right?

Well, today his investment firm, Tracinda Corp., made a $4.5 billion cash offer for Chrysler Group. According to the Wall Street Journal, he is even willing to make a good faith deposit for $100 million [subscription required].

Keep in mind that Kerkorian is a billionaire for a reason: he knows how to structure deals.So, his offer comes with some conditions, one being that the Chrysler Group will need to strike a good deal with the UAW. Moreover, there needs to be a way to deal with the hot potatoes of pension and healthcare liabilities.

I think I would want the same things if I was shelling out $4.5 billion.

It's also getting Wall Street excited - as there may be real interest in Chrysler Group. DaimlerChrysler's stock was up as much as 4.9% to $84.75 on the news. DCX is now up 2.85% to $83.38.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Kerkorian sends a $4.5 billion love letter to DaimlerChrysler originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

About an hour ago I blogged about General Motor Corp. (NYSE:GM), lamenting on the stock price performance today (and since the beginning of the week) and listing possible reasons. And one of the reasons has immediately materialized.

Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire who holds (held) 9.9% of GM through his Tracinda Corp. investment firm, sold 14 million GM shares at $33 a share, taking his stake in GM down to 7.4%, according to a SEC filing.

Speculations that Kerkorian was looking to sell or reduce his stake in GM have been pushing the stock price down even before the SEC filing, especially after his announced bid to buy 15 million of MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) for $55 a share, a transaction that would increase his holding in the hotel and casino company to over 61%.

GM shares, which actually performed fairly well this year as investors responded favorably to restructuring plans, are down 3.5% as of now (1:30 p.m.) and over 10% on the week. The prospects of Kerkorian losing interest in GM and not continuing to push for positive changes in the auto maker company, don't sit well with Wall St.

Kerkorian sells 14 million GM shares originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

General Motor's largest investor not happy; Jerome York resigns originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What is the GM investor to do these days? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.