The Smartest Guys In The Room

The largest shareholder in Sears is generally regarded as the smartest hedge fund manager in the country today. The following statement was in the WSJ last week commenting on the quarterly report from Sears...which was all largely gains from derivative trading:

"The financial derivatives used by Sears, known as total-return swaps, are agreements that take on the big risks of highly leveraged investments in equities or other assets without actually buying them or assuming debt to purchase them, said the president (of yet another hedge fund.) Total-return swaps also can boost the liquidity of an investment, carry tax benefits and have the advantage of gains that can be recorded as profit on a balance sheet, whether realized or unrealized."

Rest assured the IRS will be looking into these types of statements, reports and accounting. This is BS in the highest order and the chapter is not finished yet as it continues to grow in scope now internationally...

Barkly seen here pays no attention to these games. He sees great bargains in the normal stock market...imagine just picking a great company and holding onto the stock certificate and being paid a dividend.