Two interesting charts; The TuSimple scam; FCA investigates Odey Asset Management; We're renting our lake house in New Hampshire
1) CNBC's Carl Quintanilla tweeted an interesting chart showing that two conditions for a market melt-up are in place: super-high short interest and super-high cash levels:
2) My colleague Enrique Abeyta tweeted another interesting chart, indicating that we're not heading into a bear market:
3) Kudos to my other colleague, Herb Greenberg, for nailing the TuSimple (TSP) scam, which he covered in Wednesday's Empire Financial Daily. Excerpt:
The late Maya Angelou famously said, 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time'...
That goes for companies, too. That's why it comes as no surprise that the wheels seem to be coming off TuSimple (TSP), which during the "Everything Bubble" of recent had been the belle of the autonomous vehicle ball.
I've written about this multiple times in Empire Financial Daily, but things have only gotten worse. And to say the company is a mess would be an understatement...
- It's on the verge of being delisted from the Nasdaq after failing to file its first-quarter 10-Q, last year's 10-K, and last year's third-quarter 10-Q with the SEC.
- As part of what appears to be a last-ditch restructuring, it recently lopped off 30% of its workers, the second round of an equal number of layoffs in December.
- And two weeks ago, a full six months after KPMG resigned as its auditor, it hired a replacement... UHY LLC, a U.K.-based international "network" of independent accounting firms, which isn't known for its roster of public companies... at least not in the U.S.
- As a result of all this – and despite more than doubling off its May lows – its stock has still lost 95% of its value from its 2021 IPO...
I also warned my readers about this fraud last November 1, writing, "Why this company still has a market cap that exceeds $700 million is beyond me. This smells like a zero..."
(That was one of my better dailies. In addition to TSP crashing 31% since then, the lead item was "Why I think META is at an inflection point," when the stock was at $95.20. Today it's around $263, up 177% in a little more than seven months.)
4) Following up on the bombshell front-page story in the Financial Times that I covered in yesterday's e-mail, How Crispin Odey evaded sexual assault allegations for decades, it's good to see regulators (FCA investigates Odey Asset Management) and at least one prime broker, Morgan Stanley, responding quickly: Odey Asset Management races to reassure clients after founder accused. Excerpt:
Odey Asset Management has told clients it is in "active discussions" with all of its service providers as the hedge fund battles to shore up confidence in the group after a Financial Times investigation alleged its founder Crispin Odey had sexually assaulted or harassed 13 women.
Morgan Stanley is moving to distance itself from the London-based hedge fund, the FT reported on Thursday. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are also reviewing their prime broking relationship with the group.
I'm surprised JPMorgan Chase (JPM) wasn't the first to act, given the cloud it's under for banking an even more monstrous sexual predator, Jeffrey Epstein (see: JPMorgan Faces Reckoning for Long Ties With Jeffrey Epstein).
5) Greetings from Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire!
Longtime readers may recall that my extended family and I have the good fortune of owning a spectacular 50-acre property here that my great-grandfather bought 101 years ago.
As I grew up all over the country and the world, one constant was spending a good chunk of every summer at the place we call Timberlost, swimming, sailing, playing tennis, boating and, most important, spending time with my immediate and extended family. As a result, we're all incredibly tight – for example, my daughters are closer with their fourth cousins than most people are with their first cousins.
I drove up yesterday afternoon for the annual "work weekend" to open the house and prepare the property for another busy summer.
The reason I'm sharing this is because – shameless plug! – for the first time, we're renting the property. We're using it most of the summer, but it's available August 19-30 and after Labor Day (fall foliage season from mid-September to mid-October is gorgeous).
It would be perfect for a family gathering or special event, and I've also used it a few times for work retreats. With seven bedrooms in the main house and three smaller cabins, it can accommodate 22 people, who have exclusive access to a beautiful white-sand beach, red clay tennis court, and historic boathouse.
Below are a few pictures and you can see more and a description of the property here. For further information, please contact Spenser Malloy at Sunapee Vacation Rentals at (603) 763-3003 or spenser@sunapeevacationrentals.com.
Best regards,
Whitney
P.S. I welcome your feedback at WTDfeedback@empirefinancialresearch.com.