Daniel Loeb revealed that he held more than USD 1 billion stake in Japan-based Softbank Corp at the Robin Hood Investors Conference. Also speaking at the investment conference was David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital who disclosed that he held a stake in Micron Technology. The disclosure ended up lifting the chipmaker's shares 6.3%, a Reuters report said.
Einhorn also warned that some stocks had exhibited "bubble-like" conditions even as he said that it was difficult to determine if markets are in a bubble. He said the "bubble-like fashion" of some stocks stemmed from various reasons like lack of profits. He did not, however, disclose names of the companies in his interview with CNBC after the New York conference. The media was not allowed to cover the conference.
Starwood Capital Group Chief Executive Officer Barry Sternlicht also spoke at the investment conference. In the CNBC interview, he said he does not think there is a housing bubble. However, he did say that the prices of housing rose faster than job growth in cities like Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix, Arizona. Starwood Capital Group is a real estate investor.
The Robin Hood Foundation, a charity geared towards fighting poverty, sponsored the conference. It was established by Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment Corp. Board members of the Foundation included Einhorn, Sternlicht, BlackRock Inc's Chief Executive Officer Laurence Fink and General Electric Co Chief Executive Officer Jeffery Immelt.
Aside from disclosing his Micron stake, Einhorn also defended his investment in technology giant Apple Inc. He cited the company's sales and technology of its software as reasons for his investment in Apple. Einhorn, however, maintained a short position on Green Mountain Roasters and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. He said Green Mountain faced increasing competition while Chipotle Mexican Grill will have difficulty increasing its prices in order to become more profitable.
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