David Einhorn, the hedge-fund manager who runs New York-based Greenlight Capital Inc., and who made a killing shorting Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK) four months before the firm collapsed, is now shorting Moody’s (MCO) whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
During a speech at a closely watched investment conference yesterday, organized by the Ira Sohn Research Conference Foundation, an annual charity event where attendees get investment tips from the pros, “Einhorn, [40] argued that Moody’s is part of a government-created oligopoly that should be abolished. The smartest investors, including Warren Buffett, ignore credit ratings when making investment decisions, he said. via MarketWatch]
“If your product is a stamp of approval where your highest rating is a curse to those that receive it, and is shunned by those who are supposed to use it, you have problems,” Mr. Einhorn…told attendees, according to Reuters.
Einhorn didn’t provide any specifics to his short position ; but he told Reuters he took the position a considerable time ago.
Shares of Moody’s were down nearly 7% Thursday.
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