Carl Icahn is certainly having a good time these days, and not just because he’s on incredible canasta and shuffleboard winning streaks. No, like his erstwhile adversary Bill Ackman, Uncle Carl is rather enjoying this market roller-coaster, especially since there’s no way coronavirus could penetrate the security protecting the vulnerable population of Indian Creek, Fla. What’s more, like Kyle Bass, he thinks things are going to get even more fun, in a 2008 sort of way.
“You’re going to have this blow up, too, and nobody’s even looking at it,” Icahn said on “Halftime Report.”
Icahn said he is shorting the commercial mortgage bond market and it’s his “biggest position by far….”
“A lot of these bonds now are in grave danger,” Icahn said. “It’s like selling insurance to someone who’s going to go to the electric chair in a couple of months.”
Overall, Icahn thinks the market’s drop was catalyzed by the coronavirus pandemic and still “has a longer way down.”
Of course, the coronavirus thing isn’t going exactly as Icahn might like. For one, it doesn’t seem to be doing any favors to his buddy Donald Trump’s reelection hopes. For another, unlike tomorrow’s pickleball tournament, a shotgun wedding Icahn was very much looking forward to has been indefinitely postponed.
Xerox Holdings Corp. said it will pause its public pursuit of HP Inc. amid the outbreak of the coronavirus…. Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox intends to continue its pursuit of HP when the pandemic stabilizes, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public….
Xerox’s shares have fallen about 33% over the past month through Thursday’s close while HP’s have fallen about 18%.
Icahn is shorting the commercial real estate market, which he says is going to ‘blow up’ [CNBC]
Xerox Pauses HP Hostile Takeover, Proxy Fight Amid Outbreak [Bloomberg]