According To Sources

A quick summary before the weekend of why I believe ATHN is a long into the weekend, and why RBC and the market is misinterpreting the news.

In what I consider to be one of the best interviews thus far on According to Sources, Jason and I do a deep-dive into the situation between DVMT, VMW and Carl Icahn. What are the downside risks? Has Carl Icahn lost a step in recent years? What could a Rockwell Collins block from China mean for the entire merger-arb space? Does Dan Loeb stand ANY chance of winning the CPB board? We discuss these issues and much more.

In what I consider to be one of the best interviews thus far on According to Sources, Jason and I do a deep-dive into the situation between DVMT, VMW and Carl Icahn. What are the downside risks? Has Carl Icahn lost a step in recent years? What could a Rockwell Collins block from China mean for the entire merger-arb space? Does Dan Loeb stand ANY chance of winning the CPB board? We discuss these issues and much more.

What deal is most at risk from a market downturn? How does one handicap and source various deal approvals such as DOJ or MOFCOM and then gauge what each is worth for pending deals? In this week's podcast I give an update on the ongoing saga at Athenahealth (ATHN), weigh in on CA Inc., and answer the 7 questions on the minds of merger-arbs and deal speculators.

John Malone, Ron Burkle, Jana Partners, Tom Sandell: Each of these investors have either taken a stake or bid for Barnes & Noble (BKS). Now that the company has finally turned the review process over to an independent committee, will this time be different? What is this company worth? Would Amazon be interested? I give my thoughts and later I interview Gabelli analyst John Tinker.

1) Tesla: Is Elon Musk settling with the SEC really an all-clear?

2) Campbell Soup: As the stock continues to drift back to 2018 lows, the 2018 annual meeting has become an extremely binary event.

3) Athenahealth: What does this mean for the Elliott brand?

4) Papa John's: Will they be the next restaurant to go private?

5) The top-5 biggest investing mistakes i make

On October 17th, marijuana goes fully legal in Canada. This event, combined with the Canopy Growth Corp investment made by Constellation Brands / Stories of Coca-Cola entering CBD beverages have made the cannabis space the most discussed sector in the past few weeks. What events will unfold over the upcoming months that will either continue to validate the sector OR perhaps send these sky-rocketing valuations back down to earth? I sat down with Navy Capital's Sean Stiefel to discuss. Navy was formed in 2014 as a fund specifically designed to participate in the upside from cannabis.

Athenahealth shares have tumbled following recent media coverage that strategics such as UNH and Cerner are walking away from the process. Perhaps Elliott buying ATHN isn't the best-case-scenario for investors, but it's still a scenario that is worth examining.

Yum China plummeted to $30 last week after headlines that Hillhouse is ending its pursuit, but is the process truly over?

CBS: Is it now in play?

In part II of my interview with Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond, we discuss how deals can get off the ground, and why so many times the process can die out midway through. In "Five Questions" I ask Ed "What's the biggest deal that's NEVER happened?" ..."Has anyone ever approached you with a bribe to reveal information?"...and "What's the most UNUSUAL way you've come across a scoop?"

The event space is littered on a daily basis with rumors of deals and activism, the overwhelming majority of which are false. In Part 1 of what I consider to be a MUST-LISTEN interview, Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond explains the role journalists play in the deal-process. We discuss how incorrect journalism, for example the Nokia for Juniper story, makes it to press ONLY to be quickly refuted. And lastly we talk sources and their motivations, which can range from vanity, to humanity...to revenge.

But first I discuss how and why I've made Integrated Device Tech (IDTI) my biggest position of the year.