Alex Khandelwal's  Instablog

According to SEC filings by Paulson & Co. on Friday, billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson has increased his position in Citigroup (C) to $1.4 billion dollars, roughly 300 million shares. Paulson's firm has an average cost of $4.84/sh on the holding. Citigroup made a positive move in after hours trading on Friday after the filing had been reported. Shares traded up 2.75% to $4.16/sh.

These recent hedge fund postions are based on the 13F filed by Paulson & Co. on 11/13/09 (which includes positions held as of 9/30/09). According to the report, the hedge fund also reduced positions in Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and JP Morgan Chase (JPM).

Over the past week there has also been talk about the money manager taking on an increased position in Cadbury Plc (CBY). amidst rumors of a potential Kraft Foods (KFT) deal. The fund has acquired a 2.54% stake in the confectioner, and is hoping that Kraft, which launched a hostile $16.2 billion bid for Cadbury on Monday, will have to raise its bid on the deal.

For more on the John Paulson and his legendary profits, you might want to check out the new book The Greatest Trade Ever by WSJ writer Gregory Zuckerman. I have not had a chance to read the book, but according to Paulson, "It contains numerous inaccuracies and fails to capture the essence of the credit bubble."  Critique aside, it just might make for a more interesting story for those readers who aren't particularly thrilled by credit default swaps and the like. 


Disclosure: No Positions

Gold hit another record high at $1072 per oz, and oil hit another high for the year at $75 per barrel. Commodities surge as the dollar slips to a new 14-month low against other major currencies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches new 2009 highs as it climbs towards 10,000 points.  Stocks are on a positive beat after earnings reports from Intel (INTC) and JP Morgan (JPM).