Benzinga's  Instablog

By Gary Cassady

Of all days in the year, investors should pay particular attention to what is happening today inside the Harbor Investment Conference in NYC. The Harbor Investment Conference in New York City is no meaningless gathering; as of December 31, 2010, the eight stocks which were recommended at the previous conference were up 39%, compared to the S&P 500 (14%) in the same timeframe. The conference will be today from 12-5pm EST, so be on the lookout for stocks that have strong moves, including those listed below.

It is clearly in investors' best interest to be aware of the stocks that may be recommended as a result. Secrecy is high this year, as the conference is imposing a media embargo on attendees. Nevertheless, Benzinga is sending a representative to the Harbor Investment Conference today, so stay tuned for live, in-person updates.

For a comprehensive list of speakers for the conference today, click here.

Todd Sullivan, co-founder and managing partner of Rand Strategic Partners and ValuePlays.net will be in attendance as a speaker this year. Some of his more famous holdings include General Growth Properties (GGP), Jamba (JMBA), iGo (IGOI), and the Dow Chemical Company (DOW).

General Growth Properties will be of special interest today as Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Capital sold off some of its stake to Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) in mid-January, according to SeekingAlpha. This could be interpreted as a sign that General Growth Properties is now trading at fair value and may not be a good entry point for investors.

As Benzinga readers are already aware, Berkowitz will be speaking at the conference as well and a likely topic will be St. Joe (JOE), a stock that has long been debated between Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Capital and David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital. Einhorn and Berkowitz have entirely opposite views on St. Joe: Einhorn is short and thinks the stock is grossly overvalued, while Berkowitz believes St. Joe is almost as safe as a land trust and "would like to buy the whole company," according to an earlier statement. This has been a battle of the industry titans for some time, and investors will be hanging on to see what Berkowitz has to say on Thursday.

The Harbor Investment Conference raises funds for the Boys and Girl Harbor, a respected social charity.

Neither Benzinga nor its staff recommends that you buy, sell, or hold any security. We do not offer investment advice, personalized or otherwise. Benzinga recommends that you conduct your own due diligence and consult a certified financial professional for personalized advice about your financial situation.

Disclosure: No position

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.