market folly

While we've covered Bill Ackman in-depth on the blog many times before, we still cannot understand his Target (TGT) position. He refuses to give up hope on the name and we don't know whether to admire him or mock him for it. He was even recently quoted as saying,

"The investment business is about being confident enough to know that you’re right and everyone else is wrong. Yet you have to be humble enough that you recognize when you’ve made a mistake. Earlier in my career, I think I had the confidence part pretty solid. But the humbleness part I had to learn."

Target is losing share to Walmart (WMT) in this deep recession as customers continue to seek out cheaper alternatives. At the same time, Bill is trying his hardest to invoke change at an outfit that seems very complacent in a time when they should be actively seeking to compete and better their company.

If you've missed it, Ackman recently chatted with Charlie Rose and you can view Pershing Square's portfolio here. Here is his latest letter to Target shareholders: