"Coal Stocks: A Soros-Led Rebound?" (BTU; KOL)

On a generally down day Peabody was up 4.71% (8 cents) and the Market Vectors Coal ETF was 'only' down 1.43% while the major indices were off a bit over 3% and the largest solar ETF (TAN) was down 6.32%.

As we pointed out a month ago KOL has actually outperformed TAN since their respective launches, down 80% versus down 94%

From Barron's Stocks to Watch:

It sure looks that way as coal stocks like Peabody Energy (BTU), Arch Coal (ACI), and Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) rally hard thanks to George Soros taking positions in Peabody and Arch.

The Guardian has the details:

Billionaire climate philanthropist George Soros invested more than $2m (£1.3m) in struggling coal giants Peabody Energy and Arch Coal in recent months, despite having once called the fuel “lethal” to the climate.

Filings with the Securities and Exchange commission show that between April and June this year Soros Fund Management (SFM) bought more than 1m shares in Peabody ($2.25m), the world’s largest private coal company, and 500,000 shares in Arch ($188,000).

As you might imagine, both the left and the right are puzzle by Soros’s decision to go long coal...MORE

Reminiscent of another misunderstood international thought leader. From Wikipedia:

...he demands "1 billion, gagillion, fafillion, shabolubalu million illion yillion ... yen." This time his demand is met with simple confusion from the world leaders.