Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) shares may be living up to their stock symbol after Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments signed a confidentiality agreement with the hotel chain. Zell already owns approximately 8 percent of the firm, but the agreement could signal the famous investor’s appetite for boosting his stake in the firm. The move may also prove to be bullish for the hotel sector as any confidence in Starwood may also mean confidence in a larger recovery in the sector.

Sam Zell made his fortune in the real estate business by setting up Equity Group Investments, which spawned three public companies, including Equity Residential, the largest apartment owner in the United States, Equity Office Properties, the largest office owner in the country, and Manufactured Home Communities, a mobile home company. These were among the first public REITs and took advantage of shareholder money to buy up properties when debt wasn’t available due to terrible market conditions.

Sam Zell has lost at least a bit of his cache, however, with his acquisition of Tribune Company. The real estate billionaire’s entry into the media business turned out to be ill-timed with the news agency now suffering under $13 billion in debt that was used to take it private in 2007. Eventually, this led to the firm’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier last month – or late last year. However, these events do not mean that Sam Zell has lost any of his ability to predict the real estate market through his investments!

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Interstate Hotels & Resorts (IHR)
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (WYN)
Red Lion Hotels Corporation (RLH)

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: KFS) shares surged higher after an activist shareholder threatened to take action to unlock value. The Stilwell Group, which owns a 9 percent stake in the firm, demanded that the company institute aggressive cost-cutting measures and focus on its core business in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC. If not, the hedge fund vowed to seek board representation during the next annual meeting scheduled for February 10th of next year.

“If a majority of owners of Kingsway support our nominees on February 10th, we pledge to work aggressively to reduce expenses, to exit non-core lines, and to reduce balance sheet risk,” said managing member Joseph Stilwell. “Further, if we win, I commit to hold our 9 percent stake for at least the next three years.”

Kingsway has acted by selling non-core businesses and getting out of unprofitable insurance lines as well as cut 162 jobs and freeze salaries to lower costs. However, the firm still reported a net loss of $17.4 million, or 32 cents per share, in the third quarter. As a result, Stilwell recommends that shareholders vote to remove CEO Shaun Jackson and Michael Walsh and replace them with his own slate of directors. The result could be a much improved bottom line and higher profits for shareholders.

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The Chubb Corporation (CB)
The Allstate Corporation (ALL)
The Travelers Companies (TRV)

The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) may not sound attractive, but many insiders are a believer in the stock. The firm repurchased some 5.9 million shares during the third quarter and said it would buyback up to 20 million shares over the next year while paying a dividend of 33 cents per share. This is a clear demonstration of financial strength and confidence in the company.

Several other notable hedge funds are also buyers of the stock. Dreman Value Management is well known for its 17% annualized returns and counts the stock among his holdings. Meanwhile, Dodge & Cox is another high profile owner that has posted an annualized return of over 14.5% over the past 10 years. Combined, this is good news for the Chubb Corporation.

During the third quarter, Chubb Corporation reported $264 million in net income compared to $738 million a year earlier. The losses in the third quarter will be about $400 million and come as a result of catastrophes like Hurricane Ike, which included Chubb’s shares in the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. However, the S&P recently upgraded the stock to A+ while Best affirmed it at A++.

Overall, the Chubb Corporation may be an attractive way to get on the ground floor of this strong stock with other insiders and the company itself!

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HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. (HCC)
The Travelers Companies (TRV)
Loews Corporation (L)