Bill Ackman Surprisingly Bullish

Bill Ackman spoke at the Value Investing Congress yesterday, and the Pershing Square fund manager was surprisingly more bullish than most expected him to be.Ackman went on to say that the securitization market is coming back aggressively, and he said that banks are having trouble finding places to put money out.With regards to the stock market as a whole, Ackman believes it is still relatively undervalued. He sees an improving consumer, but the only thing missing is confidence both in business and in the consumer.Ackman spoke a little bit about his investment in J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), which he disclosed last week. He said it's the most economically sensitive investment he has made. He pointed out that while most retailers have rallied since 2009, J.C. Penney is at roughly the same price it was at last year. Ackman he praised J.C. Penney's strong balance sheet, great real estate, and he believes there are significant non-operating assets that he believes he can unlock some value from. Ackman mentioned he first learned about some of J.C. Penney's non-operating assets through the General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) bankruptcy.Ackman discussed GGP a little bit, and specifically highlighted the Howard Hughes Co. spinoff, which he will be the chairman of. He mentioned that the Summerlin real estate owned by Howard Hughes is the best real estate in Las Vegas.He closed by saying that he will be primarily North American centric with his investments, as he understands the legal system here, and he believes it is easier to deal with domestic companies, as opposed to foreign ones.