Steven Cohen’s Venture Firm Backs 24-Hour Stock-Trading Startup (The Wall Street Journal)
Hedge-fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steven A. Cohen is backing a startup that wants to let investors trade stocks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Point72 Ventures, Mr. Cohen’s early-stage venture-capital fund, is leading a $14.25 million funding round for 24 Exchange. The companies announced the transaction Wednesday after it was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
Scaramucci Fund Boosted Crypto Exposure by 150% in Third Quarter (Bloomberg)
Anthony Scaramucci’s flagship vehicle for investing in hedge funds increased its exposure to crypto-related assets by almost 150% during the third quarter. Investments in digital funds and securities in the SkyBridge Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios totaled $485 million at the end of September, up from $195 million on June 30, according a regulatory filing this week. The increase reflected new investments and market appreciation. The fund’s net assets fell about 10% in the period to $2.4 billion, fueled by redemptions.
Billionaire Investor Ray Dalio Warns that the US is Coming to the Brink of an Empire-Ending Catastrophe. Here’s Why He’s Worried, and How He Says You Should Invest Your Money. (Business Insider)
Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates is known for successful investing on a global scale. Dalio has been studying the rise and fall of empires, and warns that the US is in trouble. He says investors should stay balanced, consider the effects of inflation, and hold little cash. Almost 50 years later, Ray Dalio still remembers his reaction to the news that the US would no longer allow dollars to be swapped for gold. He was sure it would be a disaster for markets.
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Trend-Following Hedge Funds’ Momentum Halted Following Market Wobble (Hedge Week)
CTAs and trend-following hedge funds have seen their recent advance halted, as anxieties over the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 punctured market momentum towards the end of last month. CTAs and other managed futures strategies had started the final quarter of 2021 on a high, with solid October gains. But Société Générale’s main CTA Index was set to finish November down 2.64 per cent earlier this week, reversing October’s 2.56 per cent gain. The index – which charts the daily performances of 20 of the largest CTAs, including funds run by brand-name firms such as Man AHL, Graham Capital, Systematica, AQR, and Aspect Capital – remains up almost 7 per cent over the 11 months since the start of 2021.
With Alden Once Again on the Prowl, It’s Time to Stop Hedge Funds from Destroying Newspapers (WGBH.org)
It’s rather late in the game to ask whether hedge funds can be stopped from buying up every last one of our local newspapers. After all, about half of us are already stuck with a paper that is owned by, or is in debt to, the likes of Alden Global Capital (Tribune Publishing and MediaNews Group), Apollo Global Management (Gannett) and Chatham Asset Management (McClatchy). Still, with Alden having now set its sights on Lee Enterprises, a chain that owns 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, we need to take steps aimed at preventing what is already a debacle from devolving into a catastrophe.
Charlie Penner, the Investor Reshaping Exxon From the Inside (Bloomberg)
In May the tiny investment fund Penner worked for, Engine No. 1, landed three independent directors on the board of Exxon Mobil, one of the most stunning upsets for a shareholder vote. The idea that turned Penner into one of Big Oil’s most effective gadflies crystallized for him during a runner’s high. He was crossing the Manhattan Bridge when he stopped to dictate his thoughts into his iPhone: Maybe Exxon believed it unrealistic that electric vehicles, renewable energy, and improved energy efficiency would threaten growth in the fossil fuel business. “But we think it equally unrealistic to expect humanity to wipe itself out without at least attempting major shifts,” Penner said.
Hedge Funds Lighten Top Holdings (Institutional Investor)
Most of the most popular hedge fund stocks saw a reduction in the number of investors and their stakes in the third quarter. Friday’s sharp selloff of the FAANG and other widely held tech, software, and internet stocks was a clear warning sign that the most popular but pricey hedge fund stocks could suffer a much sharper and prolonged selloff, especially if the market fears that the new Omicron variant poses a much…
Wednesday 12/1 Insider Buying Report: TMDX, THG (Nasdaq.com)
On Monday, TransMedics Group’s Director, Edwin M. Kania Jr., made a $2.26M purchase of TMDX, buying 100,000 shares at a cost of $22.56 a piece. So far Kania Jr. is in the green, up about 8.8% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $24.55. TransMedics Group is trading up about 9.8% on the day Wednesday. And at Hanover Insurance Group, there was insider buying on Tuesday, by Executive Vice President Jeffrey M. Farber who bought 5,000 shares for a cost of $123.60 each, for a trade totaling $617,980. This purchase marks the first one filed by Farber in the past twelve months. Hanover Insurance Group is trading up about 3.5% on the day Wednesday. Farber was up about 2.1% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with THG trading as high as $126.20 in trading on Wednesday.
The Chief Executive Officer of Bitfarms (NASDAQ: BITF) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of Bitfarms (BITF), Emiliano Joel Grodzki, sold shares of BITF for $4.06M. In addition to Emiliano Joel Grodzki, 11 other BITF executives reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Bitfarms’ latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $44.6 million and quarterly net profit of $23.73 million.
SEC Charges Swiss Trader in Two International Insider Trading Schemes (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed insider trading charges against Marc Demane Debih, a Swiss national, who generated at least $49 million in illicit profits in connection with his active participation in two multi-year insider trading schemes. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Debih was a central figure in two separate schemes to trade in the securities of U.S. public companies in advance of news that these companies had been targeted for acquisition. Debih allegedly received illicit tips through a network that included two London-based investment bankers and a U.S.-based investment banker, all of whom the SEC charged in October 2019. The complaint alleges that Debih traded on the tips he received from the investment bankers and that he tipped others to trade. Debih is the eighth person the SEC has charged in connection with these schemes.
