Dan Loeb’s Far Point Urges Investors to Scrap Global Blue Buyout (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Blank-check company Far Point Acquisition Corp (FPAC.N) on Thursday urged its shareholders to vote against the $2.6 billion deal to buy Global Blue after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic hit operations of the shopping tax refund firm. The management of Far Point, a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by activist investor Dan Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point LLC and ex-New York Stock Exchange President Thomas Farley, informed the board that it no longer supports the deal.
Paul Tudor Jones Buys Bitcoin, Says He’s Reminded of Gold in 70s (Bloomberg)
Macro investor Paul Tudor Jones is buying Bitcoin as a hedge against the inflation he sees coming from central bank money-printing, telling clients it reminds him of the role gold played in the 1970s. “The best profit-maximizing strategy is to own the fastest horse,” Jones, the founder and chief executive officer of Tudor Investment Corp., said in a market outlook note he entitled ‘The Great Monetary Inflation.’ “If I am forced to forecast, my bet is it will be Bitcoin.”
Reminiscent Capital launches Cayman Fund (Hedge Week)
Macro hedge fund, Reminiscent Capital (Reminiscent), has launched a Cayman Fund to enable broader access to its Asia Macro Master Strategy (Strategy). The Strategy, which is employed to construct a highly liquid portfolio centred around rates, FX and equities, was launched in February 2019 and has previously only been available to Australian investors via an Australian Unit Trust. The strategy finished Q1 2020 up 16.5 per cent before fees, navigating the recent market turmoil successfully and significantly outperforming the HFRI Macro Discretionary Thematic Index YTD and since inception.
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People Moves: Brevan Howard Risk Head Moves to Coremont Unit, Pimco PMs, and More (Risk.net)
Jasmine Burgess, Brevan Howard’s former head of risk in the US, has become head of Coremont US, the firm’s outsourced services unit. Aneta Bresliska will replace Burgess at Brevan Howard. Established in 2018, London-headquartered Coremont handles front- and middle-office operations for hedge funds and asset managers, including Brevan’s own funds. Prior to joining the hedge fund in 2016, Burgess was chief risk officer at Prologue Capital, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund, and previously held various roles at Macquarie Bank, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. Bresliska was previously a risk manager at Light Sky Macro, a New York-based hedge fund, founded in 2017 by former Brevan portfolio manager Ben Melkman.
Hedge Funds Now Burned by Trades That Worked for Decades (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — The sudden breakdown of a decades-long relationship between U.S. and Asian stocks has blindsided hedge funds, turning what were meant to be low-risk bets on volatility into big money losers. Managers including Nine Masts Capital Ltd. and Myriad Asset Management Ltd. suffered losses in March on wagers that equity-market swings in Asia would be more extreme than those in the U.S. or Europe, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The bets were widespread among traders who focus on volatility, said Govert Heijboer, co-chief investment officer of Hong Kong-based True Partner Capital, a $1.4 billion hedge fund firm whose flagship volatility product gained 10% in March.
Warren Buffett is Too ‘Pessimistic’ About Airlines’ Coronavirus Recovery, Southwest’s CEO Says (Business Insider)
Warren Buffett is too gloomy about the airline industry’s prospects after the coronavirus pandemic, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said in a CNN interview on Wednesday. The famed investor’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate dumped its stakes in Southwest, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines in April, Buffett revealed at Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday. The “big four” airlines have seen passenger numbers plummet as authorities restrict travel and people avoid flying during the outbreak.
Good Foundations for a Comeback (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Catella Hedgefond, which aims to achieve stable returns at low risk by investing in Nordic equities, bonds, preference shares and derivatives, declined by about 13 percent in the first four months of 2020, as the coronavirus-induced turmoil impacted all assets. The portfolio managers of Catella Hedgefond, one of Sweden’s largest hedge funds, reckon that there are good foundations for a comeback. Fixed-Income and Equity Portfolios Share the Losses: Catella Hedgefond’s fixed-income portfolio and long/short equity portfolio contributed a roughly equal amount to the year-to-date losses.
Swedish Hedge Fund Pioneer Brummer Sees April Gains Across Credit, Relative Value and Macro (Hedge Week)
Brummer & Partners, a long-running Swedish multi-strategy hedge fund firm, saw its flagship Brummer Multi-Strategy vehicle up marginally in April, as solid gains across its long/short credit, systematic equity, relative value and macro strategies were offset by sharp losses in tech-focused long/short equity trades. The Brummer Multi-Strategy multi-manager fund – which invests in a range of single-strategy hedge funds– generated returns of 0.1 per cent, while the Brummer Multi-Strategy 2xL (BMS 2xL) rose 0.2 per cent.
Thursday 5/7 Insider Buying Report: ONB, SFE (Nasdaq.com)
At Old National Bancorp, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Tuesday, Director Daniel S. Hermann purchased 20,170 shares of ONB, for a cost of $13.63 each, for a total investment of $275,002. Investors are able to buy ONB even cheaper than Hermann did, with shares trading as low as $12.80 at last check today — that’s 6.1% under Hermann’s purchase price. Old National Bancorp is trading up about 1.7% on the day Thursday. And on Wednesday, Director Joseph M. Manko Jr. bought $268,111 worth of Safeguard Scientifics, buying 40,000 shares at a cost of $6.70 each. This purchase marks the first one filed by Manko Jr. in the past twelve months. Safeguard Scientifics is trading up about 7.8% on the day Thursday.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (WWE) EVP, Global Talent Strategy & Paul Levesque Sold $1 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
EVP, Global Talent Strategy & of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., Paul Levesque, sold 23,255 shares of WWE on 05/04/2020 at an average price of $43.8 a share. The total sale was $1 million. World Wrestling Entertainment Inc is an integrated media and entertainment company. It is engaged in the production and distribution of content through various channels including over-the-top WWE Network, live events and feature films.
The President of Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the President of Raymond James Financial (RJF), John C. Carson, sold shares of RJF for $948.7K. Based on Raymond James Financial’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending March 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $2.04 billion and quarterly net profit of $169 million.
Senator Richard Burr and His Brother-in-Law Dumped Stock on the Same Day. Then the Market Crashed. (TowleRoad.com)
Sen. Richard Burr was not the only member of his family to sell off a significant portion of his stock holdings in February, ahead of the market crash spurred by coronavirus fears. On the same day Burr sold, his brother-in-law also dumped tens of thousands of dollars worth of shares. The market fell by more than 30% in the subsequent month. Burr’s brother-in-law, Gerald Fauth, who has a post on the National Mediation Board, sold between $97,000 and $280,000 worth of shares in six companies — including several that have been hit particularly hard in the market swoon and economic downturn.
