Soros Retreats as Right Wing Gains in Europe (Bloomberg)
George Soros has been branded as a bogeyman by the right wing for backing liberal causes around the globe. That’s nowhere more true than in Eastern Europe, where he has spent billions of dollars to promote democratic values following the fall of the Iron Curtain. Now, it seems, he’s retreating.
Ken Griffin’s Citadel is Having Another Good Year as Its Flagship Fund Surges 9% (Business Insider)
Billionaire Ken Griffin‘s hedge fund Citadel is notching up another strong year. Wellington, the $59 billion powerhouse’s multi-strategy flagship fund, is up about 9% since the start of January, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, after gaining 1.3% last month. The booming performance is largely due to Citadel’s commodities bets. As part of its core investments, the capital-markets firm has reaped big gains from its commodities trades. They produced returns of about $8 billion last year – roughly half of the firm’s overall profits.
Sculptor Co-Founder Blasts Hedge Fund’s Planned Acquisition by Rithm (Pensions&Investments)
Billionaire investor Daniel Och and four other former employees of the New York-based hedge fund Sculptor Capital Management have filed a letter with federal regulators criticizing the planned $639 million acquisition of the firm by Rithm Capital. In a letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Mr. Och and the four others posited that the sale price “significantly undervalues” the firm and thus penalizes shareholders of the publicly traded Sculptor Capital, while “further entrench(ing) the interests of current Company management.”
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
China’s Sliding Yuan could be Next ‘Black Swan Event’ for Markets, Hedge Fund EDL Says (Reuters)
Hedge fund EDL Capital is betting on further falls for China’s offshore currency and says the yuan’s slide could be the next “black swan event” to rattle world markets, according to an investor presentation this month seen by Reuters. The U.S. dollar has strengthened roughly 6% against the offshore yuan so far this year and Chinese state banks have been seen selling dollars this week to stem the yuan fall.
Ray Dalio Bought this Dividend Stock (Finbold)
Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates is the largest hedge fund in the world, with over $123 billion in assets under management. Recently, the fund revealed to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which companies it bought and which it sold. Bridgewater sold shares of Netflix, Broadcom, and Home Depot. But it did buy this dividend stock. AT&T (NYSE: T): AT&T (NYSE: T) is a holding company that provides telecommunication and technology services worldwide via its subsidiaries.
Rokos Hedge Fund Places Billions on Tech Stocks (The Star)
Rokos Capital Management bought more than US$2.7bil of shares in the Invesco QQQ Trust in the last quarter, part of a wager on the technology sector. The firm, led by billionaire Chris Rokos, held 7.67 million shares of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) at midyear, up from 232,382 at the end of March, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Rokos, which specialises in macroeconomic bets, also purchased put options on 7.5 million QQQ shares, along with call options on 1.9 million shares.
Ex-Bridgewater Exec Bob Elliott Plans to Launch Eight Hedge Fund ETFs (Financial News)
The firm raised venture capital earlier this year to help expand its lineup. Bob Elliott’s Unlimited Funds, an investment firm he started last year, is aiming to offer eight new exchange traded funds, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm, which seeks to create ETFs that provide access to returns replicated from alternative strategies within the hedge fund industry and beyond, raised venture capital earlier this year to help expand its lineup.
A Top Two Sigma Investment Executive has Taken Leave from the Firm Amid a Series of Challenges for the Hedge Fund Giant (Business Insider)
A senior Two Sigma investment executive has taken a leave of absence from the firm, Insider has learned. Alex Ginsburg, a 21-year company veteran and chief investment officer for equities research, has stepped away from his role at the hedge fund to take a medical leave, according to people familiar with the matter. The company notified investors of the executive’s departure and announced it internally in mid-July, along with other personnel changes including the appointment of Jeff Penney and Timothy Reynolds as interim co-chief operating officers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Thursday 8/17 Insider Buying Report: PGEN, TSHA (Nasdaq.com)
On Wednesday, Precigen’s Randal J. Kirk, made a $757,612 purchase of PGEN, buying 500,000 shares at a cost of $1.52 each. Kirk was up about 9.5% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with PGEN trading as high as $1.66 in trading on Thursday. Precigen is trading up about 8.1% on the day Thursday. And also on Wednesday, Director John A. Stalfort III bought $700,000 worth of Taysha Gene Therapies, buying 777,778 shares at a cost of $0.90 a piece. This buy marks the first one filed by Stalfort III in the past twelve months. Taysha Gene Therapies is trading up about 4.1% on the day Thursday. Stalfort III was up about 153.3% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with TSHA trading as high as $2.28 in trading on Thursday.
Over $25M Bet On This Healthcare Stock? Check Out These 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Sigilon Therapeutics: The Trade: Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. (SGTX) 10% owner Shenandoah Acquisition Corp bought a total of 1,718,493 shares at an average price of $14.92. To acquire these shares, it cost around $25.64 million. Sarepta Therapeutics: The Trade: Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (SRPT) Director Michael Chambers acquired a total of 23,686 shares at an average price of $108.05. To acquire these shares, it cost around $2.56 million.
