Hedge-Fund Honcho Kyle Bass Takes Aim at Hong Kong ‘Time Bomb’ (The Wall Street Journal)
Kyle Bass, the often-bearish hedge-fund manager who won big during the global financial crisis, has trained his sights anew on the Hong Kong dollar. Mr. Bass’s Dallas-based Hayman Capital Management LP published its first investor letter in three years this week, titled “The Quiet Panic in Hong Kong.” Mr. Bass gained publicity a decade ago for his bearish bets against securities tied to the U.S. housing market.
AQR Sees Reprieve Coming for Beleaguered Trend-Following Funds (Bloomberg)
A pioneer of systematic trading sees large price swings returning to markets after a period of calm, paving the way for a return to profits for trend-following investors. “The unusual lack of large moves across global markets during the current decade in the wake of the global financial crisis is the main driver of recent poor trend-following returns,” wrote AQR Capital Management LLC in a note Tuesday. “While we cannot for certain say when markets will exhibit sustained large moves, we expect that they eventually will, and that trend-following strategies will be able to profit from them accordingly.”
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Hedge Funds Keep Failing to Deliver on What They’re Selling (Bloomberg)
The stark underperformance of hedge funds and others in the alternative-investments business since the end of the financial crisis has been a long-running mystery. Or as Worth so starkly put it, “What the Hell Happened to Hedge Funds?” Perhaps the most compelling theory for underperformance has been the long steady gains in markets since the financial crisis. Some credit — or blame — the Federal Reserve’s dual policies of quantitative easing and zero-interest rates with creating a low volatility environment. That combination, goes this argument, has worked mightily against hedge funds. There’s little need for a hedge in this sort of manipulated and remarkably calm bull market, is the complaint from numerous underperforming managers.
SCOR’s CEO to Fight for His Job Against an Activist Fund (Reuters)
PARIS (Reuters) – Denis Kessler, the long-time chairman and chief executive of reinsurer SCOR, will on Friday become the first boss in France to fight for his job against an activist fund in a touch-and-go vote at its annual shareholder meeting. The meeting brings to a head months of tension over French cooperative insurer Covea’s failed 8.2 billion euro ($9.1 billion) takeover bid for SCOR last year, which was opposed by Kessler and earned him criticism from French activist fund CIAM.
Today’s Bear Call from a Top Hedge Fund Manager (Nasdaq.com)
(New York) A top hedge fund manager known for correctly calling both the 200 and 2008 crises, has just put out a very bearish call. Jeremy Grantham, from GMO, is warning investors that the next 20 years of returns are going to be very disappointing. Grantham thinks that even a dovish Fed can’t save this market, saying “you can’t get blood out of a stone”. His view is that the market will return only 2% a year for the next decade, way lower than the ~6% average. “This is not incredibly painful, but it’s going to break a lot of hearts when we’re right”.
JUDICIARYLawyer for Billion $$$ Hedge Fund Says Investors Knew They May Not Get Their Money Back (TheJewishVoice)
An attorney for Platinum Partners told jury members yesterday that investors in the firm – which has now gone of business – were given plenty of notice that there was a chance they would never get back their money. Attorney Jose Baez opened his remarks to the jury by saying that the multi-billion-dollar hedge fund firm’s founder, Mark Nordlicht, should be acquitted of the criminal fraud charges he is facing. “This case is a fraud,” Baez said, summing up the criminal prosecution that began over two years ago with the arrest in December of 2016 of Nordlicht and some of his Platinum executive colleagues. The trial got underway early yesterday afternoon.
Davidson Kempner, Deutsche Bank Join Arrium Action (AFR.com)
Global hedge fund heavyweights Davidson Kempner and Deutsche Bank are piling the pressure on a bunch of former officers at failed steelmaker Arrium. Street Talk understands the court has granted leave to allow DK and Deutsche to join proceedings brought by fellow hedge fund, US-based Anchorage Capital Group, against the officers of Arrium.
Former Eagles Linebacker Mychal Kendricks Faces Insider Trading Charges (Osburn Oracle)
Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks has been hit with federal charges concerning an alleged insider trading scheme, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced Wednesday morning in Center City. Kendricks, 27, was drafted by the Eagles in 2012 and spent six seasons in Philadelphia, culminating with last year‘s Super Bowl victory. He signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent this offseason.
Thursday 4/25 Insider Buying Report: TPTX, ABT (Nasdaq.com)
At Turning Point Therapeutics (TPTX), a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Director Hongbo Lu purchased 60,000 shares of TPTX, for a cost of $18.00 each, for a total investment of $1.08M. Lu was up about 61.1% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with TPTX trading as high as $29.00 in trading on Thursday. Turning Point Therapeutics is trading up about 2.3% on the day Thursday. This buy marks the first one filed by Lu in the past year. And at Abbott Laboratories (ABT), there was insider buying on Monday, by Senior Vice President Randel William Woodgrift who bought 2,000 shares at a cost of $73.40 each, for a trade totaling $146,798. This buy marks the first one filed by Woodgrift in the past year. Abbott Laboratories is trading up about 0.4% on the day Thursday. So far Woodgrift is in the green, up about 5.5% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $77.41.
The CFO of Hooker Furniture Corp (NASDAQ: HOFT) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the CFO of Hooker Furniture Corp (HOFT), Paul Huckfeldt, bought shares of HOFT for $14.44K. Following Paul Huckfeldt’s last HOFT Buy transaction on September 16, 2011, the stock climbed by 20.1%. This recent transaction increases Paul Huckfeldt’s holding in the company by 2.34% to a total of $616.5K. Based on Hooker Furniture Corp’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending January 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $200 million and quarterly net profit of $14.66 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $176 million and had a net profit of $8.82 million. HOFT’s market cap is $332.7M and the company has a P/E ratio of 8.34. Currently, Hooker Furniture Corp has an average volume of 25.55K.
WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) Insider Trading Activity – Director Sold 65,736 shares of Stock (Market Exclusive)
Insider Trading Activity For WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS): Mark A Turner , Director of WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) reportedly Sold 65,736 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of 42.85 for a total transaction amount of $2,816,787.60.
A Director at Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, a Director at Fastenal Company (FAST), Willard Oberton, sold shares of FAST for $1.77M. Following Willard Oberton’s last FAST Sell transaction on March 01, 2017, the stock climbed by 23.2%. In addition to Willard Oberton, 2 other FAST executives reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Fastenal Company’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending March 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $1.31 billion and quarterly net profit of $194 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $1.19 billion and had a net profit of $174 million. FAST’s market cap is $20.35B and the company has a P/E ratio of 26.36. Currently, Fastenal Company has an average volume of 1.76M.
