Steve Bannon and Kyle Bass Accuse Wall Street of ‘Funding’ China’s Fight with the US (CNBC)
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and hedge fund manager Kyle Bass have accused Wall Street and corporate America of “funding” China’s fight with the U.S. Bannon and Bass are members of an organization called the Committee on the Present Danger: China. It was launched to “educate and inform American citizens and policymakers about the existential threats” posed by China, according to the committee’s website.
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Activist Investor Bramson May Get Bloody Nose at Barclays AGM (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – Activist investor Edward Bramson is likely to fail in his attempt to get a board seat at Barclays’ annual meeting next week, even though shareholders are dissatisfied with performance of the group’s investment bank. New York-based Bramson’s Sherborne Investors and the board of the British bank have been sparring for months over Barclays’ strategy. Bramson wants to scale back Barclays’ investment bank to reduce risk and boost shareholder returns. Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley remains staunchly committed to growing the business out of trouble.
As Democrats Float Higher Taxes on the Wealthy, Hedge Fund CEO Asks: Florida or Texas? (Yankee Institute for Public Policy)
As Democrats in the legislature float proposals to raise the income tax rate on Connecticut’s highest earners and increase the capital gains tax, Chief Executive Officer for Greenwich-based AQR Capital Management Clifford Asness tweeted “Do people generally prefer living in Texas or Florida? Asking for a friend.” Asness’ tweet linked to a February article by CT Mirror in which the powerful Progressive Caucus in the House of Representatives called for increasing the income tax for Connecticut’s top income bracket.
‘The Profit’ Star Marcus Lemonis Just Got a Big Vote of Confidence From a Fund (Barron’s)
Celebrity businessman Marcus Lemonis just got a huge vote of confidence at the company that he heads, in the form of a bullish stock buy from a large shareholder. Lemonis, the star of CNBC’s series “The Profit,” is also the chairman and CEO of Camping World Holdings (ticker: CWH), a seller of recreational vehicles and camping gear. Hedge fund Abrams Capital Management, one of Camping World’s largest holders, paid $5.6 million on April 23 for 413,446 additional shares, an average price of $13.44 each. According to a form Abrams…
Arsenal Capital Partners Closes Fifth Buyout Fund at $2.36bn (Opalesque.com)
Arsenal Capital Partners, a midmarket buy-out firm, said it has wrapped up its latest fund – Arsenal Capital Fund V – with $2.36bn of committed capital. Fund V will invest in specialty industrials and health-care companies valued at $100m to $500m. The firm’s previous fund, Arsenal Capital Fund IV, closed in 2016 with $1.3bn in capital commitments. Fund V’s investor base is international in scope, with 58% of the capital coming from the United States, 33% from Europe, and the balance from the Middle East, Asia, and Australasia.
Hedge Fund Vor Capital Secures Investment from Borealis Strategic: Sources (Reuters)
BOSTON (Reuters) – Borealis Strategic Capital Partners, which invests in new hedge funds, has written its first check to commit capital to Europe-oriented stock fund Vor Capital, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Vor Capital launched a year ago with a plan to invest in mid-sized European internet companies. It is run by Brant Rubin, who previously worked for hedge fund Luxor Capital. Borealis did not answer a call for comment. Vor did not return an email seeking comment.
Third Point Offshore Investors Reports Negative 2018 Return (Morning Star)
LONDON (Alliance News) – Hedge fund Third Point Offshore Investors Ltd on Friday reported a fall in its net asset value in both share classes in 2018 within a challenging broader market environment. Third Point reported a 10.9% negative return for its US-dollar share class in 2018, with its net asset value per share standing at USD17.24 at the end of the year. This was down from USD20.25 on the same date the year before. Third Point’s sterling-denominated share had a net asset value of GBP18.42 as at December 31, down from GBP19.21 at the end of 2017. Third Point’s US shares closed 0.5% lower at USD14.60 while its UK shares remained untraded at 1,150.00p on Friday.
Largest Insider Trades of the Week (GuruFocus)
The GuruFocus All-in-One Screener can be used to find insider trades from the past week. Under the Insiders tab, change the settings for All Insider Buying to “$200,000+,” the duration to “April 2019” and All Insider Sales to “$200,000+.” According to these filters, the following are trades from company insiders this week. Abrams Capital Management.L.P, 10% owner of Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CWH), bought 13,446 shares for an average price of $13.44 per share on April 23. The retail company, which sells recreational vehicles, has a market cap of $1.19 billion and an enterprise value of $3.13 billion. It has insider ownership of 0.81% and institutional ownership of 61.95%.
Ex-Heartland CEO Settles SEC Insider Trading Charges He Tipped Partner About Merger (Reuters)
(Reuters) – The former chief executive of Heartland Payment Systems Inc agreed to pay a $250,628 civil fine to settle U.S. insider trading charges that he tipped his longtime romantic partner about the payment processor’s $4.3 billion takeover by Global Payments Inc. Robert Carr, who founded Heartland, did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which was filed this week with the federal court in New Haven, Connecticut.
Friday 4/26 Insider Buying Report: CCI, PINS (Nasdaq.com)
At Crown Castle International Corp (CCI), a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director J. Landis Martin purchased 18,350 shares of CCI, for a cost of $123.13 each, for a total investment of $2.26M. Martin was up about 1.3% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with CCI trading as high as $124.70 at last check today. Crown Castle International Corp is trading up about 1% on the day Friday. Before this latest buy, Martin made one other purchase in the past twelve months, buying $1.09M shares for a cost of $110.14 each. And at Pinterest (PINS), there was insider buying on Tuesday, by Director Fredric G. Reynolds who purchased 40,000 shares for a cost of $27.04 each, for a total investment of $1.08M. This purchase marks the first one filed by Reynolds in the past twelve months.
1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS) Insider Trading Activity – CEO Sold 25,000 shares of Stock (Market Exclusive)
Insider Trading Activity For 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS): Christopher G Mccann , CEO of 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc (NASDAQ:FLWS) reportedly Sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of 19.02 for a total transaction amount of $475,500.00.
