Tudor Jones Says This Will Be the ‘Second Depression’ If We Remain in Lockdown in a Year (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund investor Paul Tudor Jones said Monday the economy would be in a “Second Depression” if the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t get contained in a year. “Just depends on whether unfortunately this goes to a year with this kind of a lockdown,” Jones said on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday. The Great Depression from 1929 to 1939 was the worst economic downturn in the U.S. history. The coronavirus has infected more than 1.3 million people in the U.S. as of Monday, including at least 79,528 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New York state has been the epicenter of the pandemic, with more than 330,000 cases and over 20,000 deaths.
At World’s Biggest Wealth Fund, Top Hire Slammed by Watchdog (Bloomberg)
The watchdog overseeing Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund has delivered a scathing critique of the recruitment process of its next chief executive. Nicolai Tangen, the London-based hedge fund manager picked to run the world’s biggest sovereign investor, faces a growing controversy in Norway due to his personal wealth and his firm’s use of tax havens. On Monday, Norges Bank’s Supervisory Council said Tangen’s selection raised serious questions around conflicts of interest and demanded that the central bank, which manages the fund and handled Tangen’s recruitment, guarantee that a number of issues be fixed before he starts as CEO in September.
US Hedge Fund Calls on Korean Air to Sell Baggage Handling Unit (KoreanInvestors.com)
A US hedge fund with a stake in Korea Airport Service Co. Ltd. (KAS), a majority owned by Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd., is calling on the carrier to sell the profitable but non-core unit as part of self-rescue measures to be unveiled. Describing KAS with a market value of 161.5 billion won ($132 million) as a hidden jewel, Stone Forest Capital LLC’s chief investment officer Brad Lindenbaum said in a recent telephone interview that cash-strapped Korean Air needed to put the valuable unit on the market, in return for receiving a 1.2 trillion won bailout from state-run banks.
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Crispin Odey’s Flagship Fund Plunged in April — Reversing Virus Turmoil Gains (FNLondon.com)
Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey was caught out by the market rally in April, reversing the gains from pandemic-driven market turmoil in March. Odey Asset Management‘s Odey European fund fell 9.5% in April and is now down 3.7% in 2020, according to data from HSBC. It’s a sharp drop after a 21% gain in March, and a 6.5% rise in the first quarter of 2020. The decline in the fund, managed by Odey himself, came off the back of the rally in markets which ran contrary to Odey’s bearish strategy outlook. Odey European Fund’s annual performance has been up once since 2015 — a 53% jump in 2018.
Morgan Stanley hires PM from hedge fund that lost money in February (eFinancialCareers.com)
As we’ve noted before, the virus isn’t preventing banks from onboarding senior people who were already in recruitment pipelines before the pandemic struck. Many of them have been arriving in new roles in recent weeks. One of this cohort is Laszlo Gillemot, a quantitative strategist in Morgan Stanley’s fixed income division. Gillemot, who recently updated his LinkedIn profile, says he arrived at Morgan Stanley in London only last month. This is interesting because Gillemot looks like something of a catch for a mere investment bank. He spent the past nine and a half years working as a quant at LMR Partners, a relative value hedge fund that until recently had a reputation for almost never losing money.
Elon Musk Said He isn’t the ‘Biggest Fan’ of Warren Buffett. The Billionaires have Butted Heads Before. (Business Insider)
Elon Musk delivered his most direct criticism of Warren Buffett yet on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast last week, revealing he isn’t a huge admirer of the famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway boss. “To be totally frank I’m not his biggest fan,” the Tesla and SpaceX chief said in a discussion of the ongoing backlash against billionaires. Musk drew a distinction between consumption and Buffett’s focus on allocating funds among different businesses. “He’s trying to figure out: ‘Does Coke or Pepsi deserve more capital?'” Musk said. “It’s kind of a boring job if you ask me.”
Crypto Hedge Fund AUM Grows, but New Launches Hinge on Bitcoin Prices (Hedge Week)
Hedge funds trading cryptocurrencies doubled their assets under management last year – but returns remain volatile, with the ability to survive hinging heavily on performance, a new industry survey has found. The ‘2020 Crypto Hedge Fund Report’, jointly published today by PwC and Elwood Asset Management, a digital assets-focused investment firm, surveyed more than 40 managers running active crypto hedge funds during Q1 2020. The wide-ranging report – which explores both quantitative issues within the crypto hedge fund sector, including liquidity terms, trading of cryptocurrencies and performance, as well as qualitative themes, such as best practice with respect to custody and governance – indicates a sector gathering momentum, but still subject to volatile and unstable returns.
Monday 5/11 Insider Buying Report: ORCC, TDG (Nasdaq.com)
At Owl Rock Capital, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Thursday, CEO Craig Packer purchased 75,750 shares of ORCC, for a cost of $13.17 each, for a total investment of $997,628. Bargain hunters can snag ORCC even cheaper than Packer did, with shares trading as low as $12.51 at last check today which is 5.0% below Packer’s purchase price. Owl Rock Capital is trading off about 2% on the day Monday. And on Friday, Director Sean P. Hennessy bought $692,892 worth of TransDigm Group, buying 2,000 shares at a cost of $346.45 each. TransDigm Group is trading up about 0.4% on the day Monday.
The Scotts Miracle Gro Co (SMG) Chairman and CEO James Hagedorn Sold $11.9 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman and CEO of The Scotts Miracle Gro Co., James Hagedorn, sold 86,240 shares of SMG on 05/08/2020 at an average price of $138.53 a share. The total sale was $11.9 million. The Scotts Miracle Gro Co is operative in the agricultural industry. It manufactures and sells dry, granular slow-release lawn fertilizers, combination lawn fertilizer and control products. The Scotts Miracle Gro Co has a market cap of $7.7 billion; its shares were traded at around $138.69 with a P/E ratio of 24.29 and P/S ratio of 2.30.
Insider Trading: May 11, 2020 (BIV.com)
Insider Peter Martin Kuhn, officer. Company: Blue Star Gold Corp. (TSX-V:BAU). Shares owned: 1,387,500. Trade date: May 1. Trade total: $1,387,500. Trade: Acquisition of 157,000 shares at prices from $0.04 to $0.05 per share. Insider Gregory Anthony Lang, officer. Company: Novagold Resources Inc. (TSX:NG). Shares owned: 5,564. Trade date: May 1. Trade total: $1,259,237. Trade: Sale of 81,032 shares at a price of $15.54 per share.
Scatec Solar ASA: Primary Insider Trading (GlobeNewswire.com)
Oslo, 11 May 2020: Primary insider Toril Haaland, EVP People & Organisation, has on 11 May 2020 bought 1,700 shares in Scatec Solar ASA at an average price per share of NOK 174.00. After the transaction and as of the date hereof, Toril Haaland owns 2,577 shares in Scatec Solar ASA.
Notable Insider Buys This Past Week: Peloton, Illinois Tool Works And More (Benzinga)
Insiders continued to add shares despite overall market volatility and global economic gloom. Here are some of the most noteworthy insider purchases reported in the past week. Peloton Interactive: A 10% owner of Peloton Interactive Inc (PTON) added 150,000 shares of this fitness products provider to its stake. At a per-share price of $33.40, that totaled almost $5.01 million. This same beneficial owner also purchased 50,000 shares back in April. Univar Solutions: Univar Solutions Inc (UNVR) saw its chief financial officer purchase 250,000 shares of this chemicals company last week at prices averaging $13.33 per share. That cost that executive more than $3.33 million and was pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 stock trading plan established in February. Univar recently named a new board chair and it is scheduled to post earnings this week. The stock ended last week at $15.05, well above the CFO’s purchase price. Shares are up more than 72% from their year-to-date low in March.
Jailed UBS Official, Friend Can Appeal Insider-Trading Verdict (Bloomberg Law)
A former UBS Group AG compliance officer and her day-trader friend won permission to appeal their convictions for insider trading. Fabiana Abdel-Malek is serving half of a three-year sentence for leaking deal tips from the bank’s database to Walid Choucair, who was alleged to have traded on the information within minutes. But the two, who fought the charges in a U.K. trial in the spring of last year, are now allowed to appeal the decision, according to an official at the Court of Appeal in London.
SEC Files Charges in International Ponzi Scheme (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The SEC’s alleges that, from at least January 2016 to May 2019, Elliott, operating through Piptastic, falsely represented to investors that he would use their money for an overseas fund that purportedly engaged in a trading strategy known as “spread trading” or “spreadbet trading,” which involves speculating on the price movement of a security or other financial instrument. According to the complaint, Elliott instead knowingly misused investor assets for his own personal benefit, as well as that of his wife, relief defendant Sharon Elliott, and others including his associate, relief defendant Paul Rose. As further alleged, from at least 2019 through the present, when investors tried to redeem their money from Piptastic, Elliott lied about the status of the investments. Specifically, Elliott allegedly claimed that he had profited from spread betting and that the funds were safely held in trading accounts for the benefit of the investors. Elliott also allegedly provided fictitious account statements that purport to reflect the investors’ preserved assets.
