Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Stanley Druckenmiller, Brevan Howard, ProtoKinetix, Inc. (PKTX), Yext Inc (YEXT), Yangtze River Port and Logistics Ltd (YRIV), and More

Stanley Druckenmiller Says Fed Must Pause Because the Economy Can ‘Ill Afford a Major Policy Error’ (CNBC)
The Federal Reserve should halt its interest rate increases as recent developments in the markets and economy signal caution, hedge fund manager Stanley Drunkenmiller said in a commentary for the the Wall Street Journal over the weekend. “The central bank should pause its double-barreled blitz of higher interest rates and tighter liquidity,” Drunkenmiller, a former member of the Fed Board and now CEO of Duquesne Family Office, said in the op-ed.

Brevan Howard Takes Bigger Leap Into AI with Key Appointment (eFinancialCareers.com)
Over the last two years in particular, quantitative hedge funds have begun integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning as part of their strategies. Two Sigma, Citadel, AQR and Man Group come to mind as some of the more notable early adopters. Now Brevan Howard appears to be making a bigger push. The hedge fund giant has promoted Karim-Patrick Khiar to the head of artificial intelligence in New York, where he’ll work on driven systematic investments. Khiar started with Brevan Howard in 2017 as its head data strategist but moved into his new role last month.

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Milwaukee Bucks’ Marc Lasry Optimistic on Stock Market for 2019 (BizJournals.com)
Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and investment executive Marc Lasry is optimistic that the stock market in 2019 will resume its long-running rise and the American economy will continue growing but at a slower clip.

It Was Easy for New Hedge Funds to Raise Money in 2018. Making It Was Harder (The Wall Street Journal)
Hedge funds raised record amounts of money for new launches in 2018, but they are having a harder time turning that bounty into profits. Startups attracted $28 billion during the first half of 2018, according to Absolute Return, the highest total since the publisher began tracking the figures in 2004. Roughly $18 billion went to three hedge-fund firms run by Steven A. Cohen, Michael Gelband and Dan Sundheim.