Druckenmiller Says a Weak Jobs Report Would Put the Fed ‘on a Clear Easing Path by July’ (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller says a weak May jobs report would put the Federal Reserve on a pivot to easing monetary policy before the end of the summer. “If the job number is weak, given everything else they are saying, the Fed will be on a clear easing path by July,” Druckenmiller said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Under Fire Fund Manager Woodford in Scramble to Sell Stakes (Reuters)
LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) – British money manager Neil Woodford cut his stakes in at least 21 companies this week as he frees up cash to meet a rush of redemption requests that forced him to suspend his flagship fund. Woodford, one of Britain’s best known investors, froze his Equity Income Fund on Monday as too many people were asking for their money back after a number of his top investments turned sour. The suspension has bought him time to restructure the 3.7 billion pound ($4.70 billion) fund, but stock market filings this week indicate he has been in a rush of selling.
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Citadel Crushes It in May, Widening Lead Over Hedge Fund Rivals (Bloomberg)
Ken Griffin’s good year keeps getting better. In a month that saw stock markets roiled by the escalating U.S.-China trade war and global growth concerns, the billionaire’s three equity businesses led profits for Citadel’s flagship hedge funds, which gained 2.4%, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The firm’s commodities and quantitative strategies were also top performers. May’s gain extended the funds’ returns for this year to 12.6%, beating the S&P 500 Index, the broader hedge fund industry and Griffin’s biggest hedge fund rivals.
Barnes & Noble sells to hedge fund Elliott for $475.8 million (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Barnes & Noble Inc said on Friday it would be bought by hedge fund Elliott Management Corp for $475.8 million, marking the end of the once-dominant U.S. book retailer as a public company after years of falling sales. Shares in the United States’ largest book-store chain closed up 30% on Thursday after reports of a potential deal surfaced, and rose another 11% early on Friday. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1993, Barnes & Noble has struggled to grow its business since the arrival of Amazon.com Inc turned the book sales market on its head.
Hedge Fund Chatham Weighs Shutting $763 Million Liquid Alts Unit (Bloomberg)
Chatham Asset Management, the $4.3 billion credit hedge fund, is weighing the closure of a unit that manages $763 million for clients including mutual fund giant Franklin Templeton Investments. Chatham, founded by Anthony Melchiorre in 2003, is pondering the move for its so-called liquid alternatives unit while continuing to raise money for other funds that lock up capital for several years, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named discussing the deliberations. The liquid alts unit, in contrast, lets clients exit on a daily basis and focuses on the “higher-quality segment of the high-yield market,” according to a recent marketing document.
Legendary short seller Jim Chanos: Uber and Lyft Went Public Because They had to, Not Because They Wanted To (Business Insider)
The talk at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club Thursday night was about cars instead of boats for a change. Legendary short seller Jim Chanos, the billionaire founder of Kynikos Associates, spoke at the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association’s second quarter meeting in a fireside chat with Fox Business reporter Charlie Gasparino.
