‘An Open Invitation to Pollute’: Billionaire Tom Steyer on the EPA Allowing Businesses to Self-monitor During Coronavirus Pandemic (CNBC)
Former Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Steyer isn’t too happy with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) temporary rollback of environmental laws amid the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an “open invitation to pollute.” On Thursday, the EPA announced that companies will now be responsible for monitoring their own air and water pollution throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency also said it does not expect to seek fines or penalties “for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations.”
Billionaire Investor Steve Cohen: ‘After an Earthquake There are Tremors’ (Reuters)
BOSTON, March 31 (Reuters) – Billionaire trader Steven A. Cohen is cautioning the staff of his investment firm, Point72 Asset Management, to remain cautious amid markets that have recovered slightly from coronavirus-driven lows. “Markets don’t come back in a straight line; after an earthquake there are tremors,” Cohen wrote to staff on Friday in an internal memo seen by Reuters. “We need to continue to be disciplined. We are seeing plenty of opportunities to generate returns, but I don’t want us taking undue risks.”
Credit Hedge Fund Suspends Redemptions in Sign of Market Stress (The Wall Street Journal)
Hedge fund EJF Capital LLC told clients it was suspending redemptions from one of its funds for the foreseeable future because it didn’t want to be a forced seller in what it called “dysfunctional” credit markets. The $7 billion EJF, founded by Emanuel “Manny” Friedman, told clients in a letter Friday it was preventing investors from withdrawing their money from its Debt Opportunities Fund. That fund managed $2.5 billion at the end of February. While the fund received redemption requests totaling only 6% of its assets under…
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How Ray Dalio navigates Downturns (CMC Markets)
Ray Dalio and his team at Bridgewater Associates are famously one of the few hedge funds that called – and profited from – the 2008 financial crisis. More recently, he labelled Bitcoin a bubble not only months before it popped, but before the great rally of Christmas 2017 had begun. Yet despite the warning of an impending downturn for the past two years, Dalio recently admitted that he was blindsided by the recent crash, missing out on opportunities as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe and brought down markets down with it.
SEB Fund Put into Liquidation (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – SEB Alternative Fixed Income has been put into liquidation effective immediately following an extraordinary meeting of shareholders that took place on March 25. “The decision to liquidate is a consequence of the continued challenging environment for the fund’s investment strategies and we do not see that this will change going forward,” writes an announcement by SEB Investment Management. Launched in December 2011, SEB Alternative Fixed Income was a macro and relative-value hedge fund with an absolute return target, aiming to generate positive returns regardless of the direction of broader bond and stock markets.
How Some Investors Have Profited from the Stock Market’s Huge Losses (CNN Business)
New York (CNN Business) Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman appeared on CNBC earlier this month tearfully begging for the stock market to be shut down because he thought “hell” was coming.” But investors didn’t realize that Ackman was about to profit in a big way from the turmoil on Wall Street. Ackman recently disclosed in a shareholder letter to investors in his Pershing Square Capital Management funds that he made $2.6 billion as stocks fell. How did Ackman do that? He had hedges designed to generate a profit as the broader market tanked in the wake of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Activist Investor Starboard Says It has 9.3% Stake in Software Firm Commvault (Reuters)
BOSTON (Reuters) – Activist investor Starboard Value LP has built a stake in U.S. data protection and data management software company Commvault, saying in a regulatory filing that it felt the shares were undervalued when it purchased them. The New York-based hedge fund has built a roughly 9.3% position in the company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made public on Monday afternoon. The filing said the firm owns 4.3 million shares. Shares of Commvault jumped 7.3% in after hours trading, after having closed the session at $39.13.
Tuesday 3/31 Insider Buying Report: INFO, BMCH (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, IHS Markit’s Director, William E. Ford, made a $1.17M purchase of INFO, buying 20,000 shares at a cost of $58.46 a piece. Ford was up about 6.5% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with INFO trading as high as $62.28 at last check today. IHS Markit is trading off about 1.2% on the day Tuesday. And on Friday, See Remarks David E. Flitman bought $428,965 worth of BMC Stock Holdings, buying 25,000 shares at a cost of $17.16 a piece. Before this latest buy, Flitman made one other buy in the past twelve months, purchasing $202,445 shares for a cost of $22.49 a piece. BMC Stock Holdings is trading up about 0.9% on the day Tuesday.
What Did This CEO Just Do with Personal Shares of Splunk (NASDAQ: SPLK)? (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the President & CEO of Splunk (SPLK), Douglas Merritt, sold shares of SPLK for $1.37M. In addition to Douglas Merritt, 7 other SPLK executives reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Splunk’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending January 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $791 million and GAAP net loss of -$22,728,000. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $622 million and had a net profit of $2.13 million. The company has a one-year high of $176.31 and a one-year low of $93.92. The Company has a Price to Book ratio of 42.27.
MGM Resorts International (MGM) PRESIDENT AND ACTING CEO William Hornbuckle Bought $496,426 of Shares (Guru Focus)
President and Acting CEO of MGM Resorts International, William Hornbuckle, bought 41,300 shares of MGM on 03/31/2020 at an average price of $12.02 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $496,426. MGM Resorts International owns and operates casino, hotel and entertainment resorts. The company offers its services through its properties in Las Vegas include Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Luxor, and New York-New York.
US Senator Probed for Insider Trading – Reports (Newarknow.org)
The US justice department is investigating alleged insider trading by lawmakers who sold stocks just before the coronavirus pandemic sparked a major market downturn, according to US media. Republican Senator Richard Burr is said to be among those to have been contacted by the FBI. Mr Burr, 64, has denied wrongdoing. It is illegal for Congress members to trade based on non-public information gathered during their official duties. He has said he relied solely on publicly available news reports.
SEC Awards $450,000 to Whistleblower (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an award of $450,000 to a whistleblower whose significant information helped focus an ongoing investigation on the violations that were ultimately charged. The whistleblower, who had compliance-related responsibilities, is eligible for an award because the whistleblower reported concerns about the relevant conduct internally within the company and then waited 120 days before reporting to the SEC. This is the SEC’s third whistleblower award to an individual who had compliance or internal audit responsibilities. “To ensure that important information about securities laws violations is reported to the SEC when appropriate corrective action is not taken by the company, the rules permit awards to compliance professionals in certain limited circumstances,” said Jane Norberg, Chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.
