Why Warren Buffett and David Tepper are Loading Up on Energy Stocks (CNBC)
A historic economic comeback is sending some of the world’s biggest investors bargain hunting in the unloved energy sector. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought more than 48 million Chevron shares, worth $4.1 billion, last quarter, making the oil name the conglomerate’s 10th biggest equity holding. Meanwhile, three energy companies – Energy Transfer, Occidental Petroleum and PG&E— made it into David Tepper’s top 12 holdings by the end of 2020, worth more than $800 million combined.
Odey’s Alleged Victim Describes Assault as ‘Scramble of Hands’ (Bloomberg)
The banker who accused Crispin Odey of assault told a London court that the hedge fund manager was a “scramble of hands” as she described the alleged incident that occurred more than 20 years ago. The trial resumed Thursday with questioning of the woman, who was in her mid-20s in the summer of 1998 when she went to Odey’s London home. The alleged attack in the kitchen was swift, she said.
Breakingviews – Capital Calls: Bill Ackman’s SPAC Surges (Reuters)
New York (Reuters Breakingviews) – Concise insights on global finance in the Covid-19 era. SO MUCH CONFIDENCE. SPAC investors are betting on Bill Ackman, then betting on him again. Shares of Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, the $4 billion special-purpose acquisition company backed by the billionaire’s hedge fund, are up more than 50% from their offering price last July, even though the vehicle has not yet found a company to buy.
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Billionaire Ken Griffin is Testifying Before Congress about the GameStop Frenzy. Here’s Everything You Need to Know about His Companies, Citadel and Citadel Securities. (Business Insider)
It seems that wherever you look in the GameStop frenzy, there’s a Ken Griffin connection. On Thursday, Griffin will testify before Congress as part of a hearing examining the GameStop fiasco and the links between social media, short-selling, and retail traders. Earlier this year, the concentrated effort of retail traders, mobilized in large part on Reddit’s WallStreetBet’s forum and other social media sites, helped push shares of heavily-shorted companies like GameStop, AMC, and others to dizzying heights.
Positive Run Continues (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – After enjoying its second-best annual performance on record in 2020, Brummer Multi-Strategy is sustaining last year’s momentum into the new year – despite a brief halt in January. The multi-strategy fund gained 4.4 percent month-to-date through February 16 to bring the year-to-date advance to 3.5 percent, primarily reflecting strong performance from long/short equity managers. Brummer Multi-Strategy’s SEK share class reflected in the Nordic Hedge Index advanced 4.4 percent month-to-date through the end of Tuesday, while its leveraged version, Brummer Multi-Strategy 2xL, gained 8.9 percent over the same period.
Hedge Funds up 0.98 per cent in January, says Backstop BarclayHedge (Hedge Week)
Hedge funds started 2021 on a positive note returning 0.98 per cent in January, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. By comparison, the S&P 500 Total Return Index was down 1.01 per cent in January. Gainers outnumbered losers in January among the sectors tracked in the Barclay Hedge Fund Indices, despite challenging news on both the economic and the Covid-19 pandemic fronts during the month. “Most hedge funds sectors performed solidly during a complicated month,” says Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Equity markets reached record highs before tailing off late in the month with the S&P 500 experiencing its worst week since October. Meanwhile, COVID cases surged once again, leading to a UK lockdown and a downturn in US employment. Despite the negatives, the hedge fund industry managed to produce a positive month in January.”
SkyBridge’s Anthony Scaramucci Sees Bitcoin Nearly Doubling to $100,000 Before Year-End (CNBC)
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, told CNBC on Wednesday that he sees ferocious demand and limited supply leading bitcoin to nearly double to $100,000 before the end 2021. “We like it,” Scaramucci said in a “Squawk Box” interview. “We have over a half a billion dollars in bitcoin right now. And obviously, our bitcoin fund started in December. It’s done quite well.”
Hedge Fund Reaches $630m Deal to Buy Remaining Tribune Publishing Newspapers (The Guardian)
The Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, and other newspapers across the US are set to be sold to a hedge fund notorious for cutting newsrooms, in the latest blow to American journalism. Alden Global Capital already had a 32% stake in Tribune Publishing, which owns famous names like the Tribune, Daily News, the Hartford Courant and others, and on Tuesday announced it would pay $630m to acquire the entire company.
