Warren Buffett Wants to Ask the 2020 Presidential Candidates this 1 Question (CNBC)
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is once again wading into the topic of politics. Buffett, who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and has previously weighed in on whether or not executives like Michael Bloomberg or former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz would make good candidates, said in a recent interview that there is one question he would want to ask the field of candidates planning to run for the White House in 2020.
Steve Cohen’s Fund Just co-led an $11 million Round in a Fintech Disrupting Corporate Cards, and Its CEO Says Apple-Goldman’s New Credit Card is Validation of its Strategy (Business Insider)
A fintech hoping to help companies better manage their corporate spending just nabbed its second round of funding in less than a year. Extend announced $11 million in Series A funding on Wednesday. The round was co-led by Steve Cohen‘s Point72 Ventures and Fintech Collective. Cohen’s fund also led Extend’s $3 million seed round last April, which included WorldQuant Ventures and Plug and Play. Reciprocal Ventures and City National Bank participated in the most recent round.
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2 Hedge Fund Firms Sue Kentucky Retirement Systems (Pensions&Investments)
Blackstone Alternative Asset Management and Prisma Capital Partners filed separate lawsuits this week against the $18 billion Kentucky Retirement Systems, Frankfort, and its board, alleging breach of contract connected to an earlier lawsuit against those firms and other hedge fund firms. Both lawsuits were filed in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and are in response to a December 2017 lawsuit, Mayberry vs. KKR, filed on behalf of state taxpayers and the retirement system by a group led by William Lerach, a former lawyer with Milberg Weiss Bershad & Shulman.
Czech Billionaire Accused of $1 Billion Fraud by New York Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — A Czech billionaire described as the largest commercial real estate landlord in Berlin was sued in the U.S. for allegedly defrauding a New York hedge fund and a Czech investment firm of more than $1 billion. Kingstown Capital Management LP and Investhold Ltd. sued Radovan Vitek, a real-estate mogul with residences in the Czech Republic and Switzerland, in Manhattan federal court Wednesday. They claim they were ripped off by Vitek in a decade-long racketeering scheme.
Union: Protect Casino Workers from Hedge Fund Neglect (ABC News)
The nation’s largest casino workers union is asking gambling regulators to protect employees from neglect by hedge funds or private equity firms seeking short-term returns from casino ownership. Unite Here approached gambling regulators in three states Wednesday, asking them to keep workers in mind when approving Wall Street firms for ownership or management changes regarding casinos. The request was made to regulators in New Jersey, Nevada and Ohio.
Field Street Shutters Fund, Lowers Headcount (HFAlert.com)
Global-macro heavyweight Field Street Capital has liquidated a fund that suffered crippling losses last year. The New York firm, founded in 2007 by former Lehman Brothers executive Rod Gancas, finished returning investor capital from its Field Street Global Investments fund in the last several months. The vehicle had about $220 million under management at the start of 2018, but lost half its value in May due to a wrong-way bet on Italian debt. The wind-down leaves the firm with just one other vehicle: the flagship Field Street Partners, which had about $4 billion under management a year ago. The firm’s headcount, meanwhile, has shrunk by about a third in the past year or so.
Hedge Fund Boss Who Told Gardener ‘Sue Me’ Faces £70,000 Legal Bill (The Times)
A millionaire who was previously known for big game hunting told a landscape gardener to “sue me, you prick” — and must now pay him £24,000 after he did so. Angus Murray, a hedge fund chief who gave up trophy hunting four years ago amid a public outcry, claimed that Jonathan Taylor had botched a revamp of the back garden of his £4 million home in Chelsea, west London.
FMA Closes Insider Trading Case (Lexology.com)
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has announced today that it has concluded its investigation into 2014 trading in VMob Limited (now Plexure Limited). VMob’s then CFO, Mark Talbot, has admitted both insider trading and breaches of obligations to notify trading to the company, and to NZX. In 2014, VMob was responding to a request to provide platform services to McDonald’s in Japan which, if successful, was likely to materially increase revenue. It was shortlisted on 15 May, and on 23 July, the contract was awarded. On 24 July, Mr Talbot purchased 1 million shares at $0.010 each through a company he controlled. After the trade, Mr Talbot sought approval to purchase shares pursuant to VMob’s trading policy, not disclosing that he had already done so.
Wednesday 4/10 Insider Buying Report: NGM, LION (Nasdaq.com)
At Ngm Biopharmaceuticals, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Director Suzanne Sawochka Hooper purchased 7,000 shares of NGM, for a cost of $16.00 each, for a total investment of $112,000. Hooper was up about 5.1% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with NGM trading as high as $16.81 in trading on Wednesday. Ngm Biopharmaceuticals is trading down about 1.8% on the day Wednesday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Hooper in the past year. And on Friday, Director W. Clyde Shepherd III purchased $12,000 worth of Fidelity Southern, purchasing 426 shares at a cost of $28.15 a piece.
5 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (SeekingAlpha)
Insider buying has ebbed significantly since hitting eight-year highs in December. So which stocks are insiders still purchasing. Here are five interesting names insiders still seem to like despite the big rally in the market so far this year. Let’s start with Chaparral Energy (CHAP). This ‘Busted IPO’ from the energy sector is starting to pick up some considerable insider buying. A beneficial owner scarfed up over $4.5 million in new shares on April 2nd. The CEO also bought $40,000 in stock on March 29th. It should be noted that the same beneficial owner added over $4.5 million to his stake on March 20th.
The Division VP and GM of Raven (NASDAQ: RAVN) is Selling Shares (AnalystrRatings.com)
Today, the Division VP and GM of Raven (RAVN), Schmidt Anthony Johnson, sold shares of RAVN for $91.05K. In addition to Schmidt Anthony Johnson, 2 other RAVN executives reported Sell trades in the last month. RAVN’s market cap is $1.42B and the company has a P/E ratio of 27.68. Currently, Raven has an average volume of 128.8K.
Putnam Premier Income Trust (NYSE:PPT) Insider Trading Activity – Insider Sold 21,916 shares of Stock (MarketExclusive)
Insider Trading Activity For Putnam Premier Income Trust (NYSE:PPT): D William Kohli , Insider of Putnam Premier Income Trust (NYSE:PPT) reportedly Sold 21,916 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of 5.18 for a total transaction amount of $113,524.88.
Former SeaWorld Lawyer Charged With Insider Trading (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) A former senior lawyer at SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has been charged with insider trading based on nonpublic information that the company’s revenue would be better than anticipated for the second quarter of 2018. The SEC alleges that Paul B. Powers had early access to key revenue information as the company’s associate general counsel and assistant secretary, and he purchased 18,000 shares of SeaWorld stock the day after he received a confidential draft of the 2018 second quarter earnings release that detailed a strong financial performance by the company after a lengthy period of decline.
