New Masters of the Art Universe (Wall Street Journal)
In the morning of Oct. 2, hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb sat down in his Park Avenue office—which he’d decorated with a photograph of a Marlboro Man by Richard Prince—and fired off a vitriolic activist-investor letter. Mr. Loeb, 52 years old, has a reputation for sending blistering critiques to companies he intends to overhaul, like Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). This time around, he attacked the performance and management of Sothebys (NYSE:BID), calling the auction house “an Old Master painting in desperate need of restoration.” Halfway around the world in Hong Kong, Sotheby’s chief executive and chairman Bill Ruprecht—a 58-year-old former furniture maker and a lifer at the company—didn’t learn about the letter right away because he was asleep and didn’t hear his cellphone.
Jana Partners Presses Juniper Networks to Cut Costs and Make Other Changes (New York Times)
The activist hedge fund Jana Partners has set its sights on Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR), calling on the networking company to tighten its belt and give more money back to shareholders. Citing fresh opportunities with a new leader at the helm of Juniper, Jana told investors it took a large stake in the company, according to its year-end letter sent to investors on Thursday evening and reviewed by DealBook. The move is likely to bolster another campaign to change the company started by the hedge fund Elliott Management just one week ago. Elliott, run by the billionaire investor Paul Singer, wants Juniper to cut costs, streamline its product offerings and return money to shareholders.
The Famous Hedge Fund Manager Who Slammed Fortescue Has A New Strategy For Shorting Stocks On Buybacks (Business Insider Australia)
Jim Chanos, who runs Kynikos Associates, has developed a new strategy for shorting stocks, the famed short-seller told the Wall Street Journal’s Dennis K. Berman. Chanos slammed Australian minter Fortescue at a conference in 2012, saying it would “materially” fall due to its exposure to the iron ore price and China. He signalled the company out as a “value trap” and said its management team, at the time, was “somewhat promotional.”
Shah Capital Management Buys 1.0 Mln Shares of UTStarcom Holdings Corp (UTSI) (Insider Monkey)
Himanshu H. Shah‘s Shah Capital Management has reported acquiring a total of 1.0 million shares of UTStarcom Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UTSI). Following the increase, Shah holds in aggregate a total of 7.54 million shares, which represent of 21.01% of the company’s common stock. The new securities have been acquired in one deal, at a price of $2.54 apiece. According to the filing with the SEC, Shah acquired the shares under the terms of a purchase and sale agreement between UTStarcom Holdings Corp and Shah as buyers and Softbank America Inc as the seller.
Telstra Super linked to Madoff (Business Spectator)
The Telstra Super fund invested in a hedge fund whose directors were linked to the Bernie Madoff scandal, The Australian Financial Review reports. According to the newspaper, Telstra Super invested in the York Capital Multi-Strategy Fund, operated by New York-based York Capital Management. Two directors of the fund were also on the board of a vehicle that directed savings to Madoff, a former stockbroker convicted of fraud and sentenced to 150 years in prison, Telstra Super was told in mid-2011, the newspaper reports.
Deal buzz at Davos (CNBC.com)
Here’s What This $18 Billion Hedge Fund Is Buying (Motley Fool)
Today let’s look at Acadian Asset Management, founded in 1988 as a foreign stock fund manager. Today it manages more than 40 different investing strategies in global stocks and emerging markets and employs “sophisticated analytical models” with a database of more than 40,000 securities. The company’s reportable stock portfolio totaled $18 billion in value as of Dec. 31, 2013. The biggest new holdings are Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) and Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU). Other new holdings of interest include Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp (USA) (NYSE:KOG) and New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYCB). Kodiak Oil & Gas is one of the fastest-growing companies in shale drilling, though recent freezing temperatures threaten operations.
Pick stocks that ride US dollar, says hedge fund manager (Advisor.ca)
A strong U.S. dollar is this year’s main macro theme for Matt Skipp, president and chief investment officer at SW8 Asset Management. “We want to be long stocks in Canada and the U.S. that benefit from a rising U.S. dollar, and short stocks that will be hurt from it,” the hedge fund manager said during a conference call yesterday. In Canada his main long positions are in technology, precious metals and uranium. He suggests the pullback in the Canadian dollar has been priced into most sectors, with forestry being the biggest beneficiary.
David A. Lorber Boosts His Stake at Ferro Corporation (FOE) (Insider Monkey)
David A. Lorber, one of the managers of the Frontfour Capital Group, has significantly increased its position in Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE), after acquiring around 1.22 million shares. The securities have been bought at a price of $13.27 apiece and following the acquisition Mr. Lorber holds some 5.31 million shares. The securities have been acquired under the Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors. Ferro Corporation is engaged in production of specialty chemicals that are acquired by manufacturers, which use them for products delivered for different end-use markets.
Michael Zimmerman’s Hedge Fund Anticipates 2014 Mobile Shopping Revolution (PR Web)
Michael Zimmerman of hedge fund Prentice Capital Management LP believes mobile shopping will change the way we shop, an evolution that is already happening. Online sales on Christmas Day were up 16.5 percent over last year while mobile sales formed nearly 29 percent of total online sales, an increase of over 40 percent compared to 2012, even though the number of people walking into stores fell 14.6 percent this year. Prentice Capital’s Zimmerman believes that despite fewer shoppers instore, sales are increasingly driven by sofa shoppers wielding tablet computers.
Annual Hedge Fund Research Conference (Automated Trader)
Inès de Dinechin, Chairwoman of Lyxor Asset Management rings the Opening Bell at Euronext Paris to mark the beginning of the 6th Annual Hedge Fund Research Conference. Welcome to the 6th Annual Hedge Fund Research Conference, which presents the latest research papers shaping the future of the asset management industry, from the most renowned academics. With close to a hundred submissions from 50 universities in 17 countries, the 15 unpublished papers which will be presented during the conference were selected following a thorough screening process by a scientific committee of internationally respected academic professors.
