15-year-old wins over Warren Buffett with Beaux Up bow ties (DavidsonNews.net)
Young entrepreneur Jake Johnson of Davidson has revolutionized the bow tie, and people in high places are taking notice – very high places. The 15-year-old ninth grader at Woodlawn School won the individual grand prize Monday at the “Grow Your Own Business Challenge,” hosted in Omaha, NE, by a man who knows a thing or two about business – billionaire Warren Buffett. Jake was among five individuals and three teams picked as finalists at the competition. He wowed Buffett and the judges with his Beaux Up, a new version of the classic bow tie.
A Hedge Fund Highflier Comes Back to Earth (New York Times)
The chickens of the one percent could roost comfortably here. In this West England village, where sheep seem more abundant than people, a hedge fund manager, Crispin Odey, is close to completing a chicken coop in the style and scale of a small Grecian temple. Screened by walls and vegetation, it has been an object of mystery, though elaborate architectural drawings reveal a sweeping three-sided stairway, two dozen columns and radiating rooftop design flourishes. If nothing else, the sprawling coop, with a final cost above $250,000, has made Mr. Odey headline fodder. British tabloids called it Cluckingham Palace.
CQS’s Hintze Warns on Market Volatility (Wall Street Journal)
Ultra-calm financial markets are set for trouble ahead in the form of a sharp pickup in volatility, according to Michael Hintze, one of Europe’s top hedge-fund managers. Mr. Hintze, founder and chief executive of London-based CQS, which manages $12.8 billion in assets, says the massive central bank bond-buying programs of recent years have driven investors to buy the same assets, building up problems for markets further down the road. “Central banks, through QE [quantitative easing], forward and quantitative guidance, have driven markets into the same risk trades. That spells trouble and opportunity,” Mr. Hintze said in comments emailed to The Wall Street Journal.
Executives at failed Connecticut hedge fund plead guilty (Reuters)
Three former executives of New Stream Capital LLC, a failed Connecticut hedge fund, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to mislead their clients to keep their largest investor, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. David Bryson, Bart Gutekunst and Richard Pereira each pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the New Haven, Connecticut, federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, said the office of U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly in Connecticut.
Hedge Funds Clash With Wall Street Bankers in Argentina (Bloomberg)
The surge in Argentina’s securities tied to economic growth is rekindling a decade-old disagreement between investors and Wall Street. The warrants, which provide payouts when growth exceeds targets, have jumped 29 percent from a nine-month low in March on speculation a data revision that boosted the size of the economy will lead to bigger payments in the future. While investors are piling into the securities, banks from Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) to Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) say the advance is excessive as the terms of the warrants have enough wiggle room for Argentina to avoid making the larger disbursements.
