Billionaire U.S. environmentalist to target seven midterm races (Reuters)
Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer will give a boost to 2014 political candidates from seven U.S. states who work to combat climate change, countering political support from fossil fuel interests. NextGen Climate, Steyer’s political group, said Thursday it would back candidates in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania who face challenges from opponents who either doubt that humans cause climate change or receive donations from the fossil fuel industry.
Cadogan Chief Seeks $32M For Brooklyn Apartment (FINalternatives)
Brooklyn, N.Y., has become among the hottest residential address in the country. One hedge fund manager wants to see just how hot. Cadogan Management’s Stuart Leaf and his wife are seeking $32 million for an 11,000-square-foot penthouse on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront. The Leafs paid just over $6 million for what were originally three units atop One Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2010.
Hedge fund executive pays for anti-Jacobs ads (Mason City Globe Gazette)
New York hedge fund executive Robert Mercer is the person behind TV ads that have criticized Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Jacobs and praised Joni Ernst, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. American Heartland PAC has spent $246,000 in the Republican primary race, according to the FEC, with a bit more than half of it going to pay for TV ads criticizing Jacobs. Mercer is co-chief executive of Renaissance Technologies and donated $200,000 to American Heartland PAC, according to a filing with the FEC on Thursday.
Clash Over Darden Board Will Be Measure of Activist Clout (Wall Street Journal)
An activist investor’s uncommon maneuver to overthrow the entire board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) will test shareholders’ appetite for aggressive action by dissident hedge funds. On Thursday, Starboard Value LP said it would nominate its own candidates to replace all 12 directors from the board of Darden, which owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden and other chains. A New York-based hedge fund, Starboard has taken a 6.2% stake in Darden and has been agitating since December to break the company into three parts. Fund executives were livid last week when Darden announced a stand-alone sale of Red Lobster, foiling Starboard’s plans.
Hedge funds burned by favorite stocks (CNBC.com)
It’s been a rough year for hedge funds, with many underperforming their index benchmarks or even losing money. One explanation is crowding into bad stock picks: A new Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) analysis of the 50 stocks most commonly held in large quantities by 777 hedge funds found the group suffered its worst monthly return outside the “crisis periods” of 2002, 2008 and 2011. Their “longs”—bets on the appreciation of a stock’s value—lagged the S&P 500 by 5 percent in March and April, according to a May 21 report. Long losers for the year include Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (-6 percent), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (-16 percent) and Citigroup (-11 percent).
