Editor’s Note: Related tickers: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Viking Capital’s O. Andreas Halvorsen has told clients he is “actively exploring” how to play the wide-ranging impact of the slowing Chinese economy on the companies his New York hedge fund firm covers. “We find it increasingly likely that China’s growth will continue to decelerate and believe this will have consequences beyond those that have already manifested themselves in markets, such as lower metals prices, higher and more volatile Chinese funding rates, a weaker Australian dollar given its dependency on exports to China and power stock prices for certain luxury goods companies,” Halvorsen wrote in his second-quarter investment letter sent to clients July 10 and obtained by Institutional Investor’s Alpha.
JPMorgan beats Street as profit surges 31% to $6.5-billion (TheGlobeAndMail)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reported a 31-per-cent rise in quarterly profit on Friday as trading revenue rebounded and the biggest U.S. bank by assets set aside less money to cover bad loans. Net income rose to $6.50-billion, or $1.60 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $4.96-billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier. The year-earlier quarter included the vast majority of the losses of more than $6.2-billion on derivatives positions that were so large that hedge funds had referred to the trader handling them as the “London Whale”. Provision for credit losses fell 78 per cent to $47-million.
For Icahn, $10.7 Million Profit From Dell Is Not Enough (FoxBusiness)
Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake are looking increasingly likely to get shareholder approval to take Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) private in a $24.4 billion deal. But agitator Carl Icahn still sees room to gamble. The activist investor, who is Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)’s second-largest shareholder after Michael Dell, is now trying to sway investors to vote down the buyout deal by raising his competing offer for the No. 3 PC maker. If Michael Dell wins, Icahn will go home with a profit of $10.7 million for his troubles, Reuters calculations show. If Icahn wins, he will have a troubled company on his hands to turn around. But if neither happens, the billionaire investor could potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hedge Funds Won’t Rush to Advertise Even After Ban Lifted (AdAge)
For those hoping a new rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would lead to a flood of advertising from hedge funds and private equity firms, think again. While the regulator voted Wednesday to lift an 80-year-old ban on public advertisements by firms seeking private investments, new marketing efforts will be subdued thanks to strict compliance requirements. “You’re not going to see a rush,” said Jay Baris, a partner at law firm Morrison Foerster. “Firms are testing the waters.”
Italy’s Hedge Invest Global Fund among five best funds in the world (InvestmentEurope)
Hedge Invest is the only Italian AM firm to be shortlisted at the InvestHedge Awards for its HI Global Fund in the Global Equity category. HI Global Fund, which is managed by Elisabetta Manuli (pictured), invests in hedge fund shares, focussing mainly on equity strategies, such as long/short and event driven, as well as on macro and relative value strategies. In the first half of 2013 the fund gained 7.01%, up 12.72% in the last 12 months, while performance since the launch is +71.46%² with volatility equal to 5.16%.
Highbridge President To KKR (Finalternatives)
A top Highbridge Capital Management executive is set to join Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Todd Builione, president of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) hedge fund unit, will help to build the private-equity giant’s hedge fund business. Builione’s exit is not related to Highbridge CEO Glenn Dubin’s decision to step down and hand the reins to former Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) executive Scott Kapnick. While Builione had been seen as a potential successor to Dubin, he has been in talks with KKR for months, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Hedge fund friendly Luxembourg to get new prime minister following spy scandal (Opalesque)
Alternatives friendly Luxembourg will be getting a new prime minister. Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Union’s longest-serving head of government said in a statement early today that he will resign after being implicated in a spy scandal rocking the country. A report issued on July 5th indicated that the leader was implicated in a report dealing with irregularities in the State Intelligence Service. Juncker previously served in a group of European finance ministers, and Luxembourg has a history of being friendly to investment firms looking to set up shop.
