Bill Ackman Is About To Deliver Another ‘Nail To Herbalife’s Coffin’ (BusinessInsider)
Famed investor Bill Ackman has been in a long-running battle against Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), a maker of health shakes. Ackman is loudly short the company, and believes the business is scam. Anyway, Value investor Whitney Tilson, who runs Kase Capital, writes that Bill Ackman is going to put a nail in Herbalife’s coffin tomorrow. “Bill Ackman will be adding his latest nail to Herbalife’s coffin in a webcast at 10 am on Tuesday (available at herbalifepyramidscheme.com), where he will reveal what he’s found after a nearly two-year probe of Herbalife’s nutrition clubs (of which there are 3,000 in the NY area alone!)…
Citadel’s Ken Griffin: ‘Can’t see’ gubernatorial run (CNBC)
Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin has sounded quite political in recent public appearances and has written big checks to candidates he likes. But until now, no one one has ever asked him directly if he would consider running for public office himself. Griffin faced just that question, however, at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Griffin’s answer? “I can’t see that in my future.” “You wouldn’t rule it out?” CNBC’s Kate Kelly followed up.
Stanley Druckenmiller Says Fed’s ‘Emergency’ Measures ‘No Longer Necessary’ (JewishBusinessNews)
High-profile hedge fund manager, Stanley Druckenmiller of Duquesne Capital, said that the “once-in-a century emergency measures” of artificially low interest rates to stimulate the economy “are no longer necessary.” At the Delivering Alpha conference in New York last week, Druckenmiller criticized the present Federal Reserve: “The current policy makes no sense from a risk-reward basis…extraordinary money measures are likely running into sharply diminishing rewards. On the other hand, history shows potential long term costs could be quite severe.”
John Paulson Is Wrong: A House Is a Lousy Investment (WallStCheatSheet)
John Paulson — the infamous hedge fund manager who shorted the sub-prime mortgage market back during the financial crisis — recently told CNBC that he believes that buying a home that you live in is the best investment that an individual can make. I think there are several things wrong with this claim, and several of the reasons he gives overlook certain aspects of home ownership that make it undesirable from an investment standpoint. But before I go into these, let me just first point out that this isn’t necessarily an argument against home ownership. There are many benefits to owning a home that make it preferable to renting for certain individuals.
Avoid unappetizing ‘stock stew’: Don’t tinker with strategy (TheGlobeAndMail)
Have you ever followed a recipe in a cookbook and thought, “I can make this better”? Maybe you add a little more butter than is called for. Maybe you substitute asiago cheese for mozzarella, and throw in some cayenne pepper as well. …In one study, hedge-fund guru Joel Greenblatt found that over a two-year period investors who were able to pick and choose between stocks his formula approved of and pick the timing of their trades fared far worse than those who had their buying and selling done on automated fixed intervals, with no ability to veto picks.
Herbalife shares plunge on Ackman comments (CNBC)
Hedge fund ag selldown takes them net short on soy (AgriMoney)
Hedge funds turned net short on soybeans for the first time since 2011, and reduced heavily exposure to rising sugar and coffee prices, as they further extended their bearish turn in agricultural commodity bets. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, cut its net long position in futures and options in the top 13 US-traded agricultural commodities, from cotton to cattle, by nearly 100,000 contracts in the week to last Tuesday, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulator.
HedgeCoVest To Launch In August 2014 (HedgeCo)
HedgeCo Networks is announcing an online marketplace launching in August 2014, providing clients with benefits similar to a hedge fund, without many of the associated risks. HedgeCo is partnering with BYN Mellon affiliate Pershing Advisor Solutions. “Our strategic partnership with Pershing Advisor Solutions is a perfect fit and a testament to the ground breaking technology and commitment to excellence that will allow HedgeCoVest to bring the hedge fund industry to the masses,” says Evan Rapoport, CEO of HedgeCo Networks.
Foreign hedge funds could lose as Europe tightens rules (Reuters)
Europe’s move to tighten regulation of the hedge fund industry could give home-grown funds an edge over foreign rivals, many of which are still trying to absorb the new rules on attracting investor cash. The rules, known as the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AiFMD), were launched a year ago to create a single market for hedge funds and help protect investors by requiring funds to be more transparent and improve their risk management.
Activist investor is pressuring EMC to divest VMware (BizJournals)
Elliott Management Corp., a stakeholder in Hopkinton-based EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), will try to convince the data storage giant to spin off VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) in order to boost its stock price, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The hedge fund company will try to argue that the company’s current structure has been detrimental to EMC’s lagging stock price, according to the report.
Highfields Risk Chief Co-Founder Of Ex-SAC Exec.’s New Firm (Finalternatives)
Highfields Capital Management’s chief risk officer is the co-founder of former SAC Capital Advisors chief operating officer Solomon Kumin’s new hedge fund. Todd Rapp will leave the Boston-based hedge fund to serve as co-founder and partner at Kumin’s unnamed firm, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kumin hopes to raise between $800 million and $1 billion for the fund, which is expected to debut later this summer.
Recommended Reading:
Shire PLC (ADR) (SHPG), Time Warner Cable (TWC): How John Paulson Got His Mojo Back
Lonestar Capital Management Boosts Stake In Westmoreland Coal Company (WLB)
Paul Singer Adds To Position In Riverbed Technology, Inc. (RVBD)
