Editor’s Note: Related tickers: News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO), Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI)
Economic Reform Will Spur Political Change, Soros Says (GlobalTimes)
The country’s economic restructuring will bring fundamental changes to its political model, financier George Soros says. “The undervaluation of the renminbi was a secret weapon of the government because it gave them a way of creating productivity of labor without the people feeling the pain,” the 83-year-old Hungarian-American billionaire said in a closed-door meeting during the Davos 2013 World Economic Forum. As a result, “the central authority accumulated assets from abroad rather than collecting it in taxes.”
Hedge fund builds stake in News Corp (CanberraTimes)
A US hedge fund that has allied with billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has acquired a 12 per cent voting stake in News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), making it the largest shareholder behind the media company’s chairman Rupert Murdoch. Southeastern Asset Management, a Memphis-based $US33 billion investment company, snapped up 23.8 million Class B shares. The transaction is valued at about $US397 million ($428 million). Overall, the holding accounts for about a 4.1 per cent economic interest in News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), the publishing business split off in June from Mr Murdoch’s film and television interests.
Andrew Hall’s Astenbeck Surges in July and August (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Hedge funds managed by Andrew Hall’s Westport, Connecticut-based Astenbeck Capital Management rose 2.84 percent in August after surging 7.29 percent in July. As a result, Hall was able to erase a greater than 8 percent loss earlier in the year and is now up 2.2 percent for the first eight months of 2013. Astenbeck investors no doubt hope this is the start of a longer profitable run for Hall, one of the best-known and most successful commodities traders over the past few years. Last year his hedge fund was up only 3.41 percent after losing 3.83 percent in 2011.
Blackstone, Fidelity team for daily liquidity alternative mutual fund launch (Opalesque)
Daily liquidity alternative mutual funds are the hedge fund gateway for retail investors and now some of the biggest names in fund of hedge fund investing, including Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, are taking to the retail road to raise assets. Like Arden Asset Management and Aurora Investment Management before it, Blackstone, which with $49 billion is the world’s largest discretionary allocator to hedge funds, has launched a quasi retail product for the Fidelity Investments pla…
Asian credit specialist hedge fund Double Haven expands team (Risk)
Double Haven, an Asian credit specialist fund manager, has appointed Greg Donohugh as CEO. Donohugh joins from Wells Fargo Securities Asia platform, which he founded in 2004. He led the regional securities operations, working with regional and central banks, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance, private equity and long-only fund clients. Double Haven’s current assets under management total over $360 million.
Aite Group and SunGard: Hedge fund study (Fx-MM)
New global research undertaken by analyst firm Aite Group and SunGard finds that hedge funds see institutional credibility as a key element for achieving success. The research which surveyed 40 senior executives and managers from Tier I and Tier II hedge funds in the U.S., Europe and Asia finds that 82% of firms reported that establishing institutional credibility is extremely or very important. The concept of institutional credibility is the idea of the ability of an investment firm to instill confidence to the outside world surrounding its operational stability and reliability.
Marc Faber’s call on gold (CNBC)
