Masters in Business: James Chanos (BloombergView)
Hedge-fund manager James Chanos of Kynikos Associates describes how he became a “fundamental short seller” in this week’s “Masters in Business” podcast. Listen to the full interview here. Early in his career as an equity analyst at Gilford Securities, he discovered that Baldwin Piano had morphed into a seller of insurance annuities and was also becoming a serial acquirer of other insurers. But the numbers didn’t add up. Chanos kept asking questions, eventually leading to the discovery that earnings were being pulled forward, creating very misleading numbers…
Point72’s President Thomas Conheeney to quit (Fortune)
Point72 Asset Management’s President Thomas Conheeney will leave the hedge fund giant, according to reports. Founded by Steven A. Cohen in 1992, the hedge fund has seen eight current or former employees convicted on criminal charges related to insider trading, The Wall Street Journal said. Earlier this year the fund changed its name from SAC Capital Advisors LP to Point72 Asset Management.
Davidson Kempner Makes the Most of Multistrategy Model (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
A summary of Davidson Kempner Capital Management’s portfolio in the second quarter reveals that the firm made money in each of the first six months this year, a feat few funds can claim in this roller-coaster year for many of the world’s markets, according to a document offering a rare peek into the historically opaque firm. The New York-based multistrategy hedge fund fund firm has posted a 6.3 percent gain in the first half of the year, with relatively low volatility compared with other hedge funds.
Steadfast Sues Texas O&G Investment Firm Over Trademark (Law360)
Hedge fund manager Steadfast Financial LP hit oil and gas financial services firm Steadfast Financial LLC with a trademark infringement suit in Texas federal court on Friday, arguing an ongoing suit against the latter has harmed the hedge fund manager’s reputation. Plaintiffs Steadfast Financial LP and its affiliated Steadfast Capital Management LP say they own an “incontestable” registered mark for “Steadfast” for “financial services, namely, financial analysis and consultation, forecasting and research, and financial investments in the field of mutual funds, hedge funds and private equity…
Liberal Billionaire: 99.5% of Americans Are Not ‘Super Sophisticated’ (CNSNews)
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer attempted to explain why there is still a sizable portion of Americans that do not buy in to global warming alarmism by, basically, generalizing virtually all of America as not “super sophisticated.” Speaking at a climate conference hosted by the American Renewable Energy Institute, Steyer said: “I think if you were to go around to most of the — what I would think of as super-sophisticated people who think about politics and policy more than five minutes a month — we are doing really well.”
Hedge Funds Lose Appeal In Porsche Suit (HedgeCo)
Porsche has won a case in the US appeals court put forward by a group of over 30 hedge funds led by Greenlight Capital, Elliott International and Perry Partners, who tried to sue the carmakers for 1.81 billion euros (approximately $2.4 billion), Reuters reports. The news source said: “The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday [Aug. 15] said Porsche’s alleged wrongdoing was “so predominantly foreign” that it could not be held liable in U.S. federal courts under domestic securities fraud laws. It also said that the hedge funds might still “conceivably” show that U.S. laws should apply, and try to amend their lawsuit in Manhattan federal court.”
Market jitters: Energy & equities (CNBC)
Eton Park Vet’s Ronit Capital Up 13.5% YTD (Finalternatives)
Eton Park vet Edward Misrahi’s hedge fund has returned double-digits year to date in 2014. Ronit Capital returned 4.8% in July, bringing its year-to-date returns to about 13.5%, a person with knowledge of the fund told FINalternatives. To put that in perspective, the average hedge fund lost 0.6% in July, according to the HFRI Weighted Composite Index, and has gained 2.5% YTD. The global emerging markets fund apparently made a substantial return on its short book last month, including its bet on the floundering Banco Espirito Santo, Portugal’s second-largest bank and the subject of a government bailout.
Hedge fund enthusiasm for ags rises even as sentiment sours (AgriMoney)
Agricultural commodities are becoming a more popular bet with hedge funds – but for the prospects of profiting from price falls – official data showed, revealing another reduction in particular in sentiment on cotton and sugar. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, cut its net long position in futures and options in the top 13 US-traded agricultural commodities, from corn to coffee, by nearly 30,000 contracts in the week to last Tuesday, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulator.
PetSmart Campaign Takes Strange Turn With Anonymous Package (WSJ)
The campaign to push PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) +0.12% just took a strange turn. Jana Partners LLC, a hedge fund that’s been pressing PetSmart to sell itself, on Monday revealed that it had received an anonymous package that contained a purported internal PetSmart presentation on how the company planned to improve results. An accompanying cover letter noted that PetSmart had “missed internal projections” and criticized the firm for not acting in the best interests of shareholders, according to a Jana regulatory filing released Monday.
Pro-Gay Marriage Republicans Are Getting Big Money From Paul Singer (InTheCapital)
In the world of megadonors, ideology is usually more important than individual candidates. The Koch brothers for example focus their money on Tea Party leaning candidates with an anti-regulation streak. Tom Steyer supports mostly Democratic candidates with a strong record fighting climate change. But hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer’s approach is less cut and dry. His American Unity PAC supports pro-business Republicans, so long as they are also supportive of gay rights.
Louis Bacon’s Bahamas battle reaches New York court (FT)
A battle over Clifton Bay, a postcard-perfect patch of turquoise waters off the western coast of the Bahamas, has raged for years between a billionaire hedge fund owner and a Canadian clothing mogul. It has now spilled into a New York courtroom in what one side hopes will finally settle the score. Louis Bacon, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Moore Capital Management, took legal action last week by asking a US court to try to gain access to videotaped footage he believes will help him prove that Peter Nygard, founder of clothing manufacturer Nygard International and his Bahamian neighbour, has engaged in a smear campaign against him.
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