Jury finds Rengan Rajaratnam not guilty of conspiracy (CNBC)
The brother of an imprisoned ex-billionaire hedge fund founder has been acquitted of conspiracy. A New York jury returned the verdict Tuesday at the federal insider trading trial of Rengan Rajaratnam. His brother, Raj Rajaratnam, is the founder of the Galleon Group of hedge funds. He’s serving an 11-year sentence for making up to $75 million illegally. Two dozen other defendants have pleaded guilty or were convicted in the case. Federal Judge Naomi Reice (rees) Buchwald had dismissed the two most serious charges in May.
Gold Shines Again as Hedge Funds Boost Wagers on Advance (Bloomberg)
Gold is precious again. After investors sent bullion tumbling in 2013 by the most in three decades and kept dumping the metal earlier this year, demand is now up and prices are defying bearish forecasts. Money managers increased net-long positions for a fourth straight week through July 1 and holdings in exchange-traded products are climbing at the fastest pace since 2012. “Gold’s performance has proven the bears wrong so far this year,” John Kinsey, who helps manage about C$1 billion ($935 million) at Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “We look for further strength through the balance of the year.”
Icahn ‘Angry’ About BlackRock Chief’s Letter To CEOs (Finalternatives)
Carl Icahn did not appreciate what he considered an oblique and unflattering reference to himself by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) CEO Laurence Fink—and he let Fink know about it. In March, Fink wrote a letter to the CEOs of every Standard & Poor’s 500 Index-listed company, lamenting “the short-term demands of the capital markets” and pledging to “challenge that trend,” urging the executives to ignore the short-term and focus on “achieving sustainable returns over the longer term.” Fink did not mention activist hedge funds in the missive, but it was widely seen as a criticism of such firms.
HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index gains 1.3% in June (3.2% YTD) (Opalesque)
Hedge funds posted gains in June 2014 to conclude the first half of 2014, as equities eclipsed new records and implied volatilities fell sharply despite rising geopolitical tension. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index® gained +1.3 percent for the month, led by Equity Hedge and Event Driven strategies, bringing 1H14 performance for the broad based composite to +3.2 percent. This first half performance is in line with 1H13 gain of +3.2 percent, though hedge funds posted gains in only three of six months in 2014 in contrast to gains in five months in 1H13. The HFRI Fund of Funds Composite Index was up +0.9 percent in June, concluding 1H14 with a gain of +2.0 percent but trailing the gain of +3.4 percent for the same period in 2013.
Milwaukee Bucks interested in Jeremy Lin, Greivis Vasquez, Eric Bledsoe? (SportsGlory)
It certainly has been an eventful offseason to date for the Milwaukee Bucks. In April, the Bucks were sold from long-time owner Herb Kohl to New York City hedge-fund billionaires Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens for $550 million. In June, they selected former Duke Star Jabari Parker with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and followed that up three days later by the stunning acquisition of New Jersey Nets head coach Jason Kidd for two future second round draft choices. Now it seems the team is working to try to add another young piece to their growing core.
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