Citadel, Tiger Cubs Turn to Retail Stocks (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
A growing number of managers of very large, well-known hedge fund firms have been going on a shopping spree, placing big bets on name-brand retailers or their suppliers in recent weeks. The disclosures are being made in 13G filings, meaning they are passive stakes of at least 5 percent. …Chicago-based Citadel’s Kenneth Griffin is one of the managers taking these recent large stakes. Others include several Tiger Cubs, such as Stephen Mandel Jr. of Greenwich, Connecticut–based Lone Pine Capital, and Charles (Chase) Coleman III and Feroz Dewan of New York–based Tiger Global Management.
E&Y to host hedge fund event (RoyalGazette)
Accountancy firm Ernst & Young is to host a global hedge fund symposium in Bermuda. Experts from the firm and throughout the industry will examine the state of hedge funds and announce the results of its annual global survey. Economic Development Minister Grant Gibbons will provide the keynote speech at the event, due to be held at the Hamilton Princess on Thursday, November 21. The event will include panels on specialists topics like insurance-linked assets and private equity markets, as well as insights into the global state of the market.
PAAMCO’s Max Rijkenberg reviews unintended consequences of AIFMD (InvestmentEurope)
Max Rijkenberg, legal counsel in PAAMCO’s London office and member of the Legal & Investment Structuring Group, has outlined key challenges created by the AIFMD, which could yet reduce choice for Europe’s investors seeking alternative strategies. The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD” or the “Directive”) has been on nearly every fund manager’s mind for quite some time now. It is a very complicated piece of European legislation with a long name, but its genesis and goals are clear.
Moore Capital’s Darren Read Said to Plan to Depart for Gemsstock (SFGate)
Darren Read, who helped run a hedge fund at Moore Capital Management LLC with Greg Coffey, is preparing to join a firm being started by two former UBS AG (ADR) (NYSE:UBS) colleagues, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Read will move to Gemsstock Ltd., a hedge fund firm being set up by Al Breach and Charles Hill, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn’t been made public. Read, who joined Moore Capital in London from GLG Partners Inc. five years ago, declined to comment when reached by telephone. He has been listed as inactive since October 14 on the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s register of approved persons. A spokesman for Moore Capital in New York declined to comment.
A hedge fund, but not its boss, admits insider-trading charges (Economist)
THE decade-long probe into the giant hedge fund SAC Capital for insider trading culminated not in a court but, perhaps appropriately, in a press conference. On November 4th Preet Bharara, a federal prosecutor, announced that SAC would plead guilty to five counts of fraud, cease managing money for clients and pay a record fine of $1.8 billion—in Mr Bharara’s words, a “just and appropriate price for pervasive and unprecedented institutional misconduct”. Yet if SAC was as rotten as he implies, it is puzzling that he has not charged the man who presided over it, Steve Cohen, with any wrongdoing.
Elan and Wyeth Investors Seek to Block SAC Plea Deal (BusinessWeek)
Investors in Elan Corporation, plc (ADR) (NYSE:ELN) and Wyeth asked to be heard in court to oppose SAC Capital Advisors LP’s criminal plea agreement, saying the deal should be rejected unless it holds the hedge fund accountable for illegal insider trading of their stocks. SAC, based in Stamford, Connecticut, agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud and pay $1.8 billion in civil and criminal penalties to resolve allegations of running an insider-trading conspiracy stretching back to 1999. A hearing for approval of the accord is set for tomorrow in federal court in Manhattan.
Faber Report: Deal to buy Men’s Wearhouse? (CNBC)
Elliott Says It Has No Interest in Argentine Creditor Talks (BusinessWeek)
Elliott Management Corp., the hedge fund run by billionaire Paul Singer that owns defaulted Argentine debt, said it’s only willing to negotiate a settlement with the government and has no interest in holding talks with fellow bondholders. “We welcome the idea of good-faith negotiations with Argentina, but we don’t see the point of negotiating with other bondholders,” Elliott, which is seeking full repayment in U.S. courts, said in a statement. “We have approached Argentina countless times about negotiating a resolution to this dispute. It is completely within Argentina’s power to solve this.”
George Soros pledges $1m for Syria humanitarian work (TheGuardian)
The billionaire financier George Soros is pledging $1m for humanitarian efforts in war-ravaged Syria. Soros announced the pledge to the International Rescue Committee on Wednesday night after receiving its Freedom award in recognition of his lifelong support for human rights and an open society. Soros said people were starving and would soon be freezing in Syria as winter arrived, and malnutrition among children was increasing. “This situation has arisen because both the government and the rebels use the denial of humanitarian aid as a tool of war,” Soros said.
Why Carl Icahn Is Dead Wrong About Apple (DailyFinance)
Just weeks after being dealt defeat in the Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) proxy fight he started, activist Carl Icahn is making a comeback, and in a big way. On Aug. 13, Carl Icahn tweeted out that he now holds a large position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), saying that he believes the stock to be extremely undervalued. In late October, Icahn shed some light on just how large his large position in Apple currently is, about 4.73 million shares, worth somewhere around $2.5 billion. Icahn, who now owns 0.5% of Apple, has been much noisier than the average shareholder, and already has met with Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss a $150 billion share-buyback program, which Icahn is advocating as the proper way Apple should utilize its $147 billion in cash.
Marc Faber: China could spark a bigger crisis than in 2008 (MarketWatch)
An alarming credit boom in China could trigger a global financial crisis that would make the one in 2008 look mild by comparison, says old gloomy eyes, Marc Faber. …China, in particular, has seen credit as a percentage of the economy jump 50% in the last four and a half years, said Faber, the “fastest credit growth you can image in the whole of Asia.” He’s not alone in this China worry, as lots of economists have been warning about rapid credit growth there, even as officials are trying to curb it.
Prem Watsa, Fairfax Officially Disclose Plans to Invest $1B More in BlackBerry (InsiderMonkey)
As it leaked a couple of days ago, Prem Watsa’s fund Fairfax Financial Holdings, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosed entering into an agreement with BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY). Under the terms of the agreement, Fairfax and some other institutional investors will invest in the company via a $1 billion private placement of 6% unsecured debentures. The debentures can also be converted into Blackberry shares at a price of $10 apiece.
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