Hedge fund Grandmaster sees stock market crash in China (Reuters)
Former chess grandmaster-turned hedge fund manager Patrick Wolff is betting on a stock market crash in China, where he says corruption and bad debts have spiralled to dangerous levels. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the GAIM conference in Monaco this week, Wolff said investors were too focused on trying to work out when easy money policies will taper off in the United States and ignoring a looming correction in China. “People are talking way too much about the Federal Reserve and not enough about China,” he said. “We’ve been saying that the U.S. is the safest place to invest, while China is a crash waiting to happen.”
Truth behind Tory donor in honours row: Why multi-millionaire hedge fund baron was pushed through to be knighted (DailyMail)
His name on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list triggered a storm of protest. But the nomination of multi-millionaire hedge fund baron Michael Hintze, who has donated millions to the Tory Party, did not enjoy whole-hearted support from Downing Street. Indeed I can reveal Hintze’s knighthood was pushed through by the many charities he has backed, despite the opposition of No?10 who feared the political embarrassment. His close involvement with Prince Charles also played a part. Sir Michael, 59, who was yesterday at Royal Ascot with his wife Dorothy, received his honour for ‘services to the arts’ after gifting over £30?million to good causes.
This Hedge Fund Could be Taking a Bath on EM ETFs (FoxBusiness)
Not that the funds needed any additional help searching for new downside, but emerging markets ETFs got just that on Wednesday when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues noted downside risk to the U.S. economy and labor market have diminished. …That could be bad news for Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates. At the end of the first quarter, Bridgewater held massive stakes in both ETFs. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that at the end of the quarter, Bridgewater owned nearly 84 million shares of VWO, a stake that was equivalent to the 32.8 percent of the fund’s equity holdings.
SandRidge ousts CEO Ward, Bennett takes the helm (Reuters)
SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD)‘s board of directors removed the energy company’s founder and chief executive, Tom Ward, on Wednesday after a months-long struggle with activist investors who accused him of strategic mistakes and self-dealing at the expense of shareholders. …The company has been under fire since last year from hedge fund TPG-Axon and another activist investor for governance lapses and strategic missteps. Under a deal reached with TPG-Axon in March, the board agreed to replace Ward by June 30 or give the hedge fund a controlling number of seats.
Marc Faber: People With Assets Are All Doomed (DailyReckoning)
When the always cheerful Dr. Marc Faber gave his midyear forecast to Barron’s, it was, as you might expect, predictably sunny. ‘People with assets are all doomed,’ he began, ‘because prices are grossly inflated globally for stocks, bonds and collectibles.’ Faber warns the Federal Reserves low interest rates could lead to a global crash. Faber acknowledged the Fed’s role in rising equity prices this year. And suggested the party wouldn’t last, due to the uneven flow of money through the economy. …Faber amended his prediction last year that there would be a 20% correction last fall:‘We might be in the final acceleration phase now. The Standard & Poor’s 500 could rally to 1,750 or even 2,000 in the next month or two before collapsing.’
Icahn changes tack, seeks $16b Dell stock buyback (GulfNews)
Activist investor Carl Icahn on Tuesday proposed a $16 billion share buyback in his latest effort to thwart Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) founder Michael Dell’s effort to take the struggling computer maker private. Icahn, now the company’s second-largest shareholder after buying 72 million shares from fellow activist investor Southeastern Asset Management Inc., wants the company to buy back up to 1.1 billion Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shares at $14 apiece to boost shareholders’ return on their investment. The price of the buyback would represent about two-thirds of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)’s current market value of about $23.5 billion. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and other personal computer makers have seen their sales crumble because of the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets.
Starboard’s Office Depot Battle Could Test Smith’s Mettle (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
You could argue that Jeffrey Smith, the founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of New York–based activist hedge fund firm Starboard Value, is the Carl Icahn of small-cap shareholder activist campaigns. But unlike Icahn, who has experienced a few high-profile failures in recent years, Smith is on a hot streak. Smith — who created Starboard in March 2011 through a spin-off from Ramius, the investment management subsidiary of the Cowen Group — has scored big successes in his activist campaigns, adding or replacing some 100 corporate directors at 35 companies since 2004. Lately, Smith has notched victories against three targets:
