Hedge Fund News: Marc Lasry, Eddie Lampert, Horseman Capital Management

Full Interview With Billionaire Lasry On Trump, Biggest Market Risk And Comic Book Investing (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Marc Lasry shared his market views in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Scott Wapner on Wednesday. Lasry is chief executive officer of Avenue Capital Group. The firm manages approximately $11 billion, according to its website. On the stock market: “It’s all positive because people think you’re going to have positive GDP growth. You’re going to have less regulation. I think if you have this 2 to 3 percent or 3 to 4 percent GDP growth that’s actually very good for equities,” he said. “So I would tell you equities this year should be up at least 10 percent.” On what can spoil the party: “The biggest risk we’ve got is something we don’t talk about, which is systemic risk. And that’s really what you got out there with European banks. And it’s still there,” he said.

Sears’ CEO Just Gave The Company Another $500 Million Lifeline (Business Insider)
Sears is borrowing more money from CEO Eddie Lampert‘s hedge fund. Lampert, through his hedge fund ESL Investments, has agreed to give the company a $500 million loan backed by Sears’ properties. Backing the loan with Sears’ real estate means that if the company goes under, Lampert and ESL could be among the first to collect, according to bankruptcy experts. It’s the second time in a week that Lampert has thrown money at the business to keep it alive. Sears shares have rallied by as much as 20% in the past five days, and they were up about 2% on Wednesday’s news.

Hedge Fund Horseman Capital Suffered Huge Loss On Trump Victory (The Wall Street Journal)
The flagship hedge fund at Horseman Capital Management Ltd. was one of the world’s worst-performing hedge funds last year, posting a big loss in the wake of Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory. London-based Horseman runs about $2 billion in assets. Its main $1.7 billion Global strategy fund lost 24% through Dec. 28, according to numbers sent to investors in an email and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The bulk of the fund’s losses last year came in the final two months-a 12.8% loss in November and a further 7.8% in December. Those equate to losses of around $330 million or more, according to calculations by the Journal.