Shareholder Pressure Helped Lead to New MSG Board Members (NYTimes)
The Madison Square Garden Company surprised many on Monday when it announced — besides exploring a potential breakup of itself — that it was adding two financiers to its board, one being the activist investor Nelson Peltz. But unusually, it wasn’t Mr. Peltz, the veteran of several high-profile board battles, who pushed for a director position, according to people briefed on the matter. Mr. Peltz’s firm, Trian Fund Management, didn’t own any shares of Madison Square Garden as of Monday’s announcement.
Chanos takes profit on his top 2014 short sale: Brazil (HedgeCo)
Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, the prominent short-seller, said Tuesday he has lightened up on some of his bets against Brazil, saying most of the country’s downside risk is priced in after the sharp selloff over the past two months. “Yes, we are still short but we’ve taken some profits,” Chanos said, speaking at a Reuters summit. “I think we’d be crazy not to.” Brazilian stocks have been hammered over worries about the country’s presidential election, which incumbent Dilma Rousseff narrowly won on Sunday.
SEC Charges New Jersey-Based Hedge Fund Manager with Insider Trading (HedgeCo)
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against a New Jersey-based hedge fund manager who allegedly used material, nonpublic information to trade in advance of market-moving news concerning Carter’s Inc. Stephen Slawson, who lives in Lebanon, N.J., and was co-founder and former manager to a hedge fund named TCMP3 Partners L.P., becomes the eighth individual that the SEC has charged in connection with the agency’s investigation into insider trading and other misconduct involving the securities of the Atlanta-based marketer of children’s clothing.
Bill Ackman’s $90 million ‘One57’ Luxury Apartment Flip Slowing Down With Increased Empty Apartments Around It (InsiderMonkey)
Bill Ackman is an American Hedge fund manager, who is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management. Ackman’s firm had a very successful 2014 with more than 25% returns in first half of the year. He is well known for some bold decisions like the investment in Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN), betting on Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) to take over Allergan and effect a surge in Allergan’s stock, which turned out as he planned and returned big. In another bizarre move he is planning to flip a condominium in Manhattan, on which Ackman and a group of investors have invested $90 million. CNBC’s Frank Robert reported about this on CNBC.
Cliffs Natural shares jump after it says has enough liquidity (Reuters)
Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) shot up as much as 25 percent after the miner said it had “more than enough” liquidity and that it was in talks with three “big steelmakers” to invest in its Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Quebec. Cliffs also said it had settled with its bankers and was no longer in breach of any debt covenants – a position that rose earlier this month after the miner’s plan to write down $6 billion in coal and iron ore assets. Chief Executive Lourenco Goncalves told Reuters that Cliffs was in “active talks” with three equity partners to invest in the development of the second phase of the Bloom Lake mine.
