Hedge Fund News: Paul Singer, Och-Ziff Capital Management, Hudson Executive Capital

Paul Singer Fund: Market ‘Breakdown’ To Be ‘Sudden, Intense, And Large’ (CNBC)
In a bleak new letter to investors, Paul Singer‘s Elliott Management warns that the bond market is “broken” and that when the central bank actions of recent years no longer ward off a market downturn, the subsequent loss of confidence could be severe. The fund’s recent investor letter, which covers the second quarter, notes that Elliott’s managers are currently seeing “what is in many ways the most peculiar period we have faced in 39 years.” Too much power has been ceded to central banks, the letter adds, the value of money has been debased, inflation is probably inevitable, and when it happens, it could be swift and impossible to tamp down. Elliott is a $28 billion fund founded in 1977 by Singer, now its president. The fund is up more than 6 percent for the year through July, according to an investor.

Hedge Fund Och-Ziff Considered Sale of Part of Firm (The Wall Street Journal)
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, the largest publicly traded hedge-fund firm in the U.S., explored the possibility of a partial sale earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said. Representatives of Och-Ziff spoke to private-equity firms and asset managers including Pacific Investment Management Co. about their buying part of its business, making a so-called strategic investment in the firm or pursuing a joint venture, the people said. The talks are no longer active, some of the people said. “We are not contemplating selling any part of the firm or any other strategic transactions,” Och-Ziff spokesman Joe Snodgrass said.

Activist Hedge Fund Hudson Cuts Comerica Stake as Bank Punts on Sale (The Street)
Activist hedge fund Hudson Executive Capital has slashed its stake in Dallas-based lender Comerica (CMA) by more than half, after pressing the company unsuccessfully this year to put itself up for sale. Hudson, run by former JPMorgan Chase investment bankers Doug Braunstein and Jim Woolery, owned 598,500 shares of Comerica as of June 30, down by 55% from the March 31 level, according to regulatory filings. A person familiar with the matter said the hedge fund was actively trading the stock in early June, when the shares climbed to an eight-month high of around $47.