Yellen Unsure On Hedge Fund Controls (Finalternatives)
Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen said that the central bank does not have the ability to regulate so-called “shadow banks,” including hedge funds and private equity firms. In a discussion with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Yellen admitted that there’s not much the Fed can do about risks posed by non-banking institutions. “You’re pointing to something that is an enormous challenge,” Yellen told Lagarde. “And we simply have to expect that when we draw regulatory boundaries and supervise intensely within them, that there is the prospect that activities will move outside those boundaries and we won’t be able to detect them. And if we can, we won’t be—we won’t have adequate regulatory tools. And that is going to be a huge challenge to which I don’t have a great answer.”
Jefferies Hires Red Alder’s Laub to Head Prime Brokerage (BusinessWeek)
Jefferies Group LLC, the investment bank owned by Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK), hired John Laub from hedge-fund firm Red Alder LLC to head its prime brokerage business. Laub is scheduled to join Jefferies in about two weeks and will replace Glen Dailey, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the appointment hasn’t been made public yet. Richard Khaleel, a spokesman for Jefferies, confirmed the appointment and declined to provide further details.
Roubini warns about negative consequences from the Argentine case (MercoPress)
In an article published on Project Syndicate, Nouriel Roubini considered “the legal saga of Argentina’s fight with holdout creditors shows that the international system for orderly sovereign-debt restructuring may be broken” and questions a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court refusing to hear the case. The decision by the US maximum tribunal is “dangerous”, Roubini affirms, for “two reasons.”
PetSmart Surges After Being Targeted by Activist Fund (BusinessWeek)
PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) shares surged after hedge fund Jana Partners LLC disclosed an activist stake in the pet-care company and urged it to undertake a strategic review, including a potential sale. Jana, the $10 billion firm run by Barry Rosenstein that’s known for pushing corporate managements to make changes, acquired about 9.9 percent of Phoenix-based PetSmart in stock and options, according to a regulatory filing today, and “expects to have discussions” with management, the board and other investors.
Poker pros not alone in ‘Big One’ tourney stake (CNBC)
On Tuesday night in Las Vegas, 23-year-old Daniel Colman won the World Series of Poker’s “Big One for One Drop” Tournament and its $15.3 million first prize. But according to the Las Vegas Sun, he’s only going to keep 10 percent of that money—or less. That’s because Colman, and most of the other poker pros in the tournament, had “backers” or investors, giving them the money for the $1 million tournament entry, or buy-in, in exchange for a cut of the winnings. …Billionaire hedge fund manager David Einhorn probably entered with a million dollars of his own money. He lasted about 45 minutes before he was knocked out.
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