Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE:PBR), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
A classic case of city bureaucracy may stymie Bridgewater Associates’ plan to relocate to a new $750 million headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The world’s largest hedge fund is planning a move from its Westport home to an 850,000-square-foot center on a 14-acre peninsula in Stamford. But the Stamford Advocate reports a zoning disagreement over a boatyard between the city and BLT, a local land developer, has hindered negotiations. …The hold up has sparked conjecture that Bridgewater head Ray Dalio may scrap the plan entirely and stay in Westport, and Stamford may lose out on as many as 2,000 jobs, $16 million in tax revenue, and $50 million in state funding.
Dan Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point ups Sony stake (Standard)
Billionaire investor Dan Loeb has increased pressure on Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s board by lifting his stake in the electronics group to 7%. The boss of $13 billion (£8.3 billion) hedge fund Third Point believes Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) should spin off its entertainment unit, which includes one of Hollywood’s leading studios. In a letter to chief executive Kazuo Hirai ahead of the group’s annual meeting on Thursday, Third Point said: “Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) appears to be regaining its competitive edge. Given our large stake, we reiterate our offer to serve on Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s board of directors.
JPMorgan Plans Private-Equity Spin-Off (Finalternatives)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) will spin off its internal private-equity unit, which manages some $4.5 billion of the bank’s capital. One Equity Partners, which until now has managed JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s money exclusively, will raise a new fund entirely from outside investors and will separate from the bank. One Equity will continue to manage the roughly 30 investments it currently has for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). The bank is shedding the unit due to recent uneven returns and a desire to focus on its core businesses. The spin-off has nothing to do with the Volcker Rule, which severely restricts banks’ hedge fund and private-equity activities; because One Equity manages only JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s money, it could hold on to the unit under merchant-banking regulations.
Japan will deliver value under Abenomics, says Martin Currie (Risk)
As the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland began with a focus on Syria, the elephant in the room remains the impact of Abenomics, the ambitious stimulus programme initiated by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. There is no sign hedge funds are deserting the ‘Abe trade’. One hedge fund manager, John-Paul Temperley, investment director, Japan, at Martin Currie Investment Management, remains upbeat on the prospect of the country. “We had actually been positive prior to [the introduction of Abenomics] mainly for a more cyclical reason, with an earnings recovery driven by a positive financial sector cycle taking hold,” says Temperley.
Hedge fund says bid for Smithfield too low (USAToday)
The proposed sale of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) to China’s largest meat processor was muddied Monday after a hedge fund suggested investors could get a much better price. New York-based investment firm Starboard Value, which owns about 5.7% of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD)’s common stock, says Shuanghui International Holdings’ offer of $34 a share could be topped by up to 62%. Starboard suggests Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) could be worth between $44 and $55 a share if the company were to carve itself into pieces and sell off the units.
Hedge fund manager James Shepherd pleads guilty to commodity pool fraud (Opalesque)
North Carolina hedge fund manager James Alexander Shepherd pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of at least $6m after admitting to using a personal post office box and bogus bank statements to hide his criminal activities for nearly seven years, prosecutors said in a statement. Anne M Tompkins, United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina said that the 58-year-old Shepherd admitted to one count of securities fraud. Court documents showed that from 2006 through 2013, Shepherd defrauded over 100 investors in Union County and elsewhere of approximately $6m.
See What This $66 Billion Hedge Fund Company Is Up To (Fool)
Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they’ve bought and sold, via “13F” filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks. Today, let’s look at Citadel Advisors, founded and run by Kenneth Griffin. It’s one of the biggest hedge fund companies around, with a reportable stock portfolio totaling $66 billion in value as of March 31, 2013. …The biggest new holdings are Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM). Other new holdings of interest include Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE:PBR), which has seen its stock fall over the past few years. The company is weighed down by a lot of debt, but there are also promising signs from it, such as rising production numbers as some offshore rigs are brought back into service. Some are hopeful that solid car sales in Brazil will boost Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE:PBR)’ business.
Does Facebook ‘Like’ George Soros’s Anti-Gun Policies? (ChristianPost)
The advent of ‘social media’ has been heralded as a new, unbiased forum where ideology, politics and opinions are able to compete on a level playing field. From talk radio to social networking sites like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace, these forums are generally assumed to reflect the true voice of their subscribers – untainted by the liberal bias of the mainstream media. Unfortunately, this is changing. I was recently stopped by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) for trying to post an article by Star Parker, entitled “Blacks Should Embrace NRA Gun Proposal.”
Roubini: Fed Exit Strategy Will Be ‘Treacherous’ (CNBC)
As the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting, economist Nouriel Roubini and political scientist Ian Bremmer warned that the Fed’s monetary easing exit strategy would be “treacherous” and would lead to financial instability. “We know how the movie ended, and we may be poised for a sequel. The weak real economy and job market, together with high debt ratios, suggest the need to exit monetary stimulus slowly. But a slow exit risks creating a credit and asset bubble as large as the previous one, if not larger,” they wrote in a report published in Institutional Investor magazine.
Stan Druckenmiller Gave A Startlingly Blunt Reason For Why Hedge Fund Managers Don’t Like Bernanke (BusinessInsider)
It’s no secret that a lot of hedge fund managers on Wall Street have no love for Ben Bernanke or his monetary policy. Journalists, economists, and pundits have mused on the reason why more times than anyone can count. For their part, hedge fund managers usually say that they fear Bernanke’s policies will lead to rampant inflation — a massive problem in the United States in the 1970s when many of them were coming of age. That danger, however, remains to be seen in our economy as, in fact, deflation continues to be a risk. So why do hedge fund managers hate Ben Bernanke? In an interview with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Stan Druckenmiller, a known Bernanke detractor gave a candid explanation we never thought we’d hear from a hedge fund manager.
Say What?! Hedge Fund Observers Sound Off on The Joys of Unfair Advantages (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
“Rich people can get access to the court with an earlier trade before the journalists even have time to publish the results. It’s fundamentally unfair. Life’s unfair, but I’m going to do what’s best for me.” Dan Ravicher, executive director of the Public Patent Foundation in New York and a frequent trader on litigation news, on the way hedge funds and other sophisticated investors are able to profit—legally–from patent litigation outcomes. “Isn’t it nice to walk through the doors of a restaurant to be greeted with ‘Mr. Scaramucci, so nice to see you again? Your table is ready for you…Mr. Scaramucci is one of our partners.’”
SEC To Reward Whistleblowers In Hedge Fund Fraud Case (HedgeCo)
In 2011 the SEC obtained an asset freeze against a Massachusetts hedge fund manager and his investment advisory firm. Now the SEC has said that it will award whistleblowers 15% of whatever it can collect from Andrey C. Hicks and Locust Offshore Management LLC. Hicks was charged with misleading investors in a supposed quantitative hedge fund and diverting portions of investor money into his personal bank account, however the SEC has not been able to collect any money from Hicks as yet.
Tim Hortons in crosshairs of second U.S. hedge fund (TheGlobeAndMail)
Pressure is likely to mount on Tim Hortons Inc. now that it’s in the crosshairs of a second American hedge fund. Scout Capital Management says in a regulatory filing that it has boosted its Tim Hortons stake to 5.5 per cent, from 1.5 per cent earlier, and that it plans to raise certain issues with the Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain. Scout’s interest follows a push just a couple of months ago by Highfields Capital, which urged Tims to hold back on U.S. expansion and drive up profitability via other means.
