Hedge Fund Highlights: Warren Buffet, Kyle Bass & Julian Robertson

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Warren Buffet brings on more wealthy donors to help nonprofits (State Column)
A total of 127 individuals or families from 12 countries and 26 U.S. states, including four new signers, have pledged to donate at least half of their wealth to nonprofit groups during a recent Giving Pledge annual philanthropic meeting. The organization was originated in 2010 by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. of Omaha, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates. According to a published news report by the World-Herald, some of the world’s wealthiest people attended the event which as was focused on “deeper engagement” in the causes they support. Buffett’s goal in the voluntary get-together’s is to let wealthy people exchange ideas so their philanthropy will be more effective.

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Dallas-Based Hedge Fund Buys Co-op Bank Stake (Sky News)
A Dallas-based hedge fund boss who made millions of dollars from the 2007 US housing crash has snapped up a stake in the struggling Co-operative Bank. Sky News has learnt that Hayman Capital Management is one of a group of City and Wall Street investors which were assigned shares in the Co-op Bank as part of a £400m fundraising aimed at shoring up its finances. Hayman Capital is headed by Kyle Bass, whose prominence in the US financial sector is partly a consequence of his foresight in predicting – and profiting from – the crisis in the US housing market which was among the causes of the wider global economic slump.

Julian Robertson Top Three Largest New Positions (Insider Monkey)
Hedge fund legend Julian Robertson has stopped his activity in the hedge fund world, however, his fund Tiger Management still manages Robertson’s funds and his picks are widely followed. In the latest round of 13F filings, Tiger Management revealed its equity portfolio, with a value of $304.46 million, down from $326.16 million in the previous quarter. The largest holding is represented by Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL), of which Mr. Robertson owns 745,500 shares, down by 10% on the quarter, worth $25.83 million. On the second place is a $24.47 million stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), which amasses 345,300 shares, the position being edged up by some 25,300 shares.

LightSquared’s Bankruptcy Bills Hit $1.3B (FINalternatives)
Harbinger Capital Partners‘ wireless internet venture doesn’t have an approved restructuring plan, but it does have expenses, which continue to pile up as the company awaits an exit from bankruptcy and approval of its planned network. LightSquared, which has been in bankruptcy protection for two years, spent $55.4 million in April, it said in a court filing. Most of the money—$36.9 million—went to debt payments, with another $4.6 million to lawyers and others working on the bankruptcy case and $1.3 million to pay its staff.

Tom Steyer to host Joe Biden for May 28 DNC fundraiser (Politico)
Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer will host Vice President Joe Biden at his San Francisco home May 28 for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser, according to a source familiar with the event’s planning. It’s the latest indication that Steyer, a vocal opponent of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline and an outspoken advocate for tackling climate change, is building strong ties to Democrats in Washington.

Irish Jump Into Real Estate Game as Bubble Echoes Grow (Bloomberg)
Charles O’Rourke reckons it’s different this time as he jumps into the real estate game. The 81-year-old retiree says he took “massive” losses on his bank stocks when Ireland’s financial system melted down in 2008. Now he’s joined billionaires George Soros and John Paulson in acquiring shares in one of the real estate investment trusts buying property in the Irish capital, Dublin. For Irish property prices, “there’s only one way and that’s up,” O’Rourke said outside a meeting for investors in Dublin-based Green REIT Plc, the first Irish company to take advantage of laws introduced in 2013 that enabled Irish companies to become REITs.

Consumer squeeze from gas prices (CNBC.com)







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