KYLE BASS: China Isn’t Just Slowing Down — It’s Contracting (BusinessInsider)
For the last several years, nobody has been more outspokenly bearish on Japan than Kyle Bass. In a recent talk, Bass reiterated his doubts about Japan’s chances of averting a debt crisis. What’s more, he also said China’s economy will fall below expectations. Bass changed one aspect of his outlook on Japan. Instead of predicting a collapse of the Japanese bond market, he focused on a severe weakening of the yen – without predicting when that might happen. His predictions for China were equally distressing. He said that its banks will be saddled with non-performing loans and that its economy is actually contracting. “I don’t think the markets are discounting what’s really happening in China,” he said.
Arts center officials hope charity auction a sign art’s for-profit potential in Lawrence (LJWorld)
Art auctions in New York City and Europe bring in not only artists and curators but also financiers, hedge fund managers and investors of all sorts. Art is big business in many parts of the globe, with big money at stake and some even suggesting that there’s a bubble in the art market. With art, as with so many things, Lawrence is a bit different. Art auctions are rarities in Lawrence. By far the largest and most prominent is the Lawrence Arts Center’s annual benefit auction, and it’s an altogether different animal than the auctions of New York or Paris, not least because its goal is not profit, but to raise money for the nonprofit center’s exhibitions program.
Hedge funds in worst start to year since financial crisis (Telegraph)
Some of London’s biggest and best hedge funds have had millions of pounds wiped off the value of the their portfolios after being wrong-footed by turbulence in emerging markets and falling tech and bank stocks. Lansdowne Partners, Odey Asset Management and Brevan Howard are among the stellar hedge funds to have had a poor start to the year. Overall, global hedge funds have had their worst start to the year since the financial crisis, reporting average returns 1.2pc, according to Preqin, the industry data provider. Experts have blamed market uncertainty, caused by the unrest in areas like Ukraine, which has led to unpredictable volatility. Big sell-offs in technology companies, including Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), as well as regulatory uncertainty over the banks, have also taken their toll.
Israeli Hedge Funds Outperform Foreign Funds, Industry Experiencing ‘Significant Growth’ (Algemeiner)
Israel-based hedge funds grew assets by 33 percent between 2011 and 2013 and outperformed foreign funds and the local equity market, according to a survey released recently by Israel fund administrator Tzur Management. In a statement, Tzur Management CEO Yitz Raab said, “When considering the impressive performance of Israeli hedge funds in recent years, it’s no surprise that we’re witnessing significant growth of both assets under management and the number of Israel based funds.” A new hedge fund index, Tzur Capital Management Index of Israeli Hedge Funds (TCMI), showed that Israel outperformed the global hedge fund industry in both 2012 and 2013, with average returns of 13 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.
Sony boss pledges turnaround exit in 2015 (BRecorder)
Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)‘s chief executive pledged on May 22 to drag the embattled electronics giant out of a painful restructuring in the current fiscal year and pointed to high-definition technology as a possible saviour for its money-losing TV unit. Kazuo Hirai made the comments as he unveiled Sony’s newest turnaround strategy, just a week after the Japanese company posted a $1.26 billion annual loss. …Hirai has repeatedly shrugged off pleas to abandon the television unit, which he insists remains central to Sony’s core business. The firm also rejected a call from a US hedge fund billionaire to spin off part of its profitable movie business, which includes a Hollywood studio.
Weiss bought Ocwen Financial (CNBC)
Why the World’s Reigning Hedge Fund King Likes Facebook Inc. (Fool)
Josh Brown, who runs the popular blog The Reformed Broker, recently wrote about a gathering of financial gurus at Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel and Casino. According to Brown, everyone was there to see one man — primarily because of this man’s huge returns, larger-than-life personality, and penchant for philanthropy. …The man is David Tepper, and he runs the hugely successful Appaloosa Management hedge fund. And recently, he’s been buying up shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Though it’s impossible to know for certain why Tepper likes Facebook right now, we can make some pretty educated guesses as to what he might be thinking, and what to look for in the quarters ahead.
Jim Rogers regrets not investing in bitcoin in the early days of virtual currency (EconomicCollapseNews)
Jim Rogers, a legendary investor and chairman of Rogers Holdings, spoke with China Money Network on Monday to discuss a wide variety of economic issues, such as geopolitical risks, Chinese monetary policy and artificial liquidity. One particular topic of the interview has generated quite a bit of buzz: bitcoin. While other prominent libertarians have criticized the peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency, such as former Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, Marc Faber and several Austrian economists, there have been some proponents of bitcoin. One of them may now be Rogers, who conceded that he still doesn’t know enough about them.
George Soros funds, foundations must be held accountable (AlternativeNews)
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society that is leading the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for Palestinian rights, called today for a boycott of the Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Foundations due to the recently announced[1], first-quarter 2014, investment by Soros in Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ:SODA) stock and increased investment in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE:TEVA), both Israeli companies that are deeply involved in violations of international law.SodaStream is an Israeli company that manufactures in Ma’ale Adumim, an illegal settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) and, as such, is deeply complicit in Israel’s violations of international law. Settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a war crime.
Mike Hasten column: Cooperation in the pipeline (TheNewsStar)
What do Robert Adley, a conservative Republican state senator from the small Bossier Parish community of Benton, and Mary Landrieu, a middle-of-the-road Democratic U.S. senator from New Orleans, have on common? “Not much,” most people would say. But the unlikely pair is linked in a battle with a Boston hedge fund management firm that owns a natural gas pipeline that it wants to abandon without providing a feasible alternative source of gas for residents in nine parishes. Landrieu, chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the request of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC to shut off the Midla pipeline that serves several cities and rural areas in Franklin, Catahoula, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Concordia, West Feliciana, East Feliciana and East Baton Rouge parishes.
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