Billionaire Investor Carl Icahn Is Betting Against GameStop Shares (Bloomberg)
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn began shorting GameStop Corp. during the height of the meme-stock frenzy around January 2021 and still holds a large position in the video-game retailer, according to people familiar with the matter. Icahn started building the short when GameStop was trading near its peak of $483 per share and still holds a large bet against the retailer’s shares, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The investor, who has added to his position from time to time, is betting that GameStop’s stock isn’t trading on its fundamentals and will continue to fall, the people said.
Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio Sees Rough Road Ahead For Global Economy As Debt Bubble Deflates (Forbes)
Talking heads on financial cable TV channels seem downright giddy about the possibility that the Federal Reserve will soon be slowing its pace of rate hikes, but the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund says don’t bust out the champagne quite yet. In fact, you should learn to live on a beer budget as the the world economy deflates from a four-decade debt binge. At the inaugural Forbes Iconoclast conference earlier this month, Bridgewater Associates Founder Ray Dalio spoke with Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane about historical precedents that suggest the worst of the inflationary spiral is still to come, and how he is investing in a world of stagflation and high interest rates.
Three weeks ago Sam Bankman-Fried and Anthony Scaramucci Were Fundraising Together in the Middle East. Now the ‘Mooch’ Faces Losing SBF’s 30% Stake in His SkyBridge Hedge Fund Which is Frozen in Bankruptcy (Fortune)
A mere three weeks ago, Sam Bankman-Fried and Anthony Scaramucci were on top of the world—the crypto world at least, traipsing through the Middle East on a grand fundraising tour. “We embarked upon a Middle East trip to Riyadh, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi,” Scaramucci recently said during the 2022 Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Nov. 15. Scaramucci explained he was there for the Future Investment Initiative Conference in Saudi Arabia that took place on October 25, but he then hosted SBF on a fundraising tour to help him raise money for FTX.
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Analysis: Kohl’s Snub of Big Sale-Leaseback Sets Up New Clash with Hedge Funds (Reuters)
Kohl’s Corp’s (KSS.N) reluctance to sell much of its real estate and then lease it back has set up the U.S. department store operator for a new confrontation with hedge funds. Macellum Capital Management LLC and Ancora Advisors LLC are among hedge funds that have been pressuring Kohl’s to cash out on assets and return money to shareholders after launching challenges in the last two years that led to three newcomers joining the company’s board.
Afalon’s Holistic Approach Amid Fund Closure (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Finnish asset manager Afalon Investment Management has called time on its hedge fund that sought to identify investments aligned with sustainability themes. With the closure of Incomea Steady Opportunities and the earlier closure of its systematic managed futures fund NS Quant, Afalon is putting all efforts and time into a global asset allocation model that takes a more holistic view of portfolio construction.
Hildene Capital Launches $1bn Reinsurer (Hedge Week)
Hildene Capital Management (Hildene), a $12 billion credit-focused asset manager, has formed Ludlow Re SPC, Ltd (Ludlow Re), a Cayman Islands-based, Class B(iii) insurance company. Ludlow Re will offer reinsurance to the global insurance market and, as part of its inaugural transaction, will reinsure approximately $1 billion of fixed index annuity reserves through a quota share agreement entered into with a US-based life insurance carrier. Ludlow Re received its B(iii) insurance license from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority in September 2022.
HarbourVest Partners Racks Up $4.2bn for a Sixth Co-Investment Fund (Opalesque)
Boston-based private-markets firm HarbourVest Partners has closed its sixth co-investment fund at $4.2 billion, beating its $3.5 billion target. The global private equity investment manager said in a media release that the HarbourVest Partners Co-Investment Fund VI seeks to provide investors access to a global, diversified portfolio of direct co-investments in the buyout, growth equity, and other private markets transactions alongside top-tier private markets managers. Investments will be made in companies located primarily in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and select emerging markets.
Macro Hedge Fund Manager to Leave M&G (Funds-Europe.com)
Future employment plans for Eric Lonergan remain unknown following his departure from M&G Investments, where he runs over £5 billion in assets. M&G recently announced Lonergan would step down as macro hedge fund manager on December 1 after 16 years with the firm.In a statement on LinkedIn, Lonergan said: “I will be leaving M&G at the end of the year. The opportunities in macro investing have rarely been better. After more than 15 years, it is time for a change.”
Crypto Hedge Fund Pantera Purchased $137 Million in Bitcoin (Coin Culture)
141 certified investors joined with a minimum investment requirement of $50,000 instead of $100,000, The fund tracks Bitcoin passively and charges a lower yearly management cost than other bitcoin funds – 0.75%. It intends to give users rapid and secure access to bitcoin while reducing the hassle of purchasing and maintaining coins. It is also open to U.S. and non-U.S. investors and is technically set up as a Cayman hedge fund. Despite a bear market that has kept bitcoin’s price at 2017 levels for the past year, it is the fund’s first sizable purchase.
Tuesday 11/22 Insider Buying Report: NRXP (Nasdaq.com)
On Friday, NRX Pharmaceuticals’ Director, Chaim Hurvitz, made a $514,905 buy of NRXP, purchasing 500,000 shares at a cost of $1.03 a piece. Hurvitz was up about 9.7% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with NRXP trading as high as $1.13 in trading on Tuesday. NRX Pharmaceuticals is trading up about 12.4% on the day Tuesday.
$35 Million Bet On This Technology Stock? Check Out These 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Corsair Gaming: The Trade: Corsair Gaming, Inc. (CRSR) 10% owner EagleTree Partners IV Ultimate GP, LLC acquired a total of 2,121,212 shares at at an average price of $16.50. To acquire these shares, it cost around $35 million. ESAB: The Trade: ESAB Corporation (ESAB) Director Mitchell P Rales bought a total of 500,000 shares at an average price of $40.00. To acquire these shares, it cost around $20 million.
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Two Family Office Executives Charged with Insider Trading (HedgeCo.net)
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a final consent judgment against Charles Rustin “Rusty” Holzer, a manager of a family office, whom the SEC previously charged with insider trading. On October 28, 2022, a final consent judgment was entered against Fernando Moraes, the former Chief Operating Officer of Holzer’s family office, who was also previously charged with insider trading. The SEC’s complaints, filed on September 30, 2022, alleged that Holzer and Moraes traded in options of Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE: DNB) based on material nonpublic information ahead of the company’s August 8, 2018 announcement that it had agreed to be acquired by a private investor group at a price of $145 per share, realizing ill-gotten profits of $96,091 and $8,842, respectively.
