Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Crispin Odey, Eddie Lampert, Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc (AXNX), Butler National Co. (BUKS), Intersections Inc. (INTX), and More

Crispin Odey’s October Gains Boost Hedge Fund Returns to 48% (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — Crispin Odey, fighting to recover from three successive years of losses in his main hedge fund, made money last month as his long-running bearish bets paid off. The Odey European Inc. fund gained 7.2 percent in October, boosting returns for this year to 48.4 percent, according to an investor update seen by Bloomberg. It hasn’t lost money in any month this year. A spokesman for London-based Odey declined to comment.

Sears is Nearing a $600 million Bankruptcy Financing Deal Without the Help of Eddie Lampert’s Hedge Fund (Business Insider)
Sears Holdings Corp is nearing a deal with new lenders to increase a bankruptcy financing package to as much as $600 million from $300 million without Chairman Eddie Lampert‘s hedge fund contributing, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The deal, which may come as soon as this week, could provide enough money for the beleaguered U.S. retailer to keep its shelves stocked during the holiday shopping season and retain sufficient support from creditors and vendors to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings.

Luis Louro / shutterstock.com

Pelham Capital Hedge Fund Tumbles 14.4% in October Rout (Bloomberg)
One of Pelham Capital’s hedge funds plunged last month, joining a host of other firms that struggled to perform in October. Pelham’s long-short equity fund, managed by founder Ross Turner, fell an estimated 14.4 percent last month, leaving it down about 12 percent so far this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A representative London-based Pelham declined to comment.

These are the Billionaires Hoping to Influence Elections that will Determine Control of Congress (Los Angeles Times)
Tom Steyer and Kathryn Ann Taylor — $59.8 million: Steyer is an environmentalist and former hedge fund manager at Farallon Capital who made his fortune “picking diamonds out of the dust,” as one magazine put it. In 2012, Steyer walked away from his company to focus full time on political activism and philanthropy. He and his wife, Taylor, have an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion and have become top Democratic donors.