Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Crispin Odey, Oaktree Capital Management, CBA Florida Inc (CBAI), GCP Applied Technologies Inc (GCP), FitLife Brands Inc (FTLF), and More

Odey Likens Banks to Retailers Luring Investors to Their Deaths (Bloomberg)
Hedge-fund manager Crispin Odey said underperforming banks are starting to resemble department stores that failed to reinvent themselves quickly enough to compete with online retailers. The London-based money manager, who had been a vocal critic of central-bank policies and repeatedly warned investors of an impending market crash, said weak profits at banks means provisions have had to fall. “They have been the serial lagging sector, luring every year value investors to their deaths,” he wrote in a letter to investors.

Sears Rises Off of All-Time Low Following Friday Selloff (TheStreet)
Shares of struggling retailer Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) were up 0.38% after falling 3.4% premarket to $1.27 per share, a new all-time low for the company. Monday’s trading follows up a more than 9% decline on Friday after CEO Eddie Lampert‘s hedge fund, ESL Investments, announced that it will buy the Kenmore brand from Sears for $400 million in cash. ESL, which also has made an offer to purchase Sears’ Home Improvement business for as much as $80 million, said that it needs to find other equity financing partners to make the deal happen.

Alex Oakenman / shutterstock.com

Claire’s Lender Readies $1.5B Bid for the Bankrupt Retailer (RetailDive.com)
One of Claire’s Stores’ lenders, and its loudest opponent in the teen retailer’s Chapter 11 case, is raising cash for a $1.5 billion bid to take over the business. Thomas Lauria, a partner with White & Case representing hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management, said at a court hearing last week that Oaktree plans to file the bid for Claire’s by a court deadline at the end of August, according to an audio recording of the hearing.

Higher Highs are on the Way, According to this Hedge-fund Manager’s Checklist (MarketWatch.com)
Steve Einhorn has helped investing legend Leon Cooperman deliver market-trouncing returns in his multibillion-dollar Omega Advisors hedge fund for nearly 20 years, and part of the duo’s successful approach to navigating the investment landscape involves heeding a bear-market checklist. So what’s it telling them now? “The unambiguous message delivered by the checklist is that the bull market will likely grind to higher highs for a while longer,” Einhorn told Barron’s in an interview posted earlier this month.