Starboard Nominated Minority Slate of Directors to eBay Board (The Wall Street Journal)
EBay Inc. is facing a renewed challenge from activist investor Starboard Value L.P., which has nominated a slate of directors to the board of the online marketplace, according to people familiar with the matter. Starboard, which last year won the right to help fill one seat on eBay’s board, privately nominated an additional minority slate of directors recently, the people said. Assuming there isn’t some sort of settlement by then, the nominees would be up for election at the San Jose, Calif., company’s annual meeting in June…
Horseman Eyes Korea Volatility for Autocallables Opportunities (Hedge Week)
Recent spikes in Korean stock market volatility following the global sell-off could see an upswing in margin calls in its autocallables market, potentially driving the index even lower, with investors taking advantage of the higher volatility to obtain higher yields. Horseman Capital Management, the London-based contrarian long/short hedge fund led by Russell Clark, said on Thursday that the continued issuance of autocallables – structured notes which have automatic calls when a certain upside barrier is reached – suggests investors are looking to capitalise on the recent volatility spike.
The Manager Finalists for the 2020 Hedge Fund Awards Are… (Institutional Investor)
Several managers stood out in a generally excellent year for hedge fund managers in 2019. They will be honored at II’s 18th annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards dinner on June 25. After a wretched 2018, hedge funds – and the broader markets – had a much better run last year. In 2019, the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock market index gained a blistering 31 percent – but a handful of hedge fund managers posted even better results. They will be among the winners at Institutional Investor’s 18th annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards. Not surprisingly, equity-focused hedge fund managers excelled last year. Tiger Management alum Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management continued its winning streak, having been among a small group of equity fund managers to notch double-digit gains in 2018.
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Radical Truth Time: This Coronavirus Thing Is Serious (Deal Breaker)
We have, admittedly, been a bit skeptical about the, shall we say, seemingly over-the-top reaction to the coronavirus pandemic (officially, now). Without downplaying the seriousness of the spreading illness to vulnerable populations, it seemed like some sensible, moderate precautions – washing one’s hands until they bleed, keeping off of public transit and generally away from other people if one feels unwell, laying in a reasonable stock of necessary supplies should it be necessary for you to cool your heels for a couple of weeks, staying the hell away from Steve Cohen – was really all that was called for. Attempting to force each of the seven-and-a-half billion people on earth to stay at least six feet away from every single one of the other seven-and-a-half billion people on earth, cleaning out the local Costco of hand sanitizer and everything else, cancelling all flights and trains and taxi rides, and selling every single security you own frankly, seemed like a bit of an overreaction.
AT&T Chief’s Pay Jumped to $32 Million After Hedge Fund Battle (The Wall Street Journal)
Stock appreciation helped increase top executives’ compensation after fight with activist investor Elliott Management. AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson received $32 million in compensation last year after a headline-grabbing hedge fund battle ended up boosting the telecom and media giant’s share price. Mr. Stephenson’s overall compensation climbed 10% in 2019 almost entirely on the strength of AT&T’s stock appreciation. Shares of the Dallas company gained about 37% during the year.
A Hedge Fund Goes Long on India Stocks Even as Fear Spikes (Bloomberg)
A veteran hedge fund manager is going long on Indian stocks even as fear of further losses among the nation’s equity investors surged to a record as the stocks head for the worst weekly fall in more than 12 years. “Asset prices typically do not fall in straight lines without some retracement, and hence currently, we have pivoted to a net long stance from being defensively net short for the past several months,” Vijay Krishna Kumar, head of Liquid Alternatives investment at IDFC Asset Management Co.
No Guessing Games (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – The ability of central banks to reverse an economic downturn appears limited as the global economy approaches the ends of both the short-term and long-term cycles. “Since interest rates have been cut down to zero or even below zero, the maximum work has already been done to get everyone – governments, companies and individuals – loaded up with the maximum amount of debt,” warns Tommi Kemppainen, the CEO of Finnish asset manager Helsinki Capital Partners. “While many market participants are very much aware of the shorter-term cycle, extremely few seem to be aware of this much longer debt cycle coming to an end,” reckons Kemppainen.
A Director at Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, a Director at Boston Properties (BXP), Carol Einiger, bought shares of BXP for $488K. This recent transaction increases Carol Einiger’s holding in the company by 200% to a total of $970.3K. In addition to Carol Einiger, 5 other BXP executives reported Buy trades in the last month.
Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc (RYAM) Chairman, President and CEO Paul G Boynton Bought $286,000 of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman, President and CEO of Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., Paul G Boynton, bought 200,000 shares of RYAM on 03/11/2020 at an average price of $1.43 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $286,000. Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc manufactures cellulose from wood. Its products are mainly used in a variety of applications, including cigarette filters, liquid crystal displays, paints, pharmaceuticals, and food.
Thursday 3/12 Insider Buying Report: EHC, RJF (Nasdaq.com)
At Encompass Health, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, CEO & President, Home Health April Kaye Bullock Anthony purchased 40,000 shares of EHC, for a cost of $64.24 each, for a total investment of $2.57M. Investors have the opportunity to grab EHC at a price even lower than Anthony did, with the stock changing hands as low as $54.50 in trading on Thursday which is 15.2% under Anthony’s purchase price. Encompass Health Corp is trading off about 5.4% on the day Thursday. And on Monday, Vice Chairman Francis S. Godbold purchased $820,224 worth of Raymond James Financial, purchasing 12,542 shares at a cost of $65.40 each. Raymond James Financial Inc is trading off about 9.1% on the day Thursday. Investors can grab RJF at a price even lower than Godbold did, with shares changing hands as low as $60.05 at last check today — that’s 8.2% under Godbold’s purchase price.
Why In-House Counsel Need to Watch for Insider Trading, Public Disclosure Issues From COVID-19 (Law.com)
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic means in-house counsel need to keep an eye on potential insider trading by employees at all levels who may gain access to material, nonpublic information about supply chain or other disruptions that could affect a company’s bottom line, or its financial outlook. Inside counsel also need to consider whether and how to handle public disclosure about disruptions or related matters in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, lawyers say.
