Bill Ackman’s Quiet Activist Campaign Over Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac (Forbes)
It has been about 100 hours since William Ackman revealed his Pershing Square hedge fund’s nearly 10% stake in both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Ackman has not released any slide presentations telling America how the nation’s mortgage market should be run. He hasn’t conducted television interviews or described his investment in detail in a letter to his investors. Ackman didn’t even use any explosive language in Pershing Square’s Securities & Exchange Commission filing that disclosed the investment, which only said that Ackman and his hedge fund “have determined that they may engage in discussions with management, the board, other stockholders of the issuer, representatives of the federal government, and other relevant parties” about the future plans of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
DE Shaw hedge fund opens new positions in FOXA, NWS, NVE, Sells S, HOG, CCL – 13F Flash (F) (Part 6) (Market Realist)
DE Shaw is a New York based $30 billion+ quantitative hedge fund founded in 1988 by David E. Shaw, a former Columbia faculty member. The firm’s primary trading method is systematic and computer-driven. DE Shaw has over 1,000 employees in North America, Europe and Asia, with an international reputation for successful investing based on innovation and strong risk management. The firm started new positions in Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA), News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NVE) and sold positions in Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S), Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG), and Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL).
Trial of Senior SAC Capital Portfolio Manager Begins (Wall Street Journal)
As the criminal trial of senior portfolio manager Michael Steinberg begins Tuesday, his defense lawyers are hoping to find a jury that hasn’t heard about the government’s investigation into the hedge-fund giant SAC Capital Advisors LP or its founder Steven A. Cohen. Prosecutors and defense lawyers were expected to start questioning jurors starting Tuesday morning. The number of prospective jurors was larger than typical cases because of the publicity concerns. Mr. Steinberg, who has pleaded not guilty, is the most senior employee at SAC to be indicted for insider trading and is accused of making illegal trades in 2008 and 2009 in shares of technology companies Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Are Hedge Funds Still Betting on Gold? (Wall St. Cheat Sheet)
Billionaire fund manager John Paulson is known for betting against subprime mortgages during the housing bubble, but he is also a vocal advocate for gold. Last year, he said in a letter to investors, “By the time inflation becomes evident, gold will probably have moved, which implies that now is the time to build a position in gold.” He reaffirmed his belief that gold is a good hedge against inflation over the summer and added exposure to at least one gold miner by the end of the third quarter. As of September 30, his firm, Paulson & Co., held 10.2 million shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD) — the most popular exchange-traded gold product in the market.
Mario Gabelli, GAMCO Investors Increase Stakes in The Bon-Ton Stores & Ingles Markets (Insider Monkey)
Mario Gabelli and his fund GAMCO Investors, reported in a couple of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission some bullish moves made into their holdings in The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:BONT), and Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA). In The Bon-Ton Stores, GAMCO and Gabelli increased its exposure to over 1.2 million shares of the company, which are equal to 6.94% of the outstanding common stock of the company. Out of this position, GAMCO holds 637,397 shares, which represent an increase from 626,500 disclosed by the fund in its latest 13F.
Icahn didn’t say anything new: Pro (CNBC.com)
