Hedge Fund Manager Odey Says U.K. Stocks Could Plummet 80% (Bloomberg)
Crispin Odey, whose main hedge fund has lost about 43 percent this year, says U.K. stocks could slump 80 percent as the economy is roiled by a recession and higher inflation following the vote to leave the European Union. Shares will come under pressure after the FTSE 100 share index climbed 30 percent over five years even as earnings fell by 80 percent, the money manager said in a letter to investors last week seen by Bloomberg News. Odey Asset Management has short positions — bets the stocks will fall — in companies including Tullow Oil Plc, Intu Properties Plc, and ITV Plc.
Macro Hedge Funds Come Roaring Back (The Wall Street Journal)
Caxton Associates was at the forefront of an October rebound by hedge funds profiting from a surge in government bond yields. The New York-based firm, which runs around $7.6 billion in assets and is headed by U.K.-based Chief Executive Andrew Law, gained 5.1% last month to Oct. 26, according to an investor, helped by the recent bond market selloff. That was its best monthly performance in more than three years and means the fund, which had been in the red, is up 2.3% in 2016. So-called macro funds bet on bonds, stocks and currencies but have struggled in recent years in markets dominated by central bank bond-buying, losing money in three out of the previous four calendar years, according to Hedge Fund Research.
Chipotle Feud With Pershing the Latest Sign of Company’s Continued Struggles (TheStreet)
On Monday, Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG) renewed its annual Halloween promotion: Come into any location dressed in costume and you can purchase an entrée for only $3. But the beleaguered burrito chain itself is receiving more tricks than treats. On Monday, the company’s stock plunged by nearly 2.5% as investors continued to show the same aversion to the stock as they have since several hundred people got sick from food-borne bacteria at different locations last year. Chipotle optimists have good reason to be scared. Last week, several major media outlets reported that the troubled fast-casual chain is spending a lot of money to defend itself against activist investor William Ackman.
GE Seeks Boost From Baker Hughes as Peltz Signs Off on Deal (Bloomberg)
With the enthusiasm around its industrial transformation stalled, General Electric Co. is hoping for a boost from an oil megadeal that has already won the backing of the activist investor Nelson Peltz. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt is merging the company’s oil and gas unit with Baker Hughes Inc. to create a behemoth capable of both weathering the slump in crude prices and capitalizing on a recovery. With $32 billion in sales and a more robust offering of products and services, the merged entity could position GE to compete more effectively as it deepens its bet on the energy markets.
Hedge Fund Viking Got Boost From European Stocks In Third Quarter (Reuters)
A bigger bet on European stocks in the last quarter helped U.S. hedge fund Viking Global Investors improve returns after a difficult start to the year. “Notably, both net and gross exposure to European companies increased by 11 percentage points as we added longs in several sectors,” the hedge fund told investors in a quarterly letter dated Oct. 14 and seen by Reuters on Monday. Viking’s flagship Viking Global Equities fund is now roughly flat for the year, trailing the HFRI Composite Index’ 4.15 percent gain. During the third quarter, Viking’s 5.7 percent gain helped wipe away much of the first quarter’s 8.3 percent drop. Andreas Halvorsen, Viking’s founder, said European stocks are still more attractively priced than stocks in other regions.
Sign Up Your 5 Year-Olds For Steve Cohen’s Pre-K Trading Program TODAY (DealBreaker)
Back in May, SAC Capital/Point72 Asset Management founder Steve Cohen told attendees at the Milken Conference that ninety-six to ninety-eight percent of the people applying for jobs at his firm have their heads lodged in their asses if they think they’re even worthy of entering the building. What was a hedge fund manager thinking about maybe reopening his fund to outside investors at 12:01AM on January 1, 2018 and in need of staff to do? Luckily, Cohen had recently formed Point72 Academy, a finishing school for young college grads hoping to one day become real, live traders.
E. Lee Hennessee, Early Woman In Hedge Fund Role, Dies At 64 (Bloomberg)
E. Lee Hennessee, who started one of the first hedge-fund advisory firms and created an industry performance index before getting ranked among New York’s 50 most-powerful women, has died. She was 64. She was found dead Oct. 29 at her home in West Palm Beach, Florida, by her husband and business partner, Charles Gradante, according to an e-mailed statement from Chase Scott, a family spokesman. Authorities are awaiting lab results to determine the cause of death, Lori Colombino, public information officer for the West Palm Beach Police Department, said Monday by telephone. Hennessee was chairman and managing principal of New York-based Hennessee Group, the hedge-fund research and advisory service.
Hedge Fund Raided By The FBI? There’s An App For That (Reuters)
An agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation approaches a hedge fund trader as he leaves the office, wanting to ask a few questions. Nervous about saying no to an official, the trader dishes, and information he provides is later used against him. Steven Feldman, a white collar attorney in New York, has seen too many clients caught off-guard in such situations. His solution? The Murphy & McGonigle Surprise Law Enforcement Response App. “The agents are trained to get you to talk,” Feldman said. “There’s no warning of any kind, even though everything you say will be used against you.” The app features a “Surprise Interview” button, as well as guides for handling a search warrant – think a raid by the FBI -or grand jury subpoena.
