Hedge Fund News: Crispin Odey, Louis Bacon, T. Boone Pickens

Hedge Fund Manager Odey Turns Super Bear on QE (Wall Street Journal)
Renowned U.K. hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has warned of an impending global economic slowdown that will be remembered for a century, saying equity markets will be “devastated” despite central bank action aimed at propping up the global economy. “The shorting opportunity looks as great as it was in 07/09”, the founder of Odey Asset Management wrote in his latest report to investors, seen by MoneyBeat. “We used all our monetary firepower to avoid the first downturn in 2007-09, so we are really at a dangerous point to try to counter the effects of a slowing China, falling commodities and EM incomes,” he wrote.

Louis Bacon Sues Bahamas Neighbor Nygard for Defamation (Bloomberg)
Moore Capital Management founder Louis Bacon sued his Bahamas neighbor Peter Nygard for $50 million, claiming the Canadian clothing magnate orchestrated an “obsessive and malicious campaign” to paint him as a murderer, Ku Klux Klan member, drug trafficker and inside trader. The suit, filed Jan. 14 and unsealed Thursday in Manhattan state court, is the latest escalation of a decade-long property battle between the two men that has landed in courts in the Bahamas, the U.K., Los Angeles and New York. It follows Bacon’s successful bid to win access to more than 100 hours of footage shot by a videographer hired by Nygard.

Pickens’ Hedge Fund to Trade on Oil Panic in Fundraise (Bloomberg)
Boone Pickens’ BP Capital hedge fund said now is the time to capitalize on panicked sentiment in energy trading as oil’s drop is mostly finished. “The price has largely done what it needs to do to solve the demand and supply issue,” senior money manager David Meaney said in a telephone interview. “We see lots of interesting opportunities from a volatility perspective and to take advantage of panic.”