Hedge funds face big losses if weather fears hold (AgriMoney)
Hedge funds, having avoided a second drubbing at the hands of US grain stocks numbers, face heavy losses if forecasts hold of worrying heat for Midwest crops, having extended short positions on corn to a record high. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, slashed its net long position in futures and options in the major US-traded agricultural commodities by 134,000 contracts in the week to July 2, according to analysis of data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the regulatory authority.
Hedge Fund Bets On Soccer Player Transfers (Finalternatives)
A controversial hedge fund has won some big-name backers for its strategies. Doyen Capital counts the families of Bayrock Group founder Tevfik Arif and Rixos Hotels CEO Fettah Tamince among its investors, Bloomberg News reports. The ties go deeper than that, as well, with Arif’s son serving as a Doyen manager. Doyen invests in energy trading and other areas, but has received the most attention for its plays on soccer. The firm has struck deals with soccer players, including Brazilian star Neymar, paying them in exchange for a share in their future transfer fees.
Pershing Square looks to raise $1 billion for bet on unnamed company (Gnom)
Hedge fund manager William Ackman is ready to bet big on an unnamed U.S. company and is asking pension funds and endowments to commit $1 billion to two new funds by the end of next week to help him make that investment. “We are launching two new co-investment funds PS V, L.P. and PS V International,” Ackman wrote in a three-page letter dated July 8 and seen by NEWS.GNOM.ES. “Because of confidentiality considerations, it is not prudent for us to share the target company name with all of our 500+ investors,” he added.
Where next for gold? (III)
Nouriel Roubini, the US economist nicknamed Dr Doom for his frequent predictions of impending financial misery, is used to a bit of hostility. His warnings early in the credit crunch that the crisis would intensify and cause a global recession prompted scorn from his critics (often accompanied with mocking references to his reputation for throwing lavish parties at his trendy New York home, where the walls were adorned with modern art – including plaster of Paris vaginas).
Jim Rogers Destroys The Last Argument Of The Gold Bugs (BusinessInsider)
Gold prices have been tumbling. But the ardent gold bulls have been hanging on. The most popular argument that these gold bulls have clung to has been that mining costs will create a floor for gold prices. The idea is that if gold continues to be below the cost of mining, then miners will stop mining and supply will disappear forcing gold prices up. Peter Schiff made this argument late last month. And so did Art Cashin. However, it’s not completely obvious that a mine would shut down just because the market price falls below cost.
Christopher Hansen’s Troubles Multiply as Valiant Struggles (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
You can say that Christopher Hansen of Valiant Capital Management is one of the most consistent hedge fund managers this year. Unfortunately for him, his performance has been consistently bad. The San Francisco–based hedge fund firm has the dubious distinction of being perhaps the worst-performing long-short hedge fund in 2013. The Tiger Management–affiliated Hansen, who unsuccessfully tried to buy the Sacramento Kings basketball team earlier this year, lost another 1.87 percent in June. His liquid fund lost 2.10 percent while his side pockets lost 0.65 percent, according to an investor.
Hedge Funds Profit from Trade Claims Against Bankrupt Firms (InstitutionalInvestor)
Chicago-based commodities broker-dealer Refco went bankrupt in late 2005 after it emerged that CEO Phillip Bennett had hidden $430 million in bad debt, a move that earned him a 16-year jail sentence. The bankruptcy also took down a small hedge fund manager named PlusFunds Group and its SPhinX funds. Founded by Refco alumnus Christopher Sugrue, New York-based PlusFunds was an early effort to develop an investable hedge fund index; Refco was the $2.5 billion SPhinX funds’ brokerage.
