Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Julian Robertson, CEO of Tiger Management, went on Bloomberg Surveillance today to talk shop. So of course Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) came up — the stock was one of the legendary hedge funder’s largest holdings at one point. …He once called Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) the greatest company in the world. Now? “I read the book on Steve Jobs and I developed a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for his intellect. But I came to the conclusion that he really was a maverick person and he really could not establish a great long-term entity,” he told Bloomberg’s Tom Keene. “I don’t think the Steve Jobs was the type of guy that would have developed a great, long-term leadership.” “I think the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) people have a better way of getting things done,” he said.
Hedge Fund ValueAct eyes Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to reap gains from falling market (Avauncer)
Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.59% to close at $31.82 in its previous trading session. This was midway its 52-week price band of $26.26 to $36.43. Reports have confirmed that Hedge fund ValueAct has again indulged in buying shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The firm has earlier in April resorted to a $1.9 billion stake. It is speculated that the firm is eyeing on purchase of as much stake it can in the recent times, especially when the company itself has resorted to numerous sell offs, in an attempt to turn its fortunes. …It believes that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is better poised than its competitors to perform in this segment. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Azure, allows other software makers to run their cloud applications on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s server, which is expected to lead greater customer acceptance.
Herbalife Shares Are Hitting A New High Today (BusinessInsider)
Nutrition supplement seller Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)’s stock hit a 52-week high today of $62.14 a share. …Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is the stock that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who runs Pershing Square Capital, is famously short. Back in December, Ackman publicly revealed that he’s shorting $1 billion worth of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) stock in a 342-slide presentation. He believes the company is a pyramid scheme and that regulators, specifically the FTC, will investigate it. Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), a multi-level marketing firm that sells weight loss shakes and vitamins, has been the centre of a huge hedge fund battle.
Carl Icahn readies a major Twitter surprise (CNBC)
Carl Icahn, the 77-year-old billionaire investor whose stock ideas move markets, is about to take to Twitter in a big way. Icahn, whose Twitter handle is @Carl_C_Icahn, will reveal his next big investment idea on the social network, according to CNBC contributor Karen Finerman, a hedge fund manager and acquaintance of the investor who spoke to him via phone today. The timing of the idea reveal is uncertain, according to their conversation. But Icahn did say it would be presented like a “treasure hunt” with clues given first, according to Finerman. Icahn did not immediately return a call for comment.
Todd Meister’s ex-assistant using kickstarter approach to raise $821,000 to pay him back (NYDailyNews)
She took his money — and now she wants yours. The sexy Ukrainian stunner who stole nearly $1 million from Nicky Hilton’s ex-husband has launched a Kickstarter-style campaign to pay off her $821,000 restitution. Renata Shamrakova, 28, was a personal assistant working for hedge fund prince Todd Meister when she used his credit cards to buy clothes, furniture, international trips and jewelry in 2011 and last year. The raven-haired beauty, who copped to grand larceny and evidence tampering on March 20, faces one to three years in prison if she can’t repay Meister.
E-Mail Management Tips From Steve Cohen (BusinessWeek)
In a 46-page document shared with employees of SAC Capital Advisors on Monday, lawyers for Steven Cohen argued that the hedge fund manager “did not even read” the 2008 e-mail regarding Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) cited by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its administrative proceeding arguing that he has been negligent in his oversight of his firm. On an average day, the report said, Cohen gets about 1,000 e-mails, and he opens just 11 percent of them. See? Billionaire hedge fund managers embroiled in years of legal trouble: They’re just like us! We all have too much e-mail, and it’s hard to know which ones to read and which ones to summarily delete, especially when some of them will make you spectacularly rich, others will get you in big trouble, and some are just notifications from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
Morgan Stanley Beats Counterclaim In $41M Gas Account Row (Law360)
A New York federal judge on Monday refused to revive a hedge fund’s breach of contract counterclaim against Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in a $40.6 million dispute over a natural gas futures trading account, saying he had not overlooked evidence cited by the fund when previously dismissing the claim. According to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., he had not ignored a phone call between Peak Ridge Master SPC Ltd. and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) purportedly giving the fund more time to hit a margin requirement when dismissing the…
Six Brilliant Hedge Fund Managers Played In A Secret Poker Tournament Last Night (BusinessInsider)
Last night, six of Wall Street’s brightest hedge fund managers met at the Borgata in Atlantic City for a secret charity poker tournament hosted by Bloomberg TV. The event was called “Poker Night On Wall Street” and you’ll be able to watch the whole thing in August (with Trish Regan hosting the Bloomberg TV special), but we’ve got a few details for you now. There was a $50,000 buy-in and all told the event raised over $300,000 for charity. David Einhorn (Greenlight Capital), Steve Kuhn (Pine River Investments), John Rogers (Ariel Investments), Jim Chanos (Kynikos Associates), Mario Gabelli (Gabelli Asset Management), and Bill Perkins (Skylar Capital) all participated.
Hedge Fund Drama, Appearing on Your Screen (NYTimes)
It was a locker room diss between billionaires. But it took place on the computer screens of traders across Wall Street. A longstanding dispute over the nutritional supplements company Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) — which helped a business channel put reality television to shame earlier this year — erupted in a racy taunt on Tuesday. …First, the background. Mr. Loeb took a position in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) in January, betting the company’s stock would rise, that put him squarely in opposition to William A. Ackman, the hedge fund manager who announced a bet against Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) in December. Mr. Ackman claims the company is an illegal pyramid scheme, an assertion the company disputes.
How To Get A Job At A Hedge Fund (Forbes)
Many hedge funds were battered by the recession, but they still hold a powerful allure. Mysterious and secretive, they dangle the possibility of enormous paydays and a work environment populated by intense math geniuses who dwell in giant Connecticut mansions or Upper East Side townhouses studded with artworks by Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. What’s the hiring picture at these firms? Must you be a financial genius with an IQ of 140 to even get a foot in the door? No. But you do have to design your search strategy to fit the hyper, pressurized, risk-taking culture. Hedge fund hiring has continued to dampen since the recession…
‘Uncle Carl’ Has a New Job According to Dan Loeb – (HLF) (StreetInsider)
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) continues higher as the ‘daughter of all short squeezes’ transforms into the ‘mother of all short squeezes.’ Fresh off his Yahoo! victory lap, hedge fund manager Dan Loeb found some time to poke fun at shorts in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF). In a Bloomberg message seen by ZeroHedge, Loeb said Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)’s new product is “The Herbalife Enema” administered by “Uncle Carl.” Loeb, of course, is referring to the pain and suffering seen by fellow hedge fund manager Bill Ackman at the hands of Carl Icahn. Ackman is massively short the name, while Icahn is massively long the name. Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) are up about 63% since Icahn disclosed his position.
Lenders File Plan for LightSquared Based on Ergen’s Bid (WSJ)
A group of LightSquared’s lenders on Tuesday filed a plan to reorganize the wireless-satellite company based largely on DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) -0.53% Chairman Charlie Ergen‘s $2.2 billion bid for the company’s spectrum assets. In an early Tuesday morning filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the Ergen-led lender group said the bid would pay in full the company’s $1.7 billion in bank debt. The lenders said their proposal is only for the so-called “LP” assets of LightSquared, which includes the use of 46 MHz of valuable L-Band MSS spectrum. LightSquared Inc., the holding company 96% owned by Phil Falcone and his Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund…
Former Soros Star Berkowitz Has Tougher Time at Woodbine (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
The New York–based macro hedge fund firm Woodbine Capital Advisors at one point ran as much as $3.2 billion. But the firm, launched in 2008 to some fanfare by former Soros Fund Management portfolio manager Joshua Berkowitz, has since struggled to retain assets in the wake of disappointing performance. Berkowitz, who earlier in his career spent time at SAC Capital Advisors and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), touted his 34 percent annual returns over three years at Soros when he launched Woodbine. He has not exactly rocked the investment world since. According to Woodbine’s recent June 2013 letter to clients, its best year was its first, when it posted a modest 13.15 percent gain in 2009.
