Editor’s Note: Related tickers: DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD), Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS), France Telecom SA (NYSE:FTE)
Hedge fund sage Leon Cooperman is the consummate stock picker. All ten stocks the Omega Advisors founder chose at last July’s Delivering Alpha conference have since risen in price, some by as much as 70 percent. It’s becoming an annual tradition. Every year it seems – multiple times, in some cases – Leon Cooperman takes the stage to discuss his best investment ideas. And much like the plot in the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day, the themes of the Omega Advisors founder’s presentations seem to repeat themselves time and again. Cooperman, however, isn’t cursed by Punxsutawney Phil’s shadow to relive the same day over and over. Rather the longtime hedge fund manager is stuck – fortunately for his investors – in a perpetual loop of bullishness on equities, particularly in the U.S.
Dish withdraws Clearwire offer, ceding to Sprint (MarketWatch)
DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) +0.42% said it has withdrawn its offer for Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) +0.79% , after a rival bid from Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) +1.31% won support from Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) shareholders. DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH)’s bid of $4.40 a share was trumped by Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S)’s offer last week to buy the stake of Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) it doesn’t already own for $5 a share. Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S)’s higher bid won the backing of Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR)’s board and a group of investors, including some hedge funds that had complained vocally that an earlier Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) bid was too low. DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH)’s announcement ends the satellite TV firm’s months-long pursuit of Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) and, separately, Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR)’s biggest shareholder, Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S). Last Friday, DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) said it was abandoning its efforts to buy Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S). On Tuesday, Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) shareholders approved selling control of the carrier to Japan’s SoftBank Corp. in a roughly $21.6 billion deal.
Bacon Triptych Makes $17.3 Million, Hedge Fund Man Sells Photos (SFGate)
A Francis Bacon triptych last night fetched $17.3 million at an auction that also featured photos of stock exchanges owned by a former hedge fund manager. The Bacon work, with an unidentified seller, had been estimated by Sotheby’s in London at 10 million pounds ($15.3 million) to 15 million pounds. Separately, Greg Coffey, the ex- co-chief investment officer of Moore Capital Management LLC’s European business, was the seller of five Andreas Gursky photographs, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Brevan Howard Trader Cecere Resigns From London Hedge-Fund Firm (BusinessWeek)
Christopher Cecere, who Japanese regulators accused of trying to manipulate interest rates when he worked at Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), has resigned from hedge-fund firm Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP. Cecere, an American who worked in Brevan Howard’s Geneva office, stepped down last week for “personal reasons,” said Max Hilton, a spokesman for the London-based firm at Peregrine Communications. Cecere worked for Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) in Tokyo as head of Group of 10 trading and sales for Asia before leaving the New York-based bank in 2010.
Hedge Fund Association and Agecroft Partners to host Hedgeopolis New York (HedgeWeek)
The Hedge Fund Association and Agecroft Partners are teaming up to create a new hedge fund conference, Hedgeopolis New York, which will be held in New York City at The Metropolitan Club on 4 November 2013. Conference speakers include leaders at pension funds, endowments, foundations, and funds of hedge funds. With interest rates near historic lows and significant political and economic risk around the world, investors are focused on enhancing returns in their portfolios while reducing downside volatility.
Illinois investment board might add hedge fund-of-funds manager (PIOnline)
Illinois State Board of Investment, Chicago, could search for a hedge fund-of-funds manager as part of a restructuring of its $1.1 billion in hedge fund strategies, said William R. Atwood, executive director. ISBI, which oversees $12.9 billion in defined benefit assets, plans to loosen constraints on its hedge fund investments, all funds of funds, to add global macro and credit strategies. The board is considering three options for implementation: loosening constraints of all the fund-of-funds managers — Rock Creek Group, which manages $428 million; Entrust Partners, $418 million; and Mesirow Advanced Strategies, $273 million — all now in hedged equity, mostly long/short strategies; loosening the constraints of some of them; or leaving them unchanged and searching for a fourth fund-of-funds manager.
