Wall Street Plays 2016 Dating Game as Christie Stumbles (BusinessWeek)
Billionaire Wilbur Ross invited Paul Ryan over for lunch. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) bankers met with Rand Paul at a fundraiser in Atlanta. Investor Rob Arnott dropped in on Ted Cruz. Wall Street Republicans have begun their White House dance less than halfway into a second Barack Obama term they tried to prevent with record donations to Mitt Romney. As investigations slow Chris Christie, whose backers have included a troop of billionaires, donors are looking for a candidate who can replace the constraints they detest with appreciation they think is due.
Battered SAC Capital morphs into Point72 (HereIsTheCity)
Run by billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen and christened with his initials, SAC made the announcement in a letter to employees, which will become effective next month. Last November, SAC paid $1.2 billion in a settlement with regulators over securities fraud charges. “In the aftermath of our settlement with the government, Steve and senior management considered whether our path forward as a family office would be simpler if we operated with new legal entities and new names,” the firm said. “We concluded it would.”
Wall Street still hearts Obama (CNBC)
President Barack Obama’s approval rating may have hit a new low, but he still attracted big-money Democrats at a Manhattan fundraiser to benefit his political party. The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) President and Chief Operating Officer Hamilton “Tony” James hosted Obama on Tuesday night at his Fifth Avenue home for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The event cost $32,400 to attend, and wealthy investors were featured prominently. …Representatives for the attendees did not respond to requests for comment or declined.
Ex-Goldman VP Tourre Ordered to Pay More than $825K in SEC Case (FoxBusiness)
A federal judge ordered former Goldman Sachs (GS) bond salesman Fabrice Tourre to forfeit a $175,000 bonus and pay a $650,000 fine for misleading investors in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis. A jury in August found Tourre guilty of defrauding investors in one of the few cases in which a Wall Street executive faced a trial in connection with actions regulators said contributed to the economic meltdown. Tourre was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with lying to investors while marketing a complicated investment product called a collateralized debt obligation filled with shaky mortgage loans that Tourre knew would likely plunge in value.
Bill Ackman Isn’t Giving Up On Herbalife (Benzinga)
When so many others would have cut their losses and ran, Bill Ackman is not only continuing to hold his short position in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), he continues to dig for new headlines to keep the story fresh in the minds of investors, regulators and the media. Tuesday, Ackman held a conference call where nearly 300 listeners heard him say that Herbalife is violating Chinese anti-pyramid scheme laws. His hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital, hired research firm OTG to collect evidence through interviews with Herbalife distributors in China.
Hedge fund directors lack credibility, says survey (Risk)
Of those polled, 73% of investors say they do not think directors are “useful”. However, the survey points out that there is a lack of understanding of the role of directors. “Competent fund directors can actually add value to the overall governance of a hedge fund,” says Jason Scharfman, managing partner of Corgentum Consulting, which carried out the survey. “Many investors simply view these directors as an extension of the fund itself,” he adds. Over half (62%) of the group surveyed feel directors do not have much credibility with fund managers and do not provide independent oversight, according to Scharfman.
