Opening Bell: 6.20.16
Visium to Shut Four Remaining Hedge Funds as Manager Charged (Bloomberg)
Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, the once high-flying hedge fund firm that at its peak managed $8 billion, is shutting down four of its remaining hedge funds after one of its star managers was arrested and accused of insider trading. The New York-based firm will liquidate the main Balanced Fund, as well as its Institutional Partners Fund, Equity Alpha Fund, and Equity Alpha UCITS Fund, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg News. Visium earlier on Friday struck an agreement to sell its multi-sector hedge fund to AllianceBernstein LP.
Credit Suisse Puts Five on Leave Amid Internal Investigation (Bloomberg)
The five worked on Credit Suisse’s Israel desk, focusing on initial public offerings for Israeli technology companies, Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag reported Sunday, citing internal sources. The investigation into the employees, one of whom held a managerial position, is linked to possible breaches of U.S. tax laws by Israelis, the newspaper reported.
Gundlach: Donald Trump will be the next president and things will get 'scary' (CNBC)
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is going to be the next president of the United States, and the immediate aftermath will be "pretty scary," according to Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital. Gundlach, speaking with CNBC on Friday, emphasized that he does not support political candidates, but his analysis leads him to believe Trump — who lags presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in recent national polls — will win the White House.
U.K. Hedge Funds Are Loudly Divided on Brexit (WSJ)
“I just have a feeling that if we all wake up on the 24th and we’re still in, there’s going to be a gray cloud of depression over this country,” says Michael Farmer, co-founder of RK Capital Management and who has donated £200,000 to the pro-“Brexit” campaign. Andrew Law, the chairman and chief executive of Caxton Associates, has donated £200,000, too, but to the other side. “Who knows whether the economy would be better off or worse off in 10 or 20 years?” Mr. Law says. “What we do know with certainty is that the risks of tearing up this trading relationship would be horrific.”
Colorado company releases wine for cats (UPI)
A Colorado company is looking to help cat owners enjoy the experience of sharing a glass of wine with their pets. The non-alcoholic, beet-based cat wine was developed specifically for cats by Denver-based Apollo Peak. Cats can enjoy the company's products in two varieties, including the red "Pinot Meow" and white "Moscato." ... While the lack of alcohol ensures that cats won't get "drunk" from drinking Apollo Peak's wine, the products do contain organic catnip, which can produce a kind of drunken reaction.
IEX Outduels Citadel, NYSE as ‘Flash Boys’ Exchange Approved (Bloomberg)
The stakes are high. When IEX’s Investors Exchange goes live in August, it will get the chance to prove itself and deliver on its lofty promises: to gain market share by fundamentally changing the way the $23 trillion U.S. stock market operates and tilt the odds back in favor of investors. Katsuyama contends investors are being victimized by the proliferation of high-frequency traders, or HFT, that engage in predatory strategies.
After 147 Years, Goldman Sachs Hangs a Shingle on Main Street (Dealbook)
At a time when many storied firms on Wall Street are asking themselves profound questions — such as, What does it mean to be a Wall Street firm in this day and age? — one of the most elite institutions in the business is opening an old-fashioned, deposit-taking bank catering to the little saver. And while new accounts do not come with free toasters, GS Bank, started in April, does promise “peace-of-mind savings” and “no transaction fees.” In short, it is aimed squarely at ordinary Americans — a clientele the company scrupulously avoided during the first 147 years of its history, favoring instead tycoons and plutocrats.
Kerviel ‘should not pay damages’, court told (FT)
Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader who cost Société Générale €4.9bn, received another boost from a French court on Friday, when the assistant prosecutor said that he should not have to pay damages to his former employer Société Générale. Jean-Marie d’Huy said that the French bank was responsible for a “voluntary slackening of the rules with a view toward short-term gain” and that this was “sufficient to wipe out their right to any damages” from Kerviel. His comments came on the final day of a three-day trial to determine how much Kerviel owes the bank for the €4.9bn trading loss he racked up eight years ago, nearly destroyed the bank in the process.
Credit Suisse's Tidjane Thiam’s Seven Mistakes (FINEWS)
"Don’t fight the Fed" is an old mantra of stock market veterans, meaning investors should never bet against monetary policy because central banks will always prove more powerful than private institutions. The same holds true for investment bankers: CEOs are well-advised not to agitate this powerful faction of bankers, even when slashing costs, as Thiam is doing. This is especially true because investment banking makes up such a large part of Credit Suisse's DNA.
Sperm donor who sired 22 kids has a wife — and she’s not happy (NYP)
This Father’s Day, there is one mom who is not very happy with super sperm donor Ari Nagel — his newly revealed wife and mother of his three kids, who’s enraged over revelations in last Sunday’s Post that the CUNY math professor has sired 22 kids with 18 women. And number 23 is on the way, after Nagel recently impregnated another single mom. After the story hit newsstands, a reader tipped off The Post to the fact that Nagel — who admitted to exchanging his sperm with women in public restrooms — is no swinging bachelor...Nagel now confesses that he is indeed married, adding that his wife is “livid,” and “she’s been yelling at me a lot.”