Article: Billionaire Ken Griffin buys New York penthouse for $238 million, the most expensive US home ever sold

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Billionaire Ken Griffin buys New York penthouse for $238 million, the most expensive US home ever sold

Robert Frank

CNBC, 23 January 2019

Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin closed a deal to buy the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S., paying around $238 million for a New York penthouse overlooking Central Park.

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Article: Billionaire Ken Griffin buys $122 million London mansion

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Billionaire Ken Griffin buys $122 million London mansion

Robert Frank

CNBC, 22 January 2019

H/O: 3 Carlton Gardens London Ken Griffin mansion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin has just smashed another real estate price record, buying the most expensive home sold in London in over a decade for $122 million.

Griffin, CEO and founder of Citadel, bought a famed mansion near Buckingham Palace that was once home to Charles de Gaulle, according to a company spokesperson. The property at 3 Carlton Gardens stretches more than 16,000 square feet and has an indoor swimming pool and large staff quarters. It is the most expensive home sold in London since 2008, and comes as London property prices have tumbled due to Brexit fears.

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Article: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Tells Corporate CEOs to Engage in Better Eyewash

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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Tells Corporate CEOs to Engage in Better Eyewash

Yves Smith, 21 January 2019

One of the sorry spectacles of modern life is having prominent individuals who profit from and serve as prime exemplars of major social ills trying to depict themselves as part of the solution, when they haven’t gone through any sort of Damascene conversion o give their virtue-signalling even a thin veneer of legitimacy. Today’s object lesson is Larry Fink, the Chairman and CEO of the ginormous fund manager BlackRock (not to be confused with the private equity/alternative asset manager Blackstone). BlackRock, with $6.2 trillion under management as of October, 2018, is the largest asset manager in the world,. Continue reading “Article: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Tells Corporate CEOs to Engage in Better Eyewash”

Article: The Fake Larry Fink Letter That Duped Reporters

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The Fake Larry Fink Letter
That Duped Reporters

Alicia McElhaney, 16 January 2019

Asset management giant BlackRock is investigating a fake letter sent to reporters by someone posing as the firm’s chief executive officer Larry Fink, a spokesperson said Wednesday. “Don’t be fooled by imitations…Larry’s real CEO letter coming soon,” BlackRock tweeted Wednesday. The Financial Times was duped by the letter, which focused on climate change, a report from the news outlet said Wednesday. Continue reading “Article: The Fake Larry Fink Letter That Duped Reporters”

Article: David Einhorn Still Laboring Under Sad Misconception That Tesla Is Subject To Basic Logic

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David Einhorn Still Laboring Under Sad Misconception That Tesla Is Subject To Basic Logic

Thornton Mcenery

Dealbreaker, 14 January 2019

Like many in his peer group, things have been pretty rough lately for good old David Einhorn. What with losing all that client money, getting shut down on his big GM play and the Mets being sellers at the deadline, Big Dave just needs a win.

But he seems to be barking up the wrong tree with his strange Tesla obsession. See, David Einhorn is a systematic value investor who likes to look at things through a logical prism. He’s a master poker player with a long-term view of the world. He’s a billionaire who drives a Honda Odyssey.

Of course David Einhorn doesn’t understand Tesla.

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Fined: Advisory Group Equity Services Ltd. Fined by FINRA

Fined

Advisory Group Equity Services Ltd. Fined by FINRA

14 January 2019

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $20,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish and maintain a reasonable supervisory system with respect to the retention and review of emails of newly hired representatives.

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Academic: Joshua Mitts

Academic

Joshua Mitts writes and teaches on securities law and financial contracting.  His recent projects study pseudonymous short attacks on public companiesinformed trading on cybersecurity data breachesinformation leakage and hedge-fund activisminsider trading on corporate disclosuresinformation transmission in financial markets, and whether consumers keep promises they make themselves.

For more information on Joshua Mitts’s research and teaching, please see his personal website.

Paper: Short & Distort by Professor Joshua Mitts

Paper

ABSTRACT: Pseudonymous attacks on public companies are followed by stock price declines and sharp
reversals. These patterns are likely driven by manipulative stock options trading by
pseudonymous authors. Among 1,720 pseudonymous attacks on mid- and large-cap rms
from 2010-2017, I identify over $20.1 billion of mispricing. Reputation theory suggests these
reversals persist because pseudonymity allows manipulators to switch identities without ac-
countability. Stylometric analysis shows pseudonymous authors exploit the perception that
they are trustworthy, only to switch identities after losing credibility with the market.

PDF (81 Pages): Paper Mitts Short and Distort

Article: Pretium – Pretium’s Predictable Predicament

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Pretium – Pretium’s Predictable Predicament

Viceroy Research, 10 January 2019

Pretium released the Brucejack Mine’s Q4 2018 production update yesterday after-market, and market reaction shows it fell short of expectations. Pretium’s ore grade has predictably fallen since Q2 2018 by >22%, leading to a miss of Pretium’s H2 low-end gold production guidance of 200,000 ounces. At 11.5g/t, Pretium’s head grade is now 30% below feasibility study sampling.

Per our previous reports, Viceroy believe Pretium’s grades will continue to fall as Pretium appear to be at the tail end of extracting high-grade deposits found along the Cleopatra Vein. As a reminder to our readers, we have appended this section of our thesis to this note.

Pretium have attributed their production and grade shortfall on their grade control system, which they state will be refined. We believe this is an unnerving excuse, and have provided substantial evidence to support our thesis that Pretium is overmining or selectively mining its deposits.
Continue reading “Article: Pretium – Pretium’s Predictable Predicament”

Fined: CFD Investments, Inc. Fined by FINRA

Fined

CFD Investments, Inc. Fined by FINRA

10 January 2019

A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $125,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system and written supervisory procedures (WSPs) reasonably designed to ensure that its registered representatives’ recommendations of variable annuities complied with applicable securities laws and regulations and FINRA rules.

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Article: Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne Is An Innovator And Survivor – Utah Business

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Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne Is An Innovator And Survivor – Utah Business

windowswear, 02 January 2019

Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock is known as two things: innovator and survivor. Over the course of his life, Mr. Byrne has beaten cancer three times, hepatitis twice, and endured over 100 surgeries and medical procedures. From this, he draws inspiration.

“Life is short,” said Mr. Byrne in a recent interview with Silicon Slopes. “Samuel Johnson says, ‘When you tell a man he’s to be hung in a fortnight, it tends to focus his mind tremendously.’ Well, I’ve been very focused on getting some things done and it has lasted about 30 years. It’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me. If I hadn’t gotten cancer I probably would’ve been a lifeguard somewhere and not nearly as driven.”

Alongside this constant battle, Mr. Byrne has grown into one of Utah’s most notable innovators. In 1999, he launched Overstock.com to corner an emerging market: discount goods sold via the internet. Continue reading “Article: Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne Is An Innovator And Survivor – Utah Business”

Article: Will Naked Short Selling Make a Comeback in 2019?

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Will Naked Short Selling Make a Comeback in 2019?

Cynthia Hetherington

Hetherington Group, 2 January 2019

Many investors “Go Long,” meaning they purchase stocks with the hope of gaining returns as the price of the security increases. A short seller, on the other hand, borrows on a stock and sells, hoping the price will decrease.

A third type of investor is known as a Naked Short Seller. No, this isn’t the story of a guy sipping mai tai’s on a tropical beach in his birthday suit (although he could be and not be committing fraud!).

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Fined: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC Fined by FINRA

Fined

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC Fined by FINRA

21 December 2018

An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $560,000. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that its supervisory system, including its WSPs, did not provide for supervision reasonably designed to achieve compliance with Rules 605 and 606 of Regulation NMS, and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 10b-10, and FINRA Rule 7450.

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Article: UBS agrees to pay $68M in multistate settlement over Libor manipulation claims

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UBS agrees to pay $68M in multistate settlement over Libor manipulation claims

Declan Harty, 21 December 2018

UBS AG agreed to pay $68 million as part of settlement with 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia related to the Swiss banking giant’s alleged manipulation of the London interbank offered rate.

Led by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, the UBS settlement is the latest in a string of agreements state regulators have recently reached with banks that were allegedly altering Libor submissions for their own benefit leading up to and around the financial crisis of 2008.

UBS was accused of misrepresenting its U.S. dollar-tied Libor submissions to protect its reputation, according to a press release from Underwood’s office. The 40 attorneys general who were part of the settlement also claimed UBS manipulated Yen Libor submissions to favor its derivative trading positions. Continue reading “Article: UBS agrees to pay $68M in multistate settlement over Libor manipulation claims”