Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
Pittsburgh Tribune Review – Tollgrade Communications Inc. is challenging the independence of two nominees for seats on its board of directors because a dissident hedge fund group is paying them to run as part of its bid for control.
Tollgrade, based in Harmar, said the fact that Ramius Group is paying $40,000 for two people to serve as nominees to the board could represent a conflict of interest.
The telecommunications services company is girding for a showdown when shareholders gather to vote at their annual meeting on Aug. 5.
Wealth Bulletin – Regulators will this week agree broad principles for clamping down further on hedge fund managers, after the European Commission proposed more draconian constraints on their activities.
At the 34th annual meeting of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, starting today and hosted by the Israel Securities Authority and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the hedge fund industry will come under the regulatory scanner. Greg Tanzer, secretary-general of Iosco, said: “Rules on hedge funds and short-selling will be finalised in Tel Aviv.
Reuters Tokyo – Japanese equity fund Unison Capital said on Monday it has raised its planned offer for shares in wig maker Aderans Holdings by 20 percent to 1,200 yen per share.
Unsion Capital and Aderans are locked in a battle with U.S. hedge fund Steel Partners for shareholder votes at Aderans’ annual meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Bloomberg – An Indonesian beach isn’t the first place you’d look for clues about the trajectory of Asia’s economies. Here on the island of Bali, there are myriad ones. They are bankers, many of American and European origin.
The financiers are here for the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting, and the fact they are here at all speaks volumes about Asia. Thailand last month had to cancel a meeting of regional leaders, also planned at a beach resort, amid political unrest. Indonesia’s confab is going off without a hitch.
It’s but the latest sign that Indonesia is among the most politically stable countries in Asia, and deserves more attention from global investors. The presidential election in July could be another plus for those betting on the world’s fourth most- populous nation.
BusinessWeek – The anger was evident at Citigroup’s annual meeting on Apr. 21, where shareholders took turns at the microphone to object to how the bank has been operating. The meeting is usually a well-attended affair lasting many hours as shareholders air their grievances, and Tuesday’s gathering was as somber and full of ire as ever.
When Citi Chairman Richard Parsons recognized the five departing members of the board, who include ex-chairman Win Bischoff and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, one man from the audience yelled out: "Thank God you’ve gone!"
Reuters – The battle for board seats at Target Corp heated up on Tuesday when Pershing Square Capital Management called the current directors "suboptimal" after the retailer said the hedge fund has a "risky agenda.
The New York-based hedge fund, which owns about 7.8 percent of Target’s shares, and the Minneapolis-based retailer fired off a string of regulatory filings on Tuesday as the battle for votes intensified before the May 28 annual meeting.
Reuters – Officials from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank on Sunday vowed to fight the damaging effects of deflation as the global economy suffers a deep and lengthy recession.
In just a few months, central bankers’ concerns have flipped from fighting inflation to staving off possible deflation — a condition in which falling prices cause consumers and businesses to delay purchases, resulting in an even steeper economic downturn.
Both Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and Lucas Papademos, vice president of the ECB, highlighted the risks of deflation at the annual meeting of the American Economics Association.
