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☆ 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry says crypto reserve reviews like Binance's are 'essentially meaningless'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Michael Burry commented on news that the accountant that produced Binance's proof-of-reserves report would halt all work for crypto firms. The legendary "Big Short" investor described proof of reserves, which has been popularized since FTX's implosion, as "essentially meaningless." The "Big Short" former hedge fund manager tweeted on Friday that such reviews on a firm's digital holdings are "essentially meaningless." "In 2005 when I started using a new kind of credit default swap, our auditors were learning on the job," Burry tweeted on Friday. But critics have said that proof of reserves doesn't provide a complete picture of a company's risks and can be misleading.

☆ US stocks fall for the 4th straight session as recession fears persist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Investors are focusing on a hard-landing scenario for the economy as the Fed pursues more rate hikes. Tesla shares turned lower, and Meta lost ground during the session. Monday's session saw all 11 of the S&P 500's sector close lower, led by the communications services and information technology groups. Among individual stocks, Tesla shares turned lower but had risen earlier in the session after voters in a poll put up by CEO Elon Musk said he should quit running Twitter. Tesla investors and analysts have expressed concern that Musk's focus on Twitter is hurting Tesla.

☆ 4 crypto experts break down what's next for the industry with trading volumes down 50% since the FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Crypto daily trading volumes plunged 50% following FTX's collapse, per Bloomberg and Kaiko data. Insider spoke with four crypto experts about what's next for the nascent industry. The plunge in trading volumes comes at a pivotal time for the industry, which is enduring a prolonged and brutal bear market. "Many bull market retail investors have vacated the market causing significant lower trading volumes," Andreas Christensen, the founder of blockchain gaming developer SuperOne, said. Christensen added: "In such a fragile bear market, a big-time criminal act like SBF did with FTX will have a severe impact on the market sentiment and trading volumes."

☆ Quants Are Headed for Best Year in Decades as Fed Stokes Volatility
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eric Wallerstein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A cadre of quant investment strategies that benefit during times of tumult are on pace for their best year since at least 2000—and those funds are counting on markets remaining volatile to extend their banner run. The funds wager on various assets as they rise or fall, building their bets as a trend strengthens. When algorithmic warning signs flash, they pivot into fresh positions. Those strategies have been a rare haven for much of the year as the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increases have pummeled stocks and bonds. The SG CTA Index, run by Société Générale and BarclayHedge to track the 20 largest such strategies, is up 19% in 2022, on pace for its best year since launching in 2000.

☆ A US recession is coming - here are 5 reasons why
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Bank of America's strategists said the US could fall into a recession over the next 10 to 12 weeks. Bank stocks have tumbled in recent days. Frankly, a broad recession won't be a surprise to anyone at this point (especially Opening Bell readers). In other news:Whether or not the US is in a recession is a politically charged debate. These nine funds offer strong positioning through a recession and into the next bull market, in Bank of America's view.

☆ Asia's hedge fund seeders go for 'uncorrelated' strategies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The equity funds HS Group invests in also have active short positions. There were only 24 new hedge funds launched in Asia in the first half of 2022, raising just $1.8 billion, according to data from With Intelligence. That compares with 44 new hedge funds launched in the first half of 2021 and 78 for the full year. A Goldman Sachs Prime Services November survey of allocators, largely Asia-Pacific investors, showed "uncorrelated" strategies were the most popular, selected by 31% and exceeding conventional long-short equity strategies. China-based wealth managers and other institutional clients at SHK Capital Partners are diversifying away from strategies relying on the home market.

☆ 'Another bear market rally': $38 billion Glenmede shares 3 reasons why the stock market's recent run is due to fail — including the track record for every bear market since World War II
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investors hoping that the stock market's rally since mid-October is sustainable are bound for disappointment, according to top investors at wealth management firm Glenmede. The current bear market (highlighted below in green) is 11 months in, and the S&P 500 is down 18% over that time. Glenmede"The current bear market appears to be close to 2/3rds of the way through the typical bear-market decline. The current market appears to be following a similar trajectory of an average historical bear market so far," they said. "We've had a nice little run here in the stock market — it's the third double-digit percentage gain since the bear market started," Doll said.

☆ SEC chief Gary Gensler says crypto platforms need to 'come into compliance' or face the regulator's wrath
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SEC chair Gary Gensler says the agency has "enough authority" for a crypto regulatory crackdown. Gensler's comments come a month after the demise of once-$32 billion crypto exchange FTX. The regulator has "enough authority" for a crackdown in the space, Gensler said, adding that the SEC is "already suited up." Crypto exchange Coinbase faced legal threats from the regulator for its lending offering as well, leading it to scrap the effort. Gensler's comments come after the demise of FTX, the once-$32 billion crypto exchange started by Sam Bankman-Fried.

☆ Ken Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel rises again in November, bringing 2022 gains to 32%
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaire investor Ken Griffin's hedge fund climbed again last month, lifting its year-to-date gain to almost 32%, according to a person familiar with the returns. Citadel's multi-strategy flagship fund Wellington rallied 0.9% last month, bringing its 2022 performance to 31.8%, the person said. All five core strategies in the fund — commodities, fixed income and macro, equities, quant and credit — were positive year to date, the person said. Other than the flagship fund, Citadel's global fixed income fund, tactical trading fund and equities fund are all up by double digits this year, the person said. The wider stock market suffered a tumultuous meltdown this year with the S & P 500 falling into a bear market.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's venture unit reportedly invested in a military drone maker, fertility clinic, and a vertical farming company. Here are some of the defunct crypto giant's biggest and most bizarre b
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's venture unit placed bets on a military drone maker, a fertility clinic, and a vertical farming company, the FT reported. Alameda Research's private equity portfolio reportedly had over 500 investments. Screenshots of an Excel spreadsheet detail the firm's wide array of investments. The spreadsheet indicates investments in military drone maker BRINC and fertility startup Ivy Natal for $1.5 million. Neither companies immediately responded to Insider's request for comment or listed any Sam Bankman-Fried's investment entities as backers on their websites.

☆ The unraveling of $3 billion crypto lender BlockFi amid FTX's 'death spiral', according to bankruptcy filings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The crypto platform owes $30 million to the SEC, per bankruptcy filings. FTX, which once offered BlockFi a $400 million credit line, ultimately led to the firm's bankruptcy. BlockFi cited significant exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire, which filed for bankruptcy on November 11. Ironically, once FTX's "death spiral" began, BlockFi's liquidity crisis ensued and the company paused user account withdrawals on its platform. Due to the loan agreement and $355 million in digital assets held on FTX, BlockFi had substantial exposure.

☆ Special Report: FTX's Bankman-Fried begged for a rescue even as he revealed huge holes in firm's books
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Angus Berwick Anirban Sen Elizabeth Howcroft Lawrence Delevingne | Angus Berwick | Anirban Sen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +22 min

Sequoia was shocked at the amount of money Bankman-Fried needed to save FTX, according to the sources, while Apollo first asked for more information, only to later decline. The booklet flagged the risks of crypto trading, particularly how sudden sales of tokens could trigger a "domino effect" that would lead to a "cascading set of liquidity failures." Using profits from Alameda, Bankman-Fried launched FTX in 2019. From almost nothing in 2019, FTX handled about 10% of global crypto trading this year, a September document shows. At one point, he lived in a penthouse overlooking the Caribbean, valued at almost $40 million, according to two people who worked with FTX.

☆ Jim Simons' RenTech fund virtually eliminated its $500 million Tesla stake last quarter - and slashed its Twitter bet by 90%
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Renaissance Technologies eviscerated its Tesla and Twitter stakes last quarter. Jim Simons' quant fund also slashed the value of its Twitter bet from around $94 million to below $11 million. The quantitative fund pared its Tesla position from a split-adjusted 2.2 million shares valued at $504 million at the end of June, to only 1,400 shares worth less than $400,000 at the end of September. Moreover, it cut its Twitter stake from 2.5 million shares worth $94 million at the midpoint of this year, to 248,000 shares valued around $11 million on September 30. On the other hand, it boosted its Airbnb bet by 30% to 7.3 million shares, meaning the home-rental platform jumped from its 17th-largest holding to number four on the list.

☆ Investors should cash in gains from the recent stock surge because a recession looms if the Fed doesn't pivot, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The stock market's rally since the October CPI report is an opportunity for investors to trim equity exposure, according to JPMorgan. The bank said despite the upside move in stocks, an economic recession remains a real possibility if the Fed doesn't pivot. The October CPI report showed prices rose 7.7% on a year-over-year basis, below expectations for a 7.9% rise and well below the peak in June of 9.1%. That scenario ultimately sets the US economy up for a potential stagflation scenario in the US, "especially with the Fed almost solely focusing on inflation, stronger US dollar, and recent declines in commodity space," he said. "After the strong CPI prints of the last several months, we believe inflation is heading the other way," Kolanovic concluded.

☆ Wall Street has made serious strides to embrace crypto this year. But after FTX's implosion, a regulatory crackdown is imminent.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Morgan Chittum | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In a stunning downfall, crypto platform FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. Crypto sentiment from Wall Street giants has come a long way over the past few years. After FTX's disaster, a crackdown on digital assets is imminent. Prominent government officials quickly spoke out against the crypto platform last week. Gensler says that the agency's aggressive stance on digital assets is an effort to protect investors and may encourage further crypto adoption.

☆ From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried's empire vanished overnight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Alameda's success spurred the launch of crypto exchange FTX in the spring of 2019. A Twitter fight with the CEO of rival exchange Binance pulled the mask off the scheme. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded have filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. On Nov. 2, CoinDesk reported a leaked balance sheet showing that a significant amount of Alameda's assets were held in FTX's illiquid FTT token. On Nov. 6, according to Bankman-Fried, the exchange had roughly $5 billion of withdrawals, "the largest by a huge margin."

☆ Stock futures rise after Wall Street suffers first decline in three sessions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock futures were higher Monday evening after ending the day lower, snapping a two-day advance that started when a better-than-expected inflation report stoked hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon ease up on raising interest rates. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.23% and 0.31%, respectively. Stocks whiplashed during the day Monday on comments from Federal Reserve leaders Lael Brainard and Chris Waller about rate hikes going forward. Markets will get more inflation information on Tuesday when the producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, is released. Investors will also study comments from Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr.

According to the source, FTX did not have nearly enough on hand. Its biggest customer, according to a source, was the hedge fund Alameda. In general, mixing customer funds with counterparties and trading them without explicit consent, according to U.S. securities law, is illegal. Sam Bankman-Fried declined to comment on allegations of misappropriating customer funds, but did say its recent bankruptcy filing was a result of issues with a leveraged trading position. The blurred lines between FTX and Alameda Research resulted in a massive liquidity crisis for both companies.

[1/3] Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Preview - Doha, Qatar - October 12, 2022 An image of Brazil's Neymar is seen on a building REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/FilesJOHANNESBURG/BENGALURU, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Brazil are tipped to claim the World Cup for the sixth time in the tournament that kicks off Nov. 20 in Qatar, according to a Reuters poll that last successfully predicted the champions in 2010. The global survey of 135 football-following market analysts worldwide agreed with the bookmakers that Brazil would triumph for the first time since 2002. Almost half of respondents expected Brazil to win while 30% were evenly split between France and Argentina. If France were to retain the trophy they would be the first to do so since Brazil in 1962. Reuters Poll- 2022 FIFA World CupQatar has reportedly spent around 220 billion dollars on hosting the tournament - almost fifteen times more than the second-most expensive one - but 41% of respondents said it would have no long-term economic impact.

☆ Binance's rescue of FTX shows no crypto company is 'too big to fail,' experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ben Mcshane | Sportsfile | Getty ImagesBinance's agreement to salvage rival cryptocurrency exchange FTX from collapse shows how no one is safe from the chill of crypto winter, according to industry experts. "It shows that no one is too big to fail," said Pascal Gauthier, CEO of crypto wallet firm Ledger. On Monday, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, took to Twitter in since-deleted tweets to play down concerns his crypto trading empire was at risk of collapsing. The debacle highlights how the crypto industry is becoming more centralized and straying from its decentralized roots, according to Gauthier. "FTX is a very big warning for everyone," Gauthier said in an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box Europe Wednesday.

☆ An investment bank used A.I. to analyze Q3 earnings calls. Here's what it found
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Earnings calls — and specifically the questions asked by analysts on the calls — are a better predictor of a stock's performance than management's remarks, research by investment bank Nomura revealed. "This suggests a connection between analyst sentiment and price momentum around the earnings call." One was based on analysts' sentiment from the earnings calls, and the other was based on management's sentiment. But the portfolio measuring analyst sentiment beat the management sentiment portfolio by about 25 percentage points. Third-quarter earnings calls for S & P 500 companies that took place until Nov. 4 were compared against earnings calls of the same period last year.

☆ Vanguard's head of tech details the asset manager's move to the public cloud that's already helped it cut costs by 30%
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vanguard's tech chief is ready to play the field when it comes to the public cloud. Since Vanguard's first big push into public cloud in 2019, the firm has primarily relied on Amazon Web Services for much of its cloud tools. Similarly, he referenced the potential of Google Cloud Platform's "analytics capabilities" as another potential selling point. The public cloud is one of five main pillars of Vanguard's broader modernization of its application portfolio that began around 2019. In 2021, AWS detailed how the tech giant meets with Vanguard's Cloud Business Office monthly to review costs, and in one instance reduced its serverless compute expenses by 50%.

☆ Investors are flocking to tech and telecom stocks, but they're wrong to see them as defensive plays, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Investors have been rotating into tech and communication services stocks, which they see as defensive, Bank of America said Tuesday. BofA said clients last week sold stocks in all sectors except for tech and comm services. In the last two months, investors have been shifting out of cyclical sectors and into defensive ones, and inflows into tech and communication services have been outpacing defensive inflows. BofA last week highlighted downbeat demand commentary from tech companies. Higher interest rates can cut into the value of future profits made by tech and other growth companies.

After decades of decline, even into negative territory, term premium is rising again. chartchartchart"We are in a tectonic phase of monetary policy and you are getting asset dislocations across the board, including long bonds," said Solomon Tadesse, head of North American Quant Strategies at Societe Generale. A 30-year bond bought and held to maturity by a pension fund, for example, quickly becomes 'off the run,' so liquidity risk ends up lifting the term premium. In the week through Oct. 21 the 30-year bond's price fell for an eighth straight week, the longest selling streak since 2004. If the Fed is successful in driving down inflation or the economy goes into recession, more investors will flock to 30-year bonds.

☆ Comeback has legs? Investors are piling into single stocks at a near historic pace, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Investors are swarming back into the stock market at a near-record pace with equities in the middle of a rapid rebound, according to Bank of America. Inflows into single stocks, as a percentage of S & P 500 market cap, over the last three weeks were in the 99th percentile of history since 2008, Bank of America said. The Wall Street firm aggregated flows across many execution platforms and trading desks, and the data included hedge funds, institutional clients and private clients. Bank of America said its clients were net buyers of U.S. equities for six straight weeks with inflows into both stocks and ETFs. Still, some on Wall Street don't believe this rally has lasting power as the Fed still hasn't taken inflation under control.

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