By Carolina Mandl NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge funds are increasingly using more leverage to make wagers on the stock market this year, but they remain less inclined to bet on the market direction due to heightened macroeconomic uncertainties. Investors are focused on the economic picture as they try and assess the risk of upcoming…
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) – Activist hedge funds that often push companies to sell themselves or divest divisions are increasingly calling for top executives to be replaced, a change in tactics driven by a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). These investors called for the removal of personnel at 60 U.S. companies last…
LONDON (Reuters) – British investors on Wednesday fully priced in a 0.25 percentage point increase in Bank of England interest rates at its March meeting, after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled that it could push its rates higher. A day earlier, the overnight index swap market had shown a roughly 90% chance that the BoE…
By Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) – Spooked by a flurry of hotter-than-expected U.S. economic and inflation data last month, investors are reviving trading strategies that bet on a higher peak in interest rates. The recalibration in inflation expectations has led some investors to bet on a policy rate of 6% or even higher. Risk…
By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) -The New York Stock Exchange teamed up with retail broker Charles Schwab Corp and market maker Citadel Securities on Monday to ask the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw two recently proposed rules aimed at revamping how stocks trade. The move represents a coordinated industry push back against…
By Niket Nishant (Reuters) – A U.S. consumer watchdog’s proposal to slash late fees on credit cards is facing a rough road ahead as lenders gear up for what could turn out to be a fierce battle with the agency, industry experts and analysts said. Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it was…
By Naomi Rovnick LONDON (Reuters) -Stock market investors are calling time on the idea that the Federal Reserve, and other major central banks, have their back. Hopes for interest rate cuts by year-end have evaporated, given resilient data and sticky inflation, suggesting central banks will instead be inclined to keep borrowing costs around their highest…
By Chibuike Oguh (Reuters) – Private equity firms that have for years capitalized on the regulatory woes of banks by becoming lenders to risky leveraged buyouts are doing less business just as higher interest rates have made that practice more lucrative. Buyout firms with direct lending businesses, such as Blue Owl Capital Inc, Blackstone Inc…
By Mehnaz Yasmin (Reuters) – The reward for holding U.S. stocks over Treasury bonds has not been this unattractive since 2004, possibly setting the stage for the sought-after 60/40 portfolio diversification to make a comeback after one of its worst years on record. A 60/40 portfolio, which typically has 60% of its holdings in stocks…
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss (Reuters) -Activist investor Elliott Management Corp has nominated a slate of directors to the board of cloud-based software provider Salesforce Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The source declined to name Elliott’s director candidates or say how many there were. Elliott said it has been in substantive dialogue…
