Hedge Fund Manager Leaving Trump SPAC

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News that Donald Trump is funding a new media venture through a SPAC agreement He sent shares in the blank check fund, which rose around 350 percent. Most of this probably came from the former president’s individual fans who got into the tool called Digital World Acquisition. But at least one of SPAC’s backers, a major hedge fund, has pulled over the Trump connection, and the question now is whether others will follow suit—or pursue potential profits.

Hedge fund boss Boaz Weinstein wants to quit Once news of the Trump deal surfaced. Yesterday morning, the firm placed an order to sell all unlimited shares in the Digital World owned by Saba Capital, but Saba still has some restricted shares that it cannot sell for six months.

  • Saba sold its shares in the first hours of trading, making a small profit – but missing out on a big win before Digital World’s shares skyrocketed. Weinstein said in a statement: “I knew the right thing for Saba was to sell all of our unlimited shares that we currently do. Many investors grapple with tough questions about how to incorporate their value into their business. For us, this was not a close call.”

Some context: SPAC investors have no idea what the fund will try to buy. Blank check funds are not allowed to disclose potential takeover targets. But hedge funds have become fans of SPACs in the hope that their management team will find a good investment – ​​or at least because they are good places to park their money when interest rates are low.

What will the others do? Mutual funds became increasingly outspoken It deals with environmental, social and corporate governance issues, and some have even embraced what is called ESG. central business strategy. And relations with Trump have become a lightning rod for many in corporate America and on Wall Street, and many distancing themselves in public From him after the January 6 uprising in the Capitol.

“Some investors would rather drink rat poison than identify with Mr. Trump” Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan, told DealBook. But others may not be willing to put purpose before profit. (A Digital World supporter told the Financial Times He said the investment was one of the best they’ve ever done.) “Other investors will remember what he did on Twitter and see 12-floor dollar signs,” he said.

Evergrande is narrowly avoiding a default for now. Embattled Chinese real estate developer He paid $83.5 million in interest. to bondholders the day before a grace period expires, according to state media. But the company is still in financial danger and other Chinese developers defaultraises questions about the Chinese economy.

Facebook was again condemned by its supervisory board. Reviewing the company’s policy decisions, the panel said on the social network: did not disclose enough information It’s about a program that exempts high-profile users like Trump from content rules.

The Fed is overhauling its code of ethics. There will be senior officials barred from owning individual sharesand they will only be allowed to have diversified investments such as mutual funds. The change is the biggest response from two regional Fed presidents to trade in the past year as the central bank takes steps to support the economy.

Snap blames Apple’s privacy changes for missed earnings. Shares on the social network fell more than 20 percent in after-hours trading after the company missed income estimates 3 million dollars. Snap cites a new Apple feature that blocks some ad tracking, which analysts say could beat Facebook and Twitter reporting earnings next week.

Wall Street is preparing for the end of the party. Financial sector earnings in the first half of 2021 are up 13 percent from a year ago, as these buffer profits may soon decreaseAccording to a report by the New York State auditor. Among the potential causes cited by firms are: the end of financial incentives and supply chain problems.

A panel of America’s leading financial regulators said yesterday that climate change “an emerging threat” to financial markets. This sets the stage for the Biden administration to make more aggressive efforts to prevent climate change from wreaking havoc on the global economy.

The decision came from the Financial Stability Oversight CouncilEstablished after the financial crisis to identify threats to the US financial system. Among his findings:

  • A recommendation to create a risk committee focused on climate change, with a particular focus on the insurance industry.

  • An acknowledgment that climate disproportionately affects low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, as they often have fewer resources.

  • Support in the development of rules that will require companies to disclose the potential impacts of climate change on their operations.

But the report was less effective than many climate activists had hoped. Some of the missing:

  • A recommendation that banks should hold more capital to withstand climate-related losses.

  • Barriers to financing fossil fuel companies.

  • Specific timelines by which regulators should act on recommendations made.

The council’s report comes days before an important international climate summit. also COP26 The Biden administration wants to portray the United States as a leader on climate change. But climate advocates were upset by what Ben Cushing of the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign said was a “missed opportunity” to make significant change.

– Ksenia Ermoshina is a researcher from Russia working on censorship in her home country. Experts say that Moscow’s efforts to bring the internet to its knees since 2019 may be the world’s most ambitious digital censorship efforts outside of China.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a statement yesterday. Prize of nearly $200 million For an informant, the greatest ever for a single person. The large grant is groundbreaking in another important way, but has also received some notable criticism.

The CFTC did not reveal who the whistleblower was or what merited the award. A spokesperson for the agency declined to provide identifying details, citing the need to protect identity. the anonymity of the informant, despite The Wall Street Journal reported that the award is due to US and British investigations into the manipulation of interest rate indicators by Deutsche Bank.

The award was made in part with money raised by a foreign regulator. Another first for the CFTC But a Republican commissioner, Dawn Stump, objected to the regulator based in part on the enforcement act of a foreign colleague. He acknowledged that today’s derivatives markets are global and that the CFTC has the authority to issue a whistleblower based on sanctions collected in a relevant foreign case. Such payments should be carefully scrutinized, especially in foreign cases where damage was done abroad.

Have you ever worried that your busy life might stand in the way of your biggest plans or even prevent you from making any plans? If so, you are not alone. According to Dorie Clark of Duke University, this is a common problem in times of distraction and exacerbated by the pandemic. his new book, “The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World.”

Clark spoke to DealBook about how to become more insightful over time. The interview has been edited and shortened for clarity.

How can we think ahead after an epic disruption like the pandemic?

The pandemic has required an abrupt shift to rapid short-term thinking on a large scale, which is right in a time of crisis. But life is both a sprint and a marathon, so now is the time to plant a flag and create new habits. There is fatigue. People are feeling stuck – now it’s time to break that up by force.

Where to start?

We cannot be successful in life by doing the same things over and over again. But we can take a fundamental principle from investment and apply it to life. Start early with small investments and you can count on a compounding effect that will be more valuable later on than extreme moves. Ask yourself, “What are the things I can do today that will make tomorrow better?” This creates significantly different returns over time.

Is being busy a problem in and of itself?

It varies. Our inner perception is often the best indicator. Being busy getting things done can make you happy and that’s okay. The problem is feeling overwhelmed, pathologically preoccupied with high stress levels, or being chronically preoccupied, which can be a good way to avoid tough tactical questions in business and how do we avoid existential questions in life.

So should we focus on the singular?

No. Portfolio diversification is important. You always want an extra arrow in your quiver and many things can expand your expertise. It can turn into a passion that has nothing to do with work. Market conditions are always changing. We must keep two facts in mind at once: We must think long-term and understand that highly unpredictable events can always lead us astray.

Opportunities

  • Shares in WeWork soared over 13 percent at their launch. (CNBC)

  • Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has raised new capital with a valuation of $25 billion. (WSJ)

  • Activist hedge fund Starboard Value bought a stake in Willis Towers Watson months after the insurance broker’s $30 billion sale to Aon collapsed. (Bloomberg)

Policy

  • The US will lower tariffs to countries imposing digital services taxes as a broad international tax revision progresses. (NYT)

  • A top Chinese regulator has suggested that Beijing’s crackdown on local tech giants is about to end. (Bloomberg)

  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will investigate how Silicon Valley giants handle users’ data. (WSJ)

best of the rest

  • China has withdrawn broadcasts of the Boston Celtics after player Enes Kanter called Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator”. (NYT)

  • In its first safety report, ridesharing company Lyft said there were more than 1,800 sexual assaults while riding in 2019.NYT)

  • “What Happened When United Stopped Trying to Predict the Pandemic” (WSJ)

  • The newest creators on the adults-only site OnlyFans: Vienna museums. (NYT)

  • Meet the YouTube internal council known as “Roomba”, tasked with keeping the video giant’s platform clean. (insider)

We want your feedback! Please email your thoughts and suggestions. dealbook@nytimes.com.

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