It seems like the infamous cockroach army that swarmed a Greyhound bus in New York had a particular effect not only on the horrified bus riders but also on Paul Singer, the hedge fund titan. Paul Singer’s Elliott Management increased its short in FirstGroup plc (LON:FGP) from 1.4 to 1.96 percent on March 18, right after cockroaches rode freely and happily from Atlantic City to New York. Greyhound is a division of FirstGroup plc (LON:FGP) that operates in Canada and U.S. FirstGroup plc (LON:FGP) is down 4 percent YTD.
See all hedge fund short positions in European equities.
In another short disclosure from U.K., Odey Asset Management revealed a brand new short position in Kazakhmys plc (LON:KAZ) (HKG:0847), a copper mining and production company. Only one week has passed since the short disclosure was made and Kazakhmys plc (LON:KAZ) (HKG:0847) has already lost 10 percent of its share value. Odey is also sailing on its other shorts and longs in Europe, flagship fund Odey European is up 11.45 percent YTD as of Feb.
We know hedge funds in U.S. have maintained net short exposure in copper futures, according to data from CFTC. The basic bearish thesis on copper stems from slowdown in China, which has caused reduced demand of raw materials. The same headwinds surround iron ore and the steel sector as well.
Jim Chanos has a number of shorts in related companies, some of them are also based in U.K. Galtere International’s CTA Master Fund profited from a bearish bet on copper in last year, the fund was up 6.78 percent in 2012, which was much more than what an average CTA returned in the year.
Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO), one of the largest bearish bets from Jim Chanos in Europe, was only pared slightly by the famous shortseller in this week. Jim Chanos’ position in Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) now amounts to 5.29 percent of the company’s outstanding shares.
Meanwhile Dixons Retail PLC (LON:DXNS) is another favorite hedge fund short in U.K.; exposure was kept steady by hedge funds in the past months, however the last couple of days saw some activity in short interest. Marble Arch Investments marginally reduced its position to 1.57 percent while Fest N.V increased it to 4.1 percent. Steve Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital and Southpoint Capital Advisors also have a short position in the same company. Dixons Retail PLC (LON:DXNS), an online retailer of electricals, is up 18 percent in the year so far.
Finally, Soroban Capital and AKO Capital covered their positions in Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS) slightly.
