By Gregory Zuckerman Nov. 4, 2018 12:00 p.m. ET Two years ago, hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah had the president’s ear. Now, on the eve of midterm elections, a different group of Wall Street executives enjoys access to the Oval Office. The Mercers are playing a less-important role backing conservative politicians, according to […]
Author Archive
Jeffrey Talpins is the Hedge Fund King You’ve Never Heard Of
By Gregory Zuckerman and Rachael Levy Dec. 2, 2018 10:24 a.m. ET Jeffrey Talpins may be the hottest investor on Wall Street. His firm, Element Capital Management, posted a gain of 26.8% through October, investors say, dwarfing the 1.86% loss suffered by the average hedge fund, according to data-tracker HFR. Element has posted average gains of nearly 21% since launching […]
Herd-like Behavior of Computerized Traders Contributes to Market Swoon
By Gregory Zuckerman, Rachael Levy, Nick Timiraos and Gunjan Banerji Dec. 25, 2018 7:54 p.m. ET Behind the broad, swift market slide of 2018 is an underlying new reality: Roughly 85% of all trading is on autopilot—controlled by machines, models, or passive investing formulas, creating an unprecedented trading herd that moves in unison and is blazingly fast. That […]
Quant Pioneer Helped Jim Simons Transform Trading
By James R. Hagerty and Gregory Zuckerman May 1, 2019 2:28 p.m. ET Elwyn Berlekamp, the son of a pastor in rural Ohio, was a grade-school pupil in the 1940s when it began to dawn on him that math was not a torment inflicted on schoolchildren. It was a game, he concluded, and also a way […]
In New Energy Era, Gushers of Opportunity
It isn’t too late to learn important lessons from the surprising resurgence of American oil and gas. It is also not too late to profit from it.
The Outsiders Who Saw Our Economic Future
The experts keep getting it wrong. And the oddballs keep getting it right. Over the past five years of business history, two events have shocked and transformed the nation. In 2007 and 2008, the housing market crumbled and the financial system collapsed, causing trillions of dollars of losses. Around the same time, a few little-known […]
How to Profit From the Energy Boom
March 4, 2014 The U.S. is experiencing a remarkable energy revolution, and exchange-traded funds that focus on energy stocks may seem an obvious way to benefit. But selecting the right ETFs to tap a gusher of profits isn’t as simple as it seems. U.S. oil and natural-gas production have surged. More than eight million barrels […]
Web Pioneer Keeps Faith, and Cash, in Bitcoin
Marc Andreessen Is Betting on Wide Adoption of Digital Currency Bitcoin March 21, 2014 Internet pioneer Marc Andreessen is doubling down on bitcoin amid turbulence in the virtual-currency world, in a bet that widespread adoption of the currency will fuel the growth of new businesses and technologies. Venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, where Mr. Andreessen is […]
Inside the Showdown Atop The World’s Biggest Bond Firm
Feb. 24, 2014 NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Tension increased at Pacific Investment Management Co.’s headquarters here last summer. The bond market was under pressure, losses grew and clients pulled billions of dollars from the firm. Bill Gross, who co-founded Pimco in 1971 and is largely responsible for building it into a behemoth overseeing almost $2 trillion in […]
Worried About a Bear Market In Bonds? Here’s What You Can Do
Q: Are there ways to protect a portfolio from a bear market in bonds? A: There’s growing concern in bond land. The stock market is firming, some investors are shifting cash from bonds to equities, and interest rates, still near all-time lows, likely will move higher over the next few years if the economy keeps […]
