Billionaire Soros doubles bet against US stocks

[MikeWB]

Soros Fund Management has increased its bearish bet against US companies on the S&P 500 index. Its billionaire owner will make money if the index collapses.
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The Standard & Poor's 500 is an American stock market index based on market capitalization of 500 large US companies having common stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange or on NASDAQ.

The 86-year-old investor's fund has reported it had arranged 'put' options on roughly 4 million shares as of June 30. This is up from 2.1 million shares as of March 31.

A put option gives investor the right, not an obligation, to sell these shares in the future. This means Soros will earn, if the S&P 500 index goes down. The fund didn't specify the price or expiration of these positions.

A rally since late June has the S&P 500 up nearly 7 percent in 2016, setting new historic-highs almost every day. The index set a record closing at 2,190 points on Monday.

The billionaire's fund also slashed its holdings in SPDR Gold Trust to 240,000 shares worth $30.4 million, from 1.05 million shares worth $123.5 million in the first quarter of the year.

Soros Fund Management also significantly reduced its stake in Barrick Gold to 1.07 million shares worth $22.9 million, from 19.4 million shares in January-March.

READ MORE: Soros seeks safe haven in gold, concerned about possible EU collapse

Founded by George Soros in 1969, the fund manages his family fortune. Much of the money goes into other hedge funds and investment firms.

With a $24.9 billion fortune, George Soros is ranked by Forbes as the 15th-richest person in the US.

While three major US stock indices ended at all-time highs on Monday, it wasn't only Soros among billionaires to be bearish in the second quarter. Jeffrey Gundlach, Carl Icahn and David Tepper also slashed their 'long' positions.

READ MORE: Global stocks at record highs with crude rallying

"The artist Christopher Wool has a word painting, 'Sell the house, sell the car, sell the kids.' That's exactly how I feel – sell everything. Nothing here looks good," Gundlach told Reuters last month.

Gundlach has been shortening on stocks and keeping high exposure on gold. Gold prices have grown from $1,060 per troy ounce at the end of last year to $1,356 on Tuesday.


https://www.rt.com/business/356111-soros-fund-bearish-sp/

[rmstock]

German ZEW Investor Confidence Recovers as Brexit Shock Settles
by Carolynn Look   August 16, 2016 — 11:07 AM CEST
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-16/german-zew-investor-confidence-recovers-as-brexit-shock-settles

  "German investor confidence rebounded in August after the initial shock
   of Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
   
   The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its
   index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict
   economic developments six months ahead, rose to 0.5 from minus 6.8 in
   July. Economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted an increase to 2.
   
   Investors are brushing off Brexit-related concerns amid efforts by
   Europe's central banks to ward off potential fallout, with the Bank of
   England starting a new stimulus package and the European Central Bank
   saying it'll act if needed. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has said
   that while it is difficult to gauge the short-term impact of the U.K.
   referendum on the German economy, he sees no reason to doubt
   projections for a pick-up in the third quarter.
   
   While confidence "has partly recovered from the Brexit shock,"
   political risks "continue to inhibit a more optimistic economic outlook
   for Germany," ZEW President Achim Wambach said in the statement.
   "Furthermore, uncertainty about the resilience of the EU banking sector
   persists."
   
   The ZEW survey was conducted among 214 analysts from July 29 to Aug.
   15. A gauge for current conditions rose to 57.6 in August from 49.8. A
   measure for expectations in the euro area climbed to 4.6 from minus
   14.7.
   
   Despite the improvement, some investors remain unconvinced that a
   recovery in financial markets since late June that propelled the DAX
   Index by some 15 percent is sustainable. They have in the last three
   weeks withdrawn the most money since April from the biggest
   exchange-traded fund tracking German stocks. Analysts' earnings
   forecasts for the German benchmark are down 1.9 percent from a year ago.
   
   The Bundesbank said in its monthly report on Monday that the limited
   impact of the Brexit vote on sentiment among German businesses supports
   the view that the economy won't be significantly affected in the short
   term. Accelerating production and investment, as well as a rise in
   private consumption, should contribute to stronger growth in the third
   quarter, it said."