(ZH) Slaughter: Hedge Funds Have Worst Day Since June 2012

{http://bit.ly/1eoqtMz}

Update: As CNBC just reported moments ago, tech fund Coatue is returning $2 billion of $7 billion to investors, citing "difficult market conditions." Just wait until the "difficult market" drops more than just 3% from all time highs...
Over the past few days we have been following, with great interest, the events in the most popular "hedge fund hotel" names on both the long and the short side. Specifically, over the weekend we learned that the mauling that hedge funds suffered in the last week of March, which was also the worst week for HF performance since 2001 excluding "world ending" weeks such as Lehman and the US debt crisis, spilled over into last week as well.
As a reminder, for those with Bloomberg (and the proper permissions) the easiest way to track the performance of the most popular hedge fund names is using the BBG ticker GSTHHVIP, and especially its performance against the S&P. But for those who don't have access, or are too lazy or depressed to type anything into their terminal today, here it is, straight from Goldman's sales and trading mouth, summarizing yesterday's market poundage:
Our HF VIP basket underperforms the SPX by over 100bps, 3 standard dev move and the worst since June 2012.
Oops.
And since we enjoy being helpful, for those who want to keep the pain on the hedge fund space the easiest way to do this is to keep selling and/or shorting the names the comprise said Goldman GSTHHVIP basket, something we suggested is the right trade two weeks ago. The breakdown is as follows (sorry General Motors and your latest airbag inquiry):
Why trade this? Because recall that hedge fund leverage, as indicated by the following leverage table of one of the "more" levered smart money participants, Balyasny, has never been greater and is now 3.5x - 4.0x.
In other words, either hedge funds rapidly deleverage once the margin calls finally slam the hammer on the smart money, which will crash stocks further, or hedge funds sell the widest held stocks over fears of what other hedge funds do, which also will crash stocks further.
Unless, of course, the Fed's plunge protection team finally steps in as it has always done at key market inflection points in the past 5 years and restores upward market momentum.
Then again, with the market at the same forward multiple as at the last bubble peak, and with increasingly more Fed members screaming "bubble" this time may be different...

>>> CRTO : more on Rumors - coming Pacific crest Comment

Criteo: Recent acquisitions expand offering and show CRTO also a target -- Pacific Crest

Pacific Crest is a buyer of CRTO after the acquisition of Tedemis expands its offering. The expansion of retargeting solutions into email increasingly positions Criteo to be an acquisition target itself. Firm believes co's current position gives it the opportunity to continue to grow very quickly due to a fast-growing sub-segment, continued market share gains and increasing vertical exposure; Outperform.

>>> IMF lowers 2014 World Economic Outlook Global Growth forecast to 3.6% from 3

IMF World Economic Outlook for 2014

IMF lowers 2014 World Economic Outlook Global Growth forecast to 3.6% from 3.7%

* Recovery remains uneven... recovery is strongest in U.S.; growth forecast to be 2.8% in 2014; says also strong in U.K. and Germany; some imbalances persist... says fiscal stimulus has played a large role in Japan recovery... Euro area is seeing the South stronger for the first time in two years; growth remains low but recovery on track; notes exports growing but internal demand remains weak.

* Sees a 20% chance of deflation in euro area... says acute risks for global recovery have decreased but not disappeared.... says recovery in Southern Europe can not be taken for granted... potential growth on advanced economies is expected to remain low; says measures to increase global growth are important... potential growth in many emerging markets have decreased; notes lower growth may be desirable such as in China... effects of financial crisis are slowly diminishing.

* IMF's Blanchard: ECB should take action sooner rather than later to deal with
low inflation- Source TradeTheNews.com

>>> Apple Inc JPMorgan reiterates Overweight rating, price target $585


Apple Inc JPMorgan reiterates Overweight rating, price target $585
- In firms first major note on Apple since assuming coverage, they update and extend their iAnywhere thesis. Their view is that Apple is likely to cannibalize its MacBook Air line in the next 12 months and possibly in 2014 by adding a keyboard/mouse centric user interface to iOS while also keeping a touch friendly UI. Peripherals would be made available to complete the transition. Firms analysis in this report focuses on a key Aseries/
Intel chip power crossover that firm believes drives this transition as well as the earnings opportunity that iAnywhere presents to Apple. In total they believe iAnywhere could represent a >10% earnings boost to Apple in a 12-24 month timeframe.

>>> MH370 :Written by a former pilot - interesting



FRENCH & ENGLISH PDF ATTACHED

Written by a former pilot who does not give his identity interesting!

Hello,
I rise today to Sherlock Holmes, the mysterious disappearance of the plane of the Malaysian Airlines intrigue me, I am certainly not alone in thinking this.

My snitch told me that the mystery of the Boeing 777 Malaysian Airlines is about to be revealed, but partially.

I have thought from the beginning I had my suspicions and some clues now confirm. Malaysian and U.S. authorities give us the information in dribs and drabs. Now they confirm what they know from the beginning, that he is an experienced pilot who deliberately hijacked the plane of its path and led him towards the West instead of North as it was provided. We confirmed today that the aircraft flew for 7 hours before any contact is interrupted. The Americans say he had taken a direction causing the southern Indian Ocean.

Now is there in this region that might interest a hijacker or a fanatic Muslim driver? The clearest and most obvious answer is the island of Diego Garcia. And what was he on the island: a large American base which houses an airport for strategic bombers B1 and B52, the same people who bombed from this base the Taliban in October and November 2001. There are also thermonuclear bombs.

I think the jihadist pilot, probably the captain (very experienced) and probably the youngest officer fanatic but probably also had a suicide mission operation against said base, given the distance the aircraft would reached at dawn. Americans have been aware from the beginning of the diversion of the aircraft, they probably followed his path and when they realized he was going right on the base of Diego Garcia they had to other choice but to shoot. I guess they tried more than once to force the driver to change routes but in vain.

Film mounted on this whole thing is designed to save time for:
1 . To believe in the theory of a technical accident at the beginning and then the thesis of a diversion for no apparent reason.
2 . Recover quickly to hide the wreckage of the plane and the black boxes to get the most information possible.
3 . Assess the extent of the infiltration of al Qaeda in the staff of pilots and technicians Malaysian Airlines.
4 . Delay of at least one week the official search in the Indian Ocean and to ensure that they are made away from Diego Garcia.
5 . Prepare communication plan in conjunction with the Chinese and Malay, namely that it is an airplane without apparent purpose hijacking the plane would end fuel crashed into the Indian Ocean.
6 . Exempt Islam from any liability

It is probably difficult for Americans to recognize openly shooting down a civilian aircraft to protect their base, even if the passengers were doomed to die anyway. The odious would inevitably fall on the U.S. , we do not stop to say that the driver is simply lost , he did not know where to go , he was looking for an airport to land , its communication system is failed, etc. . In short, the terrorist act would turn into navigational error and destruction of the aircraft by U.S. crime against humanity. Chinese public and the Malaysian public would not accept and Chinese and Malaysian governments feel obliged to protest and condemn the United States.

Good all this is a theory, we will not know what happened exactly. If al Qaeda has not claimed responsibility for the failed attack is that it does not want noise abroad the extent of infiltration of airlines, it prepares undoubtedly other attacks. So caution, it is best not to fly on Islamic airlines.

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: SHLM +5.7%.

M&A news: QUNR 5.6% and CTRP 4.7% (Qunar in merger talks with CTRP, according to reports), JNY 0.3% (shareholders approve merger with Sycamore Partners at $15 per share).

Metals/mining stocks trading higher: NG +10.2% (continues to advance Donlin Gold as planned and maintains a 'strong' financial position), GOLD +2.8%, ABX +2.5%, AU +2.3%, GDX +1.8%, GG +1.8%, SLV +1.7%, EGO +1.5% (provides an update on its Deva Gold SA Certej project in Romania; Project will produce an average of 135,000 oz Au and 800,000 oz Ag per annum), RIO +1.3%, GLD +1.2%, VALE +1.1%.

Battery related names trading higher: PLUG +3.9% ( looking into new markets for fuel cells, according to reports), BLDP +2.8% KNDI +1.5% (China to increase promotion of 'new energy' cars, according to reports)

Other news: TLOG +5% (TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Agrees to Acquire Shape Pharmaceuticals for $13 mln, future development and commercialization milestones, and tiered royalties on product sales), IDRA +4.4% (presents preclinical data showing IMO-8400 inhibits tumor growth and survival signaling in B-cell lymphoma cells with oncogenic MYD88 L265P mutation), JKS +3.9% (signs distribution agreement with Leading Solar Distributor in India; initiated with an Overweight at Barclays), MTSN +3.7% (light volume; still checking), NOK +3.3% (Nokia's plan to sell its Devices and Services business to Microsoft receives regulatory approval in China), ABMD +2.8% (received CE Marking approval in the European Union to market the Impella RP device), UL +2.4% (still checking), ZGNX +2% (files for injunction in Federal Court to block Massachusetts ban on Zohydro ER ), SNSS +2% (announces presentation of positive results from ongoing MD Anderson-Sponsored Trial of Vosaroxin in AML and High-Risk MDS), IMAX +1.9% (confirms it sold 20% stake in IMAX China to strategic Chinese investors for $80 mln), TWTR +1.8% (Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan still wants TWTR banned, according to reports), BBRY +1.8% (BlackBerry wins patent infringement case), WUBA +1.5% (Tiger Global Investments reports 6.5% passive stake in 13G filing ), NVMI +1.4% (receives multiple orders for its advanced software solutions), MACK +1.4% (announced Phase 1 results from a clinical pilot study demonstrating that ferumoxytol was well tolerated when used as a tumor contrast agent prior to MM-398 treatment), CDE +1.1% (reports Q1 production of 4.1 mln ounces of silver and 58,836 ounces of gold; maintains 2014 production guidance), CLDX +0.6% (establishes preclinical proof of concept for new antibody drug conjugate CDX-014; Data presented at AACR 2014), AAL +0.6% (reports March traffic results)

Analyst comments: WFM +2.8% ( tgt raised to $70 from $62 at UBS; added to Key Call list), VIPS +2.8% ( upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse), HE +2.3% ( upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie), ARMH +2.1% (upgraded to Mkt Perform from Underperform at Bernstein), FEYE +0.9% ( upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush; tgt lowered to $62 from $72 ), NKE +0.7% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel ), YELP +1.4% (Yelp upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust)

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: GIMO -24.2%, SPNC -17.6% (light volume), MY -16.3%, LPSN -3.1% (also downgraded to Hold from Buy at The Benchmark Company), ZEP -2.2%, BC -2.1%, NMFC -1.2%.
Select financial related names showing weakness: ING -3.6%, IRE -2.3%, BCS -1.7%, DB -1%, PUK -1%.

A few Japan related names lower (Japan's Nikkei -1.4%): HMC -2.1%, TM -1.4%

Other news: JRCC -48.3% (James River Coal files for Chapter 11 reorganization to restructure balance sheet and continue exploration of strategic alternatives), NAT -11.2% (announces public offering of 10 mln common shares pursuant to the co's effective shelf registration statement; upsizes offering by 2 mln shares and prices 12 mln shares of common stock at $8.62 per share), VJET -3.5% (announces offering of ADSs; files for offering of 4 mln ADSs representing 800k ordinary shares ), BT -2.5% and DEG -2.5% (still checking), STWD -2.1% (announces 22 mln share offering of common stock), GST -2.1% (announces Marcellus Shale production temporarily interrupted due to rupture of third party-operated pipeline), APOL -2.1% (still checking), OKS -1.6% ( subsidiary, Midwestern Gas Transmission, applies for pre-filing process with FERC), PSEC -1.2% (announces offering of $400 mln of senior unsecured convertible notes due 2020).

Analyst comments: QCOR -3.2% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies), O -1.2% (initiated with a Underweight at Morgan Stanley), AEO -1.1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney), CSCO -0.9% (downgraded to Hold at Wunderlich; tgt lowered to $24 ), SINA -0.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho), SWN -0.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup), STO -0.4% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: NG +10.2%, CTRP +6.5%, SHLM +5.7%, TLOG +5%, IDRA +4.4%, JKS +3.9%, PLUG +3.9%, MTSN +3.7%, NOK +3.3%, BLDP +2.8%, GOLD +2.8%, VIPS +2.7%, ABX +2.5%, AU +2.3%, ZGNX +2%, IMAX +1.9%, TWTR +1.8%, GDX +1.8%, BBRY +1.8%, SLV +1.7%, WUBA +1.5%, EGO +1.5%, NVMI +1.4%, GLD +1.2%, CDE +1.1%, RIO +0.9%, CLDX +0.6%

Gapping down: JRCC -48.3%, GIMO -23.7%, SPNC -17.6%, MY -16.3%, NAT -11.2%, ING -3.6%, VJET -3.5%, BT -2.5%, DEG -2.5%, ZEP -2.2%, STWD -2.1%, GST -2.1%, APOL -2.1%, BCS -1.7%, OKS -1.6%, PSEC -1.2%, NMFC -1.2%, DB -1%