fund managers

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman criticized the Federal Reserve's latest rate hike, calling it a mistake that he argues could actually make inflation worse rather than curb it. His comments add to a running debate among investors and economists over whether the central bank is tightening policy too aggressively as price pressures persist.

The White House announced on Friday that President Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in spending already approved by Congress. The administration is using a rare and legally contested power to rescind the funds, targeting money allocated for immigrant services and diversity-focused initiatives. The move, carried out through the Office of Management and Budget, is expected to trigger legal and political challenges over presidential authority to undo appropriations.

President Donald Trump is canceling nearly $1 billion in spending approved by Congress, the White House announced Friday. The Office of Management and Budget is using a rare and contested authority to rescind funds earmarked for immigrant services and diversity-focused initiatives, raising questions over presidential power versus Congress's control of the purse.

Donald Trump has announced plans to create an "AI Force", a new initiative centred on artificial intelligence. Details about the force's structure, funding, and mandate have not yet been laid out, and reactions are focused on what the announcement could mean for US AI policy, national security, and the growing competition with China over AI dominance.

Colombia has held discussions with the International Monetary Fund, including on securing financing, according to sources cited by Reuters. The talks signal that the government may be seeking financial support as it manages budget pressures. Details of the discussions and any potential arrangement have not been made public.

A growing coalition is urging Congress to approach wildfires as a national security challenge rather than solely a natural disaster or land management issue. The push would reframe how the federal government funds, plans and responds to catastrophic fires, bringing wildfire policy into the same conversation as defense preparedness and homeland security priorities.

A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot condition security grant funding on states making changes to their election systems. The decision limits FEMA's ability to use homeland security grants as leverage over election policy, a move that had raised concerns about federal overreach into state-administered elections.

The 30x30 goal—protecting 30% of the world's land and ocean by 2030—is under scrutiny as experts argue that simply designating marine protected areas does not guarantee effective conservation. Commentators highlight that many existing reserves lack enforcement, funding and management, allowing damaging activities such as illegal fishing to continue, and call for genuine implementation rather than paper parks.

A federal judge has blocked the Federal Emergency Management Agency from conditioning antiterrorism grants on changes to election practices. The ruling stops the agency from using homeland security funding as leverage over how states run their elections, a move critics said would blur the line between disaster and security funding and election administration. The decision is likely to be appealed and fuels ongoing legal fights over federal conditions on state election rules.

Apollo Global Management is warning that artificial intelligence agents could trigger a modern version of a bank run in the financial industry. The concern is that AI systems acting autonomously could move money out of banks or funds far faster than human depositors ever could, potentially destabilising institutions if many agents react to the same signals at once.

A federal judge has ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot condition antiterrorism grant funding on states making changes to their election systems. The decision stops the agency from using security grants as leverage over election administration. The ruling is being closely watched amid ongoing disputes over federal authority over state-run elections.

The Australian Government has released a sustainable ocean plan setting out eight priorities for managing the country's marine environment. The framework is expected to guide policy on ocean conservation, sustainable industries and maritime stewardship. Details of implementation and funding have not yet been widely reported, and reaction from environmental groups and industry remains limited so far.

The US Secret Service is facing questions over whether agency funding was used for White House renovations. The matter raises concerns about how the agency, primarily tasked with protecting the president, manages and allocates its budget, and whether spending on property improvements falls within its authorised mandate.

Indian banks are sitting on roughly $127 billion in deposits that were boosted during a recent surge and are now approaching maturity. The key question for the sector is whether lenders can retain or replace these funds once they roll off, and what that would mean for liquidity, funding costs and credit growth. Observers are watching how banks manage the transition and whether deposit competition will intensify.

Leading US stock fund managers are shifting toward more defensive positions as interest rates stay elevated. According to Morningstar, several top-performing managers are reducing exposure to rate-sensitive growth stocks and favoring sectors seen as more resilient, a sign that market professionals are reassessing risk as borrowing costs reshape equity valuations.

Around 1,700 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $142 million, were transferred out of Coinbase Institutional wallets. Large moves from major exchange custody accounts typically draw attention from crypto traders, who watch for signs of institutional buying, selling or wallet restructuring. Without confirmation of the recipient or purpose, observers are left speculating whether the transfer signals an imminent sale, a custody shift or routine internal management of funds.

Artificial intelligence is transforming how funds are managed, with asset managers increasingly using it to analyze data, screen companies and support decisions. The open question, highlighted in industry discussion, is whether AI can actually select better-performing stocks than human managers, or whether its impact remains limited to efficiency and research rather than superior returns.

US equity markets are increasingly driven by institutional investors as retail traders retreat from activity that surged during earlier market booms. Reports highlight the growing dominance of large funds and asset managers in setting market direction, with individual investors reducing exposure. Analysts suggest the shift may reflect caution over economic uncertainty, higher interest rates, and cooling enthusiasm among small traders who dominated headlines in recent years.

Institutional investors raised $190bn for private credit funds, a 53% jump, even as retail-facing private credit products face turmoil and redemptions. The figures suggest large allocators such as pension funds and insurers are leaning further into direct lending and credit strategies, even as retail channels come under strain. Commenters in asset management circles are weighing what the divergence means for the market's next phase.

Ark Invest's Cathie Wood is moving her $1.3 billion venture fund, whose holdings include SpaceX and OpenAI, onchain, giving investors tokenized exposure to private companies that are otherwise hard to access. The move is being covered across mainstream financial outlets and crypto media, drawing attention to the growing overlap between traditional asset management and blockchain-based tokenization of private market stakes.

South Korea's Housing Finance Corporation is reported to have uncollected funds approaching 2 trillion won, according to a Chosun Ilbo report. The figure points to money the state-backed mortgage lender has extended but not recovered, raising questions about loan management and borrower repayment at the agency that underpins much of Korea's public housing finance.

Hedge fund manager Adam Levinson is returning to investing, two years after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank forced his fund, Graticule Asset Management Asia, to shut down. The fund was hit when SVB's March 2023 failure triggered heavy losses across markets. His comeback is drawing attention as a sign that investors are moving on from the SVB fallout.

Commenters are pointing to Spain as a counterexample to the claim that right-wing governments manage the economy better. Under its left-wing government, Spain raised the minimum wage, increased pension funds and taxed bank profits, and public debt fell. Posts contrast this with countries like the United States, arguing progressive economic policies can deliver fiscal results.

Nigeria's Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to account for ₦1.63 trillion and $6.23 million. The group is seeking a public explanation of how the funds were managed, pressing the apex bank for transparency over public money. The demand puts the CBN under fresh scrutiny over its financial stewardship and accountability to Nigerian citizens.

Scientists are urging that funding for the USDA Climate Hubs be extended. The regional hubs help farmers, ranchers and land managers adapt to climate change by translating research into practical guidance. Supporters argue the network delivers value on the ground and should not lapse, though details of the funding request and the response from policymakers remain unclear.

Alternative investment manager GCM Grosvenor has seeded a new fund focused on grocery retail with $200 million. The move signals continued institutional interest in essential retail real estate, with grocery-anchored assets seen as resilient through economic downturns. Further details on the fund's manager, strategy and target size have not yet been disclosed.

Ukraine's defence and technology innovations developed during the war are attracting attention from family offices, according to Professional Wealth Management. The report suggests wealthy investors see investment potential in Ukrainian wartime innovation, though details on specific technologies, funds or investors were not provided.

Strategy, the Bitcoin-focused company formerly known as MicroStrategy, purchased more Bitcoin while simultaneously repurchasing shares of its STRC preferred stock in a transaction totaling roughly $294 million. The move signals the company is continuing to fund Bitcoin acquisitions even as it manages its complex capital structure of debt and preferred instruments.

Humanos, a Lisbon-based startup, has raised $3.2 million in funding to build tools that score the risk of AI agents and provide insurance against their failures. The company aims to address growing concerns about accountability and liability as businesses increasingly deploy autonomous AI agents in critical operations.

The European Parliament has opened an exchange of views with Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti on the 2025 Parliament discharge, the procedure by which the institution's management of its budget for the year is scrutinised and formally approved. The discussion feeds into Parliament's assessment of how funds were spent, a routine but politically sensitive step in the EU's financial oversight cycle.

India's central bank has recommended increasing the limits on advances it provides to state governments. The move would raise the short-term funding available to states for managing their cash flows. Details on the size of the increase and the reasoning have not yet been made clear, and officials have not commented further on the proposal's timing.