The feud between Argentina and its holdout U.S. hedge fund creditors has crossed the Atlantic. The Latin American country reached out to the International Court of Justice in the Hague in an attempt to sanction the U.S., Reuters reports. Following last week’s events — in which a U.S. judge ruled in favor of the creditors, leaving Argentina on the hook for bond payments to lenders including Paul Singer’s Elliott Management and New York–based Aurelius Capital Management, the country entered into default. Argentina claims a payment made on a single bond has kept it from said default and argued to the Hague Thursday that the U.S. has “committed violations of Argentine sovereignty and immunities and other related violations as a result of judicial decisions adopted by U.S. tribunals.” The U.S. government must accept the Court’s jurisdiction in order for any proceedings to commence, the likelihood of which in unclear. U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa has scheduled a Friday afternoon hearing to address the situation.
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Hedge funds continue to raise money at a rapid clip, with investors pouring in more than $30 billion in the second quarter of 2014, according to Chicago-based industry tracker Hedge Fund Research. This influx coincides with a 2 percent gain in the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index during the quarter, although the index fell .62 percent for July. Almost one third of the inflows went into relative value arbitrage, which has been the year’s best performing strategy, up 4.8 percent year to date.
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Hedge fund fraudster Samuel Israel will remain in jail after his efforts to persuade a judge to free him on a medical basis fell short, Reuters reports. The Bayou Group founder, who in 2008 infamously faked his own death in an attempt to skirt prison after being caught in a nearly half billion dollar fraud scheme, claimed poor treatment by prison officials almost killed him following a fall and blow to the head. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon didn’t buy what Israel was selling and refused to shorten her original 20-year sentence. (Israel jumped bail, leading to an additional two years added later.) “I may have taken Mr. Israel’s medical needs into account when I gave him as little as 240 months,” said McMahon. “I assuredly would never have given him less, regardless of my perception of the quality of the BOP medical care.”
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Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel continued its strong year, posting solid numbers for July. The Chicago-based firm’s flagship multistrategy funds, Wellington and Kensington Global Strategies, were up 2.65 percent for the month, bringing them to 9.85 percent for the year to date. Citadel’s Global Fixed Income Fund returned a modest .38 percent, which helped it crack 7 percent for the year. Griffin’s Tactical Trading Fund and Global Equities Fund did well for him, returning 2.65 percent and 2.45 percent, respectively, last month, to put each at 11.95 percent and 10.85 percent for the year.
