Ex-Goldman Sachs partner still believes in cryptocurrency Hedge funds are thrilled to see 2018 in their rear-view mirrors. As year-end returns for high-profile activist hedgies like Dan Loeb, David Einhorn and Bill Ackman trickle in, early fears about hedge fund returns getting clipped are being realized. “It’s been a tough year for active managers,” Don Steinbrugge, chief executive of hedge fund consultancy Agecroft Partners, told The Post...

The boardroom battle at Papa John’s got a little uglier on Sunday. The pizza chain’s board, looking to further distance itself from the company’s controversial founder , voted on Sunday to adopt a poison pill to keep John Schnatter from gaining a controlling stake in the Louisville, Kent., company, according to a report. The move is expected to be made public on Monday, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter...

REUTERS Less than one year after nudging Sempra Energy into its largest acquisition ever , activist investor Paul Singer is urging the San Diego-based company to burn some fat. Singer’s Elliott Management, working alongside energy investment firm Blue­scape Resources, is pushing Sempra to replace six members of its 14-person board, according to a presentation the two released Monday...

Activist investor Mick McGuire — who has been struggling to get on the board of the company that makes Ugg boots — just got a foot plant. Influential proxy advisory firm ISS recommended late Wednesday that shareholders vote for three nominees to the board of Deckers Outdoor that have been put forward by McGuire’s hedge fund, Marcato Capital. “ISS’s recommendation validates our belief that change is needed on Deckers’ Board,” McGuire said in a statement Thursday...

David D’Alessandro failed to win a majority of votes cast at the theme park’s annual meeting Wednesday, a source told The Post, effectively setting the stage for his exit from the helm of the board...

Sony considers merging gaming and film divisions Sony Corp. said it won’t sell its struggling movie and TV business after a string of Hollywood flops including last year’s “Ghostbusters” helped fuel a a $1 billion writedown. Instead, Toyko execs said they aim to turn it around by adding sales channels and making more use of movie characters. “We believe in long-term upside potential for [Sony] Pictures,” Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida said at a Thursday earnings briefing...

A media exec who claims he was fired for trying to get a marijuana magazine’s staff to behave professionally is being accused of siphoning $10 million in corporate cash on personal expenses. Last month, David Kohl sued Trans-High Corp. , which owns High Times magazine, alleging the board of directors was lazy and “ineffective” and canned him for trying to end the pot bible’s “inappropriate” culture...

The family feud over red sauce at Rao’s just got spicier. New court papers accuse the cousin who heads the famed eatery’s specialty-foods division of spending thousands in company cash on jewelry, a trip to Italy and a personal trainer. The legendary Harlem restaurant, where it’s nearly impossible to get a table, expanded its reach in 1991 by peddling its famed sauce around the country...

Verizon just got one step closer to buying Yahoo Activist investor Maglan Capital renewed calls for FairPoint Communications to put itself up for sale after the company’s CEO suggested he would rather be a buyer than a seller. New York-based Maglan Capital, which owns 7.5 percent of FairPoint’s outstanding shares, fired off a letter to the board on Thursday, reiterating its belief that the phone company is a prime acquisition target and should explore strategic alternatives...

Radio giant iHeartMedia’s latest debt maneuver is fanning the flames of a dispute with activist investor Mario Gabelli. iHeart, led by Chief Executive Bob Pittman, owns 90 percent of publicly traded Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, the nation’s largest billboard company. Gabelli’s Gamco Asset Management owns 10 percent of the publicly traded shares. Gamco claims struggling iHeart, owned by private equity firms THL Partners and Bain Capital, is taking advantage of its billboard unit...

“Of course our performance to date is a negative number — negative 14 percent in the private funds and negative 18 percent in Pershing Square Holdings,” the activist investor clarified later on the call. Despite the overall weak performance of the ...

The social-media company shelled out $5 million last year to make sure its co-founder and CEO had protection around the clock, according to regulatory filings.

Maybe Zuckerberg really does need protection, after ISIS earlier this year threatened him and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

Either Zuckerberg is paranoid or there are far fewer people out to get powerful Apple CEO Tim Cook — whose company spent relative chump change of ......

It’s not just activist shareholders who want to see big changes at Time Warner. Two of the New York media giant’s largest longtime investors are also running out of patience and would support a sale of all or parts of the company, The Post has learned. Last week, Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes met...

Is Yahoo! planning to spend big — or cut big? CEO Marissa Mayer — already under fire for spending more than $7 billion on acquisitions that have yet to pay off over the last three years — intends to shell out another $3 billion to bolster the struggling Web giant’s content arsenal, say sources close...

Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman has news for billionaire investor Warren Buffett: Coke is bad for you. In addition, the activist investor claimed on Wednesday, it has “caused enormous damage to society.” But what about Oreos, Bill? In what is turning into something of a sugar slugfest, Ackman and Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway have traded insults...

Barry Diller is about to make a bundle by taking Tinder public, but meanwhile he can’t get a date with Angie’s List. The billionaire’s IAC/Interactive media conglomerate has made an unsolicited cash bid of $512 million to buy Angie’s List, the popular review site for plumbers and handymen. In a letter to Angie’s List’s board...

Cutting ties with a controversial specialty pharmacy will hurt Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc in the short term, the company’s chief executive said on Tuesday. As of last week, Philidor Rx Services has stopped adjudicating insurance claims for drugs and it will cease operations by the end of January, Valeant Chief Executive Officer Mike Pearson said...

The era of ‘Too Big to Fail’ is over — in just seven years. The world’s 30 biggest banks will have to borrow about $1.2 trillion from Wall Street investors in order to prevent the kind of financial implosion that came in 2008 in the wake of the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers. The...

Chemical maker DuPont, which is locked in a proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz, reported lower sales in all of its businesses and said a strong dollar would take...

Two-dozen protesters entered the lion’s den to disrupt an activist investors conference in Midtown Manhattan on Monday.  Protesters from a group called “HedgeClippers” walked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel ballroom, on the second floor, at about 1 pm and started chanting “Bill Ackman, give me $15,” a reference to the restaurant workers’ demand for a minimum wage of $15 an hour...

Forget the courtroom. Bill Ackman likes to wage war in the boardroom. The hostile takeover battle between botox maker Allergan and its unwanted suitors, drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals and top...

It’s a long, hot summer for billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golf legend Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambling hotshot William “Billy” Walters. The high-profile trio could face white-collar prison —...

Activist investor Bill Ackman continued racking up gains in his hedge funds in July, while other hedgies and the broader markets turned red. The $14.3 billion in Pershing Square funds...

Should Washington bank on Dodd-Frank? The sweeping financial reform package, signed into law by President Obama four years ago on Monday, has come under renewed attack as congressional Republicans try...