Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global loses 5.4% in October

In today’s top stories, Chase Coleman’s (pictured) Tiger Global leads declines among hedge funds in October, TSMC expands its US manufacturing capacity and SoftBank increases its share buybacks. Meanwhile, analysts see 200% upside in two copper stocks and crypto exchange competition heats up.

Chase Coleman’s hedge fund posts 5.4% October loss

Tiger Global Management has been reducing its exposure to Chinese equities, cutting its portfolio allocation from the mid-teens to mid-single digits, and has decided not to place new bets on stocks, according to Bloomberg. Chase Coleman’s hedge fund lost 5.4% in October, while Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management, which holds mostly cash, was flat for the month and down 19.3% in the year so far. Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners gained a marginal 0.5%.

TSMC expands US manufacturing capacity

China and the US are embroiled in a tech cold war and Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) [TSM] has found itself in the crossfire. The Taiwanese chipmaker was granted a one-year exemption from curbs and can continue to order US-made chipmaking equipment for expansion in China. In a clear sign that it’s wary about the impact of future curbs, TSMC has announced it’s to expand its US manufacturing capacity with a second chip plant in Arizona.

Copper plays with 200%-plus upside

Copper’s benchmark price rose following rumours that China, which accounts for 52% of global copper demand, may be relaxing its Covid-zero policy, but these gains evaporated Monday as such suggestions were rejected by the country’s officials. Concerns over copper demand have led the Solaris Resources [SLS.TO] share price to tumble 70.7% year-to-date and the Solgold [SOLG.TO] share price has fallen 42.7%. Both have an upside of more than 200% to their average price target, according to CNBC.

SoftBank accelerates share buybacks

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank [9984.T] accelerated the pace of buybacks in October, buying 197.6bn yen worth of shares in the space of ten days, and 329.9bn yen throughout the month. At the same time, it’s been reining in investments. “We have already argued that changes in company structure, for example [a management buy-out], could be coming in the not-too-distant future,” SMBC Nikko analyst Satoru Kikuchi wrote in a note seen by Bloomberg.

Coinbase faces competition from Binance-FTX

Cryptocurrency platform FTX has been bailed out by rival Binance. This has left the broader crypto market reeling. The Coinbase [COIN] share price dropped 11% throughout Tuesday following the news, down to lows it hadn’t seen since June. Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat believes the buy-out will create “a global crypto powerhouse” that will lead to a “seismic shift in COIN's competitive landscape,” according to a note seen by Street Insider.

Solar stocks on the rise

Solar companies SunPower [SPWR], SolarEdge Technologies [SEDG] and Sunworks [SUNW] all reported earnings this week and showed positive demand for the industry. There is broad optimism that the Inflation Reduction Act should fuel growth with the tax credits promised to support domestic manufacturing, and that US solar and renewables could grow 40% more than previously expected over the next five years. Israel-based SolarEdge plans to establish “US manufacturing capability” to take advantage of the opportunity.

Luminar’s laser-focused vision

Self-driving startups have lost $40bn in value since 2020. Despite concerns that the industry has stalled, Luminar’s [LAZR] recent earnings showed signs of promise – the company develops vision-based light detection and ranging (lidar) systems. Its third quarter revenue increased 60% year-over-year and losses narrowed. The company reiterated its full-year guidance and CEO Austin Russell said it had a “rock solid strategy” to help it meet, or even beat, its 2022 financial milestones.