Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock
Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to Insider Finance. I’m Dan DeFrancesco, and here’s what’s on the agenda today:

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How hedge funds are tracking Reddit posts to protect their portfolios after the WallStreetBets crowd tanked Melvin Capital’s short positions

GameStop
Queue in front of Gamestop store in Christmas atmosphere in Milan during coronavirus emergency, Milan, Italy, on November 03 2020.
Mairo Cinquetti/NurPhoto/Getty Images

GameStop has been the talk of the finance world. Retail investors – specifically those from the infamous WallStreetBets Reddit forum – have been piling into the stock, leaving short-sellers like Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital and Maple Lane Capital scrambling.

All of that has led some investors and data companies to develop web-scraping tools to track chatter on the notorious subreddit.

Read more here


Here's what billionaire Apollo CEO Leon Black paid Jeffery Epstein $158 million for, from finding billions in tax savings to moving his yacht

epsteinblack
Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters, New York State Sex Offender Registry

For five years, Jeffrey Epstein advised Leon Black, the billionaire CEO and cofounder of Apollo Global Management. 

On Monday, Black announced he plans to step down as CEO of Apollo in July. The announcement came following an independent review of Black's relationship with Epstein by law firm Dechert.

And while the review found Black wasn't involved in any of Epstein's criminal behavior, it did uncover $158 million in payments from Black to Epstein for a variety of jobs. 

Check out seven takeaways from Dechert's report on its investigation. 

Read more here.


Personal finance app Dave just hired one of the lead executives behind the Apple Card, and he's already thinking about new features the startup can roll out

Jarad Fisher
Dave names first chief commercial officer Jarad Fisher, former Apple Card lead executive.
Dave

Personal finance app Dave just nabbed a top executive who worked on rolling out the Apple Card. Read more here.


A fintech automating the back office just raised a $60 million Series C led by Sequoia at a $600 million valuation. Investors explain why they're impressed with the 'elite team' of cofounders.

Pilot cofounders
Pilot

Meet the power trio behind a startup that just nabbed a $60 million Series C led by Sequoia. See more here


Odd lots:

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Lead Bonus Bounces for Bankers in Asia (Bloomberg)

Commodities Traders, Producers Earn Cheaper Rates From Banks for Lowering Carbon Production (WSJ)

Robinhood Traders Face the Taxman After Falling In Love With Stocks (Bloomberg)

Perella Weinberg Bankers Break to Form New Boutique in Gulf (Bloomberg)

SIGN UP FOR OUR LIVE EVENT NEXT WEEK: Execs from Goldman Sachs, Lead Edge Capital, and Latham & Watkins reveal what's on tap for the red-hot IPO market in 2021 (BI)

BlackRock boss Larry Fink calls on CEOs worldwide to disclose concrete plans for reaching net zero by 2050 (BI)

Taboola is going public via a SPAC, aiming to raise $545 million. See the pitch deck that convinced investors including Fidelity and BlackRock to jump on board. (BI)

'Big Short' investor Michael Burry made a 1,500% gain on GameStop during its Reddit-fueled rally (BI)

The CEO of the world's biggest asset manager warns that companies will 'suffer' if they don't cut carbon emissions. Read excerpts from his letter to CEOs here. (BI)

Read the original article on Business Insider