Citadel sees largest inflows in seven years

In today's top stories, Citadel’s flagship funds outperformed the broader market in April and Warren Buffett reaffirmed a bearish stance on bitcoin. Meanwhile, 90% of consumer stocks have posted market beating profits, Alibaba shares recover from a selloff and Facebook exits podcasts.

Warren Buffett rebuffs bitcoin

“If you [offered me all the world’s bitcoin] for $25, I wouldn’t take it because what would I do with it?” the sage of Omaha reportedly said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting over the weekend. Buffett reaffirmed his bearish stance on cryptocurrencies during the event, stating that these types of assets don’t have value. The price of bitcoin against the dollar fell 0.3% over the weekend.

Can Boohoo bounce back?

The online fashion retailer is due to report its preliminary earnings today, but with shares down 35% in the year-to-date, investors don’t appear to be sure whether the company can deliver positive growth. Not only did its peer Asos [ASC.L] post shrinking profits in the most recent quarter, but Boohoo’s [BOO.L] sales growth has been slowing on a quarterly basis.

Alibaba shares recoup from rumours

The Chinese ecommerce stock’s Hong Kong shares initially fell more than 9% on Tuesday after an unconfirmed state media report suggested that the company’s founder Jack Ma was linked to a security investigation. Alibaba’s [BABA] stock later recovered to end the day down 1.7% following a revised statement that clarified the individual had a similar last name but was not in fact Jack Ma.

Citigroup downgrades Aston Martin

Gabriel Adler, an analyst at the firm, downgraded the stock from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ ahead of the luxury sports car manufacturer’s first quarter results announcement tomorrow. Shares in Aston Martin [AML.L] have lost 37% in the year-to-date as the consumer discretionary sector takes a hit amid uncertain macroeconomic conditions, stemming from rising inflation and recession fears. 

Facebook pulls the plug on podcasts

As part of Meta Platforms [FB] long-term shift to the virtual reality market, the company has announced that it will remove podcasts from 3 June and stop adding content to the service as soon as this week. The company had started investing in audio last year amid a boom for the medium, but interest has since waned. The stock was up 0.53% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Citadel rallies amid downbeat market

Ken Griffin’s (pictured) hedge fund outperformed the S&P 500 in April, with all five of its investment strategies posting positive returns, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. Citadel’s multi-strategy flagship fund Wellington climbed 7.5% last month, while its tactical trading and equities funds gained 3.3% and 4.2%, respectively. Investors looking for downside protection flocked to the firm in Q1, which attracted its largest inflows in seven years.    

Consumer staple stocks’ time to shine

As investors look to defensive sectors to ride out rising inflation, consumer staple stocks, such as Coca-Cola [KO], Pfizer [PFE] and eBay [EBAY] have gained significantly. The sector was the sole group in the S&P 500 that was in the green in April, after rising 2.4%. FactSet data seen by The Wall Street Journal shows that almost 90% of consumer staple companies have posted profits that beat analysts’ expectations in Q1.