WASHINGTON: Hedge fund manager Steven Eisman, known for a big winning bet against the US housing market dramatized in the movie “The Big Short,” was put on leave by his firm on Friday after he said on social media he was celebrating devastation in the Gaza Strip.
His firm, Neuberger Berman, said Eisman did not speak on its behalf and called his actions “objectionable.” More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s nearly year-old war in the enclave, the Gaza health ministry has said.
An X user posted that the world was silent about war-ravaged Gaza. Eisman responded: “You must be kidding. We are not silent. We are celebrating.” His account has since been deleted.
Eisman could not immediately be contacted. In comments cited by media reports, he apologized for his remarks and said he had intended to refer to Israel’s attacks on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
A Neuberger Berman spokesperson distanced the firm from Eisman’s comments.
“Even though Mr. Eisman has acknowledged that he mistook the content of the post he responded to, his actions on social media were irresponsible and objectionable,” the company spokesperson added. Eisman joined the firm in 2014.
Eisman profited from the 2007 crisis in the US subprime mortgage market, which turned into a global financial crisis, by shorting the stocks of American banks. The episode was the basis for the 2015 film “The Big Short.”
Human rights advocates have warned about rising dehumanization of Arabs, Muslims and Jews amid Israel’s war in Gaza which has displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.
Israel’s actions followed an attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which governs Gaza, on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 were killed and about 250 were taken as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. It sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
US hedge fund executive sent on leave of absence for post celebrating Gaza catastrophe
https://arab.news/vetjb
US hedge fund executive sent on leave of absence for post celebrating Gaza catastrophe
- Hedge fund Neuberger Berman said manager Steven Eisman did not speak on its behalf and called his actions “objectionable”
- Eisman profited from the 2007 crisis in the US subprime mortgage market, which turned into a global financial crisis, by shorting the stocks of American banks
US might keep or might sell oil seized near Venezuela, Trump says
- “If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough,” he said
PALM BEACH, Florida: US President Donald Trump said on Monday it would be smart for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, and the United States could keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks.
Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in the attacks.
Asked if the goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump told reporters: “Well, I think it probably would... That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it’d be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re gonna find out.”
“If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough,” he said.
“He’s no friend to the United States. He’s very bad. Very bad guy. He’s gotta watch his ass because he makes cocaine and they send it into the US“
In addition to the strikes, Trump has previously announced a “blockade” of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. The US Coast Guard started pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful.
“Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it,” Trump said when asked what would happen with the seized oil, adding it might also be used to replenish the United States’ strategic reserves.
