Justin Bieber meets Stephen Harper.Flickr
Hedge fund traders are known for swapping rumours during takeover deals, and the Nexen Inc. and Progress Energy Resources Corp. sagas have spawned some doozies. New York traders have been brushing up on Canadian politics, as well as the collective Canuck psyche. And now the NHL lockout and Justin Bieber's fashion sense are weighing on their investment decisions.
That the pop star and pro hockey are part of the Nexen and Progress tales shows how desperate traders are for any scrap of news as they try to sort out how – and when – Ottawa will rule on CNOOC Ltd.'s bid for Nexen and Petronas' effort to buy Progress. The federal government has until Dec. 10 to make a decision on the China's CNOOC deal, although the deadline can be stretched. There is no official deadline on Malaysia's Petronas offer, although an announcement is expected shortly.
One trader suggested some in the market think Prime Minister Stephen Harper is waiting for the National Hockey League to get back on the ice before making his call, under the assumption Canadians will be too distracted by men chasing a puck to care whether two energy deals worth more than $21-billion combined are approved or rejected.
If the lockout ends, "everybody in Canada would be like: "Oh, wow, hockey is back on. Awesome." And as Canadians watch Coach's Corner, the Conservatives could make their announcement and no one would care.
The trader then discussed China's quest to get into the oil sands, the timing of the announcements and the famously tatty overalls Mr. Bieber wore when he was photographed with Mr. Harper last week.
"I saw the outfit he wore when he saw Harper. That's embarrassing. But it scares me when Harper spends the time tweeting about: 'Oh, I told him to wear that,' or something. Shouldn't he be working on the [takeover] rules?"