Speculation sweeping the market that large hedge fund Atticus Capital is liquidating its positions and closing down is not accurate, according to executives of the firm, reports the WSJ. Tim Barakett, founder of Atticus, which has about $14bn under management, denied the rumours and said: “In fact we have a large net cash position and are looking for opportunities to invest capital”. One reason stocks tumbled Thursday was selling by hedge funds trying to get out of positions they fear fellow hedge funds, such as Atticus, will sell if they are under pressure to close shop or trim losses. Some are trying to make money shorting stocks held by struggling hedge funds, traders say. Some stocks that Atticus has held in recent months were clobbered Thursday, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp, Union Pacific and MasterCard.