The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman lambasted regulators as "abusive" after he settled his insider trading case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month. A Bloomberg dispatch to The Globe says that the founder of Omega Advisors told CNBC that he would have won had the case gone to trial, but that he was advised to settle because the trial would have cost him $15-million to $20-million and last two to three years (all figures U.S.). Instead, he agreed to pay a $4.9-million fine. "The process in my opinion was totally abusive and this is a problem that the government should address," he said. Mr. Cooperman said he turned down a first settlement offer, which would have forced him to pay a $9-million fine and agree to a five-year ban. Now, with the SEC under the control of President Donald Trump appointee Jay Clayton, the regulator offered a new deal: a smaller fine, no admission of wrongdoing and no impact on his ability to keep running his hedge fund. Mr. Cooperman wished Mr. Clayton well on his new appointment as SEC chief. Mr. Cooperman has been adding to his energy investments and likes Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft.