Main News

 

Rating agencies under scrutiny -- [at FT Investor]
By Saskia Scholtes MarketWatch
7/12/2007 2:10:48 PM

Deutsche Bank warns about subprime -- [at FT Investor]
By Joanna Chung MarketWatch
7/12/2007 2:30:40 PM

 

Regulators: No Bear Stearns contagion
Meltdown of hedge funds invested in subprime mortgage bonds don't pose broader risk, but bear watching, regulators say.
07/11/07 12:58 PM, EDT
Financial markets have weathered the recent meltdown of two hedge funds at Bear Stearns but it's unclear what impact these sorts of blowups will have on the broader market when economic conditions shift, regulators told lawmakers Wednesday.
FULL STORY <http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/11/markets/hedge_funds_house/index.htm?section=money_email_alerts> 

 

 

 

 

 

The Australian subprime mortgage market has grown considerably since it first emerged in 1997. Although the market remains small by global standards, there are now six companies that securitize subprime loans and future growth is expected. There are fundamental differences between the conditions in the U.S. subprime market and in Australia's. The U.S. subprime market is mature and makes up about 20% of all U.S. RMBS. In Australia, pools containing subprime mortgage loans make up less than 5% of securitized loans, and less than 1% of the Australian residential mortgage market.(subscription required)
http://standardandpoors.rsys1.net/servlet/cc5?kHiQUAARQTVsLgHxhilpuHQJhuV2VST

 

Pensions Board urges trustees to focus on risk
http://www.ipe.com/news/Pensions_Board_urges_trustees_to_focus_on_risk_22540.php

 

China Inc. Runs the Bulls

 

Clinton Faces Pressure on Hedge Funds
Edwards, Obama Back Taxes
BY RUSSELL BERMAN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
WASHINGTON — Senator Obama is joining John Edwards in calling for hedge funds and private equity firms that go public to pay higher taxes, increasing the pressure on Senator Clinton to take a stand on an industry facing mounting scrutiny in Congress...

 

The Case Of The Mysterious Hamptons Trader
CFO Magazine - Thursday July 12, 09:38 BST

 

GREAT DEBATE: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07122007/business/great_debate_business_zachery_kouwe.htm
By ZACHERY KOUWE
Washington's quest to raise taxes on hedge funds and private-equity firms got underway yesterday as the kings of Wall Street traded blows with lawmakers who claim they want to close tax loopholes that allow buyout billionaires to pay less than everyone else. Legislators haggled with...

 

HEDGE HORROR: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07122007/business/hedge_horror_business_paul_tharp.htm
By PAUL THARP
As home foreclosures ricochet through Main Street in rising junk mortgage meltdowns, Wall Street is facing a separate barrage that could swamp its first rich victims - hedge funds for the wealthy. The financial industry yesterday got more unhinged following a shake-up a day earlier when two...

 

Investors' flight from risk picks up pace

Investors in European and US credit markets accelerated their flight from risk as the turmoil from the US mortgage markets continued to spill over into other asset classes.

 

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)—Continued fallout from the subprime mortgage sector bogged down some equity indexes and bruised others in June, but hedge funds tracked by Hennessee Group LLC generally enjoyed a much better month than the two ill-fated Bear Stearns vehicles, whose subprime woes prompted a headline-grabbing bailout from the investment bank. ......

 

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)—Collateralized debt obligations may be getting a bad name from subprime defaults and related hedge fund failures, but this type of instrument has become a ray of hope for millions of small producers in poor economies. ......

 

XL Capital Injection Fires up Finisterre Funds

LONDON (HedgeWorld.com)—Emerging markets specialist Finisterre Capital has sold a minority stake in itself to an affiliate of Bermuda-based insurance, reinsurance and financial risk firm XL Capital. ......

 

Three-pronged model for buyout tax structure proposed
Carried interest paid to general partners in private equity firms and hedge funds should be viewed at least in part as income subject to income tax, Peter Orszag, director of the US Congressional Budget Office has said.  (Financial Times)
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307284/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTA3/

 

SEC Division of Market Regulation Director Erik R. Sirri's speech concerning recent initiatives taken by the Commission with respect to hedge funds before the Financial Services Committee and U.S. House of Representatives.

Full Story...

 

 

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Bernanke speaks at the National Bureau of Economic Research Summer Institute.

Full Story...

 

Bonds rise before Bernanke
CNNMoney.com - USA
... turned their attention to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech before the National Bureau of Economic Research Monetary Economics Summer Institute at 1 pm.
See all stories on this topic

 

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Natural Disaster Corner

 

Climate Prediction  http://www.nws.noaa.gov/predictions.php

World Meterological Organization http://severe.worldweather.org/

Tornadoes: http://www.disastercenter.com/tornado.htm

Great Sat Pictures of events: http://www.osei.noaa.gov/Events/Current/TRCmanyi193_GJ.jpg

 

Following one of the most rapid dissipations witnessed in documented ENSO history this past Winter, the 2006-2007 modest ENSO event has transitioned to a Neutral Phase the past 3 months [currently only a 0.1°F anomaly in NINO 3.4 region].

Full Story...

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Iranian Situation

 

IRAN:  Iranian nuclear officials began a second round of talks with
a team of technical, legal and political experts from the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Tehran, Iran's state
IRNA news agency reported. During the three-day visit, Iranian
officials and special representatives of IAEA Director-General
Mohamed ElBaradei are set to draw up a plan to settle unresolved
issues between Iran and the IAEA over Iran's nuclear program.

 

SYRIA/IRAN:  Syria has indicated to the United Nations that its
relationship with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran might change if
progress is made toward a peace deal with Israel, U.N. special
envoy Michael Williams said in an interview with Reuters. However,
Williams also said a Syrian assessment that an accord with Israel
is "in the drawer" is "somewhat exaggerated."

 

German firms smuggled nuclear material to Iran: prosecutor
AFP via Yahoo! News Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:07 PM PDT
German prosecutors on Thursday said they are investigating some 50 companies suspected of smuggling technology to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant via Russia.

 

Canada calls on Iran to halt stonings
AFP via Yahoo! News Thu, 12 Jul 2007 6:54 AM PDT
Canada's top diplomat has condemend a recent stoning in Iran and called on Tehran to halt further executions of this kind, saying they violate civil rights.

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Avian Flu

 

Avian influenza  (Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR))
Avian influenza (Western Pacific Region)
Influenza and avian influenza (European Region)

Avian influenza (Fact Sheet)

Q&A: Avian influenza: am I at risk?

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Plansponsor.com

ON THIS DAY:  In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a
measure calling for the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor, in the
name of Congress, "to such noncommissioned officers and privates as
shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and
other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection."  In
1962, the Rolling Stones made their performance debut at the Marquee
Club in London.  In 100 BC, Julius Caesar was born.  In 1984, Walter
Mondale, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, announced that
he had chosen Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his
running mate.

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Bush, lawmakers resist calls to tax hedge funds, buyout firms, Snow warns: Higher PE taxes would erode retirement funds
- SEC OKs anti-fraud rule targeting hedge fund fraud, SEC asserts authority to sue hedge funds for fraud, Agencies defend hedge-fund oversight to Congress, President`s Working Group: Need for heightened vigilance, did not say `continue with business as usual, Treasury`s Steel urges hedge funds to adopt `best practices`, the leaders should set guidelines on valuation, risk control and reporting, Additional hedge fund regulation may be necessary, U.S. lawmakers say, Frank considers bill requiring hedge fund records, Mutual funds fall under hedge regulation
- SEC: Bear can unwind funds in `orderly fashion, TCW Group, GSC Partners Face Most Risk for Downgrades of CDOs, Investors to S&P:  We`d like to understand why you downgrade now when you could have done this months ago, Subprime-based derivative ABX Index falls below 50 Cents, Fed: No systemic risk from subprime, yet, Investors` flight from risk picks up pace
- Basis Capital to restrict withdrawals in one fund as `indiscriminate repricing of otherwise fundamentally sound collateral` produces 14% loss in June
- Opalesque Exclusive: Magnum says subprime crisis has `positive residual effect`on its Collaterilized Debt Fund
- JPMorgan and Goldman take roles in Apollo IPO, Goldman said to be a lead underwriter for AQR
- Touradji hedge fund gains 11% in June after trailing indexes
- With many trendfollowing CTAs getting crushed lately, maybe Renaissance`s new $25bln Managed Futures fund is picking a great entry point into the field?
- Tuckerbrook develops unique fee structure for short-only investing, six short managers form partnership around new structure
- After signing up Mercer, CT $26bln pension fund to search 2nd consultants for up to 8% alternatives investment
- New firm launches GBP, EUR, US-$ liquidity funds to offer higher yields to hedges
- Massachusetts` Galvin probes structured products` sales
- Refco bankruptcy examiner issues final report, Telephone clerk of NYMEX floor brokerage operation to over $3.6m for defrauding his employer, Ex-fund manager Berger `post probably` to faces Austrian charges
- LSE to launch regulation-light market for PE, property and hedge funds, Nasdaq blocks LSE Borsa proposal
- Mexican investment rules relaxed
- Man Group assets rise to $67 billion
- Trafalgar launches special situations fund
- UK hedge fund manager says peers focus almost exclusively on long book and struggled generating alpha in flat or falling markets
- Brevan Howard staff earns windfall
- UK corporate-governance activist sets up African infrastructure fund
- UK consultant creates research database on quant managers
- UK Forum launches free library focused on SRI
- Dubai International Capital forms four specialised units to take charge of investments
- News Briefs: Mel Gibson puts Greenwich Estate on market for $39.5m, UK school children to learn on pensions, interest rates, taxes
- .And finally: Utah man, 87, says he hitchhiked to Pennsylvania
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/main.php?act=archive

 

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Misc. Items of Interest

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

desideratum dih-sid-uh-RAY-tum; -RAH-, noun;
plural desiderata:

Something desired or considered necessary.

1975:  The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe was granted independence from Portugal.

1920:  The independent republic of Lithuania, having successfully expelled invading Soviet troops, signed a peace treaty with Russia. 

1904:  Chilean poet, diplomat, and politician Pablo Neruda, perhaps the most important Latin American poet of the 20th century and the winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature, was born in Parral.

1862:  The Congressional Medal of Honor, awarded for battlefield bravery, was created for the U.S. Army.

1543:  King Henry VIII of England wed his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.

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Conference, Courses, Books, Papers

 

Great Research Sites:

 

Merrill Lynch research Link to full report including important disclosures see example

 

John Mauldin’s Weekly Analysis

 

James Altucher’s Website:

 

Other useful sites:

 

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Index Corner

 

The CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund Index www.hedgeindex.com.

The Cogent Dynamic Averages http://www.cogenthedge.com/home/inv_strategy.asphttp://www.cogenthedge.com/home/inv_strategy.asp

The Dow Jones Indices: http://www.djhedgefundindexes.com/index.cfm?event=viewPremiumContent (free registration)

HFRX Indices https://www.hedgefundresearch.com/hfrx_reg/index.php?fuse=login&1170880431

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Regulatory Info

 

 

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Disclaimer

 

The information contained in this document does not constitute an offer or solicitation to sell any security or other type of vehicles to or by anyone in any jurisdictions, nor should it be regarded as a contractual document. Under no circumstances should the information provided on this document be considered as financial advice, or as a sufficient basis on which to make investment decisions. The information contained herein has been gathered by Investor DNA, LLC from sources deemed reliable as of the date of publication, but no warranty of accuracy or completeness is given. Investor DNA, LLC is not responsible for and provides no guarantee with respect to any of the information provided herein or through the use of any hypertext link. Past results are no indication of future performance. All information in this newsletter is for educational and informational purposes and does not constitute investment, legal, tax or accounting advice. All materials are the property of the respective publishers, as referenced by header and appropriate hypertext links.