Main News

 

UN confirms N Korea nuclear halt *
UN inspectors have verified the shutdown of North Korea's main nuclear reactor, the IAEA chief confirms.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6900184.stm

 

Rise in second-generation hedge funds
New hedge funds are being spawned from other funds in London as the supply of investment bankers to raise large sums dries up, following the pattern established in the US industry.  (Financial Times)
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307586/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTMz/

 

Ten Operational Risks That Hedge Fund Investors Should Know About
With billions of dollars at their command, big hedge funds aren't only moving markets with bets on everything from corn to biotech. They are also rewriting some of the ground rules of capitalism. Tales of hedge fund blowups tied to aggressive investment strategies that are concentrated and highly leveraged are well known. But, in fact, the data indicate that mundane, nonmarket risks-better known as operational risks-could pose just as large a threat to hedge fund investors as exotic investing strategies.
To learn more, click or copy and paste the URL below:
(subscription required)
http://standardandpoors.rsys1.net/servlet/cc5?kHiQUBRUQTVsLgHxhilpuHQJhuV2VSU

 

Treasuries Rise on Subprime Crisis, Outlook for US Economy
Bloomberg - USA
By Kim-Mai Cutler and Daniel Kruger July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose as the subprime mortgage crisis sent investors to the safety of US government ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Reduced appetite for private equity funding
The loan markets in the US and Europe that fund private equity buyout deals face critical tests of investor appetite this week following last week's credit market turmoil.  (Financial Times)
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307593/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTMz

 

Thinking Green
Venture capitalists have thrown $1.5 billion at companies aiming to curb global warming, in what some see as the next dot-com boom, only better. Five stocks that measure up, and one that doesn't.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB118420428429964109.html?mod=djem_bwr

 

China set to overtake Germany as third-largest economy
Chinese statistics due this week are likely to show that the country is on track to leapfrog Germany as the third-biggest national economy this year, sooner than expected -- yet another sign of just how quickly the global economic balance of power is shifting.  (The Wall Street Journal)
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307596/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTMz/

 

Blackstone was forced to defend a tax benefit that will result in payments to its partners of up to $930m over the next 15 years, saying it was common practice and had been disclosed in the run-up to its initial public offering

 

Industry experts insist that enhancing the ability to both hedge and shift these risks advances "credit risk transfer" technology. This, they say, has lowered the crisis risk for banks worldwide. There has been less focus however, on exactly where the transferred risk has ended up and why.

Full Story...

 

Lucky Seven on the Strip
Barron's (subscription) - USA
The Dow -- helped by General Electric's solid earnings report, the boosting of its stock buyback and ditching of its subprime-mortgage portfolio -- ended at ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Subprime, Subpar: For Sale?
New York Times - United States
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON NOVASTAR FINANCIAL, a subprime mortgage originator based in Kansas City, Mo., has had its share of setbacks. That's not surprising, ...
See all stories on this topic

 

CHICAGO (HedgeWorld.com)—The Chicago Board Options Exchange's year-and-a-half old Volatility Index options saw a surge in activity Wednesday [July 11], with more than 322,000 contracts traded, easily topping the previous single-day volume record of approximately 277,000 set May 16. ......

 

CHINA MARKETS MAY HAVE PEAKED: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07152007/business/china_markets_may_have_peaked_business_tracy_byrnes.htm
By TRACY BYRNES
According to the Chinese calendar, 2007 is the year of the pig, and in Chinese astrology that means good fortune. An investor with an interest in astrology might conclude that this means rich rewards await them if they invest in China. But the reality is that when it comes to investing in...

 

DPFS seeks hedge fund boost
Global Pensions - London,UK
The targeted return for either a single strategy fund or multi strategy fund of hedge funds was quoted as 10-15% following an ALM study carried out at the ...
See all stories on this topic

 

New York State expands pension fund probe-NYT
Reuters - USA
The New York Times said the relationships under scrutiny included those between the former comptroller's office and several companies, including hedge fund ...
See all stories on this topic

 

The Blackstone Group denies the New York Times' assertion that the firm is using a loophole to get millions back in taxes. 
... READ FULL STORY >>>

 

The Robin Hood Foundation is under scrutiny by Congress for investing charitable money into its donors’ and members’ hedge funds. 
... READ FULL STORY >>>

 

Union sees demand for SRI and portable alpha
http://www.ipe.com/news/Union_sees_demand_for_SRI_and_portable_alpha_22554.php

 

Managers embrace dark liquidity
Fund managers predict the use of dark liquidity pools - designed to minimise the market impact of large block trades - will form an increasing percentage of their non-exchange business. They believe the increase will be hastened by the new European rules on trading, to the detriment of traditional stock exchanges.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307681/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTM3/

 

Dubai leads Gulf with draft hedge funds code
Dubai is bucking the trend around the world by drafting a code of conduct for hedge funds. Several jurisdictions have decided this could be seen as over-regulation.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307685/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTM3/

 

Investment Banking Quarterly Review
The most revealing chart in the investment banking quarterly appears on page six. The graphic of business volumes for the first half of the year - going back to 2002 - illustrates the giddy ascent of capital markets. It has been a period during which bold moves have been rewarded. Alessandro Profumo, our banker of the quarter, has put together a series of brave mergers to propel UniCredit into Europe's premier league.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307751/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTM3/

 

Hedge funds lean towards private financings
Hedge funds and investment banks tend to enjoy a relationship of mutual dependency in debt markets.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/307776/MTk4MTI1OjE0NTM3/

 

Friday , 13 Jul 2007
Although Qatar has increased its gold holdings 15 fold in a year there is still little evidence that the Middle East as a region is increasing its holdings. Elsewhere the picture remains mixed

 

A special research panel has concluded that California's public
pension programs are collectively 89% funded and that the combined
shortfall totals about $63 billion.  That was the conclusion of a
report released Thursday by the Governor's Public Employee
Post-Employment Benefits Commission, which surveyed the Golden State's
state and local governments to gauge how well they are funded,
according to a commission news release.  MORE at
http://newsmail.plansponsor.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBTeS0Tt3fc0CBD0IlCL0EM

 

Kazakhstan, Russia: Moscow's Pipeline Attack
http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=292272

_________________________________________________________________________

Yield Curve Corner

 

NewsWatch: Tamer inflation numbers will back Bernanke
By MarketWatch 
7/15/2007 12:00:09 PM

 

Tamer inflation numbers will back Bernanke
MarketWatch - USA
By MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Two days of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be the most significant event ...
See all stories on this topic

 

A Peek Into the Fed Policy Mind
This week brings Bernanke's testimony on the Hill, as well as a slew of big earnings reports.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2007/07/16/A-Peek-Into-the-Fed-Policy-Mind?TID=email/news/top5

 

_________________________________________________________________________

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:

 

Japan rocked by major earthquake *
A strong earthquake hits central Japan, killing five people and causing a fire at a nuclear plant.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6900156.stm

 

Preparing for disaster
New York Daily News - New York,NY,USA
This summer the chances of a hurricane hitting the East Coast are greater than normal. "We are calling for above-normal activity," said Gary Conte, warning ...
See all stories on this topic

 

2nd Quake Rattles Japan's West Coast
A second large earthquake Monday rocks Japan's coast.

MORE DETAILS: <http://www.wnbc.com/tu/5qnvnS9Mu.html>

 

_________________________________________________________________________

Iranian Situation

 

Iran TV shows detained Iranian-Americans
Reuters via Yahoo! News Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:21 AM PDT
Iran's state television on Monday broadcast images of two detained Iranian-American academics apparently confessing to accusations of acting against the Islamic state's national security and spying.

 

IRAN:  Police in the Iranian capital, Tehran, will launch a new
drive July 23 to crack down on "un-Islamic" clothing, Tehran Police
Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said. The number of agents responsible for
enforcing the citizen dress code will double, he said.

 

IRAN/SYRIA:  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Syria
on July 19 to congratulate Syrian President Bashar al Assad on
beginning his second seven-year term in office, Iranian state news
agency IRNA reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
and Housing and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Saeedi-Kia will
accompany Ahmadinejad. Regional and international political
developments will be discussed, as will potential economic
partnerships between the countries.

_________________________________________________________________________

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?

_________________________________________________________________________

Plansponsor.com

 

A special research panel has concluded that California's public
pension programs are collectively 89% funded and that the combined
shortfall totals about $63 billion.  That was the conclusion of a
report released Thursday by the Governor's Public Employee
Post-Employment Benefits Commission, which surveyed the Golden State's
state and local governments to gauge how well they are funded,
according to a commission news release.  MORE at
http://newsmail.plansponsor.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBTeS0Tt3fc0CBD0IlCL0EM

 

The Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS) announced
today that its investment portfolio closed fiscal year 2006-07 at
$11.1 billion as of June 30.  The preliminary, unaudited total
portfolio return is 19.4%.  The system gained 12.4% in fiscal 2006 and
10% the previous year, according to a press release.

 

QUE SIRA?  That which we call a rose by any other name might smell as
sweet - but that doesn't mean you can call it a rose.  Less than a
month ago, NASD announced that the group would be called the
Securities Industry Regulatory Authority, or SIRA.  However, as it
turns out, SIRA sounds similar to an Arabic word that refers to the
traditional biographies of Muhammad - and it didn't take long for
complaints about the similarity to begin flowing.  MORE at
http://newsmail.plansponsor.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/eBTeS0Tt3fc0CBD0IlCT0EU

Nearly six in 10 (57%) of all adults in this country own a pet or pets
of one kind or another, with dog owners (39% of all adults)
outnumbering cat owners (23%), according to a Pew survey.  Nearly
seven in 10 (69%) adults with an annual family income of $100,000 or
more have a pet, compared with fewer than half (45%) of adults with an
income below $30,000. Also, rural residents (65%) are more likely than
suburbanites (57%) or city folks (51%) to have a pet - though they're
a bit less likely to consider their dogs or cats a member of the
family.

ON THIS DAY:  In 1918, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Czar Nicholas II and
his family were executed by the Bolsheviks - having been under house
arrest since March 1917. The Romanovs had been taken to a cellar under
the pretense of having their photograph taken.  In 1969, at 9:32 a.m.
EDT, Apollo 11, the first U.S. lunar landing mission, was launched
from Cape Canaveral, Florida.  In 1945, the U.S. detonated the first
atomic bomb in a test at Alamogordo, New Mexico.  In 1981, after 23
years using the name Datsun, executives of Nissan changed the name of
their cars - to Nissan.

MONDAY MUSING:  Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong
conclusion with confidence.

_________________________________________________________________________

Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Texas Teachers to shift about one-third of $112bln assets to alternative investments, Puerto Rico to invest in hedge funds as part of overhaul, UK-based institution searches manager for a $50m active global currency alpha mandate
- UK property mogul buys 29.9% stake in Bramdean Alternatives fund
- Gartmore plans GBP 1.5bln float less than 18 months after being taken over by US PE house
- Clinton backs rise in tax on buy-out executives, NY Times: Blackstone devised super tax savings `by turn paying taxes into an annuity`, Blackstone forced to defend tax benefit, Blackstone slams Times article on firm`s tax strategy, Robin Hood nest egg draws scrutiny from Congress
- Opalesque Exclusive: Harbert distressed fund aims at record year, already 25.7% in H1
- Ackman reveals target of his new $2bln `single purpose` hedge fund
- Laurus launches second asset-based hedge fund, Swedish Mangold Fonder changes name and owner, launches new fund, Fair Capital live on Citi`s OpenPrime service, Update: SPARX Group debuts China FoF
- iTraxx launches new CDS based total return indices
- New IAFE Book - How I Became A Quant
- More funds expected to announce suspension of redemptions, Surviving-and prevailing-in the US subprime-mortgage market: How industry players should respond to growing consolidation, continued vertical integration, and the threat of increased government regulation, Debt investors get skittish, lenders and borrowers may need to work together to keep trouble at bay, Fitch places 19 structured CDOs on watch negative due to subprime exposure
- Opalesque Exclusive: Japan expert Jesper Koll, who joined Tantallon from Merril, announces new Japan focused hedge fund, `outstanding opportunities for first time in last 25 years`
- Jennifer Tamis joins Gallatin Capital as Director, From spy to Wall Street seer
- Hedge-fund managers push Christie`s to record, 358 artworks fetch $1m+ price (189 last year), Hirst`s diamond skull set to go for GBP180m
- Gold loved by funds but safe-haven status diluted: `In the end, there is no such thing anymore as a safe asset`
- Investors value ethics, says study
- Save the Date - NYC Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest to take place October 18th
- U.S. senator wants GAO study of SEC, CFTC overlap,  Prime broker rivalry hurts risk management, HK`s Yam says
- Refco`s Banker Elsner plummets from Cote d`Azur to Vienna jail, maintains hedge fund manager Flottl is the culprit
- Chicago trading icon Melamed has `dream come true` with merger deal, ICE open to buying exchange or be takeover target, Dubai exchange owner to counter NASDAQ`s OMX bid, Hong Kong considers setting up oil commodities futures exchange
- GLG hedge funds returns climb as firm heads towards US listing
- Former Lansdowne partners aims at raising $500m for own shop, second-generation start-ups strong in London
- BlueBay records 23% AUM uplift
- RAB hedge fund turns to Asia
- Hector Sants replaces Tiner as FSA Chief
- Norway to ease hedge fund marketing rules
- Opalesque Exclusive: SEB Wealth Management together with SEB Global Foreign Exchange to set up multi-manager currency product
- New South African hedge fund regulations to raise the bar for market entrants
- DE Shaw set for bigger Indian push, to open second India office, invest $1bln by June 08, Indian regulators discuss hedge fund registration this week
- Lehman analyst Nick Spratt joins the hedge fund to focus on event-driven opportunities in Japan.
- Activist News: Court ratifies ABN`s La Salle sale to BofA, RBS-led group lifts cash part of $98 bln ABN bid, Hedge funds said to hold 40% of ABN shares, Harris Associates building stake in UBS
- .And finally: The Power of Love: Attempted robbery ends in group hug
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/main.php?act=archive

 

_________________________________________________________________________

Misc. Items of Interest

 

A Foundation Built on Small Blocks
Growing Internet Use Helps Obama to a Wide Base and a Money Lead
(By Jose Antonio Vargas, The Washington Post)

 

Security
The Top Countries For Cybercrime
7.13.07, 12:01 AM ET - Andy Greenberg
As the world shrinks, international cybercrime is growing in scope and sophistication.

 

_____________________________________________________________________

Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

providential prov-uh-DEN(T)-shuhl, adjective:

 

fructuous FRUHK-choo-uhs, adjective:

Fruitful; productive.

 

1. Of or resulting from divine direction or superintendence.
2. Occurring through or as if through divine intervention; peculiarly fortunate or appropriate.

1978: American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan performed in England before 200,000 people.

1922: Leon Max Lederman, who was a corecipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Physics for research on neutrinos, was born in New York City.

1912: American Jim Thorpe won a gold medal for the decathlon at the Olympics in Stockholm.

1883: Circus performer Charles Stratton, known to the world as Tom Thumb, died.

Blame that bad back on your ancestors
July 15, 2007 12:05 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A spine specialist trying to figure out
why people so often have bad backs says he has come up with
a new theory about when and how early humans evolved the ability
to walk upright.
http://links.reuters.com/t/ZA57H/UO26Y/GX/X93GY?a1=nl_usmorningdigest

_________________________________________________________________________

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:

 

_________________________________________________________________________

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

_________________________________________________________________________

Regulatory Info

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________

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.