Main News

 

We’ve heard it all before; the equity market sector (yet another one) is cooling its heels on account of the fact that they believe the Federal Reserve is going to be there to save them.

Full Story...

 

New California regulations may push hedge funds out of state
MarketWatch - USA
Proposed new hedge funds rules may push operators out of state to avoid oversight. Hedge fund managers that have fewer than 15 clients and more than $25 ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Should hedge funds outsource risk management?
Tue, 30 Oct 2007, 11:41
Asian Investor
For new hedge fund managers, most might say that their investment know-how is their leading skill-set. Then they find that they have the drudge of employing electricians, fixing computers and getting the carpets cleaned. Risk management however, is more of a grey area. Many might see that as part and parcel of the investment monitoring process, and an activity they want to handle personally, others can see as something that can be logistically useful to get outsourced to a specialist.

 

by Felix Salmon

 

 

UBS Too Poor To Award Real Bonuses This Year?
Deal Book - Wednesday October 31, 08:04 GMT

 

Don't Write Off Quant Funds
TheStreet.com - USA
By Richard Widows Despite the horror stories in recent months about "quant" hedge funds, mutual-fund investors need not necessarily run for cover when they ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Citigroup buys fixed-income hedge fund Carlton Hill
Market Watch Wed, 31 Oct 2007 9:01 AM PDT
(Adds information in third and fourth paragraphs, including details about Carlton Hill not having actually launched a fund yet.) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Citigroup Inc.'s alternative investments unit agreed to buy Carlton Hill Global Capital LLC, a hedge fund specializing in credit derivatives. Carlton Hill, a New York firm with 12 employees, was founded last year by two Morgan Stanley alumni, ...

 

FUND'S CHINESE STAKE STIRS SOME QUESTIONS
New York Post Wed, 31 Oct 2007 0:37 AM PDT
A white shoe New York hedge fund has invested in a Chinese copper company whose management has an eye-popping history of stock problems and regulatory woes. Ospraie Management, a $7 billion New York hedge fund run by Tiger Management veteran...

 

Real Interest Rates and the Default Rate on High-Yield Bonds
by Martin Fridson, Christopher Garman, & Sheng Wu
Determinants of the aggregate default rate on high-yield bonds have been of interest at least since 1990 - 1991, when the proportion of defaulting issued reached effectively its highest level since the Great Depression. With recovery by the mid-19902, and a new record volume of issuance in 1993, analysts have wondered whether another wave of financial failures will follow. This research shows that nominal interest rates are not highly correlated with aggregate default rates on high-yield bonds... More... <http://www.hedgefund-index.com/s_highyield.asp>

 

Innovation: Google's Math PUZZLES Customers | by Valeria Maltoni
Your site just did the Google Dance -- and your partner
seems to have stepped on your foot. Today the giant
information engine company downgraded several blogs
with high PageRanks (PR) -- the jury is out on why
those sites were demoted. Among them ProBlogger, who
has upward of 34,000 RSS subscribers, Copyblogger who
has upward of 26,000 RSS subscribers -- two among my
favorite sources of good content written intelligently.
http://trax.fastcompany.com/k/w/mailman/fasttake/20071031/gmath

 

TORONTO (HedgeWorld.com)—KPMG Inc. announced on Tuesday [Oct. 30] that one of the founders of the defunct hedge fund Portus Alternative Asset Management Inc. ......

 

Saudi Monarch Visits Queen Amid Questions
BY NICHOLAS WAPSHOTT - Staff Reporter of the Sun
An official state visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to London, complete with an audience with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, is being overshadowed by a report that the Saudi government is funding the promotion of terrorism and...

 

JPMorgan Expands Global Commodities Business
Tue, 30 Oct 2007, 15:16
Trading Markets
JPMorgan announced today that it has hired 50 people for its global Commodities business this year, further expanding the investment bank's capabilities. JPMorgan's Commodities business is focusing specifically on the build-out of five major businesses: power and gas trading; oil and distillates trading; carbon and environmental products; energy sales and marketing; and commodity-linked structured products.

 

Permal thinks ancient for newest fund of funds
Tue, 30 Oct 2007, 12:52
FinAlternatives
For its newest fund of hedge funds, Permal Group is looking at one of the oldest trade routes in the world. The New York-based firm is gearing up to launch the Permal Silk Road Fund at the end of November. As its name suggests, the fund will concentrate on managers focused all along the ancient commercial highway, including the Middle East and North Africa, Asia ex-Japan, the former Soviet Union and Turkey.

 

 

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Bloomberg - USAChairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues, who this month have repeatedly stressed ``uncertainty'' in the economic outlook, will probably cite risks of ...

Time to Stand Up to Wall Street
Washington Post - United States
The final exam begins today, when Bernanke will either show that he is capable of standing up to the insatiable demands of Wall Street, or that he is so ...
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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/TRCnoel304_G12.jpg

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Iranian Situation

 

Geopolitical Diary: Russia Swings between the U.S. and Iran
 http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=297566

 

Iran: Russia and Tehran's Shifting Stance
 http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=297616

Iran's Hezbollah Card
 http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=297621

 

Iran warns U.S. of "quagmire" as Russia urges diplomacy
Reuters via Yahoo! News Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:34 AM PDT
Iran warned the United States on Wednesday it would find itself in a "quagmire deeper than Iraq" if it attacked the Islamic state, and Russia intensified efforts for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear row with the West.

 

Iraq, Iran dominate foreign policy portion of debate
CNN.com Wed, 31 Oct 2007 7:18 AM PDT
The future of troops in Iraq and the potential of a U.S. showdown with Iran dominated much of Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate -- with front-runner Hillary Clinton's votes on the two issues at the center.

 

IRAN, TURKEY:  Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, ahead of Nov. 2-3 multilateral talks on Iraqi security. Hosseini will participate in a two-day expert committee session beginning Nov. 1. Representatives from Iran, Kuwait, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain have been invited to the meeting, along with officials from the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Arab Union and European Union.

 

IRAN, IRAQ:  Tehran has announced it will propose new measures to settle the situation in Iraq at an international conference on Iraq to take place Nov. 2-3, RIA Novosti reported, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

 

IRAN, LEBANON:  Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has delayed his visit to Lebanon, Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Mohammad Reza Sheibani said. He is scheduled to discuss mediation efforts between Iraq and Turkey.

 

IRAN, U.S.:  Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran is willing to hold a new round of talks with the United States on security in Iraq. Washington has also said it is willing to attend new discussions with Iran. After a meeting in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari, Mottaki said Iran is considering new talks "positively."

 

War Plans: United States and Iran
 http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=297533

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Dexion Capital and Canada`s JC Clark open offshore hedge fund, Signal to launch ABL fund and quant managed accounts, Ex-NYSE specialists, EW Trading, form maiden hedge fund, Da Vinci planning a series of hedge funds, eyes $1bln
- Opalesque Exclusive: Aussie L/S manager up 10.81% YTD, in line with ASX but half vola, says resource boom to continue `at full tilt`
- GAM`S Bennett says stock prices in developing economies are rising too quickly
- Old Oak Holdings, Toscafund, acquired a stake in Penta Capital, Sir George goes empire building as Toscafund buys a stake in a PE firm
- New HK firm recommends outsourced risk management to hedge funds
- Greenwich Study: Qualitative factors eclipse performance in money manager selection
- Listed fund run by HF group Polygon, Tetragon, is hit by credit crunch, Update: UBS posts $712m Q3 lost after subprime-write downs, CalPERS denies sub-prime losses, Bank of China takes $322m sub-prime hit, Schroders defies crunch with 53% profits jump, FoFs division suffered loss in Q3
- People: Interview with Jim Simons, video, O`Neal steps aside at Merrill for `retirement`, Merrill`s departing chief to get $160m, Moynihan to fix BofA investment banking ship, Subprime crisis claims sacrifices from the CEO club, Investigators Kroll hires Leahy for MD post in Singapore, dms Management Ltd appoints Giovanni Berloni and Kevin Phillip as managers
- Pensions: LPFA could make its first allocation to hedge funds next year
- Commodities: Goldman says `take profits` after crude hit record, closing long positions on NY oil futures, Oil market is out of our control, says Opec, New exchange-traded notes tied to Jim Rogers` commodity indexes begin trading,  ProShares commodities funds with 200%, -100% and -200% exposure, South Korea to start $22 billion resources fund
- Legal News: Update: Portus Founder heading to Canada, may go to a bail hearing, MF Global, Cayman`s UBS accused of negligently allowing HF manager to hide $179m loss, Update: Mark Lay found guilty in Ohio investment loss, SEC is looking into whether Goldman cheated during subprime crisis, Morgan Stanley to pay $62m in gender discrimination cases
- Update: First Republic says $40 million in default in Salander art battle,  Secrecy in the arts market a form of manipulation by the auction houses to increase their profits
- Tokyo, London bourses to create new Asia growth market, Dubai`s long-term goal to be top-three exchange group a desert mirage? CFTC review: CBOT found to maintain adequate market surveillance program, Mifid seeks to end historic monopoly of stock exchanges: The commoditisation of share trading, Spain is one of Mifid`s slow starters
- Advantages and disadvantages of being a HF in Paris
- Bridge Asset Management moves operations to Isle of Man
- Lloyd`s CEO: Dubai new rival to London market
- India markets stabilize but investors need to be mindful of several renewed political risks
- Activist News: Hedge fund accuses Mittal of prejudice toward minority investors, Hedge funds invest in Chinese copper company whose management has history of stock problems and regulatory woes, There is every reason to suppose that hedge fund activists will resume their campaigns to press some companies to take on more debt, Update: Generali to discuss hedge fund criticism, Update: CSX activist steadfast in its attempt to revive stock, though valuation upside seems limited, Body-armor maker receives buyout offer from Steel Partners II, Steel Partners to buy 48% of Liuzhou Chemical` parent
- News Briefs:  Update: Och-Ziff founder set for $2.5bn windfall, Card and bank debts: The $915b bomb in consumers` wallets, why some fear this could be the next subprime, JPMorgan hires 50 to expand global commodities business, three-part Bloomberg television series, starting (today), will explore HF industry, New litigation services handbook out, review, MF Global posts quarterly loss, hurt by IPO costs and provision for litigation settlement, London luxury-home price gains may slow to 3% in 2008, Bahrain establishes trust registry to service wealthy clients, HSBC helps start Middle East bond indices amid slowdown
- And Finally. Serial jailbreaker, `escape king`, escapes for fourth time
- 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….

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Conference, Courses, Books, Papers

* What determines the value of money and gold;
* How they circulate internationally;
* What the gold standard is and why the U.S. should return to it; and
* What developments are expected that could trigger the return to the gold standard.
  <http://www.getabstract.com/abstractData/flashFile/gold_lewis_hr_0x140.jpg><http://www.getabstract.com/trans.gif> Gold
by Nathan Lewis and Addison Wiggin
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007

 

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.