Main News

 

Credit market turmoil caused by bad US subprime mortgages could be transmitted to emerging market economies through domestic bank lending, according to recent research by Lehman Brothers. Amid tightening global credit conditions, a drop in levels of bank credit in emerging market economies might become a “vehicle for contagion that has so far been overlooked”, the report claimed. “In fact, a slowdown in domestic bank lending could be a trigger for a more abrupt slowdown of domestic economies than thus far envisaged.” Countries with a high proportion of recent lending growth against GDP were potentially more vulnerable, it said.
Lehman: potential for EM contagion overlooked

 

Breaking with convention
MSNBC - USA
Some funds set out to take advantage of extreme volatility. But most hedge fund managers, if they are uncertain about the direction of markets, will "batten ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Moral Hazard Cited as Bush Acts on Loans
Concern About Chilling Effect Is Heard in Bond Market
BY JULIE SATOW - Staff Reporter of the Sun
Wall Street critics are coming out in force against President Bush's proposal to prevent subprime mortgage lenders from foreclosing on some homes. Chief among the complaints is the notion of moral hazard — that borrowers who voluntarily took on...

 

Florida Fund Reopens: $1.1bn Hasty Withdrawal
New York Times - Friday December 07, 09:52 GMT

 

A Marshall Plan for Mortgages
Wall Street Journal - USA
But for the two million homeowners who face foreclosure over the next year because of the subprime mortgage crisis, their New Year's hopes rest not with ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Economic Report: U.S. households lost $128 bln on real estate: Federal Reserve
By Rex Nutting MarketWatch
12/6/2007 12:53:00 PM

 

OCTANS III CDO - Notice of Event of Default
Reuters - USA
RNS Number:3912J OCTANS III CDO Ltd & Corp 06 December 2007 The Bank of New York Trust Company, National Association OCTANS III CDO, LTD. ...
See all stories on this topic

 

It is perhaps a bit sad to admit but there is still an abundance of modern-day economists who insist that a flawless financial model is still within their reach. They fail repeatedly but still maintain the impossible is really anything but.

Full Story...

 

Global Market Brief: Sources of Liquidity in the Global System
 http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=299571

 

PERLMAN PLANS IPO FOR BLIND INVESTMENT
 By ZACHERY KOUWE
Billionaire investor Ronald Perelman filed yesterday to raise $500 million from public investors to finance the takeover of a business he has yet to identify.  The new capital will be raised through a so-called blank-check company, called MAFS...
full story: http://www.nypost.com/seven/12082007/business/perelman_plans_ipo_for_blind_investment_636360.htm

 

What a difference a CDO makes
FT Alphaville - London,UK
Since E-trade and Adams Square, people seem to have been wondering what the implications are for the CDO market at large. Two instances of CDO's rendered ...
See all stories on this topic

 

For Most Hedge Funds, a Chilly November
New York Times Blogs - New York,NY,USA
In a year that has proved volatile for hedge fund returns, November appears to be one of the down months — except for one investment strategy. ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Goldman Sachs, AQR Hedge Funds Fell 6% in November (Update3)
Bloomberg - USA
7 (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds run by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and AQR Capital Management LLC fell in November as swings in financial markets confounded the ...
See all stories on this topic

 

 

Gay porn star comes clean about link to murdered hedge funder Seth Tobias
New York Daily News Sat, 08 Dec 2007 1:42 AM PST
A gay lap dancer caught up in the mysterious death of New York hedge-fund millionaire Seth Tobias broke his silence Friday night and insisted he's clueless about the case.

 

NO MICKEY MOUSE
 By JOHN AIDAN BYRNE
Michael "Mickey" Gooch owns 43 percent of one of the most successful brokers - GFI Group, which specializes in setting up trades of credit derivatives among titans like Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.  The 48-year-old Gooch's well-honed...
full story: http://www.nypost.com/seven/12092007/business/no_mickey_mouse_569477.htm

 

Friday , 07 Dec 2007
A “precipitous drop” in uranium spot prices may have hurt the ability of uranium explorationists and producers to raise critical capital.

 

North American Institutions Plan Big HF Push
Hedgeworld (subscription) - New York,NY,USA
In addition, 45% of these institutions indicated they are considering establishing portable alpha programs, which often use funds of hedge funds as the ...
See all stories on this topic

 

_________________________________________________________________________

Yield Curve Corner

 

The Fed's Plan B
CNNMoney.com - USA
Some think Ben Bernanke & Co. will cut one key interest rate by a quarter point and another one by a half point on Tuesday. By Paul R. La Monica, ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Trichet says he and Bernanke have 'very close' working ...
Forbes - NY,USA
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said he and US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have built up a ...
See all stories on this topic

 

_________________________________________________________________________

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/STMusnortheast341_N8.jpg

_________________________________________________________________________

Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

Iran Aims 'To Foment Instability,' Gates Says
MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 8 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates argued forcefully at a Persian Gulf security conference Saturday that U.S. intelligence indicates Iran could restart its secret nuclear weapons program "at any time" and remains a major threat to the region.
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

 

 

Iran: U.S. used spies to get nuke info
USA Today Sat, 08 Dec 2007 10:56 AM PST
Iran has sent a formal protest note about "spying" on Iran's nuclear activities, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.

 

RUSSIA, U.S., IRAN:  The United States will continue its "two-track process" of dealing with Iran, urging new sanctions and negotiating with Tehran to convince it to reveal the full extent of its nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza said. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with Rice on the sidelines of a NATO ministerial meeting in Belgium, ignored her calls for sanctions. "There is no military element in [Tehran's] nuclear program. We hope very much that these negotiations with Iran will continue," he said.

_________________________________________________________________________

Opalesque’s Corner

 

- AQR Capital`s $4bln flagship vehicle dips further, As Pandit moves up to Citi CEO short list, his fund Old Lane Partners struggles, Swedish hedge funds hit by November stock market turbulence
- Deutsche closes global equity FoHF, The SVM Global Opportunities Fund`s AUM at GBP50m of assets in less than 18 months, strong performance
- Indexes: HFRX Indices, November 2007 performance: Equity Market Neutral best performer at 0.15% and only index with positive return, November 2007 performance review of the Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy benchmarks, Equity market neutral was best performer at 0.34% (est.) and only strategy with a positive return
- Assets: Hedge fund assets jump 13% in six months, FoHFs` up 19%, in part due to pension funds allocations, Investors pulled $2.8bln out of hedge funds in October, gave $16bln in new assets, lowest inflow since January, Funds flow out for quant teams, drop of 40% in last 6 months, Beyond redemption: fund managers` denial, Comment: Hedge fund industry estimate: 11th largest economy in the world?
- Survey: Hedge funds most popular alternatives in Switzerland in spite of costs
- Seeders: Triple A Partners, Iveagh join forces to seed Asian fund managers
- Strategies: Hedge managers take advantage of the slowdown in structured credit issuance, credit opportunity funds to gain, Quants versus quals: MFS includes quantitative and fundamental styles in one portfolio, explains why, Spread betting: Playing it safe by choosing to run the risk
- Pensions: Northwater`s VP on portable Alpha and pensions, Dutch Blue Sky Group believes there is still a lot of beta exposure in hedge funds but is testing `intuitively appealing` hedge fund replication and invests in 130/30 strategies
- Credit Crunch Update: Credit concerns put carry trades on shaky ground, Synthetic CDO AAA tranches a bargain for the brave, Merrill Lynch braced for up to $12bn debt write-down
- Superfund for SIVs hoped for $100bln, may be half the size, BlackRock to be named administrator of Superfund
- Interest Rates: Interest rate freeze plan may not fly with HFs and bondholders, BoE cut rates by a quarter percentage point, US Fed expected to reduce rates next week, UAE could cut rates further, in line with US Fed`s moves
- Legal News: Bankrupt Bear Strearns hedge funds seek more time to argue for appeal, Azure BAy closes shop after SEC charges fraud, Sentinel execs ask court to dismiss lawsuit, Wachovia`s Mark Michel accused of insider trading, SEC probes merger-rumour trades involving Alliance Data Systems
- People: Ex-Credit Suisse director joins FoFs firm, RREEF North America adds two directors, New vice president at BlackRock, Pacific Sun adds to its team in Hong Kong and Shanghai, MFS Alternative Investments` CIO leaves after 8 months, AlphaMetrix announces Heidi M. Rauh to join firm as general Counsel, Founding partner Haam quits CIO post at Pamplona
- Shinsei CIO Cutis leaves to starts hedge fund, New HFs CIO at Mitsui Sumitomo, Finding indigenous Japanese hedge fund managers is incredibly taxing
- Commodities / Energy: Commodity investor sophistication increasing, says Barclays Capital, Barclays index taps carbon trading
- Exchanges / Trading Platforms: NYMEX confirms to launch carbon emissions trading in weeks,  Does the closing bell toll for the NYSE floor?
- Tax Update: Lawmakers move toward compromise on buyout firm, minimum taxes, Wealthy foreigners set to quit UK over tax clampdown
- Comment: The hedge fund manager as a gambling addict
- Mark to value versus mark to liquidity during market crises, ` prices are determined by liquidity issues, not by value`
- Let`s not panic and ruin the world, desire for government intervention is dangerous, FT interview with Paul Myners
- Activist News: Trade like this super-secret hedge fund: what TCI has been up to, A new power league of Swedish hedge fund investors enters the Swedish equity market, Activist investors seek success in Germany, Galleon turns up heat on PeopleSupport
- News Briefs: United States 12 Month Oil Fund launches on AMEX, Dow Jones indexes launches 2008 Summer Games Index, New charity research group addresses the `pissed-off donor model`, UK rejects Italian calls for single EU regulator, Black humor pervades norway as subprime losses extend to Arctic
- And Finally.Chinese tourists protest over shop-till-you-drop tour
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/main.php?act=archive

 

_________________________________________________________________________

Misc. Items of Interest

 

_____________________________________________________________________

Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

rapprochement ap-rosh-MAWN, noun:

The establishment or state of cordial relations.

 

mendicant MEN-dih-kunt, noun:

1. A beggar; especially, one who makes a business of begging.
2. A member of an order of friars forbidden to acquire landed property and required to be supported by alms.
3. Practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as, mendicant friars.

 

_________________________________________________________________________

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.