Main News

 

Lehman believes it is facing a write-down in the $1.3 billion range amid signs its latest quarter will be the rockiest since the mortgage crisis began.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120338234820175733.html?mod=djemheard

 

Ex-GLG Star  <http://www.hedgefund-index.com/newstoday.asp> Shuts Personal Hedge Fund
Source: FINalternatives
Philippe Jabre, the former star trader at GLG Partners, has shuttered his personal investment fund a year after launching his own hedge fund. More... <http://www.hedgefund-index.com/newstoday.asp>

 

 

More Than Just Insurance: Monolines Provide an Efficient Municipal ...
Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA
Ackman (currently shorting ABK and MBI) raised the concern that after paying CDO claims, no money would be left to pay municipal bond claims. ...

 

Citigroup suspends withdrawals from London hedge fund
Guardian Unlimited Fri, 15 Feb 2008 4:13 PM PST
Withdrawals blocked after unrest among clients about unusual pattern of poorly performing investments

 

How to Nab the Rogues: 10 Fraud Tips
Why the risk of wrongdoing has migrated from senior executives to middle management — and what to do about it.

 

SocGen trader faced earlier inquiry: report
February 18, 2008 04:40 AM ET
ZURICH (Reuters) - French bank Societe Generale , at the centre
of a huge trading scandal, began investigating trades executed
by Jerome Kerviel months before his activities were exposed
in January, the Financial Times reported.
http://links.reuters.com/r/KT2XP/K15SF/7L673/FI6Q3/XD7GZ/YT/t

 

Structured credit hedge funds fall further, according to Palomar index
HedgeWeek - London,UK
Both gross and net returns in December for the Palomar Structured Credit Hedge Fund Index were negative for the third month in a row, although 15 of 30 ...

 

Distress Turns To Joy And Profit
Financial Times - Monday February 18, 08:20 GMT

 

The New Wall Street Status Symbol: Steady Job
New York Post - Monday February 18, 07:31 GMT

 

Yale's Swenson: Keep It Simple, Folks!
New York Times - Monday February 18, 07:25 GMT

 

After the worst holiday season in five years, Wall Street is bracing for a slew of ugly profit reports from retailers and downbeat forecasts for 2008.  Major chains - from Wal-Mart to Macy&#39;s to Gap - will report earnings for the crucial fourth...
full story: http://www.nypost.com/seven/02182008/business/profit_hit_in_store_98130.htm

 

by SA Editor Judy Weil

 

by Todd Sullivan

 

Fri, 15 Feb 2008, 11:00

IPE.com
Quantitative strategies are "partly guilty" of market distortion as "sudden de-levering" helped intensify equity market corrections, Barclays Capital has revealed. The firm's Equity Gilt Study 2008, which included research on resource scarcity, barriers to portfolio diversification and UK and US asset returns, also analysed whether particular hedge fund styles, such as quantitative strategies, are more vulnerable to crisis or more likely to create market distortion.

 

Returns hit by SIV crisis
UBS had a disappointing year, but Credit Suisse, which had been on track to achieve strong results, had a catastrophic year after an exposure to structured credit in its money market funds led to a 30% drop in profits.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/340883/MTk4MTI1OjE2NDQ4/

 

Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities
RMBS Trends: Paradigm Shift In U.S. Subprime RMBS Market Continues Through Fourth-Quarter 2007
The paradigm shift in the U.S. subprime mortgage market that began in third-quarter 2007 became more entrenched, in our view, in the fourth quarter. Several market participants recorded unprecedented write-downs of subprime mortgage-related assets. Industry players continued to exit the subprime mortgage origination and securitization markets. And continued weakness in the housing market sparked fears of economic recession, and we believe it remains a significant factor in loan performance.
To learn more, click or copy and paste the URL below:
(subscription required)
http://standardandpoors.rsys1.net/servlet/cc5?kHiQAAYSQTVsLgHxhilpuHQJhuV2VW

 

Credit crunch tests LDI funds' mettle
Just when pension schemes had started to believe in the complex strategy of liability-driven investment, consultants have noticed an unforeseen weakness in its structure. They say the credit crunch has shown that liability matching does not mean all risk can be removed from pension schemes.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/340893/MTk4MTI1OjE2NDQ4/

 

Fear and jealousy in investment banking
Investment banking is a spiteful business that seems to bring out the worst in some of its participants. There are those who cannot wait to see a close competitor fall on its face. Even more acceptable is the pronouncement of death, which will allow the participants to dance on their competitor's grave.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/340905/MTk4MTI1OjE2NDQ4/

 

 

Fear of embarrassment fuels funds of funds expansion
Financial News Online US - London,UK
GAM, a fund manager owned by Swiss bank Julius Baer, opened its fund of hedge funds to institutional investors in the US two years ago and secured 20 ...

 

China's Aluminum Consumption <http://seekingalpha.com/article/64567-china-s-aluminum-consumption?source=i_email>
by Felix Salmon <http://seekingalpha.com/author/felix-salmon?source=i_email>

 

Hezbollah to bury slain commander, Israel on alert
February 14, 2008 05:47 AM ET
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah holds a mass funeral for
its assassinated commander Imad Moughniyah, one of the United
States' most wanted men, in Beirut on Thursday amid calls for
revenge against its sworn enemy Israel.
http://links.reuters.com/r/GPOMR/MT4N5/TYJLW/32RO4/N2TG2/YT/t

 

Morningstar launches star ratings and indices for hedge funds
HedgeWeek - London,UK
Investment research provider Morningstar has launched the Morningstar Rating for hedge funds as well as the Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index and 17 indices ...

 

By PR Newswire
2/14/2008 9:24:00 AM

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Bernanke's Rate Cuts Force Asia Back to Price Limits, Subsidies
Bloomberg - USA
18 (Bloomberg) -- Ben S. Bernanke, the champion of free markets, is driving Asia's governments back to controlled economies. Under Bernanke's chairmanship ...

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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/TRCivan045_MT.jpg

Another picture: http://www.osei.noaa.gov/Events/Current/TRCnicholas046_GJ.jpg

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

Iran Opens Its 1st Oil Products Bourse
CBS News Mon, 18 Feb 2008 1:12 AM PST
Iran established its first oil products bourse Sunday in a free trade zone on the Persian Gulf Island of Kish, the country's oil ministry said.

 

Iran's nomads going extinct
Los Angeles Times Mon, 18 Feb 2008 0:06 AM PST
The population declines as urban life pulls some away and cities encroach on land used to feed animals. As a chill wind blows in, the Bakhtiari nomads pack up at the end of summer and start a long journey -- women and kids on horseback, men on foot, belongings in tow -- for the warmer regions here in southwestern Iran.

 

The U.S.-Iranian Negotiations: Beyond the Rhetoric
February 12, 2008 1943 GMT
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/u_s_iranian_negotiations_beyond_rhetoric

 

Iran reinstates more reformist candidates for election
AFP via Yahoo! News Sat, 16 Feb 2008 6:19 AM PST
Iran on Saturday reinstated another 300 mainly reformist candidates who had been disqualified from standing in next month's parliamentary elections, the official IRNA news agency reported.

 

Iran ex-president appeals to watchdog over candidates
AFP via Yahoo! News Fri, 15 Feb 2008 4:01 AM PST
Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Friday urged the hardline electoral watchdog to reinstate moderate candidates for next month's parliamentary election.

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Editor's Note
- Fund launches: Hallgarten sets up new LatAm hedge fund, Opalesque Exclusive: Pioneer to offer FoF to French investors, Venus eyes trio of India launches, N.Y. FoF launches leveraged feeder fund, Hillsdale IM prepares 130/30 fund, Martin Asset Management launches ETF fund, Cazenove to launch first charity fund, one third invested in alternatives
- Astrum plans to raise $500m by autumn for new hedge fund</b><br>
- Hedge Fund Capital Partners: Interest in hedge funds alive but decline in start-ups, `no better time to launch than a slowdown`
- Performance: Opalesque Exclusive: French year-old hybrid fund outperforms Eurostoxx, keeps up in down markets, Saracen posts undisclosed losses in natural gas, FiveT Capital`s FiveMore L/S fund up 48.8% in first year
- Dhir India hedge fund gains from distressed assets
- Indices: Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index is Down 1.48% in January
- Leveraged loan and credit hedge fund environment worsens
- FT Comment: Risk Management:  Currently the most striking `arbitrage` is between valuation of risk in credit markets and equity markets
- Investors: LBS study: Simple momentum trading strategy beats short sellers,  Recommendations from Yale endowment`s manager: Keep it simple
- Commodities: Commodities were best performing asset in 2007, Bordeaux wine futures under attack as demand explodes
- Barclays Capital: Quant strategies helped `intensify` financial crisis
- Credit Crunch Update: Bleak economic reports signal U.S. recession, Odds of recession 50% or `slightly more`, Dallas Fed: Economy gets sluggish, Monolines given five days to find funds or face potential break-up, MBIA says shorts are to blame, Governance group demands independent investigation in UBS` risk controls
- SocGen Update: Inside source says `inconceivable` Kerviel`s immediate supervisors were not alerted after Eurex alarm,  Societe Generale trader acted alone under watch of superiors, lawyer says, Kerviel faced earlier inquiry, SocGen fights back with internal `hackers` to stress-test IT and risk management systems
- People: Hewitt hires hedge fund consultant Simy Prakash, Bear analyst to join healthcare L/S fund, David Li resigns from Hong Kong`s executive council
- Legal: Li cites family for settling Dow Jones insider trading probe, Refco ex-chief Phillip Bennett pleads guilty to fraud, Five ex-Refco executives were co-conspirators, U.S. says, Former chairman Thomas H. Dittmer found with $91.8m benefits, more, LJH Global Investments ordered to pay $125,000 penalty for failure to file reports on time, Update: Things not to say when your Bear Stearns hedge fund is imploding, analysis of investor conference transcripts
- Environmental Trading News: Business chiefs vow to lead fight against global warming
- Exchanges: Non US$-based Iranian Oil Bourse now open, devaluation pressure on dollar, NYSE Euronext to buy 5% stake in Indian commodity bourse, Borse Dubai might sell LSE stake to Qatar
- Europe: Private equity, hedge funds and banks step up campaign against non-domiciled residents` tax plans
- Middle-East: Gulf derivatives market to grow to $3bln by 2010
- Asia: Deutsche Bank`s cautionary tale on Chinese real estate - how one of the world`s largest property investors got caught in `complex fraud`, Independent hedge funds drawn to Hong Kong as regional equity markets grow, Stagflation has come to Singapore, Japan FSA highlights exposures of Japanese deposit-taking institutions to subprime-related products
- South America: Brazil builds reputation as hedge fund centre
- Northern Rock Update: Northern Rock to be nationalized, Bruising battle ahead over value of shares
- Activist News: Manager and investment advisor of Strategic Energy Fund responds to law suit by offshore hedge funds, Update: Artradis backs QVT in Unicredit fight over Kazakhstan bank, SAC Capital raises stake in OEH
- News Briefs: HFs bet on rising oil prices first time in 5 weeks, oil trades above $95 after gaining on Venezuela, Marine Capital aims to launch shipping as new asset class
- And Finally. Not the way it used to be: Michigan libraries are evolving to draw teenagers by stocking shelves with 1,823 games
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/main.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

The New Way To Make Deals: Blank Checks
Firms Gather Cash, Then Look for Something to Buy
(By Thomas Heath, The Washington Post)

 

Mughniyah: The Death of a Militant Leader
February 14, 2008 1535 GMT
In this members-only podcast, Stratfor’s vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security, Fred Burton, gives perspective on the assassination of Imad Mughniyah and what it means for regional stability in the near term.
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/mughniyah_death_militant_leader

 

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

sine qua non sin-ih-kwah-NON; -NOHN; sy-nih-kway-, noun:

An essential condition or element; an indispensable thing.

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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.