Main News

 

What Are Brokers' Exposures to Carlyle Capital?

by Barry Ritholtz

 

Carlyle Deserved to Collapse

by Felix Salmon

 

Central Bankers Pull Out All the Stops

by Michael Shedlock

 

ING freezes two New Zealand investment funds
CNNMoney.com - USA
The CEO added that to date, only about 6 pct of its CDO and CLO portfolios have experienced any credit impairment and the assets continue to deliver steady ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Investors Push Firm for Credit-Risk Data
Principal Financial Group reveals it has $996.5 million worth of exposure to bond and mortgage insurers.

 

The Hedge Fund Deleveraging
Wall Street Journal - USA
Hedge funds have had it rough of late. January featured the worst losses for hedge funds since 2002, and over the November-to-January period fell 3.5%, ...
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Subprime Write-Downs Could Reach $285 Billion, But Are Likely Past The Halfway Mark
The total market value of write-downs of subprime asset-backed securities (ABS) disclosed so far by financial institutions well exceeds $150 billion globally. This compares with our broad estimate that valuation write-downs of subprime ABS--primarily collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) of ABS but also subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)--could reach $285 billion for the global financial sector. The positive news is that, in our opinion, the global financial sector appears to have already disclosed the majority of valuation write-downs of subprime ABS.
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How Hard A Landing? 3/12/08
Beth Ann Bovino, Senior Economist, Standard & Poor's

 

Ross says munis aren't risky. Distressed-assets investor Wilbur Ross says that while ratings agencies are being rightly criticized for underestimating the risk on exotic corporate bonds, they are unfairly lumping municipalities together with corporations in assessing credit-worthiness. Ross has already plunked down $1B on a bet municipalities will beat the current crisis, and committed another $750M to bond-insurer Assured Guaranty (AGO).

 

Semantic web: Google killer. Web founder Tim Berners-Lee says Google's (GOOG) internet dominance may one day be upended by whoever harnesses the power of "semantics." Today's web is essentially pages with links that search engines like Google help navigate. Tomorrow's "semantic web" will involve direct connectivity between low-level pieces of information. "Imagine if two completely separate things — your bank statements and your calendar — spoke the same language and could share information with one another. You could drag one on top of the other and a whole bunch of dots would appear showing you when you spent your money," he says. "It's about creating a seamless web of all the data in your life."

 

Some Fascinating Facts About Fed Injections

by Trader Mark

 

Gold futures briefly reached $1,000 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday morning, as the dollar continued to weaken and crude-oil prices climbed over $110 a barrel. 
For more information, see: http://online.wsj.com/page/commodities.html?mod=djemalertMARKET

 

Some interesting papers by the Fed:

 

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Bernanke Playbook Gives Hints on Fed's Next Moves
Bloomberg - USA
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Want the inside skinny on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's next moves as he battles to avert recession, bank bankruptcies and ...

 

Bernanke Cuts in `Heat of the Battle' May Wreck Inflation Call
Bloomberg - USA
The global credit squeeze has forced Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to break with his preference for a goal-based approach that keeps policy trained on price ...

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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/VSHanatahan073_GJ.jpg

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

Vying for a Post in Iran?s Sharply Narrowed Field
New York Times Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:27 AM PDT
Ahead of parliamentary elections on Friday in Iran, anger over unemployment, inflation and fuel shortages has turned some former supporters of the Iranian president into critics.

 

Iran reformers disqualified as candidates
The Washington Times Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:23 PM PDT
TEHRAN, Iran - A purge by Irans Guardian Council has disqualified most reformist politicians from tomorrows...

 

Iran bans make for flat election
BBC News Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:49 PM PDT
The BBC's Jon Leyne looks at Iran's desultory campaign for the parliamentary election.

 

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Drake Management may liquidate all of its hedge funds, stops withdrawals
- GO Capital halts redemptions from global hedge fund
- Update: Carlyle Capital Corporation unable to reach agreement with lenders, lenders likely to take possession of remaining assets
- Fund launches: Eddington launches global macro FoHF, preparess equity FoHF
- Performance: Opalesque Exclusive: Asuka Japan funds bounce back with strong February returns, Beach Horizon outperforms in Q1 on commodity price surge, JWH gets back into the black, Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund loses 30% of assets since summer`s turmoil, 4% YTD, Update: Last year`s top performer Passport Management starts year on a rough note
- Assets: Gore`s green investing venture to close fund at $5bln
- SocGen Update:  Another SocGen employee taken into custody in trading probe, BNP Paribas may set out SocGen offer terms in May
- Indices: RBC Hedge 250 Index up 1.31% in February, HF.net: Dow Jones-AIG Grains Sub-Index licensed to underlie new leveraged bull and bear commodity ETFs, HFN launches new regional and country specific hedge fund benchmarks, Dow Jones Indexes launches new singe commodity sub-indexes for platinum, lead and tin
- Traders stop to watch Spitzer fall on his sword
- Credit Crunch Update:  Battered credit products: bargains for the brave, Bank of Canada sees more subprime losses globally
- People: Thompson Hine partner appointed to Hedge Fund Association board, Argo Capital hires Morgan Stanley`s Efstathiou, Posner steps down as head of Legg Mason`s ClearBridge Advisors, Deutsche Bank hires six from JP Morgan in Asia
- Legal: Norbourg CEO denies fraud appeal
- Regulators: SEC focuses on hedge fund valuations
- Institutions: Montana mulls hedge funds of funds
- Commodities: Commodities funds post strong gains, according to EPFR Global, Commodities hot, equities not, Oil watchdog to analyse record highs, Number of CTAs reporting to fund databases rising
- Environmental Trading News: Largest survey ever conducted into the world`s carbon market released by PointCarbon
- Exchanges: Eurex, ISE and OCC announce plan for transatlantic trading and clearing link, CBOT members seek $1.3 bln to settle dispute with CBOE
- Emerging Markets: Dexia sees Russia `safe haven` on commodities, Russian regulator calls for tax breaks for stock investors
- Sovereign Wealth Funds: Morgan Stanley: SWF growth to benefit hedge funds
- Europe: Darling confirms UK non-dom tax regime to take effect in April, IMA welcomes continued improvement to the competitiveness of UK authorised funds, Asset managers urge EU to stand firm on full UCITS passport, UtiliPoint releases findings of its European ETRM integration study
- Middle East: Newedge opens Dubai office
- India: India`s FX reserves crosses $300bln mark, top 10 country list, McKinsey study: India offers biggest opportunity for asset management companies
- Awards: EFG-Hermes recognised for innovation at Hedge Funds World
- Tech Update: AIM-TO enhances business process outsourcing solution HedgeSpend for trading expenses
- Activist News: D.E. Shaw expresses concerns over Endo CEO choice
- News Briefs: Buffett succession plan at Berkshire gets a twist, SEBI considers venture capital limit
- ...And finally: Quebecois turn to shotguns to keep neighbors from dumping snow on their grounds
- 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….

 

rodomontade od-uh-muhn-TADE; roh-duh-; -TAHD, noun:

Vain boasting; empty bluster; pretentious, bragging speech; rant.

 

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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.