Main News

 

July Worst of '08 for HFs
By: Maggie Shea, Financial Correspondent
Posted: 08/07/2008 4:32:55 PM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/read_news.cgi?section=indx&story=indx1298.html

 

Hedge-fund pioneer Paul Tudor Jones and veteran stock picker James Pallotta are considering changes to their 15-year ...
eFinancial News Thu, 07 Aug 2008 2:18 AM PDT
Hedge-fund pioneer Paul Tudor Jones and veteran stock picker James Pallotta are considering changes to their 15-year partnership, including a possible parting of ways that could affect their $18bn (€11.6bn) fund empire.

 

Panel Calls for New Risk Standards At Wall St. Firms
NEW YORK, Aug. 6 -- A Wall Street consortium led by Goldman Sachs managing director E. Gerald Corrigan recommended new standards Wednesday for monitoring and managing risk, saying the financial industry must be better equipped to contain the type of widespread damage wrought by the credit crunch.
(By Heather Landy, The Washington Post)

 

Risk and the credit crunch Confessions of a risk manager
Economist - UK
The gap in our risk management only opened up gradually over the years with the growth of traded credit products such as CDO tranches and other asset-backed ...

 

Data Boosts Case for Early-Stage Investing
By: Chidem Kurdas, New York Bureau Chief
Posted: 08/07/2008 12:02:13 PM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/read_news.cgi?section=peop&story=peop3567.html

 

Credit FAQ: Standard & Poor's Comments On Loan-To-Value Covenants In European CMBS<http://now.eloqua.com/e/er.aspx?s=795&lid=6254&elq=2F7CAC6AC5454FB1B42645F8EC808A28>

 

Subprime News: Fannie, Freddie, Regional Banks [Housing Tracker]
Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA
Freddie had credit-related expenses of $2.8 billion, double the first quarter, and wrote down the value of subprime and low- quality mortgage securities by ...

 

Generally Upbeat Economic Outlook Fueled By Sharp Drop In Oil Prices<http://app.en25.com/e/er.aspx?s=795&lid=6019&elq=C8B92B6FEE60452995F1028E78828BE9> 7/30/08
David Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard & Poor's
S&P's Chief Economist David Wyss notes that the economic data this week generally makes S&P feel more upbeat about the economy, although certainly the housing and financial markets remain serious problems. Overall, S&P believes prospects are a little bit better than they were a month or even a week ago, and that if the drop in oil prices continues, it will certainly help keep inflation under control, putting less pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates and take pressure off consumer budgets.

 

A Devil In The Details<http://app.en25.com/e/er.aspx?s=795&lid=5774&elq=C8B92B6FEE60452995F1028E78828BE9> 7/23/08
Beth Ann Bovino, Senior Economist, Standard & Poor's
S&P still expects a mild, but long, recession, and while housing starts saw signs of life in June, a change in government code largely explains the good news. And while industrial production was surprisingly strong, post-strike production helped explain the bounce. The stimulus payments came out earlier than expected, and appear to have been spent more quickly than expected, which has helped the economy. However, higher oil prices have increased the squeeze on consumers, and financial markets remain tighter than anticipated. The result will be that the recession comes a bit later than S&P originally expected, but it is still coming. S&P expects the Fed to move quickly to raise rates once the risk of recession seems past, but doesn’t expect them to be certain of that until mid-2009.

 

Banks conduct fire sales of SIVs closer to public eye
Financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, have conducted fire sales of structured-investment vehicles -- products at the root of the credit crisis -- more openly in the past few weeks. The sales give these toxic assets and their value some much needed visibility. Banks and investors who hold similar assets will be carefully watching the SIV sales. Financial Times (06 Aug.)

 

McCain, Obama and bundles of money in White House race
AFP -
Many of those powerful Obama players are from industries that keep up influential lobbying activities in Washington, including the hedge fund industry, ...

 

GLG in red as outflows rise
Aug 06 2008 19:31
UK-based hedge fund loses $2.2bn from emerging market funds after star manager leaves Read more »

 

Commodities: On the Downhill Slope? by Roger Nusbaum

 

Former SEC Chairman Levitt: The Dangers of the Paulson Doctrine by Wall Street Weather

 

 Are Hedge Fund Programs Driving the Market? by Trader Mark

 

Wall Street banks shrink from trading physical oil
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs earned about $5 billion trading energy and commodities last year. They led Wall Street banks into trading in physical oil, not only futures contracts. Trading oil requires costly storage facilities, long tanker voyages, and specialized logistic and accounting skills. Last month, Morgan Stanley shelved its Asian business trading jet fuel, diesel and other distillates. The move was attributed to worry about volatile conditions, oil traders said. Reuters (06 Aug.)

 

David Weidner's Writing on the Wall: Demystifying the value of hedge-fund investing
Market Watch Wed, 06 Aug 2008 9:25 PM PDT
The average Joe Investor can get a slice of hedge funds. Only they're not getting much out those investments lately, columnist David Weidner writes.

 

Prime Brokers See Larger Startups, Mini-Goldman Firms
By: Chidem Kurdas, New York Bureau Chief
Posted: 08/07/2008 4:29:43 PM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/premium/read_news.cgi?section=dail&story=dail15186.html

 

Icahn Hires Reporter to Write for His Blog<http://www.hedgefund-index.com/newstoday.asp>
Source: The New York Times
Carl C. Icahn took his first steps into the Internet earlier this year by beginning a blog. Now he’s about to get some help. More...<http://www.hedgefund-index.com/newstoday.asp>

 

U.S. Naval Update Map: Aug. 6, 2008
August 6, 2008 2135 GMT
A weekly approximation of the current locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups and Expeditionary Strike Groups, based on available open-source information. (With Stratfor map)
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/u_s_naval_update_map_aug_6_2008

 

Steel Partners Calls Out Point Blank
Forbes - Thursday August 07, 10:05 BST

 

SEI Rolls Out SRI Fund
Manager of managers SEI has launched a socially responsible international equity fund that weeds out companies investing in Sudan and Iran.Read more

 

An Anatomy of a CFO's Agony
How a make-the-numbers mandate, threats from his bosses, and accounting skullduggery nearly destroyed him.

 

Email forensics
What questions should risk and compliance execs be asking about their email compliance framework?
More on Compliance Tools...

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke managed to keep the revolt of dissenters at bay this week. With a statement slightly more hawkish than in June, only one member dissented. In other news, more jobs were lost in July, while wages showed no sign of significant acceleration, to help keep a Fed rate hike unlikely near-term. The wage data remained stable and moderate, showing no sign, at least yet, of the wage-price spiral that is the Fed’s real nightmare. The next move will probably be upward, but not until next year. Overall, the report was slightly better than expected, given that the rise in the unemployment rate was so concentrated in teenagers, and thus probably very temporary.
Watch<http://app.en25.com/e/er.aspx?s=795&lid=6234&elq=2F7CAC6AC5454FB1B42645F8EC808A28>

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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/TRChernan220_G11.jpg

 

Climate Scientists will usually reserve that term HISTORIC (Hot) if a Month/Season ends up being ranked in the Top-5 of that locations' historical record (or Top-10 if the climate records go back 100+ years).

Full Story...

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

Iran fears ends oil's four-week slide
CNN.com Thu, 07 Aug 2008 7:56 AM PDT
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Concerns that tension over Iran's nuclear program could lead to conflict propelled oil prices upward Thursday to above $120 a barrel, halting a four-week slide.

 

U.N. nuclear inspector in Iran for talks
Reuters via Yahoo! News Thu, 07 Aug 2008 8:11 AM PDT
A top U.N. nuclear watchdog official began talks in Iran on Thursday aimed at improving cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency over Tehran's nuclear program.

 

Israel Preparing for Iran Strike
Time Magazine Thu, 07 Aug 2008 6:18 AM PDT
Israel is building up its strike capabilities amid growing anxiety over Iran's nuclear ambitions and appears confident that a military attack would cripple Tehran's atomic program

 

Iran: Sunni Rebel Group Willing To Talk to Government
August 7, 2008 1514 GMT
Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of Iranian Sunni Muslim rebel group Jundollah (God's Soldiers), told...
http://www.stratfor.com/sitrep/iran_sunni_rebel_group_willing_talk_government

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Opalesque’s Corner

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

Tremont appoints Scott Metchick as CIO
Hedgeweek - Thursday August 07, 10:07 BST

 

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

asperity s-PAIR-uh-tee, noun:

1. Roughness of surface; unevenness.
2. Roughness or harshness of sound; a quality that grates upon the ear.
3. Roughness of manner; severity; harshness.

 

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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.