Main News

 

The dam bursts: Fortis on the brink of collapse

guardian.co.uk - 4 hours ago

 

106-Page Plan Outlines Final Bailout
The details are  finalized Sunday on a Wall Street.
MORE DETAILS: <http://www.wnbc.com/tu/5Bb9t8oc0.html>

 

Hedge Funds: Only the Strongest Will Survive
Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA
Hedge funds who we all adored for their dominating performance figures over the past few years are now struggling to stay positive on the year. ...

 

Shorting Ban Will Force Hedge Funds to Change Tack
By: Reuters
Posted: 09/26/2008 12:40:44 PM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/read_news.cgi?section=peop&story=peop3603.html

 

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

Chicago investment manager Northern Trust told clients of its security lending business that they stand to lose a good chunk of change, The Post has learned. It's yet another unexpected consequence of the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and...full story

 

When The Smoke Clears, What Happens Next With U.S. Financial Institutions?<http://now.eloqua.com/e/er.aspx?s=795&lid=7839&elq=21D0B917B2E54CB3A58C941DB5E0F4BD>

 

Short Sale Bans Seen as Risky
By: Reuters
Posted: 09/26/2008 1:20:24 PM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/read_news.cgi?section=dail&story=dail15288.html

 

Citadel, TPG-Axon Stumble Toward Worst Year in Hedge-Fund Swoon
Bloomberg Fri, 26 Sep 2008 2:46 AM PDT
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The financial crisis that crippled mortgage lenders, shut down leveraged buyouts and ended the era of independent investment banks is bearing down on the $1.9 trillion hedge-fund industry.

 

Pickens: Natural gas, Warren Buffett could ease nation's woes<http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/25/boone.pickens.energy/index.html>
09/25/08 10:48 AM, EDT
Billionaire hedge fund manager T. Boone Pickens spoke about the beleaguered U.S. economy, a prospective bailout and natural gas Thursday, a day after reports that his energy-related hedge funds lost $1 billion this year.

 

Speculators feel short changed by attacks
Financial Times Fri, 26 Sep 2008 4:11 PM PDT
Speculators are back in the news, and they are not happy about it. Hedge fund managers, who have spent the past decade earning fat fees and being fêted for fabulous returns, have morphed into "evil speculators" as bank executives try to shift the blame from their failed business models

 

Hedge funds suffer as short selling ban disrupts strategies
Market Watch Fri, 26 Sep 2008 4:06 PM PDT
The short selling ban has boosted shares of many financial companies, but it's roiling the $2 trillion hedge fund industry

 

INTERVIEW
After the Bubble, How Capitalism Will SurviveAN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD BERNSTEIN: Taking cover in defensive stocks.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122246744271480397.html?mod=djemWR

 

The $700 Billion Question: Which Firm Will Manage the Bailout Money?
Wall Street Journal Blogs - New York,NY,USA
Bankers have tagged two firms as the leading potential contenders: Bond manager Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco, and asset manager BlackRock. ...

 

What next for Square Mile?
guardian.co.uk - UK
Some hedge fund managers are said to be invoking clauses in contracts to prevent investors getting their money out, fearful that even a trickle of ...

 

Hedge-Fund Star Stumbles
Wall Street Journal - USA
By JENNY STRASBURG and GREGORY ZUCKERMAN For much of the past year, Philip Falcone was the envy of the hedge-fund world. Now, with a bear market shredding ...

 

Prime brokerage debate: How to profit by keeping hedge funds happy
Euromoney Magazine - london,UK
Prime brokers' relationships with hedge funds have inevitably be modified by the credit crunch but ultimately the brokers have to provide the full range of ...

 

Cameron hit by new hedge-fund row
Times Online - UK
The Tory party conference got off to an embarrassing start today after it emerged that the Conservatives have taken large donations from hedge-fund managers ...

 

Hedge funds grudgingly to reveal short positions
USA Today Sun, 28 Sep 2008 1:14 PM PDT
Hedge fund managers are reluctantly preparing to disclose their short positions to U.S. regulators Monday, a move set to give a rare public glimpse into their secretive trading strategies two weeks later.

 

Vultures To Snap Up Weak Banks
Hedge funds, private equity funds appear to be ready to swoop down and pick up distressed investments at bargain prices.

 

Lehman Won't Return Prime Broker Assets for `Weeks' (Update1)

 

Chavez Doubles Value Of Fund With China
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said a joint investment fund with China would top $12 billion in capital, twice the amount previously announced.

 

Asian central banks scramble to meet demand for cash
As the $700 billion rescue plan in the U.S. hit unexpected obstacles, central banks throughout Asia were struggling to meet demands for cash in both their home currencies and the U.S. dollar. "The market is just frozen at the moment," said Claudio Piron, a strategist at JPMorgan Chase in Singapore. "We are at such a point of absent liquidity that prices are beginning to fail in their usefulness as a signal -- this in itself is disturbing." Reuters (25 Sep.)

 

Who Will Manage the Bailout Fund? by Felix Salmon

 

What a Surprise: Credit Rating Agencies Hurt America by Paul Kedrosky

 

Bill Gross Will Work For Free, Kind Of by Tim Iacono

 

Banks want the government to twist accounting rules so that they don't necessarily have to recognize some losses. They should acknowledge that losses on certain securities are no longer temporary.

 

“The US will lose its status as the superpower of the world financial system. This world will become multipolar” with the emergence of stronger, ...

 

Putnam transfers shareholders to Federated
Putnam Investments on Wednesday said that customers in its $12.3bn (?8.4bn) money market fund that "broke the buck" last week would get an equal number of shares in a fund run by Federated Investors.  (The Wall Street Journal)
http://mail.efnmail.co.uk/r/400595/MTk4MTI1OjE4Nzg4/

 

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Bernanke's Hype
Forbes - NY,USA
But the person who seems to have panicked is Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke, Paulson and Ed Lazear, chairman of President Bush's Council of ...

 

Bernanke Dives Into Political Arena for $700 Billion Rescue
Wall Street Journal Blogs - New York,NY,USA
Ben Bernanke spent two years carefully sidestepping Washington’s most heated political debates, winning credibility for himself and independence for the ...

 

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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/TRCatlantic270_G12.jpg

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

 

Iran food prices surge nearly 50% in September
AFP via Yahoo! News Sun, 28 Sep 2008 6:36 AM PDT
The rise in food prices accelerated in Iran in September, when the cost of a basket of 45 staple items showed a mighty leap of nearly 50 percent, a newspaper reported on Sunday, citing central bank figures.

 

Security Council Pressed On Iran
Washington Post Sat, 27 Sep 2008 10:30 AM PDT
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 -- The United States, Russia, China and key European powers agreed Friday to press for a U.N. Security Council resolution that renews previous demands for Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium but includes no new punitive measures to compel Tehran to do so.

 

McCain: Nuclear-equipped Iran threatens 'second Holocaust'
AFP via Yahoo! News Fri, 26 Sep 2008 9:51 PM PDT
Republican John McCain clashed on Friday with his Democratic rival Barack Obama on how to deal with Tehran, as he warned a nuclear-armed Iran would unleash the threat of a "second Holocaust."

 

EU worried about freedom of religion in Iran
AP via Yahoo! News Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:50 AM PDT
The European Union said Friday it is "very worried" about what it sees as a deterioration of religious freedom in Iran.

 

US, Russia reach deal on new UN Iran resolution
AP via Yahoo! News Fri, 26 Sep 2008 9:31 AM PDT
Russia and the United States have agreed to seek a new U.N. resolution calling on Iran to comply with previous demands to suspend uranium enrichment but imposing no new sanctions, U.N. diplomats said Friday.

 

Iran: 6 World Powers Agree To Resolution On Iranian Nuke Program
September 26, 2008 1522 GMT
French and German officials said Set. 26 that six world powers, among them Russia and the United...
http://www.stratfor.com/sitrep/20080926_iran_6_world_powers_agree_resolution_iranian_nuke_program

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Opalesque Exclusive: Which strategies will thrive next year? Distressed, macro, volatility arbitrage say FoHFs
- Opalesque Exclusive:  As hedge funds approach an attrition rate of -7.0% for the full year, the importance of pre-launch planning for possible future periods of distress increases - Part One
- Fund launches - Former Soros employee Ben Spiers launches European L/S equity fund, London hedge fund Synergy Global launches ABL offering, Three Palms affiliate to launch CTA next month, Gruss launched $248m levered multi-strat fund, Dalton Greiner vet launches small-cap hedge fund
- Performance - Clarium hedge fund gained on stock, up 27.8% YTD, Lehman-seeded funds hold up during turmoil, Falcone gets whacked by bear market, but stays ahead of many big rivals
- Opalesque Exclusive: CFA Institute Study: Currency fund managers beat the benchmark, but researchers say create alpha only prior to fees and costs
- FoHFs - UBP: HF industry will contract by a quarter in the near term, FIX `s FoHFs deleverages in the wake of underperformance
- Fitch places 22 tranches from 5 hedge fund CFOs on rating watch negative
- M&A - Opalesque Exclusive: Australian asset manager Select takes ownership of advisory business in New Zealand
- Opalesque Exclusive:  As the landscape of financial institutions changes dramatically, investment bank Lighthouse Financial Group and financial services firm Matrix USA announce strategic partnership
- Institutions - Dutch pension funds seeks HoHF manager for $10m mandate, New UK pension scheme rules out hedge funds, Lehigh University to boost alternatives
- White Paper - BofA studies HNW investors` approach towards alternatives, more than half satisfied with HF performance
- Interview - David Einhorn talks about Allied Capital, shorting Lehman and short selling in general
- Hedge Funds in Crisis - Citadel, SAC, TPG-Axon stumble toward worst year in hedge fund swoon, Fortress to retain and not pay dividend in Q3-08 to re-invest in financials, Funds assess Lehman (gulp!) exposure
- Funds want reinstatement of `uptick` rule, preferable to complete ban of short-selling
- Regulatory - SEC staff provides guidance regarding use of form SH to report short sales, Expanded U.S. short-selling ban list raises eyebrows, SEC seeks more transparent disclosure for investors, AIMA Singapore congratulates Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore for maintaining or minimally modifying short-selling regulations
- Comments and Reactions - What short sale ban? Investors have found myriad ways to bet on a falling market, NYSE CEO expects longer short-selling ban, Security Traders Association defends short selling, Associations group says short-selling restrictions must not prevent lending of financial shares to support equity market liquidity, Short-sale ban wallops convertible-bond market
- Rescue Plan Update - Talks on US bail-out plan in chaos, Congress wants to include curbs on executive compensation, Fed keeps banks afloat as money market crisis deepens, Central banks add more cash as markets fear for US bail out plan, Pimco`s Gross offers Treasury a helping hand for bailout efforts, George Soros suggests alternative to Paulson plan, says acquiring equity would be better, John Paulson: rescue plan must make shareholders pay
- Credit Crunch Update - WaMu seized, JPMorgan agrees deal, Stock market out of sync with crisis, Greenberg sells a chunk of AIG shares, Bank woes pile pressure on Bank of England, HSBC slashes 1,100 investment bank jobs, Bradford & Bingley cuts jobs as fears grow, Update: Credit derivatives market shrinks 12%, first decline, A summary of the mess in the universal language of stick figures
- Commentaries - Jim Chanos: regulators likely to find evidence of wrongdoing within financial cos, Hold-to-maturity is the new mark-to-myth, Death spiral sends Wall Street into a spin
- Prime brokers - Morgan Stanley lost a third of prime brokerage assets last week, Collapse of Lehman leaves prime broker model in question, Collins Stewart hit by failure of talks with unnamed bidder
- Legal - SEC fines Sirios for illegal short-selling, Update: Fairfax judge drops David Rocker from shorting-scheme suit, Investor in Lehman preferred stock sues CEO Fuld for fraud, claims shareholders were misled
- People - Opalesque Exclusive:  Integrated risk consultant Asia Risk hires Steve Bingle as VP, Ex-Merrill chief considers joining Vision Capital Advisors, The Cambridge Strategy appoints senior portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific region, Echelon Capital expands distribution and marketing efforts, announces three new directors, John Ferguson, K2 COO, joins PerTrac advisory board, TransPacific hires HF manager Tracy Li to open office in Hong Kong, Singapore`s Fullerton hires credit pro, UBS hires Bear`s Mayer as co-head of fixed income, AIMA announces new global council, CalPERS names senior portfolio managers for infrastructure, internal global equity
- Europe - Church of England accused of hypocrisy over short selling condemnation, UK hedge funds shouldn`t sue the FSA, Danish firm mulls hires, more funds
- Middle East - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) invests in Shariah HF platform, Twice shy sovereign funds eye home markets
- Asia - MKP hedge funds target Asian wealth as stock markets slump, Merrill Lynch report: Assets of Asia`s richest to grow 7.9% annually, China approves short selling and margin lending to help develop market, Four Chinese onshore hedge funds gained over 10% for the last 12 months
- Commodities - Read Opalesque`s free daily commodities publication, the Opalesque
Commodities Briefings, Commodity funds fall out of fashion, Shipping market sinks most in 9 years on steel output
- Activist News - Marathon Partners calls Dover Motorsports `lackadaisical or arrogant`
- News Briefs - Global central bank supervisors endorse strengthened sound practice standards for liquidity risk management and supervision, Financial meltdown to hit headhunters, 100 Women in Hedge Funds gives proceeds to Wellbeing of Women, California home prices drop record 41% amid defaults, Russian oligarchs suffer $42bln losses from stock market sell-off, PE investments in India up to $8.6bln in first 8 months, Brazil`s bank lending growth to slow on higher funding costs
- ...And finally: Charge dropped against man accused of passing gas
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

panache puh-NASH; -NAHSH, noun:

1. Dash or flamboyance in manner or style.
2. A plume or bunch of feathers, esp. such a bunch worn on the helmet; any military plume, or ornamental group of feathers.

 

 

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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.