Main News

 

Paulson unveils sweeping financial reform plan
Boston Herald - United States
“The subprime mortgage meltdown, the failure of the auction rate market, and the virtually unchecked spread of risky derivative products into areas assumed ...
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LONDON (Reuters)—Long/short equity hedge funds are set to post poor performance for March as the bailout of Bear Stearns and commodity price falls hit recently profitable trades, according to HSBC Alternative Investments. Many hedge funds have been short the financials sector since the credit crisis began last summer and some banks started revealing large write-downs related to the subprime mortgage meltdown. ......

 

 <http://www.hedgefund-index.com/newstoday.asp> Man Group to buy US credit hedge fund manager
Source: FinancialNews-US.com
UK-listed asset manager Man Group has agreed to buy Ore Hill, a US credit hedge fund manager with $3bn (EUR1.9bn) of assets under management, a move it described as part of a strategy to develop a global credit business. More... <http://www.hedgefund-index.com/newstoday.asp>

 

Fitch to rate fund of hedge fund managers
Investment Executive Mon, 31 Mar 2008 2:44 PM PDT
Fitch Ratings has begun rating fund of hedge fund (FoHF) managers.

 

Hedge fund manager faces cocaine charge
The Globe and Mail Mon, 31 Mar 2008 3:14 AM PDT
Hedge fund manager Matthew MacIsaac was near the end of a pre-St. Patrick's Day party blitz when he allegedly bought cocaine for a woman at a Toronto after-hours club.

 

Pardus Fund Halting Redemptions
AP via Yahoo! Finance Mon, 31 Mar 2008 3:05 PM PDT
Activist hedge fund Pardus Capital Management on Monday said it's halting investor redemptions -- just as many of its holdings are plummeting in value.

 

 

Fund Brimming With Optimism for Red Hat Tremblant Capital more than doubled its stake in the software company.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120697344695176499.html?mod=djemBF

 

Could Tough CO2 Regulations Cut The Engine On Europe's Auto Industry?
Proposals by the European Commission to impose steeply rising fines on new cars that exceed tough carbon dioxide emission targets from 2012 pose a significant threat to auto manufacturers' profitability. The cost of meeting the stringent new CO2 limits would be high, and yet the fines for failing to comply with the legislation could potentially be enormous. And it remains to be seen whether consumers will be persuaded to buy the cars at prices that recoup the manufacturers' costs.
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http://standardandpoors.rsys1.net/servlet/cc6?kHiQABCUQTVsLgHxhilpuHQJhuV2VR

 

M&A plunges. M&A banking fees fell a whopping 35% in Q1 -- to $8.7B from $13.4B. The value of announced mergers and acquisitions fell to $656.2 billion this quarter from $971 billion a year ago -- the slowest quarter in more than three years. "In this environment, it's difficult to see how anyone is going to launch a big strategic bid," a London analyst said. "As recently as three months ago, we thought we had seen the worst and it was going to begin to get slowly better... It only got worse," said another.

 

Ad Agencies: We Think A Recession's Coming
Now that even economists have declared that yes, there's a recession, ad agencies have had a revelation: When the economy goes south, ad spending goes with it. Now they're prepping -- cautiously -- for hard times. Nothing like layoffs, mind you. But Madison Avenue types may want to stop trying to expense those Johnny Walker Blue binges.

 

How to Cast a Mortgage Lifeline?

 

After the beating that the stock market took during the first three months of 2008, one question seems to be on everyone's mind: Is it over? When the first quarter began, many on Wall Street thought the U.S. economy would avoid recession. Now the debate is over how long and how deep the downturn will be.
http://online.wsj.com/page/2_1560.html?mod=djemspecial

 

ASEAN-4 Economies Show Strong Growth Despite Sinking U.S. Demand
In 2007, the ASEAN-4 regional economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand) grew at slightly more than 6%, outpacing our forecast of 5.5%. Growth in the region remains rooted in export-related activity and high commodity prices. However, uncertainty about the U.S. economy and possible further fallout from the financial crisis are looming, and we can't rule out these factors having an impact on the ASEAN-4 region. But for now, domestic fundamentals remain strong and should support growth.
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Domestic Factors Will Rein In India's Economic Growth In 2008
India continues on its high-growth trajectory, with GDP expanding at approximately 9.3% in the first three quarters of 2007. However, the economic data have weakened in recent months, specifically in the industrial sector. This reflects the impact of a tight monetary policy in the past two years and the sharp appreciation of the rupee during 2007. However, the expected moderation doesn't appear to be too severe. We estimate the GDP growth rate in 2007 to be 8.8%--close to what we believe is the economy's sustainable trend.
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Can Europe Withstand A U.S. Recession?
Recent economic data from the Eurozone and the U.K. suggest that the downturn in the U.S. and the ongoing dislocation in the credit markets are becoming a real concern for European economies. While there is a general consensus among economists that the region should escape a genuine recession, most agree that a slowdown is underway. Its magnitude and duration, we believe, will primarily depend on consumers' response to the new environment.
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UBP buys 50 pct of Banco Popolare Italian fund of hedge funds
Thomson Investment Management News (subscription) - London,UK
LONDON (Thomson IM) - Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privee (UBP) said on Monday it has bought 50 pct of a Banco Popolare fund of hedge funds, forming a joint ...
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Alternative Investment: Multi-Strategy vs. Single-Strategy Approaches

by Roger Ehrenberg

 

Aloha Airlines shutting down passenger operations
March 31, 2008 08:26 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hawaii-based Aloha Airlines, which filed
for bankruptcy protection on March 20, said that Monday would
be its last day of passenger operations.
http://links.reuters.com/r/7EU6K/A9WOX/D6AKH/FEYN8/2SPOW/YT/t

 

Sovereign wealth fund assets hit $3.3 trillion mark
Sovereign wealth funds grew 18% last year as commodity prices surged and the foreign exchange reserves of some Asian countries continued to rise, a research by International Financial Services London has shown.  (Financial Times)
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/351729/MTk4MTI1OjE2ODM4/

 

Fitch: Revised Corporate CDO Methodology Anticipated April 30
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
In February 2008, Fitch issued a consultation paper seeking market feedback on proposed changes to its rating methodology for corporate CDOs. ...

 

BlackRock proves its credentials
When the New York Federal Reserve realised just over a week ago that it would need a manager to run the portfolio of mortgage-backed securities it was taking as collateral for a $30bn (?19bn) loan to Bear Stearns, US-listed asset manager BlackRock was the obvious choice.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/351511/MTk4MTI1OjE2ODM2/

 

Diamond deal made in turbulent times
Tough times call for tough measures. In November last year HSBC was forced to take $45bn (?28.5bn) of mainly complex debt investments held in its structured investment vehicles, Cullinan Finance and Asscher Finance, on to its balance sheet to prevent a potential fire sale of those assets.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/351526/MTk4MTI1OjE2ODM2/

 

Global macros show losses
Global macro hedge funds and the bets they make on macroeconomic trends may have come back into fashion, as reported by Financial News this month, but losses made by four funds demonstrate the strategy can be risky.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/351536/MTk4MTI1OjE2ODM2/

 

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Chaos on Wall Street
CNNMoney.com - USA
You can only imagine how unsettling it is to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, a former economics professor who made his academic bones writing about ...

 

Novated Bears and the Education of Ben Bernanke
Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA
Despite the fact that Paulson is in almost constant contact with Chairman Ben Bernanke, are we really expected to believe that the Fed went into that week ...

 

Trichet, King May Come to Fed's Rescue as Ammunition Runs Low
Bloomberg - USA
By Simon Kennedy and John Fraher March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has so far shouldered most of the burden of saving 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/DSTafrica091_MO.jpg

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

Americans call Iran, Iraq, China top enemies
USA Today Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:17 AM PDT
China has replaced North Korea as one of the top three U.S. enemies, according to a poll of Americans. Iran topped the list, with 25% naming it when asked which country is the greatest U.S. enemy, according to the Gallup Poll. Iraq came next at 22%, then China with 14%.

 

Sources: Iran helped prod al-Sadr cease-fire
CNN.com Mon, 31 Mar 2008 7:40 AM PDT
Iran was integral in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to halt attacks by his militia on Iraqi security forces, an Iraqi lawmaker said Monday.

 

CIA chief asserts Iran nuclear threat
Los Angeles Times Mon, 31 Mar 2008 0:24 AM PDT
Hayden says he believes Tehran is pursuing a nuclear bomb, even though intelligence agencies have said the effort was halted in 2003. CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said Sunday that he believes Iran is still pursuing a nuclear bomb, even though the U.S. intelligence community, including his own agency, reached a consensus judgment last year that the Islamic Republic had halted its nuclear ...

 

 

 

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Opalesque Exclusive: GAIM Asia conference highlights: Sinopia: Institutionalization `huge opportunity for hedge funds`, industry becomes more capital-intensive, ABP loves alternatives and 'alternative alternatives', NUS overweighs Japan, Drobny Global AM looks to add Asian based global macro manager
- Opalesque Exclusive: African landscape (1) - Visio's founder believes Zimbabwe offers the most promises, offshore fund up 5.4% in February
- Law Firms: Opalesque Exclusive: Int'l law firm says more financial instruments suffer from increased counter party risk, Comment: Europeans managers losing out by not participating in class action lawsuits says specialist
- New launches: Opalesque Exclusive: Akasha Capital to launch l/s fund with former K Capital co-founder at helm, Stenham launches Global Resources Fund, Lyxor launches alternative energy and water ETFs, DKR Oasis pair prepares new hedge fund
- Sonar Group announces launch of its new hedge fund platform `Harbour Capital Partners`
- Performance:  Opalesque Exclusive: Update: Basis Pac-Rim Opportunity Fund performs negatively in February 2008, averages -55% last 12 months, Monsoon Capital`s India funds blown by losses
- M&A: Man Group buys 50% of fund manager Ore Hill for $195m, to fund deal with existing resources, MAN Group expands specialist credit business, UBP starts hedge fund partnership with Italy's Banco Popolare
- Fund Profile: Pictet`s Absolute Return fund reduces bond and equity exposure drastically
- Indices: Canadian hedge fund indices: CHW-HF Composite Index up 2.65%, FoHF Index up 0.51%
- Trends: HSBC survey: 62% of managers overweight cash,  Hedge funds struggling with separately managed accounts, Viva volatility! Some hedge funds are in their element
- Opalesque Exclusive: Tomlinson: New hedge funds often forget to study their competition; seeders often good option
- Investors: Investors desert the middle ground and pull $100bn out of equity funds, prefer cash or hedge funds
- Bear Stearns Update: L/S equity hedge funds hit by Bear bailout, Judge says ex-Bear exec can`t join Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns memorabilia sold on eBay, Employees sue Bear Stearns (video)
- Credit Crunch Update: SEC to urge companies to disclose more details of credit crunch losses, UK: 10,000 finance job cuts forecast
- U.S. stocks are doing better than most
- Prime Brokers: Worried hedge funds move cash away from their prime brokers, BofA may scrap prime brokerage unit sale, Global Custodian survey: Deutsche Bank named top prime broker
- People: Citi hires Anglade to set up structured credit fund
- Institutions: Texas ERS looking at 130/30 strategy, PGGM allocates $200m to microfinance
- Regulators: Opalesque Exclusive: Financial Stability Forum suggests being 'regularly' updated on adoption of Working Group's standards by hedge funds, IMF and SWFs to create voluntary rules, Henry Paulson proposes sweeping overhaul of regulating system, proposed rules bring cheers and fear on Wall Street, Update: UK FSA investigating false rumours spread by HF
- Commodities: High prices spark rush to find California`s remaining gold
- Northern Rock Update: Northern Rock hit by new subprime writedowns, total impairment charge near GBP400m, FSA to spend GBP15m on new recruits after damning Rock report
- Europe: Iceland's FSA investigates speculative attacks by HFs, leading bank may sue Bear Stearns
- Asia: Update: DLF Assets plans to raise $2bln, delays listing, South Korea gets new equity crossing engine
- Event: Panel on the boundaries between credit risk and operational risk, London, April 14
- Sovereign Wealth Funds: London think-tank estimates AUM rise to $10 trillion by 2015
- Activist News: Harbinger raises stakes in NYT, Solutia, Laxey Partners ends Implenia bid, Marshall Wace pressures pub companies to merge
- News Briefs: CFA Institute and Wharton School launch wealth management in practice executive education program, Upstart trading facility BATS heads for Europe, Swiss Islamic bank planned
- And Finally. German vicar offers grave stress relief
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

Death of Seth Tobias Investigated

“For the Love of Money” on CNBC Monday night.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/23813739

 

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

xenophobia ZEN-uh-FOE-bee-uh, noun:

Fear or hatred of strangers, people from other countries, or of anything that is strange or foreign.

 

obsequious ob-SEE-kwee-us, adjective:

Servilely attentive; compliant to excess; fawning.

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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.