Main News

 

Luqman Arnold, a former president of troubled Swiss bank UBS, is pushing for a potential break-up of the bank, according to a letter Arnold and his London investment firm sent to UBS's board tonight. The surprise attack by Arnold, who served as president of UBS in 2001 before departing after a dispute with current Chairman Marcel Ospel, follows UBS's announcement this week that it will raise 15 billion Swiss francs to shore up capital amid another massive write-down. Arnold's suggestions aren't likely to be voted on at an April 23 shareholders' meeting, but the pressure could accelerate changes UBS may have to consider. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120725574276087561.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

Financial News Online US - 2 hours ago - related articles »

 

AQR Capital Management closes hedge fund
Fortune via Yahoo! Finance Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:11 PM PDT
After months of poor performance, AQR Capital Management plans to close at least one of its hedge funds at the end of this month.

 

 SPQR Capital Delays Opening of Credit Hedge Fund, Person Says

 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=home&sid=aJ1ZycYedIZc

 

 

Polygon's New Measures over Mass Redemptions
The Telegraph - Thursday April 03, 09:54 BST

 

Hedge funds find new openings in low-leverage world
Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News Thu, 03 Apr 2008 1:51 AM PDT
Exploiting opportunities created by wild market movements, rather than loading up on leverage, will be the key to hedge fund returns this year.

 

Russell closes two fund of funds
Financial Times Wed, 02 Apr 2008 6:12 PM PDT
Russell Investments is closing down two of its three main hedge fund of funds after assets under management in the division dropped precipitously to less than $2bn – a third of the level of only six months ago.

 

A First Quarter to Forget
Rob Wherry
2008 is off to an ugly start. We review the many losers and precious few winners. http://www.smartmoney.com/t.cfm?pId=7&mID=462&mDt=04/03/2008&ui=1157312&ctu=%2Ffundinsight%2Findex%2Ecfm%3Fstory%3D20080403%2Dmutual%2Dfunds

 

Shadwick to quants - Financial models should come with health warnings:  Eminent mathematician William Shadwick warns against over-complexity in financial modeling

 

Manager – we would look at short extension strategies for the next big mutual fund scandal: At least one portfolio manager says prime brokers face a serious conflict of interest

 

Why the common expression “all correlations go to one” may be overstated: Morgan Stanley’s Marty Leibowitz examines the nuances of this seemingly straightforward notion

 

Portable alpha demoted to “low opportunity” in new survey of consultants: The results from Casey Quirk’s new survey of consultants contain one notable change from last year. Portable alpha, we hardly knew ya' !

 

A slight majority of leading M&A advisers polled believe that the economy is fundamentally sound and the merger business will pick up in one year to 18 months, according to a new survey.

Full Story...

Start your alpha engines – the “race is on”: Through all the mayhem of Q1, 2008, a Merrill Lynch report paints a bright future for asset managers.

 

Study Suggests Financial Bloggers May Move Markets

by Research Recap

 

 Rice Jumps to Record, Corn Near High as Demand Outpaces Supply

 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=home&sid=acnqou1542Qs

 

More Products Should Be Regulated - Soros

by Grace Cheng

 

How Do You Embed Risk Into an Organization’s Culture?

SunTrust Mortgage
Michael Haubenstock, SVP, Operational Risk Management

 

March 2008 Performance Review Of The Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy ...
Exchange News Direct - London,England,UK
All six hedge fund strategies calculated by Dow Jones Hedge Fund Indexes posted net-of-fees losses in March 2008. All of the strategies ended the first ...

 

Kerviel lawyer says has not sued SocGen
April 03, 2008 07:42 AM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - Jerome Kerviel, at the centre of a rogue trading
scandal at French bank Societe Generale, has not launched any
legal action against his past employer for now, a lawyer representing
the former trader said.
http://links.reuters.com/r/VAYF0/MHNIK/C82XT/GQEAT/6NGXZ/YT/t

 

Liquidity-rich Middle East may be at a turning point
The Middle East's investment industry, which previously focused on temporary booms related to oil, may be poised to become a major global player. While North America and Western Europe are suffering a drought in deal-making, private equity in the Middle East is growing and becoming more attractive to foreign industry professionals, according to a recent survey. Financial News Online (03 Apr.)

 

The Liquidity Factor: CIT Group Borrows $7.3B
Contracting conditions on Wall Street spurred the commercial-finance company to scrap previous asset-backed financing plans.

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Yield Curve Corner

 

Bernanke's Gloomy Assessment 4/2/08
David Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard & Poor's
S&P's Chief Economist David Wyss notes that Fed Chairman Bernanke gave one of his gloomier assessments of what is going on in the economy before the joint economic committee on Wednesday, indicating that there was likely to be little or no growth in the first half of 2008, although he carefully avoided using the word "recession".  Watch Now (3:17 min)

 

Fed: Recession Is Possible
Bernanke sees economic contraction and defends Bear rescue. Read More

 

The Fed Uncertainty Principle

by Michael Shedlock

 

Bernanke: Economy Slowing, GDP Flat in 1H '08

by Barry Ritholtz

 

Stocks Fall as Gasoline Demand Jumps, Bernanke Comments on Economy
Washington Post - United States
Also Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he expected the economy to contract in the first half of the year -- a trend that would mean the United ...

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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/DSTmiddleeast094_MO.jpg

 

'No Sun link' to climate change *
The idea that the Earth's climate is determined by cosmic rays and the Sun's activity is discredited by UK scientists.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7327393.stm

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

China: No Iran Intelligence Went to IAEA
San Francisco Chronicle Thu, 03 Apr 2008 9:11 AM PDT
China denied Thursday that it had provided the International Atomic Energy Agency with intelligence linked to Iran's alleged attempts to make nuclear arms. China opposes harsh U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran and has consistently watered down a...

 

Germany-Iran 1998 World Cup match among the most-watched in German TV history
Payvand Iran News Thu, 03 Apr 2008 8:16 AM PDT
Germany's 2-0 win over Iran during the first-round match of the 1998 World Cup in France was among the top ten most-watched football games in the history of television broadcasts of German national teams, DPA quoted Wednesday a consumer research group, based in the southern city of Nuremberg.

 

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Fund launches: Opalesque Exclusive: Swiss manager launches Growth Enhanced fund, a leveraged version of PrimFund Growth, Zwirn plans to start new hedge fund, people say, Ex-Deutsche proprietary traders spin out multi-strategy hedge fund, Marco Polo launches second China hedge fund, Update: GMP Capital launches hedge fund to invest in asset-backed paper, Danish Jyske Invest lines up hedge fund range shunning `unfair` fees, Stark Investments opens China fund to investors
- Closures: Russell closes two FoHFs following drop in assets, Rock Ridge returns cash to investors, MAXAM liquidates Japan portfolio
- Performance: Plexus Partners hedge fund loses third of its value from credit arbitrage trades, Och-Ziff funds in the red for 2008
- Assets: Polygon acts over mass redemptions, stacked gate system a problem, Martin Currie FoHF raises $17.6m on 1st day
- M&A: Goldman takes stake in Claren Road hedge fund firm, BNP Paribas Investment Partners buys Investment Management Selection, Jefferies Putnam Lovell: $96.bln deals - M&A activity in global asset management strong in Q1
- Fortune Horizon fund of funds earns A rating from S&P
- Investors: Blue Sky A.M: longer term investing key to performance
- Trends: Hedge funds find new openings in low-leverage world
- Research: Gaming the system - Are hedge fund managers talented, or just good at fooling investors?
- Credit Crunch Update: US senator seeks probe into SEC handling of Bear case, U.S. slump takes toll across globe, economy and financial regulations to be discussed at coming IMF and WB meetings in Washington, Bernanke says the word: `Recession` may be near, Credit crunch hits Q1 investment banking revenues, down more than 40%
- Views: Legg Mason`s Bill Miller says credit crisis over, French FoHFs group sees credit crisis continuing, Soros on credit crisis (video), Andrew Davidson industry insight - Six myths of credit valuation
- SocGen Update: Jerome Kerviel to sue SocGen over sacking
- Administrators: Hedge fund Abraxas hires LaSalle for administration at macro fund, FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2007/08 - Japan
- Accounting: Fair value move could break the writedown spiral
- People: Avenue Capital hires Merrill`s Ollwerther as operating officer, UBS taps an unknown insider as its new chairman, FrontPoint names New Head of Manager Selection
- Environmental Trading: FSA publishes report on emission trading markets, Connection between subprime debacle and greenhouse gas reduction, Walter Nasdeo, Ardour Capital, discusses alternative energy stocks: Part I,  Credit Suisse: Market incentives key to fixing carbon pollution
- Regulations: Hedge fund governance has improved - Andrew Large (video), Experts panel to discuss the state of hedge fund advertising on April 17th
- Legal: Court dismisses Fairfax complaint, Update: Adam Sender says Anthony Pellicano offered to murder Aaron Russo, Ex-Polaris HF trader accused of influencing stock prices by Ontario Securities Commission
- Asia: Peter Douglas: Hedge funds boost loans to small companies in Asia
- Activist News: Third Point announces stake in Maguire Properties, Centaurus and Pardus request extraordinary meeting at Atos to revoke management, Media General resists hedge fund
- News Briefs: World Bank chief urges sovereign funds to invest in Africa, UBS to keep backing London Symphony Orchestra, even after loss
- And Finally. And for some practice: Rugby players pit against sumo wrestlers to toughen up
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

By ZACHERY KOUWE

Things must be really tough when Wall Street's most profitable investment bank starts cutting perks. Thirsty traders at Goldman Sachs now have to spring for their own beverages after the firm abruptly removed the drink bins that were filled...full story

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

bellwether BEL-weth-uhr, noun:

A leader of a movement or activity; also, a leading indicator of future trends.

 

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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.