Main News

The Bank of England released its latest Financial Stability Report on May 1.
Read the original document.

Former SEC Chairmen Weigh In on Paulson’s Plan

Posted: 30 Apr 2008 03:45 PM CDT

Funds Of Hedge Funds Can Reduce Risk
U.K. investors might get help to safeguard capital and reduce risk for retail investors by including funds of hedge funds in personal pensions and ISA portfolios.

Hedge fund worries spilled into Treasuries
Hedge funds rushing to trim leverage created a vacuum that hurt firms making some of the safest financial bets available. Traders who profit from tiny price moves in U.S. government debt were battered in March as hedge funds rushed to sell assets to cover losses in other markets. "When a heavily leveraged fund is deleveraging, everyone else will feel the effects," said Nigel Blanshard, of Culross' London fund. Financial Times (01 May.)

Hedge Fund Manager Tells All
TheStreet.com Sat, 03 May 2008 7:20 AM PDT
Fooling Some People All of the Time is a must-read for investors.

PAULSON'S FUNDS SLIDE
New York Post Sun, 04 May 2008 1:47 AM PDT
John Paulson, the hedge-fund titan who earned superstar status after earning billions by correctly predicting the collapse of the mortgage market, slipped slightly in April betting Wall Street firms such as Bear Stearns would collapse and default on

Disclosures Alone Won't Solve Credit-Card Issues, Bernanke Says
Wall Street Journal - USA
Mr. Bernanke said at an open meeting of the Fed board. For that reason, federal banking regulators need to make improvements to give consumers "greater ...

Merger Arb to Bounce Back
By: Emma Trincal, Senior Financial Correspondent
Posted: 05/02/2008 3:43:08 PM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/premium/read_news.cgi?section=peop&story=peop3456.html

Investors Flee Chief’s Fund at Citigroup
NYTimes.com via Yahoo! Finance Sat, 03 May 2008 12:38 PM PDT
The chief executive of Citigroup, Vikram S. Pandit, finds himself in the position of having to restructure or make changes at the hedge fund he co-founded and that Citigroup purchased.

BaFin includes pension funds in its MaRisk
http://www.ipe.com/news/BaFin_includes_pension_funds_in_its_MaRisk_27870.php

Exploiting the Turmoil in MunisAN INTERVIEW WITH JOE DEANE AND DAVID FARE: Why these two municipal-bond veterans have battened down the hatches and charted a more conservative course in running their portfolios.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120976850714963821.html?mod=djemWR

CZECH SUES OVER BOUNCED INVESTMENT

By MARK DECAMBRE

The feud between a Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund manager and his boss over withheld pay intensified yesterday after the fund manager amended his lawsuit to try to collect $900,000 he invested into a fund he ran. Stephen Czech had already sued his...full story

THE WEEK'S WINNERS

WINNERSKIRK KERKORIANActivist announces he's bought 100M shares of Ford at $6.91; carmaker closes week at $8.27.LAURENCE FINKBlackRock founder, CEO gets $41.9M in total compensation in 2007, up 27 percent from 2006.STRAUSS ZELNICKTop dog at...full story

The Next Buffet Why MidAmerican Energy Chairman David Sokol is the most likely candidate to lead Berkshire Hathaway once the Great One departs.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120976857508063793.html?mod=djemWR

Two former partners at The Children’s Investment Fund Management have set up a new hedge fund roughly a year after ...
eFinancial News Thu, 01 May 2008 9:12 PM PDT
Two former partners at The Children’s Investment Fund Management have set up a new hedge fund roughly a year after leaving TCI that aims to take advantage of the financial market dislocation.

Intelligence Guidance: Week of May 4, 2008 | Stratfor

Tax policy outlook under the next president
A comparison of the tax platforms of the three candidates

tax policy approaches of Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Grant Thornton's National Tax Office has put together a table offering a detailed comparison of the tax policies of the three candidates. Download our tax policy comparison

Economic Risk - All Three Presidential Candidates Receive Similarly Mediocre Ratings on Their Potential to Handle the Economy

While all three candidates are perceived as more likely to do a better job than President Bush, their ratings are not exactly stellar. Two in five Americans (41%) say Senator McCain would do a positive job on the economy, while slightly higher numbers say the same about Senator Obama (43%) and Senator Clinton (45%).

Full Story...

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Yield Curve Corner

UPDATE 1-French PM says euro overvalued, wants action
Reuters - USA
Fillon, speaking at a news conference ahead of meetings with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, said he would ...

Not Dead Yet 4/30/08
Beth Ann Bovino, Senior Economist, Standard & Poor's
The FOMC decided to lower its target rate by 25 bp, to 2% at the Apr. 30 policy meeting. Overall, the data on the economy continues to point down. S&P’s interpretation is that we are at the beginning of a mild recession, which looks, on the underlying fundamentals, to be similar to the 1991-1992 downturn. New home sales plunged in March and durable orders also disappointed. The weakness in housing is also spreading into commercial construction and business equipment spending. The evidence also suggests consumers are being squeezed by falling home prices and high gasoline costs. However, other reports indicate that GDP stayed positive, though barely, and that wages remain tame--good news from a policy perspective.

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Natural Disaster Corner

http://www.noaa.gov/

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/Data/index.html

http://tsunami.gov/

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/

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:

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Major Powers Offer Iran New Incentives
Washington Post Fri, 02 May 2008 7:13 PM PDT
LONDON, May 2 -- Six world powers agreed Friday to offer Iran a new mix of incentives to curtail its nuclear program, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced here.

Iraq says no hard evidence of Iran support for militia
AFP via Yahoo! News Sun, 04 May 2008 7:43 AM PDT
Iraq said on Sunday it has no evidence that Iran was supplying militias engaged in fierce street fighting with security forces in Baghdad.

Lebanon's Jumblatt wants ban on flights from Iran
AFP via Yahoo! News Sat, 03 May 2008 10:52 AM PDT
A leading member of Lebanon's Western-backed ruling coalition called on Saturday for a ban on flights from Iran to Beirut airport, saying the militant group Hezbollah could be flying in arms from Iran.

Award-winning feminist given suspended jail term in Iran: report
AFP via Yahoo! News Fri, 02 May 2008 11:39 PM PDT
Iran has handed down a suspended jail sentence to an award-winning women's rights activist found guilty of seeking to harm national security, press reports said on Saturday.

Israel Air Force Chief: Iran is a serious threat. We should trust only ourselves

25 Apr.: Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy told CBS’s 60 Minutes that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats are very serious for Israel, but more than this, to the whole world.

He said it reminds him of the Holocaust. “We should remember. We cannot forget. We should trust only ourselves.”

Gen. Shkedy likened ignoring Ahmadinejad today to the atmosphere that enabled the Holocaust yesterday. “In those days, people didn’t believe Hitler was serious about what he said. I suggest we do not repeat this way of thinking and… prepare ourselves for everything.”

Veterans of the 1981 Israeli mission, which destroyed Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor, said: “Israelis hope they won’t have to undertake such a mission today, but a bombing mission to Iran… is a different thing.

Zeev Raz, commander of that mission, compared the situations: “We had one point to destroy. They have many points, many of them deep under the mountains… underground and it’s a much more complicated problem than in 1981. I hope it will be solved another way.”

Raz commented: “The only thing worse than the Israeli air force having to do it is Iran having a nuclear bomb.”

Col. Ziv Levy, an air force base commander said: “We spend a lot of time and a lot of effort in training and being prepared for the worst. We cannot lose a single war. The first war we lose, Israel will cease to exist.”

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Opalesque’s Corner

- Fund Closures: Update: Drake winds down $2.5bln flagship hedge fund, to launch follow-on fund, why fixed income managers are herding, Rumson to wind down Navesink Equity Derivative Fund due to high redemptions
- Trends: New hedge funds cut fees to counter old losses: Endeavour, Drake
- Custom House admins and Equity Fund Services merge operations, combined unit aims at $55bln assets by year end
- Asian hedge fund assets decline by 10% in Q1 - HFR
- Indices: HFR Hedge Fund Index rebounds in April after decline in March
- Fund launches: Och-Ziff readies mortgage, emerging-markets funds
- Performance: Och-Ziff reports quarterly net loss on IPO costs, incentive fees evaporate as firm's hedge funds lose money in first quarter, EMF Financial Products lost almost $100m last month as government bond traders pulled into deleveraging vortex
- Seeders: Opalesque Exclusive: Triple A Partners looking to close 2 or 3 deals in next 6 months and raise more capital, `not all Asia L/S equity funds are run by Beta Monkeys`, Thames River Capital seeds AlphaTran hedge fund with $50m
- Assets: Gore investment vehicle closes $683m green fund
- IPOs: Media reports say Citadel considers IPO
- Institutions: Plymouth County Retirement Association issues request for proposals from FoHFs managers, Hedge fund fees shrink as U.S. pensions make direct investments, Ohio commits up to $300m to hedge funds, private equity, Greenwich Associates reports pension allocations into hedge funds on the rise, LACERS investing in 130/30 strategies
- Credit Crunch Update: Citigroup sells $4.5bln stock, 50% above plan, Paulson says U.S. credit-market crisis is `closer to the end`, Fed lowers rates, hints cuts may be at end, Bank of England says credit fears overstated, Banking regulation shake-up needed to prevent second credit crunch - NIESR
- People: Threadneedle hires David Donora to set up commodity hedge fund, Update: Peter Kraus in talks with Merrill after leaving Goldman, State Street appoints new president and COO, LaCrosse appoints Mark Del Col as global head of sales and marketing, Ten-Sixty hires COO
- Earnings: GLG reveals pay for big three
- Legal: Investors sue Citi over muni bond hedge funds, New Jersey Federal Court freezes assets of hedge fund in fraud action brought by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Lake Shore Group prohibited from trading commodity futures, CFTC sues Sentinel Management Group and two of its executives for fraud, segregation, and false reporting, Police probe fraud at HSBC, Paul Berliner`s case an argument for `day-to-day efficiency`
- Credit rating agencies fight to win back reputations as regulatory intervention appears likely
- Commodities: Volatility in global commodities markets drives spend in risk management IT, according to Datamonitor, U.S. senator says other Amaranths lurk in oil markets
- Exchanges: TSX Group considers more takeovers after buying Montreal Exchange
- Europe: Henderson considers GBP75m of bolt-on acquisitions in property and hedge funds
- Asia: Korea`s regulator Financial Supervisory Service to allow leverage and shorts by end-2009, Deutsche finalises acquisition of Taiwan`s Far Eastern Alliance Asset Management, appoints new CEO, Japan hedge funds post average loss of 8.7% in fiscal 2007, worst performance in 7 years
- LatAm: Bulls continue to run in Latin America, commodities boom, domestic growth spur market gains
- Emerging Markets: Emerging markets lead 40% currency trading jump, Euromoney says
- Activist News: Hedge funds release white paper outlining change for CSX - third largest US railroad, TCI says J-Power`s dividend disrespects shareholders, Italmobiliare needs change in governance, Hermes says, Coinstar urges shareholders to ignore activist hedge fund, Instituform President urges shareholders to ignore activist hedge fund
- Niche Investing: Contemporary art in India - an explosive market with a 10-year price index of 830%
- Sovereign Wealth Funds: Kuwait sovereign fund may boost Stakes in Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, IMF aims to develop sovereign fund guidelines by October
- News Briefs: Update: The long wait for Icahn`s blog is nearly over, EDHEC Business School to offer PhD in finance program focused on asset management industry, Deutsche Bank forces staff vacations to avoid fraud, Warren Buffett to draw biggest crowd ever, GlobalBridge adds Smith Group 130/30 to alternative investment strategy options, GlobeOp creates first automated buy-side payment matching link to DTCC for OTC credit derivatives trades, Blue Sky A.M. has plan designed to outperform world`s leading stock markets, Heidrick & Struggles adds specialists in hedge fund recruitment, Credit Suisse launches Social Awareness Index, Reminder: Tokyo hedge funds club summer party
- ...And finally: The Dollar is really going nowhere: Man arrested in Texas for trying to cash $360 billion check
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

Brackets of Brilliance Condé Nast Portfolio looks at the biggest brains in business. Who is your pick for the most brilliant person? Read More

Book Review - Managing Risk in an Increasingly Hazardous World

If you have a nagging feeling that life is getting increasingly hazardous, you may be interested in the new book, “Operational Risk Management,” by Mark D. Abkowitz, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University.

Full Story...

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

disparate DIS-puh-rit; dis-PAIR-it, adjective:

1. Fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind.
2. Composed of or including markedly dissimilar elements.

sub rosa suhb-ROH-zuh, adverb:

1. Secretly; privately; confidentially.
2. Designed to be secret or confidential; secretive; private.

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Conference, Courses, Books, Papers

Great Research Sites:

http://www.highbeam.com/

http://www.dealbreaker.com/

http://seekingalpha.com/

www.riskmterics.com

http://www.allaboutalpha.com/blog/

Merrill Lynch research Link to full report including important disclosures see example

http://rsch1.ml.com/9093/24013/ds/78763025.PDF

John Mauldin’s Weekly Analysis

www.frontlinethoughts.com

James Altucher’s Website:

www.stockpickr.com

Other useful sites:

www.flyonthewall.com

www.gloriamundi.com

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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

http://www.cogenthedge.com/home/inv_strategy.asp

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Regulatory Info

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Division of Enforcement: +1 866-FON-CFTC

http://www.cftc.gov/enf/enfform.htm

http://www.cftc.gov/enf/enfform.htm

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

e-mail: enforcement@sec.gov

http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml

http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml

Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)

Ombudsman's office: +33 (0)1 5345-6464

French: http://www.cob.fr/affiche_page.asp?urldoc=mediateur.htm&lang=fr&Id_Tab=0

English: http://www.cob.fr/affiche_page.asp?urldoc=mediateur.htm&lang=en&Id_Tab=0

http://www.cob.fr/affiche_page.asp?urldoc=mediateur.htm&lang=en&Id_Tab=0

Financial Services Authority (FSA)

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer/01_WARNINGS/scams/mn_scams.html

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer/01_WARNINGS/scams/mn_scams.html

Financial Ombudsman Service: 0845 080 1800, outside the UK: +44 (0)20 7964 1000

complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer/01_WARNINGS/scams/mn_scams.html

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)

http://www.sfc.hk/sfc/html/EN/inutilbar/contact/contact.html

Investor Hotline: 852-2840-9333

investor.info@sfc.hkhttp://www.sfc.hk/sfc/html/EN/inutilbar/contact/contact.htmlhttp://www.sfc.hk/sfc/html/EN/inutilbar/contact/contact.htmlhttp://www.sfc.hk/sfc/html/EN/inutilbar/contact/contact.html

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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.