ain News

 

 

By MARK DeCAMBRE

It's been a giant Swiss miss of late for Zurich-based UBS. On the heels of giant losses and job cuts, the firm is now facing a probe by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. That, along with a $35 million fine...full story

 

SEC to require Banks to disclose Liquidity
Financial Times - Thursday May 08, 09:52 BST

 

Julius Baer Fund Targets Emerging Bond Volatility
By: Martin de Sa'Pinto, Senior Financial Correspondent
Posted: 05/08/2008 10:38:54 AM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/read_news.cgi?section=peop&story=peop3465.html

 

Hedge Fund Deals Dominate Manager M&A
By: Chidem Kurdas, New York Bureau Chief
Posted: 05/08/2008 10:08:13 AM ET
http://www.hedgeworld.com/news/premium/read_news.cgi?section=peop&story=peop3464.html

 

Regulator of U.S. commodities sees no price manipulation
The U.S. regulatory body for futures markets said soaring commodity prices are not the result of market manipulation. Instead, the high prices of oil, food grains and other commodities are because of reasons including the dollar's falling value, growing demand from developing nations and biofuel mandates, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Walter Lukken told a congressional panel. Reuters (07 May.)

 

Brazil considering putting taxes in sovereign-wealth fund
Brazil might use swelling tax revenues to build up a sovereign-wealth fund to help finance foreign investment, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said. The idea would divert as much as $20 billion that could be used to close Brazil's budget deficit, said senior economist Pedro Tuesta at 4Cast in Washington. Brazil's tax revenue rose 13% last month thanks to increasing household income, falling unemployment and a real estate boom. Bloomberg (07 May.)

 

A lack of repurchased loans during the month contributed to a slightly lower U.S. commercial real estate loan (CREL) CDO delinquency rate for April 2008 of 0.69%, down from last month's rate of 0.74%, according to the latest CREL CDO Delinquency Index from Fitch Ratings. The delinquency index includes loans that are 60 days or longer delinquent, matured balloon loans, and repurchased assets.

 

Merrill's Ehsani to Leave as Thain Cancels Hedge Fund (Update1)
Bloomberg - USA
s most profitable trading groups, is leaving the US securities firm after it canceled a plan to spin off his unit as an independent hedge fund, ...
See all stories on this topic

 

Baby Boomer Brain Drain Looms
More companies are hatching plans to compensate for the impending crush of retirements by senior executives. Will they be able to put a dent in a potentially ruinous problem?

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Yield Curve Corner

 

from The Wall Street Journal

May 8, 2008
The surge in food and energy prices is being driven by constrained supply and growing demand in developing countries, rather than an investment bubble, according to the majority of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.

Sixty percent of the economists surveyed say the Fed is showing enough concern about inflation. On average, they expect the Fed's benchmark federal-funds rate, the rate at which banks lend each other money overnight, to remain at the current level of 2% for the rest of this year.  They see slow economic growth and expect the unemployment rate to rise to 5.5% by December from 5.1% currently.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121026120931177437.html

 

American housing Map of misery
Economist - UK
AP SOUNDING more like a cartographer than a central banker, Ben Bernanke this week showed off the Federal Reserve’s latest gizmo for tracking America’s ...

 

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England left their benchmark interest rates unchanged at 4% and 5% respectively. The decisions were widely expected as the ECB sticks firmly to its anti-inflation stance while the BOE strives to balance the pressures of rising costs and slowing economic growth.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121023464886776769.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

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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/TRCrammasun129_GJ.jpg

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

Iran recalls ambassador to Iraq
UPI Thu, 08 May 2008 11:52 AM PDT
TEHRAN, May 8 (UPI) -- Iran recalled its ambassador to Iraq in protest of Baghdad's support for a move by the United Arab Emirates to take ownership of three Persian Gulf islands.

 

Iran hangs four for murder: report
AFP via Yahoo! News Thu, 08 May 2008 0:12 AM PDT
Iran has hanged four men convicted of murder in Tehran's Evin prison, a newspaper report said on Thursday.

 

Ahmadinejad Criticized for Saying Long-Ago Imam Mahdi Leads Iran
Washington Post Wed, 07 May 2008 10:35 PM PDT
TEHRAN, May 7 -- Several leading Iranian clerics criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday for saying that the last imam of Shiite Islam, a messianic figure who Shiites believe was hidden by God 1,140 years ago, leads modern-day Iran.

 

5 nations may present new Iran offer in person
USA Today Wed, 07 May 2008 5:07 PM PDT
Senior envoys from five of the six nations bargaining with Iran over its disputed nuclear program may try to get talks moving by making a special face-to-face appeal, U.S. and European officials said Wednesday.

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Opalesque Exclusive: New York hedge fund finds volatility arbitrage key to non-correlation: +37.1% total return during 84% of hedge fund down months
- Fund launches and re-launches: Opalesque Exclusive: Phalanx Capital strikes strategic partnership with HK-based Vision Investment, re-launches award winning multi-strat fund, Olivant-backed firm to launch long-short Sharia FoHFs, Lehman executive raising assets for new fixed-income hedge fund, R3 Capital Partners, UK start-up Providence A.M. targets Bear Stearns hedge fund clients
- Performance: Opalesque Exclusive: Contrarian program at Paskewitz Asset Management surpasses $100m, posts +9.47% for 2008 YTD, Bear Stearns` $1.2bln macro hedge fund sees bounce, Update: Replicator hedge funds fare worse than originals
- GLG Update:  GLG expects $4bln to follow Greg Coffey out of the door, Emerging Markets Fund nosedive hits GLG
- Assets: Update: Aladdin shifts gears, looking to raise assets to $1bln, Callan Associates Survey reports traditional investments suffered significant losses as institutional outflows were drawn to alternatives in 2007
- Indices:  Lyxor launches investable hedge fund indices, April 2008 Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy benchmarks show gains, Hennessee hedge funds advance +2.2% in April
- Fund and Manager Profiles: FOHF Comas wants funds of hedge funds to drop the `diversification` tag, Swiss FoHF Harcourt `very bullish` on global macro, BlackRock is fix-it firm to manage risky assets of others in distress
- Institutional Investor News 2008 annual 20 Rising Stars of Hedge Funds released
- People: Opalesque Exclusive: SG Private Banking names Bruno Lebre new head of Investment Solutions, SocGen`s Nader Salman quits London job, Merrill`s Ehsani to leave as Thain cancels independent hedge fund plans, Cardano taps investment consultant Kelsey from fund of hedge funds firm IAM
- Trends:  Led by hedge funds, alternative investment firms represent 40% of YTD M&A activity in 2008, according to Jefferies
- Research: Research puts price on hedge fund `illiquidity premium`, PWC Report: transparency versus returns - the institutional investor view of alternative assets, Noble analyses London alternative investment markets with new research report
- Credit Crunch Update: Law firm warns hedge funds to batten down the hatches in Germany, Paulson sees credit crunch waning, Liquidity will return as banks aim to sell LBO loans in 2008, Job losses league table, Sub-prime fiasco claims Moody`s president
- Regulatory: Gohlke: No need for ADV Part 2 for investors, SEC to require banks to disclose liquidity, Alex Cohen, SEC Deputy General Counsel, named Deputy Chief of Staff, Head of UK FSA to step down at end of July, second senior staffer to leave after Northern Trust, MEPs to debate hedge fund rules next month
- Legal: Update: 300 investors don`t know if they will see the money they gave to alleged fraudster Matthew La Madrid
- Commodities: Opalesque Exclusive:  SEC and CFTC to cooperate in review of new 'securities/futures' hybrid derivatives, CFTC to tighten monitoring of 'all large traders', JPMorgan nabs ex-Goldman banker in commodities push
- Institutions: San Diego begins search for commodities managers, California pension trust makes alternatives a priority, Pension fund may have lost $2.6m in First America Asia Fund I LLC, other pension funds too, Taiwan`s Labour Pension Fund awards overseas mandates
- Exchanges: Boom in dark pool trading networks is causing headaches on Wall Street, `there's just too many of them`
- Africa: Standard is awarded $100m in initial funding for an African debt fund mandate
- Latin America: UK hedge fund Eclectica takes up Uruguay`s agricultural sector, Latin America and Asia aid rebound for hedge funds
- Sovereign Wealth Funds: SWFs will diversify investments but fund managers may miss out, says Global Insight`s Jan Randolph, Brazil to create $20bln sovereign fund
- Activist News: ISS recommends sacking ASMI CEO, Greenlight challenge to Stronach defeated at MI Developments annual meeting
- News Briefs: Citi combines private equity and infrastructure funds in new alternative asset group, State Street establishes fund accounting services for Swiss domiciled funds,  Barclays survey predicts Singapore will be city of millionaires, Barclays report says India to become 8th wealthiest place by 2017
- ...And finally: You don't want it. He can't have it back - Exboyfriendjewelry.com offers help when a 'beautiful ring came with the wrong man'
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

RI LANDSCAPE 2008: ASSET OWNERS

The RI Landscape 2008 Asset Owners survey, run jointly by Responsible Investor and IPE magazine, is one of the widest ever direct global surveys of institutional investors, attracting responses from 73 asset owners in Europe, North America and Asia.
Download full report PDF here

 

GLG expects $4bn outflows in aftermath of Coffey exit
GLG Partners, the London hedge fund reeling from the departure of Greg Coffey, is expecting to lose more than $4bn (?2.6bn) in investment assets as disillusioned investors follow the star Australian fund manager out of the door.  (The Times)
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/361640/MTk4MTI1OjE3MjMy/

 

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

moiety MOY-uh-tee, noun:

1. One of two equal parts; a half.
2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share.
3. One of two basic tribal subdivisions.

 

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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.