Main News

 

Asian stocks slide as inflation fears rise
May 26, 2008 07:38 AM ET
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell on Monday, with shares
in Japan suffering their biggest fall in six weeks, as investors
feared rising inflation and sluggish U.S. economic growth would
seriously dent consumer demand in the region's biggest export
market.
http://links.reuters.com/r/O8MIT/Y7IET/618ZN/Q1DFX/M7SND/YT/t

 

Where the Financial Crisis Is Headed NextAN INTERVIEW WITH SY JACOBS: The hedge-fund manager who foretold the subprime meltdown warns of bigger problems ahead for financials.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB121158262532418595.html?mod=djemWR

 

SEC head says subprime worsened by regulatory gaps
Regulators around the world can see several gaps after reviewing the subprime-mortgage bust, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said. The problem spread into securities markets only after becoming a horrible problem for banks, Cox added. The SEC has been probing whether credit-ratings agencies veered away from previous standards to publish higher ratings for mortgage-backed securities when the sector boomed. Financial Times (23 May.)

 

CDO defaults driven by rating downgrades
FT Alphaville - London,UK
At least 180 CDOs totaling about $200 billion have defaulted due to ratings downgrades as a result of failing overcollateralization tests, according to ...

 

UBS Says More Losses on US, Global Mortgage Markets Possible
Bloomberg - USA
By Elena Logutenkova May 24 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, the Swiss bank seeking $15.6 billion from shareholders to replenish capital after subprime- related ...

 

Writedown bug could bite Lehman
CNNMoney.com - USA
It seems highly unlikely that the $200 million in writedowns Lehman took in the first quarter - representing just 3% of the CDO portfolio's value - begins ...

 

UPDATE 1-Lehman should raise more capital- Einhorn
Reuters India - Mumbai,India
The CDO portfolio in question does not have exposure to subprime mortgage loans, but does have exposure to small business loans, consumer loans, ...

 

Big CDO managers prepare to swallow their smaller rivals
The uncertain outlook for structured finance means Europe's highly fragmented community of collateralised debt obligation managers is heading for consolidation. Financial News profiles 10 of the most influential.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/366296/MTk4MTI1OjE3NDE4/

 

The Choice of Asset Allocation and Risk Management One of the most significant advances in asset pricing theory over the last few decades has perhaps been to emphasise the intimate relationship that exists between optimal allocation issues and derivatives pricing problems. These recent advances in academic research have paved the way for the development of a new generation of welfare-improving financial engineering techniques aimed at designing optimal investment solutions that truly take into account the specific constraints and objectives of the various types of investors. More...

 

Ex-NFL players' suit to go ahead despite former hedge fund manager's suicide
Canadian Press via Yahoo! News Mon, 26 May 2008 12:55 PM PDT
ATLANTA - A former hedge fund manager's suicide has no effect on a lawsuit filed by six former NFL players against the league and its players union over US$20 million they say they lost in an investment scheme, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said Monday

 

Alternatives to Libor gain ground
Swaps traders are reporting record interest in alternatives to Libor, in the first indication that the market may start to shift away from the international benchmark, which has dominated the capital markets for more than two decades.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/366286/MTk4MTI1OjE3NDE4/

 

CFS hedge funds terminated
Money Management, Australia - Monday May 26, 09:46 BST

 

SocGen rogue trader may have had accomplice, says internal inquiry
The Guardian - Monday May 26, 09:22 BST

 

SocGen finds over 1,000 rogue trades in Kerviel probe
An internal investigation at French bank Société Générale has found that rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel allegedly used three techniques across more than 1,000 transactions to carry out and conceal his positions before the record ?4.9bn ($7.7bn) trading fraud was discovered in January.
http://mail2.efnmail.co.uk/r/366169/MTk4MTI1OjE3NDE1/

 

By ZACHERY KOUWE

A looming decision in a heated lawsuit brought by railroad giant CSX Corp. could shut down a loophole used by activist hedge funds to hide their stake from the market. CSX alleges that two big hedge funds - The Children's Investment Fund (TCI)...full story

 

Hedge Fund Rising Stars: Allen Gillespie
Institutional Investor News’ annual 20 Rising Stars of Hedge Funds showcases up-and-coming hedge fund talent.

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Yield Curve Corner

 

REAL TIME ECONOMICS
Wall Street Journal Blogs - New York,NY,USA
Brian Bethune, an economist at Global Insight, sees the Fed’s apparent conflict then this way: “the tone that the Fed [under Chairman Ben Bernanke] had ...

 

Is Ben Bernanke Too Inventive?
Conde Nast Portfolio - New York,NY,USA
Our man Ben is like an Amadeus-cum-MacGyver, he's brilliant, unpredictable, he'll improvise a Delaware company from paper clips and vacuum up your ...

 

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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:

 

Chinese troops tackle quake lake *
Chinese troops work to unblock a lake formed by the earthquake, as the toll from Sunday's aftershock rises.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7419756.stm

 

China: 69 dams in danger after earthquake
The Associated Press -
The State Meteorological Bureau said Sunday that parts of Sichuan would suffer "heavy and even in some areas torrential rains" later Sunday and Monday, ...

 

Powerful aftershock hits China; 1 killed, 260 hurt
The Associated Press -
The State Meteorological Bureau said parts of Sichuan would suffer heavy or even torrential rain later Sunday and Monday, warning of possible mudslides. ...

 

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Iranian Situation and Other Man Made Disasters

 

 

Pakistan May Turn Over U.S. 'Spies' to Iran
ABC News Fri, 23 May 2008 9:40 AM PDT
Iran claims Jundullah, led by Abdel Malik Regi, are "spies" for the CIA.

 

Iran nuclear arms research "serious concern": IAEA
Reuters via Yahoo! News Mon, 26 May 2008 12:09 PM PDT
Iran's alleged research into designing nuclear warheads remains a matter of serious concern and needs "substantive explanations," the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

 

Explosion damages Iran-Turkey gas pipeline
AFP via Yahoo! News Mon, 26 May 2008 3:26 AM PDT
An explosion overnight at a natural gas pipeline from Iran to Turkey sparked a fire but caused no casualties, Turkish officials said Monday.

 

Iran jails male backer of feminism petition: report
AFP via Yahoo! News Mon, 26 May 2008 0:56 AM PDT
A male defender of the feminist cause in Iran has been sentenced to a year in prison, the moderate Kargozaran newspaper reported on Monday without providing further details.

 

Iran mulls strengthening missile programme: report
AFP via Yahoo! News Sun, 25 May 2008 12:04 PM PDT
The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that an independent command could be created within in his force to strengthen the country's missile programme, the Fars news agency reported.

 

Iran troops kill nine Kurd rebels
AFP via Yahoo! News Sat, 24 May 2008 1:10 AM PDT
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have killed nine Kurdish rebels, five of them women, in clashes in West Azarbaijan province near the border with Turkey, reports said on Saturday.

 

Iran to raise domestic gas prices: senior official
AFP via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News Sat, 24 May 2008 12:29 PM PDT
Iran plans to hike domestic gas prices in order to encourage consumers to conserve and to help to free up supplies for export, officials said on Saturday.

 

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Opalesque’s Corner

 

- Fund launches: Ward Ferry launches new small-cap Japan fund
- Fund closures: GATKO Partners to close global L/S hedge fund, CFS to terminate all FoHFs today
- Performance: Macro hedge funds show double-digit returns, Ex-LTCM Meriwether`s JWM Partners fund and Scholes` Platinum Grove fund are not doing well
- Assets: Top 500 money managers` AUM gained 11.8% in 2007
- Seeders: Acceleration Capital Group to support emerging managers, HF incubators see more opportunities than expected - FRM Capital Advisors
- Comment:  Opalesque Exclusive: PIMCO's Bill Gross expresses concern for inaccurate US inflation reporting, issues call to action
- Views: Update: Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn speaks about accounting at Lehman and regulators at the Ira W. Sohn Investment Research Conference, EDHEC: The choice of asset allocation and risk management as key ingredients for investment solutions
- Trends: Stability seekers go for traded life policies - Managing Partners Limited, UK leads in rise of structured products, Investors shift focus to credit fundamentals amid macroeconomic weakness, FX a haven to investors wounded by credit crunch
- Credit Crunch Update: Hedge funds fear that `the consumer is bankrupt`, Nouriel Roubini on US recession and housing market (video), Securitisation`s fall and the follies of the credit bubble - Why is the HBOS deal not decisive?, HSBC to face investor opposition over pay and sub-prime exposure
- People: GLG Partners appoints new portfolio manager Warren Touwen, FinLab hires Arnaud Baiges as CTO, Sydney`s Prodigal Funds hires new risk manager
- Legal: Brian Hunter loses bid to dismiss lawsuit, L&G joins SRM, RAB Cap in judicial review proceedings over Northern Rock, Litigation arising from the disputes between activist HF shareholders and their target companies is changing U.S. law
- IMA`s Kirk Wright commits suicide in jail
- Institutions: Florida Governor Crist ups alternative investments from 5% to 10%
- Tech Update: AlternativeSoft and Credit Agricole team up to offer CASAM CISDM database free of charge
- Commodities: Bullish outlook on agriculture creates spate of new funds focused on agriculture-related assets, Comment: Commodity prices soar, but are they in a bubble?
- Oil Special: Slick investors strike riches as they cash in on peak oil, Who's to blame for oil? (video), George Soros: rocketing oil price is a bubble, Germany in call for ban on oil speculation
- Regulatory News: Back to the old blame game:  Denmark`s Rasmussen blames HFs and PE for crisis, presented reports calling for new regulations to the EU
- Switzerland Special: Opalesque Exclusive: Geneva's Finance Minister negotiating better conditions for hedge fund managers, Swiss banking regulator to substantially raise capital requirements
- SocGen Update: SocGen says rogue trader Kerviel may have had internal help, SocGen finds over 1,000 rogue trades in Kerviel probe
- Asia: Calls for Asia-based hedge funds research, Chinese growth to continue, says Fidelity manager, Gritty Japanese investors keep yen carry trade alive despite volatility
- Activist News: VAALCO Energy and Nanes Delorme settle dispute, Crescendo Partners eyes Cott board seats, TCI asks for support of J-Power's retail shareholders, J-Power goes on attack in war of words with Chris Hohn's TCI, Atos Origin Bourigeaud says he no longer wants board seat due to `hostility`, Hedge fund activism - the beginning of the end?
- Events: HFR`  shortlist for 8th European Performance Awards 2008, awards dinner on June 11th, London, 2008 IAFE annual conference `Investing through volatile markets`, New York, June 25th
- News Briefs: UBS`s stake in PE fund manager to be sold, Threadneedle starts new Asian operations in Hong Kong
- And Finally... Man buys his own firetruck for 'peace of mind'
- Logon: http://www.opalesque.com/index.php?act=archive

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Misc. Items of Interest

 

Markit's Red now free to low-volume buy-side firms
London-based data provider Markit has created a free licence for the Markit Reference Entity Database (Red), aimed at smaller buy-side firms.

 

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Funnies, Facts, Quotes, etc….

 

vehement VEE-uh-muhnt, adjective:

1. Characterized by intensity of emotions or convictions, or forcefulness of expression.
2. Characterized by or acting with great force or energy; strong.

 

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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.