Thursday, August 30, 2007

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“Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” - George Bernard Shaw

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 Top Stories


Hedge Funds Do About 30% Of Bond Trading, Study Says
 Source: The Wall Street Journal Online
There was a time when debt was considered a boring investment, held primarily by institutions seeking predictable returns or a steady stream of interest payments. A recent study by the consulting firm Greenwich Associates shows how much that's changed. More...

Activist Hedge Funds' Secret Sauce
 Source: SeekingAlpha
In a follow-up to Monday’s posting about the impact of hedge fund activism, here are two recent studies that seem to support the OECD’s claim that activist hedge funds are good for corporate governance. Both of them reveal some of the secret sauce that can make activist hedge funds so tasty. More...

Asia hedge funds' simplicity may be saving grace
 Source: Reuters UK
The Asia-Pacific's hedge fund industry, long seen as less sophisticated than its U.S. and European peers, is about to find out its focus on equities rather than complicated debt instruments may be its saving grace. More...

 Hedge Funds Are Here to Stay
 Source: The Motley Fool
It's amazing to me to think back to the excitement that preceded the IPO of Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG). The anticipation of a "true" alternative asset manager coming to market was such that after the offering was priced at $18.50 per share, it was bid up to $35 before retail investors could get their hands on shares. Although it didn't inspire quite the same frenzy, some of the momentum from that offering carried over to the IPO of Blackstone (NYSE: BX), another alternative asset manager. More...


More of Today's Stories continued below...  or  Today's Stories unabridged on the web

  Term of the Day & Related News

Derivatives
A derivative is a financial contract whose payoffs over a period of time are derived from the performance of assets, interest rates, exchange rates, or indices. This performance can determine both the amount and the timing of the payoffs. These payoffs can be in cash, as well as be the delivery of the underlying asset. The indices can range from a stock market index or the consumer price index (CPI) to an index of weather conditions. More...
 
Related News:

Morgan Stanley pioneers exotic property derivative
 Source: Reuters
Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has completed the UK's first residential property derivative trade with an embedded exotic option, the company told Reuters on Thursday.

Morgan Stanley and an undisclosed counterparty have agreed an exotic swap based on the Halifax House Price Index, the UK's definitive index for trading movements in UK house prices, Morgan Stanley told Reuters. More...

Derivatives expert chosen to manage Sentinel operations
 Source: TheSouthern.com
A former chief executive of the Hong Kong futures exchange has been appointed to oversee operations of Sentinel Management Group Inc., a $1.5 billion money-management firm that's facing fraud allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. More...
  Scholarly Article & Related News

Market Dynamics and Investment Performance of Distressed and Defaulted Debt Securities
 by Edward I. Altman
The market for investing in distressed and defaulted debt is continuing to receive a great deal of attention despite the shrinkage in the supply of new securities in the last few years and the recent (1997-98) poor return performance to investors. This is primarily due to the expected growth in the supply of new distressed and defaulted public and private debt paper, the perception that prices are now at attractive levels and the documented relatively low correlation of returns with the more traditional debt and equity markets. This article reviews some of the important attributes of this unique investment vehicle and updates our analysis of the risk and return performance of defaulted debt... More...
 
Related News:

Sharp Rise in Number of Companies With Distressed Debt
 Source: The New York Sun
The number of companies whose bonds are trading at distressed levels nearly doubled in the last month, to 148, according to Standard & Poor's. Among them are several New York standouts, including Duane Reade, Revlon, and Six Flags. More...

 US distressed debt jumps fivefold
 Source: FinancialNews-US.scom
The amount of US debt trading as distressed has jumped fivefold to $12.7bn (€9.3bn) in the past month, which could be an indicator of increased defaults as credit conditions worsen. More...
  Top Stories by Category
  Book of the Day & Related News

   
Investment Management: Portfolio Diversification, Risk, and Timing Fact and Fiction
by Robert L. Hagin
Price: $42.37
 
Book Description
A new look at the important issue of investment management in the 21st century Written for professional and private investors-as well as fiduciaries who rely on investment professionals-this book presents the content of an advanced investment-management course in an easy-to-read, question-and-answer format. Robert L. Hagin (Haverford, PA) is a 30-year investment management veteran who recently retired as Executive Director for Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Related News:

Why I Own Fortress Investment Group
 Source: SeekingAlpha
On Wednesday, my portfolio reminded me of a famous Edward Hopper painting called Nighthawks. The painting is almost entirely green except for a small lady in the middle wearing a bright red dress.

16 of the 17 names in my portfolio were up (green), and my little lady in red is Fortress Investment Group (FIG). FIG was down 0.63%, but I'm happy to continue holding her as she provides important diversification and has other positive characteristics. More...

Wall Street Looks To Diversify
 Source: CNNMoney.com
The golf course has long been known as magical broker of business deals. But diversity initiatives? Not so much until now. More...
 
  Personal Interest


Beckham injured during SuperLiga
 Source: The Los Angeles Times
For a while Wednesday night, it seemed as if the Galaxy might at least have a storybook chapter, if not an ending, to its strange soccer season.

A bicycle-kick goal by Chris Klein three minutes into stoppage time earned Los Angeles a 1-1 tie with Pachuca of Mexico in the final of the SuperLiga tournament and sent the game to overtime. More...

Helmsley to rest in US$1.4-million mausoleum
 Source: National Post
New York real estate queen Leona Helmsley will be lavishly laid to rest in a mausoleum worth US$1.4 million -- more than the average Manhattan apartment. More...
 

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   Top Stories (Continued)


H&R Block May Shut Down Mortgage Unit If Sale Fails (Update3)
 Source: Bloomberg
H&R Block Inc., the biggest U.S. tax- preparation company, said it may shut a subprime-mortgage unit if sale negotiations with a hedge-fund manager collapse. More...

Hedge funds and football
 Source: The Hindu
Running a big hedge-fund complex is like being the coach of an NFL (National Football League) team, writes Barton Biggs in ‘Hedgehogging’ (www.landmarkonthenet.com). “The smartest, best-organised, hardest-working team with the most talent and the most cold-blooded management wins. Nice, relaxed, friendly guys who are tolerant about mistakes finish last and go out of business.” More...

 Hedge funds weather subprime storm
 Source: Business Report
International hedge fund performance suffered in August as a result of the subprime crisis but the contagion was not felt as strongly in South Africa, said Carl Liebenberg, Clade Investment Management chief executive officer and joint manager of the South African Hedge Fund Index with the Bond Exchange. More...

Lehman: Talking Down The Street
 Source: Forbes
As the credit rout works itself out, Wall Street's biggest firms predict tough times for their neighborhood. On Thursday, Lehman Brothers downgraded four of the Street's top five banks--the obvious exclusion being Lehman Brothers itself. More...

New Study Criticizes Hedge Fund Salaries
 Source: The New York Times
After a month of disappointing returns and the high-profile collapse of several hedge funds, a new report has come out just in time to further raise the ire of those who feel that the rich fees collected by fund managers are undeserved. More...

Yen Strengthens Against Dollar, Euro on Hedge Fund Bankruptcy
 Source: Bloomberg
The yen rose, rebounding from the biggest decline against the dollar since January 2005, after a bankruptcy filing by an Australian hedge fund prompted investors to sell higher-yielding assets purchased with loans from Japan. More...

Activist Hedge Fund Lays Into PDL BioPharma
 Source: TheStreet.com
Activist hedge fund Third Point sent a letter Wednesday to recently battered PDL BioPharma (PDLI - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) demanding that Chairman of the Board Patrick Gage step down and that the board focus on selling the company. More...

French Hedge Fund Postpones Redemptions
 Source: Yahoo! Finance
 Paris-based fund of hedge funds Stratus Fund Limited is postponing redemptions and halving its management fees due to losses incurred from the meltdown of Sentinel Management Group, a U.S. firm that manages short-term cash for commodity traders, such as hedge funds. More...


 Today's Stories unabridged on the web
 
 
   Today's Humor
A man entered a stationery store and asked the clerk for a birthday/anniversary card.

The clerk replied, "We have birthday cards and we have anniversary cards. Why not take one of each?"

The man said, "You don't understand, I need a card that covers both. You see, we're celebrating the fifth anniversary of my wife's thirty-fourth birthday."
 

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