General News

	Morgan Stanley Investment Asia Head Blair Pickerell to Leave at end June	Jun 24/10
	Blair Pickerell, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Asia head, will leave the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets at the end of this month to pursue other opportunities, said a company spokesman. The resignation of Hong Kon...Read more
	Senate Dems eye easing Volcker rule's fund limits	Jun 24/10
	The Senate was moving on Wednesday to water down the controversial "Volcker rule" on bank trading and investing as lawmakers raced to complete landmark Wall Street reform legislation within days. In a potential ...Read more
	Shareholder Activist Update: JANA Partners and Neuberger Berman against Charles River acquisition	Jun 24/10
	Last week, activist investor JANA Partners sent a letter to Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE: CRL) highlighting the 35% of shareholders who are opposed to Charles River’s acquisition of a Chinese pharmaceutica...Read more
	Bankrupt BP - Worse for the Financial World than Lehman Brothers?	Jun 24/10
	The BP crisis in the Gulf of Mexico has rightfully been analysed (mostly) from the ecological perspective. People’s lives and livelihoods are in grave danger. But that focus has equally masked something very serious from a f...Read more
	Canada’s recovery proceeding faster than expected: BoC deputy	Jun 23/10
	Timothy Lane, deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, highlighted the risks posed by sovereign debt concerns and global imbalances in a speech Tuesday.Speaking to the Winnipeg CFA Society, Lane focused on a couple of the risk...Read more
	Nasdaq OMX introduces two Sharia-compliant indices	Jun 23/10
	The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) Tuesday announced the introduction today of two new Sharia-compliant indexes based the Nasdaq-100 Index (Nasdaq:NDX) and the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Index (OMXSB).The new Nasdaq-100 S...Read more
	Emerging markets drive increase in high net worth investors: study	Jun 23/10
	Despite weakness in the global economy, the world’s population of high net worth investors returned to the 10 million mark in 2009, according to the latest annual report on this segment by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Managem...Read more
	Inflows steady Polar assets in choppy markets	Jun 23/10
	Hedge fund firm Polar Capital (POLR.L) said client inflows helped steady its assets in recent choppy markets, adding volatility could continue as it reported full-year profit at the top end of expectations. Polar's assets und...Read more
	Reputations Don't Return When Prosecutors Drop Charges	Jun 23/10
	David Pinkerton had just left his 8- year-old twins at his in-laws’ home in Morristown, New Jersey, when he learned he was no longer a suspected felon. Pinkerton’s lawyer called to say that the U.S. prosecutors who had char...Read more
	Asia Millionaires Match Europe for First Time, Merrill Says	Jun 23/10
	Asia-Pacific’s number of millionaires equaled Europe’s for the first time last year as the region powered the global economy’s recovery, according to a report by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co. The number of individu...Read more
	Volcker Rule Under Attack as Lawmakers Seek Hedge Fund Loophole	Jun 23/10
	Senate negotiators will probably offer changes today that would soften the Volcker rule by allowing banks to sponsor hedge funds and invest their own money, within limits, alongside that of clients. The compromise, designed t...Read more
	BNY Mellon launches clearing company	Jun 23/10
	BNY Mellon has created BNY Mellon Clearing to clear futures and derivatives trades for institutional clients. The company is a US registered futures commission merchant and a member of the US National Futur...Read more
	Funds of funds finding UCITS to their liking	Jun 23/10
	Just over a year ago, Italian hedge fund specialist Kairos Partners became the first investment manager to launch a fund of funds entirely dedicated to UCITS hedge funds. It was a brave move for the Milan-based business, con...Read more
	ING strengthens Hedge Fund focus and launches Synthetic Portfolio Solutions	Jun 23/10
	ING’s Global Securities Finance (GSF) team has hired Colin Bugler to head its new Synthetic Portfolio Solutions (SPS) team, reporting to Richard Pryce, Head of Equity Lending & Repo. The creation of the new SPS team,...Read more
	Fake Sydney office part of alleged US Gryphon scam	Jun 23/10
	WITH slick promotional materials boasting a global network of offices in Sydney, London, Chicago and Wall Street plus a glowing endorsement from billionaire hedge fund guru George Soros, financial advisory company Gryphon Ho...Read more
	Alternative investments gain appeal among institutional investors	Jun 22/10
	Institutional investors around the world view alternative investments as an effective way to diversify their portfolios, and plan to boost their exposure to these investments in the years ahead, according to Russell Investme...Read more
	Arrow Hedge Partners Inc. hires Brian Kremer	Jun 22/10
	Arrow Hedge Partners Inc. has hired Brian Kremer as managing director of sales, the company announced on Friday.Kremer joins John Graham in sharing the responsibility for developing and servicing investment advisors in the O...Read more
	U.S. banking regulators issue final guidance on incentive compensation	Jun 22/10
	U.S. banking regulators have issued final guidance on how financial firms should be structuring compensation to avoid incentives to take excessive risks, noting that there’s more work to be done by the industry.The U.S. Fede...Read more
	Household balance sheets present key risk to financial system: BoC	Jun 22/10
	Overall risks to financial stability have risen over the past six months, according to the Bank of Canada.In the latest version of its Financial System Review, the Bank examines five key risk areas, and finds that risk has o...Read more
	Ex-Citi trader Hall raises $1 bln for hedge fund	Jun 22/10
	Former Citigroup trader Andrew Hall, who became a lightning rod for criticism over excessive Wall Street bonuses last year, has raised $1.08 billion for an offshore commodities hedge fund. The Westport, Connecticut-based fund...Read more
	Brazil Bets on 4% Borrowing Costs Under Next President as Spending to Ease	Jun 22/10
	Brazil is aiming to cut inflation- adjusted borrowing costs to 4 percent under the next president, less than half the level in 2006, as the economy expands and the government reins in spending. The country’s real interest rat...Read more
	SRM’s Countrywide Lawsuit Tossed	Jun 22/10
	Hedge fund SRM Global has lost its bid to recoup the crippling losses it suffered investing in subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed the British hedge fund’s lawsuit aga...Read more
	Amherst Securities Group Hires John Caputo as Primary CMBS Trader	Jun 22/10
	Amherst Securities Group, L.P., a leading financial services provider toinstitutional investors in the mortgage sector, announced today that John Caputohas joined the company as its primary commercial mortgage-backed securities(CM...Read more
	Landry's says Pershing Square to vote for buyout	Jun 22/10
	Landry's Restaurants Inc (LNY.N) said hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management agreed to vote in favor of a buyout by Chief Executive Tilman Fertitta, after Fertitta further raised his offer to take the company private. ...Read more
	Citigroup Looking Past Volcker May Seek $3 Billion for Funds	Jun 21/10
	Citigroup Inc. plans to raise more than $3 billion for its private-equity and hedge funds, even as U.S. lawmakers consider banning banks from owning and investing in so-called alternative funds, people with direct knowledge o...Read more
	Kerkorian's Ex-Dealmaker Seeks Casinos With $4.3 Billion Onex Buyout Fund	Jun 21/10
	Alex Yemenidjian, the former dealmaker for billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, is hunting for more casino acquisitions after buying the Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel & Casino out of bankruptcy. Yemenidjian, one-time president of casi...Read more
	T2 Partners sees value in BP shares-Barron's	Jun 21/10
	Hedge fund T2 Partners said it likes shares of BP Plc (BP.L) despite the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that has tainted the British company and its stock, according to a Barron's article published on Sunday. In a column tit...Read more
	Jupiter sharply higher on market debut	Jun 21/10
	British fund manager Jupiter JUP.L returned to the London stock exchange on Monday, riding buoyant markets to debut 15 percent over the price set in an initial public offer (IPO) last week. Jupiter raised 220 million pounds (...Read more
	Zachary Karabell's River Twice Capital launches flagship hedge fund	Jun 21/10
	River Twice Capital Advisors LLC launched its flagship hedge fund, the River Twice Fund, this month with $8.4 million in assets under management. The new hedge fund management firm was founded by Zachary Karabell earlier th...Read more
	Jim Chanos’ Kynikos Associates is shorting a Major Oil Company	Jun 21/10
	Bloomberg TV got famed short seller, Jim Chanos, to talk Big Oil today. He said that he’s not short B.P., but that there is another well known oil company who he thinks is playing fast and loose with their cash flow and di...Read more
	Liquidity risk measurement a core concern for asset managers: RBC Dexia	Jun 18/10
	RBC Dexia has released a new report on how to accurately measure liquidity risk in response to calls for greater transparency and increased disclosure from investors.The new report. released in partnership with RiskMetrics G...Read more
	Sceptre Investment reports lower Q2 profit on merger costs	Jun 18/10
	Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd. (TSX:SZ) reported a drop in second-quarter profit compared with a year ago, weighed down by costs related the money manager’s merger with Fiera Capital Inc.Sceptre said Thursday it earned $351...Read more
	UK’s Financial Services Authority undermined by financial crisis	Jun 18/10
	The UK’s new government has decided to dismantle the Financial Services Authority in an effort to better monitor risk in the financial system, but the move is not without risks of its own.On Thursday, the new chancellor of t...Read more
	Hedge veteran eyes commodity play in forex crisis	Jun 18/10
	Veteran hedge fund manager Bill Browder is buying commodities and the companies that produce them in emerging markets to profit from what he said is a looming crisis in the world's major currencies. He believes that burgeoning ...Read more
	Japanese Teachers' Fund Is Considering Investing in REITs to Hedge Risks	Jun 18/10
	Japan’s Teachers’ Mutual Aid Co- operative Society, which manages $7 billion on behalf of its members, may invest in real estate investment trusts for the first time to hedge risks. The 45-year-old organization is re-evalua...Read more
	Emerging Bond, Equity Fund Flows Jump as Risk Appetite Revives, EPFR Says	Jun 18/10
	Emerging-market equity and bond funds received net inflows in the week to June 16 as investor appetite for risk revived after concerns eased about the impact of Europe’s debt crisis, EPFR Global said. Emerging equities funds ...Read more
	Man-GLG deal signals start of hedge fund M&A wave	Jun 18/10
	Thousands of smaller funds, which have seen little of the industry's $30 billion or more of inflows since last summer and which are more reliant on generating good performance to earn fees, are under most pressure to join fo...Read more
	Hedge funds attract over $5bn inflows in May but performance losses cancel out gains	Jun 18/10
	Investor allocations to hedge funds reached $5.44 billion in May 2010 but were offset by performance-based losses of $16.68 billion, according to Eurekahedge. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was down 2.33%...Read more
	Canada to lead G7 growth in next two years, but global recovery troubled: Carney	Jun 17/10
	Canada’s strong recovery is increasingly being put at risk from mounting debt problems confronting most of the industrialized world, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warns.In a speech and news conference in Charlottetow...Read more
	Fiera Capital to merge with Sceptre Investment Counsel in $84 million deal	Jun 17/10
	Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd (TSX:SZ) and Fiera Capital Inc. have signed a definitive agreement to merge the two companies into a bigger money manager with $30 billion in assets under management.The new investment firm wil...Read more
	Magna CFO says regulator shouldn’t deny shareholders chance to vote on stock restructuring	Jun 17/10
	A senior executive at Magna International Inc. says the company will work with the Ontario regulator to address concerns about a proposal to eliminate the special class of stock that gives the founding Stronach family voti...Read more
	FAIR Canada calls on OSC to quash Magna share proposal	Jun 17/10
	Investor advocate FAIR Canada is calling on securities regulators to cease trade a transaction proposed by Magna International Inc., and for a policy review of dual class share structures generally.FAIR announced Tuesday tha...Read more
	Hedge funds rely less on the rich - survey	Jun 17/10
	Hedge funds receive nearly three-quarters of their capital from institutional investors, according to a survey released on Wednesday that shows how these portfolios are no longer reserved for the rich but are investing nest eg...Read more
	Lazard Asset Management and Matrix Group partner to launch Opportunities Fund	Jun 17/10
	Multi-strategy asset manager Matrix Group has launched the Matrix Lazard Opportunities Fund, its second UCITS III fund. According to Matrix, the new UCITS fund will invest using convertible arbitrage and special situations/e...Read more
	Goldman most exposed to regulatory reforms: Citigroup	Jun 17/10
	The proposed U.S. financial reforms will hurt Goldman Sachs Group the most, followed by Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America, analysts at Citigroup said. The Volcker rule and the over-the-counter deriv...Read more
	Cowen To Close Two Ramius Hedge Funds	Jun 17/10
	Cowen Group has decided to shutter two of Ramius Capital’s multi-strategy hedge funds in the wake of continuing redemptions. The firm—created by the merger of Ramius and boutique investment bank Cowen last year—plans to offer...Read more
	Canadian investors have diversified their portfolios among more dealers: study	Jun 16/10
	Investor satisfaction has increased considerably from 2009 as the market recovers, but investors are taking a more cautious approach by diversifying their portfolios among more investment firms, according to a study released...Read more
	Quebec, Alberta say proposed national securities regulator would cause market havoc	Jun 16/10
	Federal efforts to form a national securities regulator will lead to confusion and turmoil in Canada’s financial markets instead of helping them, Quebec and Alberta warned Tuesday.The provinces called a news conference to ar...Read more
	EU parliament calls for tougher rules on derivatives trading	Jun 16/10
	European parliamentarians are looking to reign in derivatives trading, calling for a tougher line against speculators. According to a resolution adopted by the parliament Tuesday, proposed new European rules on derivatives t...Read more
	OSC urged to tackle corporate social disclosure: report	Jun 16/10
	A report to Ontario’s Minister of Finance calls on the Ontario Securities Commission to begin pushing companies for improved disclosure of their social practices.The report, produced by the Hennick Centre for Business and La...Read more