Macquarie hedge fund exits short bets in India on tax fears

Macquarie’s Asia hedge fund has exited its short positions in Indian single stock futures, in response to a controversial set of proposed tax rules that could lower investment returns.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/macquarie-hedge-fund-exits-short-bets-in-indiatax-fears/472377/

Hedge Funds Cut Bullish Wagers Most in Four Months: Commodities

Hedge funds cut their bets on higher commodity prices by the most in four months on mounting concern that Europe's debt crisis will derail global growth and curb demand for raw materials. 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/23/bloomberg_articlesM2TVW307SXKX01-M2XPO.DTL

S&P says Suntrust Banks rtgs unaffected by strong Q1 results

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said that its ratings and outlook on SunTrust Banks Inc. (BBB/Stable/A-2) are not affected by the company's strong first-quarter results, which were better than our expectations. SunTrust generated adjusted pretax income of $343 million in the first quarter, up significantly from $136 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/idUSWNA555220120423

Goldman Is Said to Be in Talks to Sell Petershill Fund

Goldman Sachs is said to be in negotiations to sell one of its most notable portfolios, Petershill, which has suffered some major setbacks in its hedge fund investments.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/goldman-said-to-be-in-talks-to-sell-petershill-fund/

Apollo Raises Offer Again for Great Wolf Resorts

The resort park operator said on Friday that it had agreed to yet another raised offer by from Apollo Global Management, worth $262.4 million. The bid of $7.85 a share again tops a proposal by KSL Capital Partners, which had raised its offer for Great Wolf only 24 hours before.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/apollo-raises-offer-again-for-great-wolf-resorts/

Newest Tech IPO Doubles on Day One

An unprofitable business-technology start-up with a funny name turned in the best stock debut this year on Thursday, underlining how investors' appetite in the latest tech boom now extends beyond hot Web companies like Facebook Inc.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577353891795293210.html?mod=markets_newsreel

Hedge-Fund Assets Rise to Record Level

The hedge-fund industry is bigger than ever before, after a market rally helped lift assets under management to a record. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304331204577354043852093400.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Blackstone Profit Surges

Blackstone Group LP's BX 0.00% first-quarter profit jumped 37% as the private-equity giant continued to tack on new assets, masking lighter-than-expected revenue.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303425504577353612154243178.html?mod=WSJ_Markets_LEFTTopStories

Talks With Instagram Suggest a $104 Billion Valuation for Facebook

Facebook bought the photo-sharing service for $1 billion in early April, agreeing to pay roughly 30 percent in cash and 70 percent in stock, according to people briefed on the negotiations who did not want to be identified because the discussions were private. At that level, Facebook is pegging its own stock price at roughly $30 a share. Based on those numbers, the giant social network is valued at north of $75 billion.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/with-instagram-deal-facebook-shows-its-worth/?src=dlbksb

Goldman Is Said to Be in Talks to Sell Petershill Fund

Goldman Sachs is said to be in negotiations to sell one of its most notable portfolios, Petershill, which has suffered some major setbacks in its hedge fund investments.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/goldman-said-to-be-in-talks-to-sell-petershill-fund/

BlackRock Earnings Per Share Rise 7 Percent

BlackRock outperformed expectations in the first quarter, notching a $575 million profit as markets surged and the economy breathed new signs of life.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/blackrock-earnings-per-share-rise-7-percent/

Apax Chief Sees Opportunities in Euro Zone Crisis

Martin Halusa, chief executive of the European private equity firm Apax Partners, is not optimistic about the Continent’s debt crisis. He believes Europe could face a lengthy period of low growth similar to what Japan has suffered for more than two decades.


http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/apax-chief-sees-opportunities-in-euro-zone-crisis/

Best Hedge Funds: First Quarter 2012

Insider Monkey looks out for long/short equity hedge funds with the best stock-picking ability.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11484338/1/best-hedge-funds-first-quarter-2012.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN

Hedge Funds Post Best Q1 Since 2006

Equity and event driven funds led the way as hedge funds posted their strongest first quarter since 2006, according to Hedge Fund Research. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index was up 4.94% in Q1 2012, despite a slight loss-0.01%-in March.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/488381-hedge-funds-post-best-q1-since-2006

Hedge Funds Cut Wagers as Fed Signals Less Stimulus: Commodities

Hedge funds reduced bullish bets on commodities for a second consecutive week as the Federal Reserve signaled it may refrain from more monetary stimulus, increasing concern that growth will slow and curb demand for raw materials.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/09/bloomberg_articlesM23JL00D9L3501-M28AE.DTL

First Trust May Join Hedge Fund ETF Fray

First Trust, the tenth-largest U.S. ETF issuer by assets, has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to possibly list a hedge fund ETF becoming the latest ETF sponsor to look to make inroads in this niche.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/first-trust-may-join-hedge-fund-etf-fray-2012-04-09

Adviser pricing transparency is coming

Faced with a dearth of reliable data on the fees and commissions being charged for advisory services, many financial advisers are basing their pricing structure on little more than their gut.

http://edit.investmentnews.com/article/20120408/REG/304089974

AT&T sells Yellow Pages for close to $1bn

US telecom giant AT&T has sold the Yellow Pages to a private equity firm for $950m (£600m).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17658518

Facebook Is Said to Pick Nasdaq for I.P.O.

Facebook, which is preparing for its highly anticipated initial public offering, has picked a home.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/facebook-picks-nasdaq-for-i-p-o/

What Volcker Rule Could Mean for JPMorgan’s Big Trades

A London-based trader with JPMorgan Chase has amassed a big position in credit default swaps that is disrupting that part of the derivatives market, according to reports. With the swaps, the trader, Bruno Iksil, is effectively betting that the creditworthiness of a group of companies will improve, not deteriorate. Some hedge funds are said to be taking the opposite stance.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/what-volcker-rule-could-mean-for-jpmorgans-big-trades/

Private Equity Firms Duel Over Water Park Operator

It is rare to see private equity firms lock horns in a public bidding war. But a heated auction appears to be brewing for Great Wolf Resorts, the big indoor water park operator.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/private-equity-firms-duel-over-water-park-operator/

UBS Banker Joins TAP Advisors

A senior technology banker atUBS has left the firm to become vice chairman of TAP Advisors, a boutique investment bank.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/ubs-banker-joins-tap-advisors/

Facebook Buys Instagram for $1 Billion

Facebook is not waiting for its initial public offering to make its first big purchase.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion/

Pondering the Global Macro World Today.

When I look at the capital markets in the United States, and for that matter the world, a new view is becoming clearer. What was weak is stronger and what has been the dominant story of growth is no longer driving demand as it was.

http://jackhbarnes.com/2012/04/08/pondering-the-global-macro-world-today/#ixzz1rZBZ4pFG

'London whale' drives market, say investors

A JPMorgan Chase & Co trader of derivatives linked to the financial health of corporations has amassed positions so large that he's driving price moves in the $10 trillion market, traders outside the company said.

http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/europe/2012-04/09/content_15001736.htm

Hedge funds were peripheral players

Sir, Photis Lysandrou distorts recent history by saying that hedge funds helped to cause the financial crisis (“The real role of hedge funds in the crisis”, Talking Head, FTfm, April 2). He expresses surprise that all the official reports into the financial crisis concluded that hedge funds did not cause the crisis because, as he puts it, hedge funds held “about 47 per cent of $3tn worth of CDOs [collateralised debt obligations]”, or $1.4tn worth, by the end of 2006. But those data were not taken seriously by those given the task of investigating the causes of the crisis, including Lord Turner in the UK and the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a very good reason: the entire worldwide hedge fund industry was managing only slightly more – $1.7tn – in 2006. The reality, as the official reports showed, was that hedge funds were peripheral long players in the CDO market, and in a few celebrated cases were in fact short CDOs.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/174096c4-7d88-11e1-81a5-00144feab49a.html#axzz1rYWCI000

Top Stock Picks Of Best Performing Hedge Fund Managers

We track nearly 400 long/short equity hedge funds. A small proportion of these fund managers had amazing stock picks that returned an average of at least 30% during the first quarter. King Street Capital's Brian Higgins was the best performing fund manager in the first quarter (see the list ofbest hedge fund managers). We should note that we only took into account a hedge fund's large-cap stock picks . We excluded options and convertible bond positions.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/484591-top-stock-picks-of-best-performing-hedge-fund-managers

The Alpha Cooperative offers a new platform  for emerging managers

Emerging managers face a number of hurdles when trying to thrive in todays market. Fund start-up costs have grown exponentially as regulators and investors demand more transparency, infrastructure, and more active risk management. The capital raising environment is also especially difficult for smaller funds as institutional investors make up more of the investor pool and favor larger funds that can handle large allocations. Despite that, some seeders are looking at ways to support smaller funds with an incubation approach that provides both infrastructure and investor relations.


http://www.opalesque.com/641455/The_Alpha_Cooperative_offers_a_new_platform145.html

UK hedge funds and ex-bankers take over first privatised NHS hospital

The first privatised hospital since the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, Hinchingbrooke Cambridgeshire, began operating under Circle Healthcare Limited on February 1.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/hinc-a09.shtml

BlackRock, Largest ETF Provider, Aims Higher

BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and oversees iShares, the largest exchange traded fund brand, but chief executive Larry Fink believes the company could do even better.


http://www.etftrends.com/2012/04/blackrock-largest-etf-provider-aims-higher/

Fund file: feeling hedged in in S Korea

When South Korea brought in its hedge fund amendments last year to stimulate the formation of a local industry, many predicted it would grow rapidly and soon overtake the $30bn private equity fund market to reach $40bn-$50bn.  But latest indications are that the local hedge fund industry is off to a very slow start, as a report in Monday’sFTfm explains.

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/04/09/fund-file-feeling-hedged-in-in-s-korea/

Hedge Funds Cut ICE Brent Crude Net-Longs by 11,809 Lots

Hedge funds and other money managers cut bullish bets on Brent crude by 11,809 contracts in the week ended April 3, data from ICE Futures Europe showed.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-09/hedge-funds-cut-ice-brent-crude-net-longs-by-11-809-lots

Hedge Funds Cut Wagers as Fed Signals Less Stimulus: Commodities

Hedge funds reduced bullish bets on commodities for a second consecutive week as the Federal Reserve signaled it may refrain from more monetary stimulus, increasing concern that growth will slow and curb demand for raw materials.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/09/bloomberg_articlesM23JL00D9L3501-M27S6.DTL