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Tuesday April 19, 2011

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2011 Fund of Funds 50 Funds of funds have been one of the biggest growth drivers of the hedge fund industry during the past decade.

2011 All-Japan Research Team BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research catapults from No. 11 to share the top spot with returning champ Nomura Securities.

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Banking & Capital Markets

Top Story Mukesh Ambani Gives BofA Breadth Bank of America has been pretty provincial in its selection of board members. Only now is BofA getting around to naming its first foreign director. Blogs & Commentary U.S. Credit Woes Will Hurt Corporate Ratings Too If the U.S. loses its Aaa rating, the consequences would ripple throughout the corporate market as well. More Stories Mukesh Ambani Gives BofA Breadth Bank of America has been pretty provincial in its selection of board members. Only now is BofA getting around to naming its first foreign director. U.S. Treasury Market Gets Continued Support From China and Japan So far, few signs of lessened enthusiasm for U.S. Treasuries have emerged from either nation. Secondary Markets Find Way To Buy Shares Of Privately Held Companies The boom in trading at private marketplaces like SharesPost and SecondMarket are catching the attention of investors — and regulators. GSTrUE: For Businesses Looking to Quietly Raise Capital GSTrUE is a product that secrecy-conscious hedge funds and private equity funds could appreciate. Is the Fed Monetary Policy Sowing Seeds of Inflation? Here’s another item that can be added to the list of U.S. imports: Global inflation. SLIDESHOW - High Yield Credit: Looking Beyond The U.S. Barclay's credit team says some of the best values in the high yield market can be found outside the U.S. SLIDESHOW of the most compelling global credits. Foreign Exchange: Southeast Asia Rising Singapore's news that it will "re-center its exchange rate policy band upwards” sent the Singapore dollar to a record high of 1.2453 against the U.S. dollar. GFI’s Cosgrove Rails Against Position Limits Michael Cosgrove, head of energy and commodities at GFI Group, has been particularly vocal in his assessment of the proposed Dodd-Frank rules related to position limits for cash-settle commodity swaps. He recently told Institutional Investor in more detail about his issues with the new regulations. AMG CEO Healey Coaxes Great Returns From Star Managers Affiliated Managers Group CEO Sean Healey coaxes returns from star managers by staying in the shadows. Will Southern Sudan’s Independence End The Investment Stigma? The Sudanese revolution casts a spotlight on the roles played by Western financial firms, including Franklin Templeton, JP Morgan­ Chase and Vanguard and China National ­Petroleum Corp. The Deficit Problem: Too Big To Solve, Too Important To Fail Investors found little significance in President Obama’s speech on deficit reduction on Wednesday, which proposed to reduce the deficits by $4 trillion over 12 years, with a program that is three quarters spending cuts and one quarter tax increases. Kazakhstan For Sale, Maybe Kairat Kelimbetov, Kazakhstan’s newly appointed economics minister, woos global investment banks. Egyptian-­American Money Manager Talks At Tahrir Egypt born Ahmed ­Fattouh runs a $200 million New York City emerging-­markets investment firm and is optimistic regarding his home country, albeit wary of the future. E-Book: The Other Russian Economy An in-depth look at the investment opportunities in Russia’s growing service sector, energy market and infrastructure. Britain's Appetite For Tough New Banking Reforms Wanes With the U.K.'s economic recovery having stalled at the end of 2010, the government appears more eager to spur growth than to break up big banks. China's IPO Machine Continues to Pump Out Deals Smaller Chinese companies keep the IPOs coming despite market setbacks and valuation concerns. This Week's E-Book: Fixed Income Article Lineup: Japan’s Crisis Could Be a Catalyst for Curing Stagnation; Bridging the Gap: Credit Investors Hunt for Yield; Understanding Risk in the Global Debt Market. Thomson Reuters’ CEO Glocer Believes In Classic Journalism But Digital Delivery Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer sees a role for traditional news-gathering in the Twitter era. Asia’s Bond Market Boom Looks Set to Continue Asia's debt markets are growing in size and sophistication, giving investors another way to gain Asian exposure. The rapid expansion of the region's international and local currency bond markets shows little sign of slowing down, even if several countries in the region are beginning to boost interest rates in a bid to contain inflation. Social Media Revolution Changes Companies The power of Twitter and other social media to foment unrest is transforming the corporate boardroom. Banks Pay Hotshots Better in Asia than in Britain The 2010 compensation figures released under the disclosure rules show top U.K.-based bankers earn significantly less than their foreign counterparts, especially in Asian markets. Sovereign Funds May Be A Fix For Broken U.S. Infrastructure the Brookings Institution in Washington, has come up with a possible solution for fixing the U.S.'s failing infrastructure: Recruit interest from flush sovereign wealth funds like China’s and Abu Dhabi’s. Shelby Knocks ‘Flawed’ Dodd-Frank Regulations. Lately, Alabama’s Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, has been focusing his wrath on the Dodd-Frank Act. Abu Dhabi Bails Out Developer Aldar, Again The second government bailout of Abu Dhabi developer Aldar highlights the financial woes of the emirate’s real estate developers. Why Britain Is So Concerned About Its Big Banks Regulators in the U.K. are getting ready to rewrite their banking laws in a way that makes the Dodd Frank financial reform law in the U.S. seem tame by comparison. On Monday, the U.K.’s Independent Commission on Banking is scheduled to make preliminary recommendations for new regulations. Sterling Is Struggling To Stay Afloat In the wake of a stagnant UK economy, aided by severe public spending cuts, the typically steadfast-sterling has been struggling to stay afloat. Custodian Banks Build Their Private Equity Administration Business Regulatory reform and investor scrutiny are prompting private equity firms to consider hiring outside firms for processing and advice. Offshore Renminbi Market Grows in Hong Kong Known as the CNH, this fast-rising currency should eventually displace the nondeliverable forward market. “Beijing has found a savvy way to use market forces to benefit Chinese companies without adopting those market forces itself,” says Brown Brothers Harriman's Marc Chandler. Irish Banks Fail Another Stress Test The most recent round of stress tests on the Irish banking system have, predictably, found that the banks are not sufficiently covered should the worst happen (again). The solution? Yet another bailout. Why the Jobs Market May Be Growing Even Faster Than Many People Realize The consensus view of the March jobs report is that it was pretty good — slightly above expectations, and evidence that the labor market finally is in the midst of a self-sustaining recovery. How Much is Too Much Public Debt? Washington state has taken steps – in the form of Bill #8215 – to lower its debt limit by half percent increases starting in fiscal year 2016. Irish Banking System To Fall Further Into Taxpayer Hands? Ireland’s banking system is expected to fail yet another stress test. Ciena's Net Gains Ciena Corp’s networking gear, software and services support voice, video and data traffic are hastening the global communications revolution. Why Global Banking Reform Is So Difficult The global banking system is frustrating would-be reformers. Financial Crisis Sent Long-Term Investing Spiraling Downward A recent report by the World Economic Forum shows that ever since the economic crisis, investors have shied away from long-term investing. Today only 25 percent of the world’s professionally managed assets are allocated to long-term investing. Is EU Support for a Portugal Bailout Waning? The issue for Portugal's financial crisis is whether its wealthier EU neighbors have the will to authorize a bailout. Big Banks Are Back In the Business of Taking Risk Alarmed by the magnitude of JPMorgan Chase’s $20 billion loan to AT&T, Moody’s warned on Monday that the transaction is a “credit negative” for the second-largest U.S. lender. Internet Bubble 2.0: Some Valuations Still Tethered to Reality Even as the valuations of Internet companies soar in the private market, there are still a handful of digital startups that have yet to be entirely swept up by the momentum. Portugal’s Woes Won’t Threaten Euro The fiscal crisis in Portugal will surely end in a bailout, but this is unlikely to have a major knock-on impact for the rest of the Euro zone. Meanwhile, the Euro continues to gain status as a reserve currency. Portugal’s Borrowing Costs Up Amid Delayed Bailout Fears Portugal’s cost of borrowing rose to the highest level for more than a decade early on Thursday, amid concern the resignation of Prime Minister Jose Socrates on Wednesday would delay any potential EU or IMF bailout for the country’s beleaguered economy. What Now For Investors In Japan? Japan's earthquake disaster leaves investors with an array of questions, some of which were addressed at a panel discussion at Columbia University. Japan With More Confidence After Earthquake? Senior Advisor at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia’ Business School Alicia Ogawa thinks Japan will come out of this crisis with more confidence and a better set of regulations to embark upon the future. Japan's Disaster Dampens Global IPO Market One of the victims of Japan’s Tsunami was somewhat unexpected: The Global IPO market. Investors worldwide fear a sharp post-offering slide. The Euro Is Back, Hotter Than a Latte During times of crisis, investors turn to safe havens. This time around, the recently maligned euro is holding its value amid rising risk in the currency market. Hotelier Saint-Exupéry’s Princely Instincts Arnaud de Saint-Exupéry — who runs the Andaz, a fine boutique hotel in London — doesn’t have to reach far for inspiration. His great-uncle wrote the book on improving relationships. Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian On Egyptian Assets Recent developments in Egypt bring fresh optimism to Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian's world outlook. Kevin Hassett: Right-Thinking Economist Conservative economists are in demand. And one of the most sought-after is Kevin Hassett, senior fellow and director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. This Week's E-Book: Fixed Income Article Lineup: Tail Risk in the Bond Market; Midwest Cities Show Surprising Uptick in CMBS Market; and Kevin Hassett: Right-Thinking Economist Groupon IPO: Don't Expect a Discount When Groupon passed on an opportunity to sell itself to Google for $6 billion, its decision appeared to make a lot of sense. But a $25 billion valuation for a three-year-old startup that had less than $1 billion in revenue last year is a stretch. Nuclear Crisis in Japan Will Reshape Energy Markets for Years The partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has aroused new fears about the safety of atomic energy. March 2011 Country Credit Survey: Unrest and Debt Pose New Risks Political turmoil in the Middle East and debt in the West cloud evaluation of creditworthiness. Brazil’s Stellar Returns Attract Global Private Equity Players A strong economy and a corporate sector rich in targets are fueling a surge in buyout activity in the country. Political Unrest Knocks Creditworthiness Across The Middle East And North Africa The political unrest spreading across the Middle East following the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt has dealt a major blow to the creditworthiness of countries across the region, according to an Institutional Investor snap poll of economists and risk analysts. How Japan's Earthquake Will Impact the Global Economy As the crisis in Japan moved from natural disaster to potential nuclear meltdown, investors around the world weighed the mounting economic and financial uncertainty. Political Diligence is the Key to Successful Trading In a world of ever-increasing geopolitical turmoil, savvy money managers can avoid disaster if they understand the political bets they are taking. Better Bond Yield Forecasts Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Kenneth Singleton and a few other economists contend that yield forecasters need to move beyond a narrow focus on the bond market. Private Equity Firms Invest in London Dorms Eager to capitalize on London’s limited college dorms, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and Oaktree Capital Management have been investing in accommodations for scholars. Internet Bubble 2.0 Has Formed, and It Won’t Last Forever The soaring valuations of Facebook, Twitter and Groupon reflect the formation of a new Internet bubble that could be even bigger than the first one. Yoel Zaoui: Pioneering Work at Goldman Sachs Yoel Zaoui sees fascinating challenges ahead for Goldman Sachs’ M&A business. Foreign Investment Could Help Rebuild America America should encourage an influx of foreign investment in the US economy, including in infrastructure development, the green economy, business investment and technology innovation, according to a report due to be published by well-known, non-partisan Washington DC based think-tank, the Brookings Institution. The Flight to Risk: Twitter and the Madoff Market The fact that news of Bernie Madoff's New York magazine interview appeared when word of JP Morgan Chase’s potential investment in Twitter was particularly unsettling. Buoyant Australia Offers Big Rewards — Despite Serious Risks Oz is a land of plenty, but investors should be mindful of rising interest rates and other dangers. GDF Suez Seeks Growth Through Merger With Britain’s International Power French utility GDF Suez seeks global dominance through its megamerger with a U.K. rival. The New Big Short: Muni Bonds? Credit Default Swaps, the much-maligned instruments that figured heavily in the credit crisis, are winning hearts once more as each revelation of municipal debt fuels market fears of government bond defaults. Could the next ‘Big Short’ be on its way? Will Sanofi-Genzyme Deal Usher In Other Big Pharmaceutical Mergers? As big pharmaceuticals need to replace their revenues with new unique products, biopharmaceuticals such as Genzyme, are the ideal solution. Investors Adjust Portfolios After Unexpected Drop in Jobless Claims After jobless claims decline, investors are starting to adjust their portfolios for higher growth and robust inflation. The Amazing Vanishing Russian IPO Russia’s stock market is hot. So why were three initial public offerings of Russian companies pulled from the London Stock Exchange in rapid succession last month? Wall Street to Trade Munis Like Mortgages A red hot muni market could bring liquidity to a normally illiquid market and possibly revisit a nightmare. A Citigroup report claims it could be 'An Exciting Year Ahead.' SEC Rating Rule Hurting Asset-Backed Securities Market Securitization experts say a new rule enacted last year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at curbing credit ratings shipping is hurting the asset-backed securities market.