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Victims of the PigMen


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No doubt, when the market finally crashes out, the biggest story will be how the PigMen fleeced their biggest customers and drove them out of business.

 

Obviously, the PigMen firms could care less about their clients. It seems to be a battle of egos as to which fund can be "wiped out" through various maneuverings.

 

Lehman Bros. ran a full page ad today on the WSJ announcing 160 new "Managing Directors".

 

That's 160 more lightening-fast Prop Desk Traders and managers to take more money away from their biggest clients.

 

Any wonder why the Mutual Fraud industry and the HedgeFunds are having so much difficulty??

 

Excerpts from today's WSJ:

 

Fund Stars Don't Like This Ride Managers With Top 10-Year Runs Fall Short for 12-Month Period; A Tricky Time for Large-Caps

 

By DIYA GULLAPALLI and SHEFALI ANAND

Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Even the best mutual-fund manager can have a lousy 12 months.

 

In an unusual development, several top managers in the large-company "value" category posted lousy returns last year, despite their impressive long-term records. The managers were experienced, well-respected and in some cases quite famous in investing circles for their ability to deliver consistently impressive results. Yet last year the only thing consistent about them was their inability to do so.

 

"We're kind of scratching our heads," says Phillip Davidson, a manager for the $3.8 billion American Century Equity Income fund. "Everything that worked for the last 10 years worked the least amount this year."

 

It was a tricky year for large-capitalization value stocks. Still, top managers generally don't change their fundamental strategies given mediocre short-term results and most see potential for an upswing in their portfolio in coming months.

 

Short-term performance doesn't worry manager Donald Yacktman, though, given that two other down years in the fund's 14-year history "were followed by periods of brilliance."

 

......................................

 

Citadel Pulls Up Its Withdrawal Bridge, As Hedge Funds Aim to Block the Exits

By HENNY SENDER

 

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Hedge funds are cracking the whip to keep investors in the fold.

 

Facing a spate of possible withdrawals by investors disappointed by recent poor returns, Citadel Investment Group imposed penalties on at least one investor who insisted on getting money back, prompting others to keep their funds in the $12 billion hedge fund, people familiar with the matter said.

 

Under longstanding Citadel rules, when investors try to withdraw more than 3% of its money under management, the fund can charge penalty fees on those seeking to withdraw more than a specified amount of their investment.

 

The unusual activity at Chicago-based Citadel, one of the investment world's most prominent hedge-fund operators, demonstrates investors' frustration with recent performance. A new survey shows that the number of hedge funds are feeling the heat of middling or outright poor performance.

 

In response, many hedge funds are imposing increasingly stiff terms on their newly restless clients. In some cases, in addition to penalties and prohibitions, investors are receiving payment in kind or the promise of payment in the future, rather than 100 cents on the dollar in cash, according to managers of funds that invest in multiple hedge funds.

 

Because any hedge fund is vulnerable to a so-called run for the exit, investor restrictions have become more common in recent years. But these restrictions remain a hotly debated topic. The justification is that "a run for the exit [harms] those left behind," says David Moody, a lawyer with Purrington Moody LLP who has a large hedge-fund practice. That is because a hedge fund would typically sell its best investments first, because they are the easiest to sell. As soon as there is a whiff of trouble around a fund, many investors will rush out. They fear that if they stay, they will be left with the holdings that are too difficult to sell.

 

Citadel's problems are the problems of the industry writ large. Citadel, for example, posted annualized returns of 26% from its inception through 2004. But last year, investors say it was up only 1.5% for the 11 months through November. Then, like many other funds, Citadel had a strong December, bringing its 2005 performance to between 6.5% and 7.5%, depending on the fund, badly underperforming its benchmark which was up 9%. To try to sustain its enviable track record, Citadel, like many other funds, has ventured far from its roots. It has launched an energy-trading operation and delved into the reinsurance market.[/i]

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Wow. Just read a piece from a major buy-side house that makes the case that, contrary to popular belief, mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) has not been the main driver of consumption, and that a slowdown in MEW will not cause the economic slowdown that everyone is expecting.

 

He then goes on to say that 2+2=5, that he saw little green men on the moon through his telescope the other night, and if anyone has another drop of acid for sale.

 

Economic theory is so ad lib. :lol:

 

 

Although he does say that housing will be an economic detractor this year.

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Wow.  Just read a piece from a major buy-side house that makes the case that, contrary to popular belief, mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) has not been the main driver of consumption, and that a slowdown in MEW will not cause the economic slowdown that everyone is expecting.

 

He then goes on to say that 2+2=5, that he saw little green men on the moon through his telescope the other night, and if anyone has another drop of acid for sale.

 

Economic theory is so ad lib.  :lol:

 

 

Although he does say that housing will be an economic detractor this year.

2 + 2 makes five

Home re-fi's are meaningless

Let's buy some more stock!

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Economic theory is so ad lib.  :lol:

 

 

 

 

And occasionally...INSANE... :o

 

"The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of U.S. dollars in circulation, or even by credibly threatening to do so, the U.S. government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation." - Ben S. Bernanke

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