We maintain our cautious Neutral recommendation on the stock.

"We are pleased with our solid financial results for the third quarter and our strong student enrollment for the fall term," said Robert S. Silberman, Chairman and CEO of Strayer Education, Inc. "We look forward to opening 13 new campuses in 2010. For the 2010 winter term, we will add three new Strayer markets with new campuses in New Brunswick and Lawrenceville, New Jersey and Little Rock, Arkansas."

Bullish Forecasts

Strayer said based on the strong enrollment numbers and the planned investments in opening new campuses, it sees fourth-quarter earnings ranging between $2.28 to $2.30 per share. For 2009, the company is expecting earnings to range between $7.56 to $7.58 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks are in agreement.

Read the October 8 commentary on STRA.

Last Week's Growth and Income Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

DeVry Inc. (DV) recently announced a record fiscal first quarter. Earnings per share of 76 cents topped last year's 48 cents and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17%. Read the whole story on DV.

Wolverine World Wide Inc. (WWW) recently posted third-quarter earnings of 62 cents per share, eclipsing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11%. The company hiked its full-year earnings guidance, and analysts followed suit, lifting the Zacks Consensus Estimate to $1.74 per share from last month's $1.68. Shares spiked on the strong quarter, currently trading near a 52-week high. Read the whole story on WWW.

Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) has more than doubled the market's return over the past year. During the last 3 months, JWN saw even more bullish trading as shares nearly tripled the performance of the major averages. Analysts are also bullish, lifting the full-year Zacks Consensus Estimate from $1.57 per share to $1.65 over the past month. Read the whole story on JWN.

Coach, Inc. (COH) recently reported fiscal first quarter results. Earnings per share of 44 cents surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13%. The company has delivered an average upside earnings surprise of 5% over the past 4 consecutive quarters. Read the whole story on COH. Zacks Investment Research

In the second quarter, NUE announced a net loss of $133.3 million, or 43 cents per diluted share. However, the performance is dismal compared to a net income of $734.6 million, or $2.31 per share, in the third quarter of 2008.

Losses in the quarter were driven by the negative impact of high-cost pig iron inventories of about $180 million, or 37 cents per share. However, the company claims that the consumption of the high-cost pig iron inventories was completed by the close of the quarter. Additionally, pre-operating and start-up costs of the new facilities increased 58% year over year to $47.1 million in the quarter. These costs are primarily related to the SBQ mill in Memphis, Tennessee; the Castrip project in Blytheville, Arkansas; and the proposed iron-making facility and galvanizing line in Decatur, Alabama.

Net sales plummeted 58% year over year to $3.12 billion, while increasing 26% over the previous quarter. Average sales price per ton increased 1% over the second quarter of 2009 and decreased 45% from the third quarter of 2008. Steel shipments were 5,114,000 tons in the quarter, up 24% over the second quarter of 2009 and down 24% from the third quarter of 2008.

The average scrap and scrap substitute cost per ton used in the quarter was $299, down 4% compared with $312 in the second quarter of 2009 and down 44% from $533 in the third quarter of 2008. Total energy costs decreased about $9 per ton from the second quarter of 2009, due to lower electricity and natural gas prices combined with the productivity benefits of increased utilization. Total energy costs decreased about $8 per ton year over year.

Nucor's liquidity has remained strong with $2.22 billion in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Nucor's steel mill utilization rate increased from 46% in the previous quarter to 69% in the reported quarter.

The company expects earnings in the next quarter to benefit from a significant improvement in raw material costs. However, lower operating volumes/rates in both sheet and bar products could impact fourth quarter results negatively. We maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Chicago, IL – August 24, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Dell (DELL), Big Lots (BIG), Medtronic (MDT), Novell (NOVL), Staples (SPLS), Tiffany & Co. (TIF), Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Dell (DELL) will release its results on Thursday, after the close, as second-quarter earnings season nears an end. The technology company is projected to have earned 23 cents per share.

Joining Dell will be fellow S&P 500 members Big Lots (BIG), Medtronic (MDT), Novell (NOVL), Staples (SPLS) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF). A total of 76 companies are confirmed to release results.

Given the surprisingly strong July existing home sales report, all eyes will be on Wednesday's new home sales report. Specifically, economists will want to see that new home sales also rose for a fourth consecutive month.

• Tuesday: August Conference Board consumer confidence, June S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index
• Wednesday: July durable goods orders, July new home sales, weekly crude inventories
• Thursday: Preliminary second-quarter GDP, weekly initial jobless claims
• Friday: July personal income and spending, revised August University of Michigan consumer confidence

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart will talk to the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. On Thursday, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak to MBA students at the University of Arkansas.

The markets are clearly climbing the wall of worry. Though the tailwind from second-quarter earnings has weakened, the markets are still finding upward momentum. At the same time, oil is hitting new highs. It's difficult to make an argument for fighting the trend, though I do worry about how long this rally can last.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Same-store sales for Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR) surged by 6.8% last month. In response, the majority of the covering brokerage analysts raised their second-quarter profit forecasts, pushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate up 3 cents to 54 cents per share. Given that DLTR has topped expectations for 7 consecutive quarters, another positive surprise could be forthcoming. Dollar Tree is scheduled to report on Wednesday, Aug 26, before the start of trading,

Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) has topped expectations over the last 4 quarters by an average margin of 3 cents per share. Ahead of the company's fiscal second-quarter results, 2 of the covering brokerage analysts raised their profit projections. Though the changes did not move the Zacks Consensus Estimate from its current level of 9 cents per share, they did contribute to a more bullish most accurate estimate of 11 cents per share. Marvell Technology is scheduled to report on Thursday, Aug 27, after the close of trading.

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

During the past few weeks, fiscal fourth-quarter projections on Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) have been cut. The negative revision caused the Zacks Consensus Estimate to worsen by a penny to a loss of 5 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is even more bearish at a loss of 12 cents per share. Given that ENER missed expectations last quarter, the negative revisions signal that another disappointment could occur. Energy Conversion Devices is scheduled to report on Thursday, Aug 27, before the start of trading.

Charles Rotblut, CFA, is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +26%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 111% annually (-0.8% versus +8%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

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Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

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Greece naturally was wonderful and although we lived close to Athens we were not affected by the fires which now, sadly, seems to be almost out of control.

I managed to thoroughly relax and did not even get to read up on that textbook I had brought. This I imagine is a good sign :). I did however read David Leavitt. I finished the Indian Clerk and Arkansas. Leavitt is an excellent writer and the Indian Cleark is a fabulous, if sometime very windy, tale whose characters are explored with an almost excessive hunger for detail by Leavitt.

The fact that Leavitt is homosexsual comes out very clearly in his writings and actually helps, in the case of the Indian Clerk, to bring nuance and depth to the description of the faculty of great literay and academic stars who roamed Cambridge during the first world war. As far as goes the stories in Arkansas some will almost surely be pushed away by the vivid display of homesexual escapades. Personally, I thought it a bit excessive (almost as if it was compulsory) at times; e.g "the Term Paper Artist" which is a pretty hefty, albeit funny, story will almost certainly make some readers frown. What is generally interesting though is that Leavitt, in my opinion, comes off much more strongly when he centers his story around a male homosexsual main character as e.g. in "the Term Paper Artist" or "Saturn Street" than when the main character is, presumably, a straight woman as in "the Wooden Anniversary".

In general though, I would warmly recommend you to have a look at some of Leavitt's works. If you like historical novels, the Indian Clerk is a definite winner.

The lion's share of the reading will hopefully be David Leavitt and to the right you can see the titles I am bringing. By no means will I get to read the lot, but since the last two are collections of short stories (The Stories and Arkansas), I hope that I will be able to read around. It all depends really on whether the usual family bug of solving crosswords completely takes over or not. We will be going five adults this time so not even the genius crosswords can count themselves too sure I think. 

My destination will be Greece and more specifically a small town 50 km outside Athens where we (my family) are renting a small flat situated right at the beach (well almost). No wifi is a given although I will be trying, of course, to see whether I can catch a wave or two from the neighboring houses. If I manage to go online I will probably drop in with some small bits.

I will return the 22nd of August.

Best Wishes

Claus

The company with a cumulative capacity of 8,000MW is the second largest nuclear power generator in the U.S. Entergy operates through five subsidiaries: Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Gulf States, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi and Entergy New Orleans.
 
Entergy’s revenues fell 22.8% year over year to $2.5 billion in the quarter with Electricity (down 24%), Natural Gas (down 46.6%), and Competitive businesses (down 16.4%). Electricity revenue of Entergy in-line with the industry trend was affected most with the industrial customers. Entergy’s volume sales to industrial customers fell 9.7%, while overall volume loss was 5.9% in the quarter.

However, the company was able to improve upon the overall headcount of customers year over year by 0.7%, barring the industrial customers, which shrunk by 3.4%. With the economy in doldrums, Entergy’s industry peers reporting on Tuesday – Allegheny Energy (AYE) and Duke Energy Company (DUK) also shared the industrial customer downslide.
 
Entergy revised its fiscal 2009 EPS guidance on account of an expected slide in power prices and charges related to the planned spin-off of its non-utility nuclear business into a separate company, Enexus Energy Corporation. GAAP EPS estimate for the fiscal now stands at $6.00 – $6.60 and operational EPS estimate at $6.20 – $6.80. This is in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.57 for the fiscal year.
 
We currently rate Entergy shares as Neutral, expecting the stock to perform in-line with the broader market.

Net income was largely impacted by a consolidated charge of $44.3 million, or $0.35 per limited partner unit, comprising of non-cash charges of $34.2 million connected with exit from Texas Offshore Port System (TOPS) partnership, announced earlier this April, $6.8 million of expenses associated to the definitive merger agreement with Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), declared last month, and $3.3 million of non-cash charges related to idling of a river terminal at Helena, Arkansas and to write-off obsolete and damaged storage tanks. TEPPCO posted a net income of $0.42 per limited partner unit in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenues declined 54.2% to $1.9 billion, primarily being hit by the Upstream (down 56.5%) and the Marine Services (down 9.1%) segments. Revenues were up 13.7% and 1.6% in the Midstream and the Downstream segments, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA grew 4.7% to $134.1 million, largely from positive impact of the Upstream (up 12.3%) and the Downstream segment (up 6.4%). Adjusted EBITDA excludes the loss of $34.2 million related to the forfeiture of the TEPPCO’s investment in TOPS.
 
Higher margins on storage and terminal services at the Cushing, Oklahoma facilities favored the Upstream business. The Downstream business gained from the higher volumes of long-haul propane transportation.

Marine Services segment’s adjusted EBITDA fell 1.3% on lower utilization rate of inland and offshore vessel fleet resulting from the ongoing economic downturn. Adjusted EBITDA of the Midstream segment remained almost flat.

Last month, TEPPCO declared its merger plan with EPD. The merged entity will be the largest publicly traded energy partnership with an estimated enterprise value of more than $26 billion. We expected the newly formed partnership to command a lower cost of capital and enjoy superior access to the capital markets. This will give the firm a competitive edge and will also boost the long-term growth and profitability.
 
Moreover, initial signs of capital market recovery are becoming visible – credit spreads have started contracting and a number of large equity offerings have recently been priced. This should help in lowering the distribution yields of master limited partnerships (MLP), therefore increasing the unit price. We continue to maintain our Buy recommendation for the partnership.

Entergy wants to spin off the nuclear plants as a new company – Enexus Energy Corp. The nuclear plants are Pilgrim in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; Indian Point in Westchester County, New York; Fitzpatrick in Oswego County, New York and the Palisades plant in Covert, Michigan.

Entergy plans to finish the spin-off of its non-utility nuclear power business by end of 2009. The spin-off will leave the company with five regulated utilities and other assets in the Gulf States region.

This news could not have come at a better time for Entergy. The company recently lowered its guidance for both the second quarter and the full year. It will release earnings for the quarter on August 4, 2009.

New Orleans-based Entergy is primarily engaged in electric power production and retail distribution operations. The company owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000MW of electricity generating capacity. It delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy Nuclear is the second-largest nuclear generator in the U.S., with interests in six nuclear plants. We maintain our speculative BUY recommendation on ETR.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, AMPH is a leading provider of medical professional liability insurance services for physicians, dentists and other healthcare providers in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Its insurance subsidiary, American Physicians Insurance Exchange (API), has written business for over 30 years.

Currently, the company insures over 6,200 physicians, dentists, and other healthcare providers, the vast majority of which are in Texas. Its competitors include companies like American Physicians Capital (ACAP), Proassurance (PRA) and FPIC Insurance (FPIC).

A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of a- to. A.M. Best also affirmed the ICR of bbb- of AMPH. The outlook for all ratings is stable.

We are encouraged by the inclusion of the company on the Russell 3000 index as this provides greater visibility. We believe that the company’s strong policyholder retention coupled with its focus on new business generation augurs well going forward. In addition, the company enjoys strong statutory capital and surplus levels. As such, our Hold recommendation on the shares of AMPH remains in place.

STATES WITH PROJECTED FY2010 BUDGET GAPS
State	FY2010 pre-budget	FY2010 mid-year gap	FY2010 Total	FY2010 Total % of Budget
Alabama	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	16.70%
Alaska	$1.3 billion	0	$1.3 billion	30.00%
Arizona	$4.0 billion	0	$4.0 billion	41.10%
Arkansas	$146 million	0	$146 million	3.20%
California*	$34.2 billion	$19.5 billion	$53.7 billion	58.20%
Colorado	$1.0 billion	$384 million	$1.4 billion	18.60%
Connecticut	$4.1 billion	0	$4.1 billion	23.20%
Delaware	$557 million	0	$557 million	17.60%
District of Columbia	$650 million	$150 million	$800 million	12.70%
Florida	$5.9 billion	0	$5.9 billion	22.80%
Georgia	$3.1 billion	$750 million	$3.9 billion	22.30%
Hawaii	$682 million	$297 million	$978 million	19.10%
Idaho	$411 million	0	$411 million	16.40%
Illinois	$9.2 billion	0	$9.2 billion	33.00%
Indiana	$1.1 billion	0	$1.1 billion	7.50%
Iowa	$779 million	0	$779 million	13.20%
Kansas	$1.4 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.4 billion	22.60%
Kentucky	0	$1.1 billion	$1.1 billion	11.30%
Louisiana	$1.8 billion	0	$1.8 billion	21.60%
Maine	$640 million	0	$640 million	21.40%
Maryland	$1.9 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.9 billion	13.60%
Massachusetts	$5.0 billion	0	$5.0 billion	17.90%
Michigan	$2.4 billion	0	$2.4 billion	12.00%
Minnesota	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	21.00%
Mississippi	$480 million	0	$480 million	9.60%
Missouri	$923 million	0	$923 million	10.30%
Nebraska	$150 million	0	$150 million	4.30%
Nevada	$1.2 billion	0	$1.2 billion	37.80%
New Hampshire	$250 million	0	$250 million	16.20%
New Jersey	$8.8 billion	0	$8.8 billion	29.90%
New Mexico	$345 million	0	$345 million	6.30%
New York	$17.9 billion	0	$17.9 billion	32.30%
North Carolina	$4.6 billion	0	$4.6 billion	21.90%
Ohio	$3.3 billion	0	$3.3 billion	12.30%
Oklahoma	$600 million	0	$600 million	10.50%
Oregon*	0	0	0	0.00%
Pennsylvania	$4.8 billion	0	$4.8 billion	18.00%
Rhode Island	$590 million	0	$590 million	19.20%
South Carolina	$725 million	0	$725 million	12.50%
South Dakota	$32 million	0	$32 million	2.90%
Tennessee	$1.0 billion	0	$1.0 billion	9.70%
Texas	$3.5 billion	0	$3.5 billion	9.50%
Utah	$721 million	$279 million	$1.0 billion	19.80%
Vermont	$278 million	0	$278 million	24.80%
Virginia	$1.8 billion	Yes, DK size	$1.8 billion	10.90%
Washington	$3.4 billion	$195 million	$3.6 billion	23.30%
West Virginia	$200 million	0	$200 million	5.30%
Wisconsin	$3.2 billion	0	$3.2 billion	23.20%
Wyoming	0	$32 million	$32 million	1.70%
Total	$143.2 billion	$22.7 billion	$165.9 billion	24.40%

This will lead to very drastic cuts in state budgets. Access to medical care by the poor will likely be one of the first things to be cut.

Education budgets will also probably be pared. This could be decreased spending on new textbooks, which would not be good news for publishers like McGraw-Hill (MHP) and Scholastic (SCHL).

Another area that is likely to be hit is new equipment at the municipal level. For example, I would not expect Oshkosh (OSK) to have a very good year selling new fire engines and snow removal equipment to municipalities.

Layoffs of state and municipal workers will simply add to the already high and rising unemployment rate. In short, a big part of the federal stimulus spending is being offset by (legally mandated) anti-stimulus actions at the state level.

As the graph shows, state fiscal problems tend to persist well after the recession is officially over. Indeed the problem is usually worse in the second or third year since by then the "rainy day funds" have already been used up.

Following the last recession, states collectively had their worst year in 2004 with a shortfall of $80 billion (or less than half what they face for fiscal 2010), which was well after the recession officially ended. Thus 2011, and possibly even 2012, will be a very lean year at the state level as well.

Company Description

Genesis Energy operates as an energy master limited partnership ("MLP") which transports energy and refines products throughout Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Its customers include the integrated oil companies as well as independent oil producers.

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The company has 4 business segments:

1. Pipeline Transportation Division which transports crude oil, carbon dioxide and natural gas
2. Refinery Services Division which processes sour gas streams to remove sulfur
3. Supply and Logistics Division which transports, stores and supplies energy products to customers
4. Industrial Gases Division which produces and supplies industrial gases like carbon dioxide and syngas.

14th Consecutive Quarterly Dividend Increase

As a MLP, Genesis Energy distributes a large portion of its income to unit holders. On Jan 8, the company announced a distribution payment for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2008 which rose 16% over the fourth quarter 2007. The 33 cents per common unit distribution is payable on Feb 13 for unitholders of record as of Feb 3.

Surprised on Third-Quarter Estimates by 19.05%

On Nov 6, Genesis Energy reported third-quarter 2008 earnings that beat analysts' estimates by 4 cents a share.

Net income jumped 535.29% to $10.8 million, or 25 cents per unit, from $1.7 million, or 7 cents, in the prior year. Analysts expected 21 cents. Third quarter 2007 only saw the impact of the Davison businesses for 2 months of that quarter.

The company saw no lasting effects from the 2 Gulf hurricanes during the quarter.

Solid Cash Position

Even with its large distributions, Genesis still has a strong cash position. At the end of the third quarter, the company had $170 million in cash and debt commitments.

Consensus Estimates Rise for 2008

Given the company's recent solid track record, covering analysts are fairly optimistic about the fourth-quarter 2008 and full-year 2008. Fourth-quarter estimates are up a penny in the last 30 days to 23 cents. 2008 consensus estimates rose 2 cents to 69 cents in the last 90 days.

For 2009, analysts are projecting 51.44% year-over-year earnings growth, with consensus estimates of $1.05 per unit.

Analysts are also bullish on long term growth, forecasting 20% earnings growth over the next 5 years.

GEL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb 25.

Value Fundamentals

Genesis Energy is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has surprised on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters.

GEL is trading at only 7.4x forward earnings. It has a price-to-book of 0.71. Its PEG ratio is only 0.60. As an MLP, Genesis pays a quarterly distribution with a current spectacular yield of 11.80%.

"GEL" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

“There has been a lot of talk recently about Embarq wanting to be acquired,” Kagan told MarketWatch.com. “However, the financial crisis that is on the front page every day made finding a partner difficult. That may have lowered the price Embarq hoped to get. CenturyTel saw an opportunity and jumped in to acquire Embarq. Timing was on CenturyTel’s side in this deal.”

The all-stock deal – announced yesterday (Monday) – calls…

A Guide to Hedge Funds in Boston, MA

• This short Powerpoint Presentation provides a comprehensive regulatory overview for operating hedge funds in the U.S., with emphasis on the State of New York and Massachusetts. The presentation covers the areas from SEC Compliance issues to Soft Dollar to Market Timing.
• Article: James Pallotta, Boston’s highest-paid hedge fund manager told investors in his $8.5 billion Raptor fund Friday that some of the investments in the fund were “simply crushed” by the market turmoil of the past month, losing $400 million in a matter of weeks and leaving his investors with an 8 percent loss so far this year.”
• Article: When Jeffrey Larson, a Boston hedge fund millionaire, visited a classroom of students at his alma mater last year, he picked up a marker and diagrammed a low-risk strategy for maximizing profits when investing in company stocks and bonds. At the time, Larson's investment strategy was working, with a 16 percent return from June 2005 to June 2006, nearly double what stocks returned in that period. But a month ago, Larson's supposedly seaworthy $3 billion hedge fund at Sowood Capital Management in Boston abruptly foundered in turbulent debt markets.
• Groton School, which educated Franklin D. Roosevelt and other U.S. luminaries, got a tough lesson in hedge funds last summer when Sowood Capital Management collapsed. This underscores how Boston-area prep schools have exposed a bigger slice of their endowments to the same type of investments that have caused Wall Street's credit implosion.
• The Third Annual Boston Open Your Heart to the Children Benefit that will take place on Thursday, November 13th, at 5:30 PM at the State Room, located at Atop Sixty State Street Boston, MA 02109
• There are certain things you just shouldn't do as an investor: chase performance, jump out of good mutual funds because they've momentarily cooled, or try out the latest "hot" investing fad. Yet each of those things is exactly what Massachusetts' state pension fund is doing. It could be that the $50.6 billion fund is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, but you might want to check your own assumptions so you don't find yourself in a similar situation.
• A natural-gas deposit deep beneath parts of Arkansas, eastern Texas and northwest Louisiana is the focus of the latest U.S. energy boom, with hedge funds betting on the three companies vying to develop the area. Clough Capital Partners of Boston has invested in all three companies.
• As hedge funds snap up more shares of newly listed companies, they are diluting a handful of mutual funds' ability to set prices for initial public offerings, senior bankers told the Reuters Hedge Funds Summit on Thursday. Sometimes blamed for prompting market declines by using trading techniques that are off limits at most mutual funds, hedge funds are now getting some select praise for the role they play in the IPO market.
• A growing number of top portfolio managers are abandoning mutual funds and heading for the greener pastures of hedge funds, lured by the prospect of enormous wealth and the freedom to invest as they like. "The hedge funds are absolutely going after the best and brightest in the mutual fund industry," says Alex Thomson, a financial services recruiter at Whitehead Mann Group in Boston.
• Jeffrey Larson’s new hedge fund has a name. The founder of now-defunct Sowood Capital Management has reportedly teamed up with Sowood alumna Megan Kelleher to form Larson/Kelleher Capital Management.
• Massachusetts won’t Go It Alone in Hedge Funds. Over the years, the Mass. State Pension fund has been seeing superb result from investing in the fund of the hedge funds, but has now thinking about to cut out the middleman and make the hedge fund investment directly.
• SEC Filings show Boston is a Leader in Hedge Funds. As of data of 2006, federal filings show that Massachusetts financial firms help manage more than $150 billion in hedge funds and other private investments, which is about 10 percent of the $1.5 trillion that’s held in private funds nationwide, estimated by the SEC.
• Massachusetts Uses a Rotten Apple to Make Its Case for Hedge Fund Regulation. Massachusetts legislature is trying to gain appeal in setting a law that would place local hedge funds under close governmental regulation.
• Hedge Funds are Moving in on Biotech. Massachusetts' life sciences sector, a darling among politicians and local economic-development leaders, is also proving a favorite among hedge funds and other activist investors hunting for fast profits. Many funds are started to turn venture capitalists and held monetary stakes in these promising new startups.
• In a Dim Year, 2 Massachusett's Funds Shine Bright. During the year of market turmoil and subprime crisis lingers on, Harvard University’s endowment and the Massachusetts State Pension funds are still replying with strong result. Both of them have their funds managed by the local-run hedge fund groups.
• James Pallotta, a Boston-based world renowned fund manager, vice chairman and managing director of U.S. public equities at Tudor Investment Corp., is leaving the giant hedge fund firm and plans to launch the Raptor Global Funds unit he runs as a separate business, according to a letter Tudor sent to investors this week.
• Massachusetts probes UBS hedge Fund “Hotel”. Mass. Secretary of State William Galvin has subpoenaed UBS over whether its Boston "hedge fund hotel" charges fees that may create conflicts of interest and harm investors. UBS and other banks lease space to start-up hedge funds and provide receptionists and other support, with hopes that in time these funds will grow into bigger, lucrative customers.
  

• To list your open positions here in Boston please email Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org
  

• To list your event or conference here please email Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org

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