Raising New CapitalRaising New Capital During the Crisis(http://HedgeFundBlogger.com) While many firms are hurting performance-wise I have spoken with over a dozen in the past 3 weeks still pushing capital raising efforts forward and showing positive performance so far for the year. Many managers are referring to this as a Darwinian process of weeding out those funds which did not have strong risk controls in place. To be fair I think most funds had consistently applied risk controls in place to weather "regular" market volatility and fluctuations and not movements which associate the time with the great depression. The hedge fund industry is not going away. When Soros mentions that the industry could shrink by 50% he fails to add in that most of that same capital will jump right back into other hedge funds or alternative investments ...

John DevaneyJohn Devaney | Hedge Fund ManagerA few days ago I read an odd article within the New York post on John Devaney and how he was supposedly booed off of stage at a recent conference. Click here to read this article now. This seemed far fetched but I figured anything could happen in today's market environment. Here is an excerpt:Devaney, who made no friends after his United Capital Markets' flame-out left investors with zero payout, began to speak during a Monday morning discussion at the conference but soon began a rant on why the markets were wrong and he was right.The crowd began to boo and the microphone was taken away from him, according to several spies in attendance. This morning Mr. Davaney is claiming that this story has been completely fabricated by a ...

George Soros PredictionsGeorge Soros Hedge Fund PredictionsJust a quick note to let you know we have updated the Hedge Fund Tracker profile for George Soros after his recent speech at MIT where he predicted the hedge fund industry to fall from 50-75% from its peak.To view the updated profile please click here: George SorosRelated to George Soros Hedge Fund Industry Predictions:Geographical Hedge Fund GuidesMario GabelliAndrew LahdeStanley FinkT. Boone PickensDavid Einhorn...

Source: Adrian Ash, Bullion Vault  10/17/2008
“What we thought was a wall of liquidity, turned out to be a wall of leverage.” – Paul Davies in the FT, quoting “a number of senior bankers…”

WANNA KNOW WHY your stock market shares keep on tumbling, right back to what one Fox news anchor just called “the absolute lows” from the end of last week?

It’s credit – or rather, the lack of it.

The US bail-out, European unity, Gordon Brown’s sainthood, every new mortgage application…all these things now look incredible – quite literally unbelievable – against the stark backdrop of no credit, no leverage today. But nothing lacks credibility like trying to make fast money in finance right now.

Even David Einhorn, the baby-faced card sharp running Greenlight Capital, cost his clients more than 12% of their money last month. And he’s the guy who spotted and bet on Lehman Bros.’s looming collapse 14 months …

Link FestHedge Fund Link FestIn case you have been reading up on bank failures and bail outs all week and missed much of the news on the hedge fund industry here is a link fest out to many of the events which recently occurred in the industry:Citadel, TPG-Axon Stumble Toward Worst Year in Hedge-Fund SwoonBloomberg - USA19, the worst first nine months of a year since Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. started tracking the data in 1990. Investment gains are being ... Worth Interviews Hedge Fund Guru David EinhornMarketWatch - USAIn the case of Lehman Brothers, one of those short sellers is David Einhorn, the head of hedge fund Greenlight Capital. Last May Einhorn stated publicly ... ...

David EinhornDavid Einhorn Interview NotesThe following piece on David Einhorn is being published as part of our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool where we create profiles of hedge funds and hedge fund managers who have been in the news.__________________________________________________Here are some quick highlights from a recent interview with David Einhorn by Worth Magazine:On the case for short-selling:I do think that there is a social value in identifying companies that are doing bad things and betting against them. I've seen the demise of a fair number of these companies, and it's not because we've bet against them, it's because these were flawed companies. And our country, our markets, our economy are better when companies that are flawed or cheating are replaced by better ones.On ...

David Einhorn, founder of investment firm Greenlight Capital, and the genius who called Lehman Brothers’ demise has turned his attention to the energy sector.

Einhorn raised his stake in Helix Energy Solutions, adding 2.47 million shares since Sept. 10. Entities controlled by Einhorn now own a 13.8% stake in the oil exploration and services company.

Track Greenlight’s buys and sells at:

http://trackthepros.com/stocks/category/152

Since March, Einhorn’s funds have more than doubled his holdings in Helix. They owned about 5% of the company in March, but have been accumulating shares at a rapid pace more recently. Since passing the 10% ownership threshold earlier this month, Einhorn’s funds have bet more than $67 million on Helix, buying shares at an average price of $27.14.

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It’s a done deal. As I’m sure you’re aware by now, the Treasury Department announced the takeover of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday at 11AM. The details continue to emerge, but overall the basic terms are: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) now runs to two companies. The Treasury is (temporarily) buying the mortgage backed securities of the two firms. Both firms will continue increasing their mortgage backed securities portfolios until 2010. Starting in 2010, both firms portfolios must be reduced at an annual rate of 10%. Fannie and Freddie’s CEOs are being replaced. These factors and others are being analyzed at length by commentators all over the Internet. Some of the more insightful are Barry Rithholtz at http://bigpicture.typepad.com/ and Mish Shedlock at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/. So instead of delving into the bailout itself, I’d rather focus on its #1 cheerleader, the investor who most ...

Let the games begin! In honor of the Olympic games in China, I’ve decided to stage my own “Special” Olympics based on financial events. I, like most people, have been astounded by the displays of physical prowess going on in Beijing. However, I’m equally impressed by other Herculean displays going on in the financial markets. After all, why should we merely applaud those who have developed their physical prowess to near superhuman levels? Shouldn’t we also applaud those who excel in other arenas of human effort… like backtracking, or blowing hot air, or flat-out incompetence? Personally, I’m as impressed by someone who can contradict themselves in front of the American public as I am by someone who can leap over a giant hurdle using a pole. Both activities require great focus, determination, and the ability to ignore glaring issues that would unnerve most ...