Times of the Internet – Hedge funds have gained ammunition for complaints against German sports car maker Porsche after it said it made almost 400 million euros (514 million dollars) in bets on German blue-chip stocks, a press report said on Monday.

The Financial Times quoted Porsche chief financial officer Holger Haerter as saying that the company had gained 392 million euros in its 2007/2008 fiscal year from trading in options on German stocks, in addition to controversial gains from trades in VW shares.

"We have also arranged share options to generate liquidity. The underlying shares were referring to DAX (Frankfurt blue-chip index) companies and not to Volkswagen," the FT quoted Haerter as telling an annual general meeting.

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Tags: ammunition, annual general meeting, bets, blue chip index, blue chip stocks, car maker, chief-financial-officer, dax frankfurt, financial times, fiscal year, german sports, german stocks, index companies, liquidity, million dollars, porsche, share options, sports car, volkswagen

New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus Capital Management has followed in the footsteps of many faltering hedge funds this year, limiting client redemptions in one of its funds after investors moved to withdrawal 16.5 percent of their capital, according to a recent letter to investors.

The Cerberus Partners Fund is down 16 percent this year through the end of November.  Cerberus said they would honor about 20 percent of the redemption requests, while others might have to wait a year to pull out their cash.  However, they are planning on waiving 60 percent of the incentive fee for a year after the losses are made up for any money that is still in the fund as of December 31.

“This is a very hard decision for us, and the realization that taking these steps is now necessary is deeply disappointing,” said the letter.

Cerberus agreed to give its stake in Chrysler to creditors and employees as per an agreement with Uncle Sam for the auto manufacturer to receive a loan.  Its ties with the U.S. auto industry, however, don’t end there.  They also invest in GMAC, the financing sector of GMC.  Both GMC and Chrysler have taken a beating this year, more so than any other American car maker, prompting them to seek a $15 billion bailout from the government.

Cerberus isn’t the only hedge fund choosing to halt redemptions this year.  Around 80 reputable firms including Harbinger, Citadel, RAB and Blue Mountain have chosen to freeze funds in an effort to stave off withdrawals fueled by fear in a sour economy. 

Fortunately, Cerberus has confirmed that none of their funds are directly or indirectly invested with Bernard Madoff, the Ponzi-schemer who is responsible for bilking $50 billion out of investors.

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

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Tags: accredited-investors, american car, auto manufacturer, bailout, bernard madoff, car maker, cerberus capital management, cerberus partners, hedgeco, incentive fee, partners fund, ponzi, redemption-requests, redemptions, reputable firms, schemer, stephen feinberg, u s auto

The Australian – US stocks fell as another drop in oil prices and a warning from Toyota Motor underscored the unsparing nature of the slowdown.

Toyota forecast an operating loss for the current year, the first in the car maker’s history. The Japanese giant was thought to have developed a watertight strategy that would yield profits through thick and thin, making it the subject of managerial guides like the 2004 book The Toyota Way.

But the spreading recession caught up on Toyota, too, and it blamed a slump in the global automobile market and a sharp appreciation in the Japanese yen against major currencies for a likely loss. American depositary shares of Toyota fell $US3.50, or 5.45 per cent, to $US60.88.

General Motors was by far the weakest stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, falling US97 cents, or 22 per cent, to 3.52. Analysts warned that the Government rescue measure may not be enough to keep the car and truck maker out of bankruptcy court.

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Tags: american depositary shares, automobile market, bankruptcy-court, car maker, currencies, dow jones industrial, dow-jones, dow-jones-industrial-average, general-motors, japanese giant, japanese yen, oil prices, profits, recession, slowdown, slump, toyota, toyota motor, toyota way, us3