Bloomberg – The decline in energy demand and drop in German electricity prices may have ended, according to the chief executive officer of hedge-fund manager Energy Capital Management BV.

“The forward prices are at lows, the spot prices are at lows,” CEO Marcel Melis said yesterday at an energy markets and derivatives conference in London. “One thing is for sure — energy consumption will not decrease anymore.”

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Tags: capital-management, derivatives, energy consumption, energy markets, hedge-fund-manager

HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Hedge fund consultant, Hennessee Group LLC, reported that managers benefited as international equities rallied in July, while the unpredictability of government intervention continues to be one of the greatest concerns for hedge funds.

“We have expected greater scrutiny and new regulation for the financial industry, and specifically for hedge funds, in 2009,” commented Charles Gradante, Co-Founder of Hennessee Group. “In the energy markets, regulators are calling for hard position limits on financially settled energy contracts set by NYMEX, starting as soon as September. While the goal is to reduce speculation and volatility in the energy markets, this could potentially reduce transparency by shifting trading to over-the-counter markets and decrease liquidity. The unpredictability of government intervention continues to be one of the greatest concerns for hedge funds.”

"The deterioration of the economy has clearly slowed, however we continue to see positive signs that we are on the road to recovery, including increases in new home sales, new orders, and production." Gradante said, "I am still cautious and see emerging signs of ‘protectionism’ in the form of dramatic reductions in external lending by G-7 institutions, which could stifle a global economic recovery."

“Hedge funds underperformed in July, as we would expect, but were able to capture a good portion of the market rally in July,” said Lee Hennessee, Managing Principal of Hennessee Group. “Managers opened up their net exposures to participate, but also benefited from a better than expected earnings season. However, managers remain vigilant, knowing that the markets could crack and crack quickly. The VIX is at pre-crisis August 2008 levels and that worries many.”

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index advanced +3.37% in July (+15.50% YTD), while the S&P 500 increased +7.41%.

Alex Akesson

alex@hedgeco.net

HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!

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Tags: dramatic reductions, earnings season, energy contracts, energy markets, government-intervention, hedge funds, hedge-fund-index, hedgeco, hennessee hedge fund, hennessee hedge fund index, international equities, lee hennessee, market rally, nymex, position limits, positive signs, protectionism, unpredictability, vix, west palm beach

The Daily Advertiser – John Hyland’s funds control billions of dollars that flow in and out of energy markets, making him one of the biggest oil speculators in the world and also one of the biggest potential targets for federal regulators.

The 50-year-old Californian has been asked to appear before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday, where he will say that he isn’t the boogie man everyone’s looking for.

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Tags: billions of dollars, boogie man, californian, commodity-futures-trading-commission, control billions, daily advertiser, energy markets, futures-trading-commission, john hyland, oil speculators, regulators, targets

This is Money – Hedge will be one of those words forever linked to the great financial crisis of 2008. The hedge funds were supposedly money-minting schemes whereby fantastically intelligent financial whiz kids write fantastically complex programmes to ensure they make a profit whatever the direction of the market.

That many hedge funds were spectacularly successful in the 2003-7 bull run and then spectacularly crashed in the current bear market indicates "hedging" may have had little bearing.

Hedging is rife too in the energy markets, widely used to attempt to control industrial costs and nowhere more starkly than in the aviation fuel market.

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Tags: aviation fuel, bear market, bull run, energy markets, financial crisis, financial whiz, fuel market, money, whiz kids