Guardian Unlimited – Three "distressed debt investors" – hedge fund Polygon, restructuring specialist Oaktree and private equity firm Alchemy – have taken control of Countrywide, Britain’s biggest residential estate agent, which was bought by US private equity firm Apollo less than two years ago for about £1bn, mostly financed by debt. Together, they have taken a majority stake for one-third of the price paid by Apollo.

Distressed debt investors, which specialise in buying financial instruments relating to troubled companies at rock-bottom prices, have been saying for two years that buying debt on the "secondary market" – where company loans are traded after the original lender has sold the debt on – was too expensive. Now, they appear to be judging it the right time to move back in.

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Tags: alchemy, apollo, distressed debt investors, financial-instruments, guardian-unlimited, loans, majority stake, oaktree, private equity firm, residential estate, restructuring, right-time, rock bottom prices, troubled companies

Newsday – A federal judge has ordered a detailed physical and mental health evaluation for hedge-fund swindler Samuel Israel III before deciding whether he’s competent to plead guilty for skipping out on prison.

Judge Kenneth Karas accepted a joint recommendation from defense lawyer Barry Bohrer and prosecutor Sarah Krissoff to send Israel, 49, to a medical prison in Butner, N.C. He said the exam could take 90 days.

Israel, who appeared in court with a bandaged hand, is "on board" with the recommendation, Bohrer said.

He said Israel needs "a full medical and psychological evaluation." The judge said he hoped it would "get to the bottom of whatever it is that is ailing him."

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Tags: doors, group-founder, new-york-university, palm-beach, right-time