Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
Florida Times-Union – CSX Corp.’s proxy fight with two hedge funds ended in September with four nominees from The Children’s Investment Fund Management LLP and 3G Capital Partners Ltd. winning election to CSX’s board.
But even though the fight is long over, it continues to be in the news.
Last week, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro told a U.S. Senate subcommittee that the commission is considering new disclosure rules on equity swap arrangements. According to a Bloomberg News story, the SEC’s examination of equity swaps is a direct result of CSX’s battle with TCI and 3G.
Seattle Times – Federal prosecutors are expected to unseal indictments Thursday in a massive tax-evasion investigation involving the Seattle investment firm Quellos Group, accusing its officers of operating offshore tax shelters used to hide hundreds of millions of dollars from the government, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Quellos has been under investigation for at least two years and in 2006 earned its own chapter in a report titled "Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, the Tools and the Secrecy" published by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Guardian Unlimited – A U.S. Senate bill to make the $1.3 trillion hedge fund industry more transparent would give federal regulators the authority to require fund managers to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the bill’s authors said on Monday.
Earlier this year, Republican Senator Charles Grassley and Democratic Senator Carl Levin introduced the legislation but wording in the bill sowed confusion among hedge fund advisers.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – President Barack Obama’s $838 billion stimulus plan was approved by the U.S. Senate as part of a plan of action the Senate hopes will revive the collapsing US economy.
$100 billion is to be alotted to hedge funds or other investors, giving them incentive to purchase so-called toxic assets. President Obama welcomed the 61-37 vote as "good news. It’s a good start."
Outlining a few details of how the administration would spend the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion bank bailout program, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner separately announced a new public-private partnership to help strengthen banks.
"Critical parts of our financial system are damaged," Geithner said. "The financial system is working against recovery and that’s the dangerous dynamic we need to change."
In a related government commitment of financial support, the Federal Reserve broadened a program designed to boost resources for consumer credit and small business loans – from $200 billion up to $1 trillion. Additionally, Obama has campaigned to include funds for school construction in the bill.
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!
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – President-elect Barack Obama has been granted permission to dole out the second half of the $700 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, after a vote of confidence from the Senate. They shot down a resolution that would have prevented him from distributing it, after much criticism came from the handling of the first $350 billion by the Bush administration.
"I’m gratified that a majority of the U.S. Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, voted today to give me the authority to implement the rest of the financial rescue plan in a new and responsible way," Obama said in a statement after the vote. “I know this wasn’t an easy vote because of the frustration so many of us share about how the first half of this plan was implemented.”
While most democrats were on board with the release of the funds, a few voted against it. A final vote of 52-42 gave Obama his first legislative victory just days before taking office. John McCain, who supported the enactment of the TARP program, voted against the release of the funds by Obama.
“If the Bush administration was going to continue to dole out this money, I wouldn’t give them three dollars, let alone $350 billion,” said Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat.
Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma expressed his disdain that it is “probably going to be one of the most egregious votes in the history of this institution."
Larry Summers, who Obama has chosen to head the White House National Economic Council, wrote a letter to Congress earlier this week, urging them to let Obama take action. He focused on the fact that Obama would use a large chunk of the money to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosures, while keeping public records so that all of the money could be accounted for. In addition, he expressed their belief that small businesses and community banks should be getting more help.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
