Daily Content For Financial Risk Managers http://www.riskcenter.com/ daily 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Hedge funds lagged the overall markets in April, as is expected given the recent surge in equities. That said, most managers are fearful of a recession, as conversations have changed from whether there will be a recession to how deep and prolonged it will be. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16473 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 Hennessee Group LLC Nothing symbolized the most recent private equity boom better than huge buyouts, deals so big that private equity sponsors teamed up to pull off the transactions in so-called consortium -- or "club" -- deals that spurred talk of $100 billion transactions. Now that credit has dried up, the future of large private equity buyouts has become uncertain. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16472 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 Knowledge@Wharton For some perspective on the current state of the stock market, today's chart presents both the long-term and intermediate-term trend of the Russell 2000 (small-cap stocks). Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16471 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 chartoftheday.com Solar energy's presence is now felt. If its influence is to expand, however, researchers must innovate and develop tools to store the power. That's the view from researchers at the Massachusetts's Institute of Technology who have received a substantial grant to make it all happen. Their overall goal is to improve today's mechanics, or to bring in disruptive technologies, that would greatly increase efficiencies and add value. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16470 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz Insider, Editor-in-Chief Growing enthusiasm for hedge funds to the tune of $1.8 trillion in the US alone, paired with a profitable fee structure and positive returns, has given the hedge fund industry the capital to extend its influence. As the snowball effect of assets and profits turns into an avalanche, competition for hedge funds' business continues to grow fiercer. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16469 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 Martin Rabkin Trying to predict the future is tricky. So many decisions are made by so many people—summed together, these decisions collectively determine our future. Planning is just as difficult because we have to weigh many factors and try to pick the ones that will have the largest influence on how our particular industry will unfold. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16468 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 Patti Harper-Slaboszewicz The following is a statement by Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Clay Lowery before the 41st Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16467 2008-05-12T08:00+00:00 Clay Lowery Fitch Ratings said yesterday that although Insurance Linked Securitisation (ILS) is by no means new, this asset class is receiving increased attention from issuers. Potential insurance issuers and structurers have shown renewed interest in transferring insurance risks to the market. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16466 2008-05-09T08:00+00:00 Natalia Bourin The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged a Silicon Valley semiconductor company and its co-founder for reporting false financial information to investors by improperly backdating stock option grants to employees. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16465 2008-05-09T08:00+00:00 Marc Fagel The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced proposed regulations that generally would require a creditor to provide a consumer with a risk-based pricing notice when, based in whole or in part on the consumer's credit report, the creditor offers or provides credit to the consumer on terms less favorable than the terms it offers or provides to other consumers. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16464 2008-05-09T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff The following is a speech by Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., on the current state of the US economy. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16463 2008-05-09T08:00+00:00 Henry Paulson Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) yesterday released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.05 percent with an average 0.3 point for the week ending May 8 down very slightly from last week when it averaged 6.06 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.21 percent. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16462 2008-05-09T08:00+00:00 Eileen Fitzpatrick With the collapse of credit markets, firms are increasingly willing to tread into unknown territory to find new opportunities abroad. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report on private equity investment (citing Thomson Financial data) noted that international buyers accounted for 23% of all U.S. mergers and acquisitions in the first 11 months of 2007. These cross-border deals totaled $354 billion, up 73% from the 2006 full-year total. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16461 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 Knowledge@Wharton Sales of alternative investment firms account for a record 40 percent of deals in the global investment management business thus far in 2008, according to Jefferies Putnam Lovell, a leading adviser on alternative investment transactions and the division of Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) focused on the asset management and financial technology industries. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16460 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff Fitch Ratings says in a report published earlier this week that European Central Bank (ECB) lending is continuing to facilitate liquidity in financial markets as intended, rather than providing structural funding for European banks' core businesses. The agency's findings run counter to some media reports and views that European banks are increasingly using ECB lending facilities to meet core funding needs. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16459 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 Julia Peach A lack of repurchased loans during the month contributed to a slightly lower U.S. commercial real estate loan (CREL) CDO delinquency rate for April 2008 of 0.69%, down from last month's rate of 0.74%, according to the latest CREL CDO Delinquency Index from Fitch Ratings. The delinquency index includes loans that are 60 days or longer delinquent, matured balloon loans, and repurchased assets. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16458 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 Karen Trebach The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a court order to stop a $27 million Ponzi scheme involving investors in the United States, Canada, and other countries. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16457 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff The Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration have both said they plan to publish a proposed rule on their Web sites regarding Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices for credit cards and overdraft services last week. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16456 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff Financial Services Authority (FSA) Chief Executive Hector Sants acknowledged the important role of mutual building societies in the financial system in a speech to the Building Societies Association Annual Conference in Manchester earlier yesterday. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16455 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff Green cars come in many varieties. Natural gas is one of them, considered to be a much cleaner and cheaper alternative than conventional oil. In fact, Honda's Civic GX, a natural gas car that cost about $25,000 and is sold only in New York and California, is the "greenest" of them all. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16454 2008-05-08T08:00+00:00 Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz Insider, Editor-in-Chief What tough luck. First the subprime crisis, then the talk of recession in the U.S. And to cap it all comes yet another piece of bad news: the return of stagflation. It is a term that has been gathering dust for so long that we need to remind ourselves what it actually means. Stagflation is the simultaneous occurrence of stagnation and inflation. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16453 2008-05-07T08:00+00:00 Norbert Walter The paper explores the evolution of auction-rate securities in depth, from their creation in the mid-1980s through continued market developments in the 1990s and 2000s, up through the present crisis, when the market “virtually collapsed” in February 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16452 2008-05-07T08:00+00:00 Benjamin Seggerson Economic growth in the United States is sustainable throughout the remainder of 2008, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in their spring 2008 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations for the remainder of 2008 are encouraging in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16451 2008-05-07T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff Trying to predict the future is tricky. So many decisions are made by so many people—summed together, these decisions collectively determine our future. Planning is just as difficult because we have to weigh many factors and try to pick the ones that will have the largest influence on how our particular industry will unfold. A columnist in the LA Times, David Lazarus, took a shot late last month at predicting the future of smart metering in California. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16450 2008-05-07T08:00+00:00 Patti Harper-Slaboszewicz The following is a statement by Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Clay Lowery before the 41st Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16449 2008-05-07T08:00+00:00 Clay Lowery Fitch Ratings has released its annual global corporate finance transition and default study. This study provides data and analysis on the performance of Fitch's global corporate ratings, both over the most recent year, 2007, and over the long term, covering the period 1990-2007. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16448 2008-05-06T08:00+00:00 RiskCenter Staff View summary of key economic indicators. See detail behind Real Growth Index (RGI) and 'E/M' Index (used in daily Fed Funds Report). RGI, designed to proxy bond market perceptions, updates monthly (vs. quarterly GDP), identifies recessions precisely, and correlates with other indices (e.g., ISM). Multivariate model projects RGI 3 months out. 'E/M' section reveals conditions empirically consistent with FOMC rate moves. Charts show 'E/M' history against Fed moves; RGI, money, and prices since 1960; and RGI Index relative to model forecast. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16447 2008-05-06T08:00+00:00 Eric C. Banfield, FRM, CRP, PRM The world's leading financial market messaging standards organizations yesterday announced that they have collaborated to create a financial messaging Investment Roadmap. They laid the groundwork to establish one common financial messaging standard, ISO 20022, while maintaining the existing independent protocols. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16446 2008-05-06T08:00+00:00 Louise Marshall The nation's energy options will require new energy efficiency tools along with a host of fuels that are all supported by a substantial investment in generation and transmission. That's the view from an industry-sponsored report. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16445 2008-05-06T08:00+00:00 Ken Silverstein, EnergyBiz Insider, Editor-in-Chief The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has established a Consultative Council for the Americas (CCA), comprising the Governors of the BIS member central banks in the Americas region. The purpose of the CCA is to provide a vehicle for communication between the members of the BIS in the Americas and the Bank's Board and Management on matters of interest and concern to the central bank community in the region. Click on headline to get more of the story on RiskCenter.com http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=16444 2008-05-06T08:00+00:00 BIS Staff