To hell in a hand basket-
Freddie Reports Fourth Quarter Loss of $480 Million (Update6)
By James Tyson
March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company, reported a $480 million net loss in the fourth quarter as fees from providing guarantees for bonds fell and it lost money on derivatives.
The loss compares with net income of $684 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, the McLean, Virginia-based government- chartered company said in a statement today. Freddie Mac and the larger Fannie Mae own or provide guarantees on about 40 percent of the $10.5 trillion U.S. residential mortgage market.
- if that isnt enough-
Trader who sank Amaranth to start new hedge fund
Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:59 AM EST
BOSTON (Reuters) - Brian Hunter, the trader whose soured natural gas bets caused the biggest-ever hedge fund failure, plans to start a new fund less than one year after Amaranth Advisors failed in 2006, documents show.
Solengo Capital Advisors will be based in Greenwich, Connecticut and Calgary, Alberta, and will offer investors a "series of investment funds across the commodities space," according to the 15-page prospectus sent to potential investors. A copy was obtained by Reuters.
Hunter, the former star trader who turned an estimated $2 billion gain for the year into a roughly $5 billion loss that quickly sank Amaranth last September, will be joined at the new venture by Amaranth alumni Shane Lee, Matthew Calhoun and Karl Koster, the prospectus says.
Investors will pay a 2 percent management fee and a 20 percent performance fee, standard fees in the $1.9 trillion hedge fund industry. They will also get a chance to periodically meet with the managers, the prospectus says.
However managers will have "total freedom to develop their business, subject only to previously noted restrictions," the document tells potential investors.
Some U.S. investors who lost money with Amaranth expressed anger last year when it became known that Hunter had been allowed to take on such big and risky bets.
Shondell Sabad, who will be the new fund's chief operating officer and chief financial officer, declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
This is getting insane. Its one BIG Casino.
Ron |
