“Feel Sick? Follow the Money!” Pandemics Risk Management and Dirty Dollar Bills

Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA)

Thursday Dec. 10 2009
CME Group Auditorium 20 South Wacker Drive Chicago IL 60606
5:00 - 7:30 P.M.

What do the failure of Lehman Brothers SARS swine flu and zombie attacks have in common? What about the internet and terrorists? Why do the rich tend to get richer? Are your friends likely to make you not just happier but also fatter? Network theory provides answers to these questions and many many others.

At the PRMIA Chicago meeting on Thursday Dec. 10th Prof. Dirk Brockmann from Northwestern University will talk about his research in network theory on tracking the spread of the 2009-H1N1 virus and predicting the pandemic’s future. He will report on the recent discovery of scaling laws in global human traffic based on the analysis of the geographic circulation of over 10 million individual dollar bills (www.wheresgeorge.com) in the United States. Earlier this year Prof. Brockmann’s research was featured in an article (http://tinyurl.com/nytimes5409) in The New York Times.

A panel discussion will follow Prof. Brockmann’s presentation.

Panelists:

Sara Alexander Deputy Director ChicagoFIRST

Dirk Brockmann Professor Northwestern University

Guenever Scheuermann Assistant Vice President Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Please visit the PRMIA website for details of this event and to register online. Free to PRMIA sustaining members; $10 for all others.

http://www.prmia.org/events/view_events.php?eventID=3761

sed trading venue in an attempt to win more business from European retail investors
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/51a4445c-dd97-11de-9f8b-00144feabdc0.html

Investors may rethink ‘quasi-sovereign’ issues
LONDON Nov 29 — State-owned company Dubai World’s debt restructuring is the latest reminder for investors that governments may prove less willing than they had hoped in covering obligations of strategically important companies.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/44902-investors-may-rethink-quasi-sovereign-issues

Free freight clearing from LCH.Clearnet
LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH.Clearnet) the global leader in freight clearing with 85% of all dry cleared volumes is offering free clearing for FFAs and Iron Ore swaps for the month of December. For one month clients will get all the benefits of clearing such as reduced counterparty risk position netting and guaranteed payment at no cost.
http://www.lchclearnet.com/media_centre/press_releases/2009-11-30.asp

US Fed chief 'concerned' by regulatory proposals
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The head of the US central bank said Saturday he was "concerned" by some congressional proposals aimed at regulating the US financial system that infringe upon the powers of the Federal Reserve.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091128/pl_afp/usbankingeconomyfinancebernanke_20091128062756

High-frequency gaming fears persist – The TRADE Poll
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-execution/industry-issues/3943

Franc Chosen Currency as Switzerland Emulates Australia Outperforming G-10
Switzerland a nation of 7.8 million embroiled in the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme scandal and tax- evasion disputes with the U.S. is gaining favor among foreign- exchange traders drawn to its outperforming economy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aUAf4VNnKnSI

Morgan Stanley fears UK sovereign debt crisis
Britain risks becoming the first country in the G10 bloc of major economies to risk capital flight and a full-blown debt crisis over coming months according to a client note by Morgan Stanley.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/6693162/Morgan-Stanley-fears-UK-sovereign-debt-crisis-in-2010.html

Banks must pay for market failure
Wall Street must not be allowed to sidestep reform says John Cassidy British-born writer at the 'New Yorker'.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6689145/Banks-must-pay-for-market-failure.html

Employee Claims He Received Death Threats
The Times reports that a UK judge is to review telephone records after a broker in the Tullett Prebon / BGC Partners poaching case claimed that he received death threats the night before he was due to testify in the High Court in London.
http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/business_news/9627.cntns

New York Fed to expand reverse repo tests
Tool aims to drain liquidity from financial system
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d06ff80a-ddc7-11de-9f8b-00144feabdc0.html

Thirty financial groups on systemic risk list
Cross-border supervision exercises planned
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/df7c3f24-dd19-11de-ad60-00144feabdc0.html

Bernanke Geithner at hearings this week
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will dominate financial news on Capitol Hill this week. Most eyes will be on Bernanke who will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday for a confirmation hearing for a second term as head of the central bank.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/69667-bernanke-geithner-at-key-hearings-this-week

Dubai Debt

Dubai government disclaims responsibility for Dubai World debt
DUBAI Nov 30 (Reuters) - The Dubai government disclaimed responsibility for the debts of its Dubai World conglomerate on Monday crushing earlier assumptions by creditors that the Arab emirate would guarantee its liabilities.
http://blogs.reuters.com/financial-regulatory-forum/2009/11/30/dubai-govt-disclaims-responsibility-for-dubai-world-debt/

Dubai World's Debt Isn't Guaranteed by Government Finance Official Says
Dubai’s government said it hasn’t guaranteed the debt of Dubai World the state-controlled holding company struggling with $59 billion in liabilities and that creditors must help it restructure.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZcSG4zg4DMo

Dubai debt worries linger Gulf stocks suffer
By John Irish and Tamara Walid
DUBAI (Reuters) – Dubai's government said on Monday it was not responsible for the debts of its flagship conglomerate offering little clarity on a plan to delay billions in debt repayments that has rattled world markets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091130/bs_nm/us_dubai_10

Arab Emirates Aim to Limit Dubai Crisis in Pledge to Banks
By VIKAS BAJAJ and GRAHAM BOWLEY
Trying to prevent a run on its banks and stem financial turmoil that some fear could spread globally the United Arab Emirates helped calm markets Monday by pledging to lend money to banks operating in Dubai. But the action comes amid concerns about excessive borrowing around the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/business/global/30contagion.html?em

Dubai UAE stocks plunge as official offers no comfort
By Barbara Surk Associated Press Writer
DUBAI United Arab Emirates — The heavily indebted Dubai World is not guaranteed by the emirate's government a top financial official from the city state said Monday offering little direction to anxious investors on a day when the United Arab Emirates stocks registered a record fall on the back of Dubai's debt mess.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2009-11-30-dubai-latest_N.htm?csp=34

Crisis what crisis? Debt-laden Dubai just shrugs
By Martina Fuchs and Enjy Kiwan
DUBAI/ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Glitzy Dubai may face a debt crisis that has sent a shudder through global markets but you wouldn't know it from officials or local media.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091130/bs_nm/us_dubai_street_1

Dubai Mercantile Exchange has got fundamentals right says Sharaf
.."The rising volumes are testimony to the market acceptability of DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract and the DME as a viable marketplace" Ahmad Sharaf DME chairman told Gulf News.
http://gulfnews.com/business/oil-gas/dubai-mercantile-exchange-has-got-fundamentals-right-says-sharaf-1.541995

Dubai Debt Story More Like Bear Stearns Less Like Lehman Brothers
By Dan Denning
The task of today's Daily Reckoning is to show that the Dubai debt story is more like Bear Stearns and less like Lehman Brothers. A second task is to show that the news from Dubai could be the catalyst for fund managers and traders to take profits on all of their 2009 winners. This could lead to steep falls in emerging market stocks including Australia. But first things first.
http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/dubai-debt-like-bear-stearns/2009/11/30/

Commentary By Majd Shafiq - The Crisis In Dubai: Implications For The European Exchange Sector
A Bedouin proverb says that a good idea’s worst enemy is its bad implementation. Perhaps no other phrase is more apt than this one to describe what has been happening in Dubai lately. The concept of a regional financial hub operating according to international best practice and based in one of the Middle East’s most enlightened locations made a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. It still does. Too bad that this has been hobbled by inept management; hopefully not for long.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87035

Dubai faces first test as finance hub
NICOSIA (AFP) – Dubai's ambitions to become an international financial centre are in doubt after the shock announcement that its main state-owned firm wants to suspend debt payments analysts said on Sunday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091129/wl_mideast_afp/uaeeconomybankingstocksbondsemerge_20091129140628

Economic Outlook: Never cry wolf
By ANTHONY HALL United Press International
If investors were looking for a second Lehman Brothers to jolt a correction in global markets they found one in the Dubai debt crisis that erupted Wednesday.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Analysis/2009/11/30/Economic-Outlook-Never-cry-wolf/UPI-55781259585897/

Dubai Not Distressed in Bond Market Where Traders Bet on Abu Dhabi Rescue
Dubai’s debt risk after jumping the most last week since January is still below the level signaling a potential failure as investors expect the emirate will be rescued by oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=a77SP9Sgemt0

South Korea Says Dubai Debt Crisis Impact ‘Limited’ (Update1)
By Seyoon Kim
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea said the impact of the Dubai debt crisis on its financial markets will be “limited.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601013&sid=aPcCzS4en3E0

Dubai crisis hurts SA expats
Andile Ntingi
Johannesburg - Some of the nearly 40 000 South Africans lured by high pay and low taxes to Dubai could be forced to make a speedy retreat.
http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?ArticleId=1518-1786_2563369

Dubai - The Start Of A New Phase In The Financial Crisis ?
The decision by Dubai World Dubai's sovereign wealth investment fund to delay interest payments on its $60bn of debt has sent the global markets into a tailspin. But is it really the end of the world ?
http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/business_news/9610.cntns

'The Sheikh's New Clothes?' Dubai's Desert Dream Ends
Sheikh Mohammed lured investors with futuristic projects. Now they're left with $80 billion in debt little confidence in Dubai and growing questions
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2009/gb20091127_265938.htm

Environmental Trading News

Commonwealth advances momentum for climate deal
Commonwealth nations representing one-third of the world's population threw their weight on Saturday behind accelerating efforts to clinch an "operationally binding" U.N. climate deal in Copenhagen next month.
http://www.enn.com/business/article/40763

Carbon trading could be worth twice that of oil in next decade
The carbon market could become double the size of the vast oil market according to the new breed of City players who trade greenhouse gas emissions through the EU's emissions trading scheme.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/29/carbon-trading-market-copenhagen-summit

European Climate Exchange chief Patrick Birley defends the carbon trading system
By Rowena Mason
People don't trade carbon because they are good people exclaims Patrick Birley the chief executive of the ICE European Climate Exchange with characteristic bluntness. "Why should it be different as a commodity to the way people trade oil or gas?"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businesslatestnews/6686057/European-Climate-Exchange-chief-Patrick-Birley-defends-the-carbon-trading-system.html

Green Exchange Products Availability for Testing
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/clearing/Chadv09534.html

France wants a 'carbon tax' on EU imports
Sachin Parashar
NEW DELHI/PARIS: In a dampener for India the French government is set to insist that the European Union impose a carbon tax on imports from countries such as India which are supposed to have ``low environmental standards''.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/France-wants-a-carbon-tax-on-EU-imports/articleshow/5282146.cms

Hiroshi Development LLC Closes Initial $300 Million to Fund Renewable Energy and Technology Projects
Hiroshi Development LLC (HD) a company structured to develop and operate renewable energy assets today announced an initial close of $300 million as part of its plan to raise a total of $600 million in financing by the start of 2011. Initial investors include QCF and several other investors.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20091130/bs_prweb/prweb3273204_4

Natural Gas Glut Overwhelms Speculators as Market Defies Wall Street Rally
When Qatar’s biggest natural gas shipment to the U.S. arrived this month it signaled to Barclays Capital Inc. and PFC Energy that this year’s worst performing commodity investment won’t recover in 2010.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aiUK2YSomg7s

Look at complexity when deciding derivatives danger
By Tony Jackson
Carbon trading the environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth claimed recently is the new subprime. It is a market dominated by derivatives and speculation. It is thus of the devil and will go the same way.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/382296ca-dd4f-11de-ad60-00144feabdc0.html

Australia's Emissions Plan in Limbo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125959262731269757.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_world

For more environmental trading news subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Visit http://www.jlnenvironmental.com to subscribe.

Exchange & ECN News

TSX Venture Exchange celebrates 10 years as Canada's national market for public venture capital
November 30 2009 (TORONTO) - Today TSX Venture Exchange is celebrating its 10th anniversary of providing emerging companies with the equity fuel they need to drive their future growth. "TSX Venture Exchange is the number one source of venture capital funding for aspiring Canadian and international companies" said Tom Kloet CEO TMX Group. "Its equity financing and investing platform is both unique and unrivalled in the world and I am very proud of its success and of the service it provides to emerging businesses."
http://www.tmx.com/en/news_events/news_releases/11-30-2009_TSXVenture-10Years.html

NYSE EURONEXT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF NYFIX
New York Nov. 30 2009 – NYSE Euronext (NYX) today announced the completion of its acquisition through NYSE Technologies of NYFIX Inc. (Nasdaq: NYFX) a leading provider of innovative solutions that optimize trading efficiency in an all-cash deal for approximately $144 million or $1.675 per common share without interest plus preferred stock consideration. This acquisition expands NYSE Euronext’s pre-trade product offering and global buy-side and sell-side communities.
http://www.nyse.com/press/1259580816408.html

NYSE Euronext closes $144 million acquisition of technology provider NYFIX
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-nyse-euronext-acquisition06708224.story

Euroclear Says LSE Fees Are Biggest Cost for Clients (Update1)
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Plc’s own fees make up most of the cost of trading on the venue not levies from third-party processors Euroclear SA said today in response to LSE’s claim that its charges are hurting business.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aJynSPzPbZJc

Deutsche Börse connects 100th participant to proximity services
November 27th 2009 - Deutsche Börse connects 100th participant to proximity services - now totals more than 1000 logical network connections
http://www.automatedtrader.net/news/algorithmic-trading-news/24920/deutsche-brse-connects-100th-participant-to-proximity-services

Chicago Board Options Exchange to Use Aqumin Technology to Enhance Data Management and Evaluation
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091130005061/en

Program Trading Averaged 28.0 Percent Of NYSE Volume During Nov. 16-20
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87013

Banks Brokers & Dark Pools

Fred Joseph Drexel Burnham Chief in Michael Milken Years Dies at Age 72
Fred Joseph who ran junk-bond firm Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. as chief executive officer from its heyday in the 1980s to its collapse in 1990 has died. He was 72.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=atb4yIn5NiS4

Some Failed Banks Unwanted at Any Price
Some lenders are in such bad shape that potential buyers won't touch them at any price even if the government agrees to eat loan losses.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704498804574558341229897758.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

**** Includes "Losses R US Bank & Trust"

U.S. banks have recognized most credit losses: Goldman
(Reuters) – U.S. banks have already recognized two-thirds of an estimated $2.1 trillion to $2.6 trillion in credit losses but prime mortgage and commercial real estate would contribute more to the remaining losses Goldman Sachs said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091130/bs_nm/us_usbanks_research_goldmansachs_1

Citigroup JPMorgan Lead ‘Manageable’ U.S. Exposure to U.A.E.
By Pierre Paulden
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. bank exposure to the United Arab Emirates is “a very manageable” $9.9 billion compared with European banks that have lent almost nine times as much according to CreditSights Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aeawAE_WXkUc

Brazilian Banks Near ‘Sweet Spot’ on Growth Goldman Sachs Says
By Veronica Espinosa
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian banks are nearing a “sweet spot” as faster economic growth and higher interest rates allow them to increase lending and improve margins Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=ag6qkw0VXxfs

State Street inks Morgan Stanley outsourcing deal
BOSTON – State Street Corp. will absorb 100 employees from Morgan Stanley Investment Management as part of a deal announced Monday to provide servicing for investments worth about $300 billion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_state_street_morgan_stanley_deal_1

UBS may quit Switzerland
OLIVER SHAH
UBS last night moved to play down reports that it would consider moving its headquarters out of Switzerland in response to the prospect of tighter regulation. Oswald Grübel chief executive of the global banking giant is said to have made the threat to a meeting of industry figures at the Zurich Business Club on Thursday.
http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/axu12bw1vt.html

Barclays Wealth CIO Jumps to Deutsche
By Helen Kearney On Wall Street
The former chief investment officer at Barclays Wealth Kevin Lecocq is joining Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management as head of global investment solutions. He will assume his new post early next year.
http://www.financial-planning.com/news/barclays-wealth-cio-jumps-to-deutsche-2664749-1.html

Citigroup names Willem Buiter as chief economist
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091130/bs_nm/us_citigroup_buiter

European Investment Bank And Inter-American Development Bank Sign Memorandum Of Understanding
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno and European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-president Carlos Da Silva Costa signed a Memorandum of Understanding today in Lisbon on the margins of the XIX Ibero-American Summit.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87032

Scottish Finance Companies May Cut 3000 Jobs in 2010 Ernst & Young Says
Scottish financial-services companies may cut 3000 jobs in the next year as the country’s economy lags behind that of the U.K. as a whole Ernst & Young LLP’s Scottish Item Club said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aE2FpZL4IPMU

Wealthy Investors Plan to Buy More Real Estate Barclays Says
By Peter Woodifield
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Individuals with more than $800000 to invest plan to increase their property holdings because they foresee better long-term returns than from stocks and bonds according to a Barclays Plc global survey.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aJrdCzCabdOs

Fire Knocks Out Credit Suisse's N.Y. Trading Floors
A fire that started before trading hours in New York on Friday morning temporarily knocked out Credit Suisse's Manhattan trading floors forcing the firm to move its professionals to an alternate site in Jersey City N.J.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/-24315-1.html

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions including enforcement proceedings rule filings policy statements and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2009/dig113009.htm

U.S. top court to decide reach of securities law
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON Nov 30 (Reuters) - The Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide when U.S. laws against securities fraud apply to transnational securities dealings specifically involving a case about a shareholder lawsuit against National Australia Bank Ltd and its former U.S. mortgage unit.
http://blogs.reuters.com/financial-regulatory-forum/2009/11/30/us-top-court-to-decide-reach-of-securities-law/

France grabs plum Brussels financial services post
(BRUSSELS) - France secured control on Friday of a prized Brussels post overseeing banks and other financial services despite staunch British resistance to EU efforts to regulate the City of London.
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/economy-politics.1o8

Alleged Hedge Fund Fraudster Fined By CFTC
http://bit.ly/55K2Fh

Regulators list systemic risk institutions: report
LONDON (Reuters) – Thirty global financial institutions have been selected for cross-border supervision exercises by regulators the Financial Times reported on Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091130/bs_nm/us_financial_stability_risk_list

FSA bans Essex mortgage broker for advice failings and not having appropriate systems and controls in place
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned Essex based mortgage broker Antoinette Davis for not being fit and proper to run a mortgage brokerage. The permission of Antoinette Davis trading as Ability Mortgage Solutions has also been cancelled.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/163.shtml

Jay Nolan of Lodge Diversified charged with $6 Million Fraud
Jay Nolan a futures trader from the Chicago suburb of Wilmette was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly defrauding investors. According to the FBI Mr...
http://www.hedgetracker.com/article/Jay-Nolan-of-Lodge-Diversified-charged-with-6-Million-Fraud

[AMF] Preparing of bond prospectuses and approval procedures
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/9132_1.pdf

AMF publishes the list of Euronext Paris-listed companies that have not fulfilled their duty to disseminate and/or file with the AMF their annual or half-year financial reports due in 2009
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/9204_1.pdf

Investments - Indexes - Managed Futures - Managed Funds

Hedge-fund flavors in an ETF wrapper
New fund brings transparency and low fees but jury is still out
By John Spence MarketWatch
BOSTON (MarketWatch) - A new exchange-traded fund promises to mimic hedge-fund strategies in an easily traded and lower-fee vehicle but investors may want to see how this second-generation ETF fares in the real world before rushing in.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/etf-aims-to-be-hedge-fund-for-the-masses-2009-11-29?siteid=rss&rss=1

Hedge Funds Buying as Individuals Sell in Bull Signal (Update2)
By Lynn Thomasson and Mary Childs
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds are shoveling money into stocks as individuals exit at the fastest rate in a year a sign to professional investors that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is poised to extend its gains.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aidQnqm1KPik

Hedge funds set for best year in a decade
Hedge funds are poised to register their best investment returns for a decade staging a remarkable turnaround as some of last year’s worst-performing funds leap to the top of the tables.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/homepage/index/content/1055896233

Mideast meltdown puts Barneys in creditors' reach
By JAMES COVERT
Dubai's debt crisis could help push Barneys New York back into American hands by early next year -- specifically the clutches of New York hedge-fund tycoon Richard Perry and Los Angeles billionaire Ronald Burkle.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/desert_landscape_qEK9G5cLlFkNHm0FkJpitO

Touradji Capital goes for Gold
Paul Touradji has moved over 80% of the equity portion of his commodities focused hedge fund’s portfolio into gold according to Touradji Capital’s...
http://www.hedgetracker.com/article/Touradji-Capital-goes-for-Gold

Active managers look after a passive funds
By Lucy Warwick-Ching
Investors who doubt fund managers’ ability to outperform an index but who want a manager to take the asset allocation decisions can make use of managed portfolios of exchange traded funds (ETFs).
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7fc3a35e-db8b-11de-9424-00144feabdc0.html

Acquisitive Aberdeen eyes hedge funds sector
Aberdeen Asset Management the largest listed UK fund manager is looking to buy smaller firms in the hedge funds sector next year its chief executive said this morning as he unveiled the company's full-year results.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/homepage/content/1055903848

U.S. investors curb risk trades as 2009 nears end
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. fund managers decreased their heavy exposure to stocks in November while increasing their cash allocations ahead of 2009's close and on signs that economic recovery may be slow a Reuters poll showed on Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091130/bs_nm/us_funds_assets_usa

Good Buys in Bank Bonds
Emily Lambert
Open an FDIC-insured money market account at Bank of America ( BAC - news - people ) put in $50000 and you'll get all of 0.9% annual interest.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1214/investment-guide-10-yields-debt-credit-good-buys-in-bank-bonds.html?feed=rss_news

Fortune: Yacktman Fund (YACKX) - Patience & Contrarian Style Pays Off
I always enjoy reading success stories from the "little guy" especially in such a field as mutual funds which are dominated by giants. [Sep 21 2009: BW - The Beauty of Small Boutique Mutual Funds] Further I am always on the look out for fund managers who employ a completely variant strategy to myself as (a) it is interesting to read about what they do and (b) they would offer a nice counterweight balance in a portfolio of mutual funds.
http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=77623

SEI Named Best Fund Administrator at Buy-Side Technology Awards 2009
SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC) today announced that it has won the award for Best Fund Administrator at the annual Buy-Side Technology Awards held at the Lanesborough Hotel in Mayfair London.
http://www.itnews.it/news/2009/1130070401838/sei-named-best-fund-administrator-at-buy-side-technology-awards-2009.html

BlueGold Capital Hires Bank of America’s Yilmaz for Research
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- BlueGold Capital Management LLP the manager of $1.6 billion in energy assets hired Fatih Yilmaz from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to head up the hedge fund’s quantitative research.
Brewer Investment Group Appoints Chief Compliance Officer and Compliance Principal
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091130005013/en

Absolute beginners
Fund management firms are launching products that aim to preserve and grow capital. Heather Connon examines whether managers of absolute return funds are up to the task
http://www.moneyobserver.com/content/absolute-beginners

New Tools For Tracking Mutual Funds
Firms that track mutual funds are always looking for innovation -- new ways to crystal-ball a fund's prospects for outperformance.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20091127/bs_ibd_ibd/20091127funds

JPMorgan launches Alternative Index
By Ruth Sullivan and Sophia Grene
JPMorgan has isolated the systematic sources of hedge fund returns and is launching indices tracking these sources of return.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d17620e-db84-11de-9424-00144feabdc0.html

Technology News

Eze Castle Integration RTS Realtime Systems & Equinix Host Seminar on the Strategies and Technology Powering High Frequency and Algorithmic Trading
Boston Mass. (PRWEB) November 30 2009 -- Eze Castle Integration Inc. a leading provider of technology and IT services to hedge funds and investment firms today announced a Boston seminar to help firms of all sizes build data center infrastructures and financial ecosystems that effectively support customized trading strategies.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/highfrequencytrading/seminar/prweb3263374.htm

Fidessa announces enhancements to the program trading functionality of its EMS Workstation
http://www.fidessa.com/newsandevents/buyside/archive/article_20091130.asp

Newedge Group Implements Shadow Financial Systems' ShadowSuite for Self-Clearing
EDISON NJ--(Marketwire - 11/30/09) - Shadow Financial Systems developers of the ShadowSuite global securities processing reconciliation clearing treasury and accounting system today announced that Newedge USA LLC has successfully implemented ShadowSuite for self-clearing of its U.S. fixed income products.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Newedge-Group-Implements-iw-3736762897.html?x=0&.v=1

European Commission: Simulation Technology Could Help Prevent Future Financial Crises
How will economic policies adapt in 2020 when a quarter of the EU population is over 65? Can economics better predict how banks will react to credit crunches in the future and what their impact will be on the wider economy? How will the economy work when dwindling natural resources make it harder to satisfy our energy needs? The European Commission today unveiled breakthrough research that could help economists answer questions like these by using economic simulation software.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87031

Statement re Media Comment
FFastFill notes today's media coverage concerning a large trade in its shares yesterday and confirms that 76.7m of its shares were exchanged on Thursday afternoon.
http://www.ffastfill.com/press-release-2009/264-statement-re-media-comment

With SAS Concept Capital Offers New Hosted Portfolio Analytics and Risk Management Portal to the Hedge Fund Market
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/With-SAS-Concept-Capital-bw-633431120.html?x=0&.v=1

Alpha Trading Systems Selects Corvil to Optimize its Trading Platform for Low-Latency
LONDON and NEW YORK November 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Corvil a leading provider of electronic trading and market data latency management systems today announced that Alpha Trading Systems the leading Alternative Trading System for Canadian Listed Securities has selected CorvilNet to pro-actively manage and assure low latency across its exchange infrastructure.
http://www.itnews.it/news/2009/1130080402319/alpha-trading-systems-selects-corvil-to-optimize-its-trading-platform-for-low-latency.html

Brokerages Race To Find Speed And Depth With Smart Phones
Looking to get alerts on your mobile phone when a stock hits a buy or sell point? And then quickly execute a trade with a few taps on your handset based on that data? "There's an app for that" says Apple's marketing campaign for the iPhone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20091128/bs_ibd_ibd/20091127general

Media News

Don't bet newspapers will get rich shunning Google
SAN FRANCISCO - There's an intriguing idea floating around the media: Microsoft Corp. wants to undercut Google so badly in Internet search that it might pay newspapers to withhold their content from Google.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20091130/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_newspapers_google

Tough times turning newspaper lenders into owners
SAN FRANCISCO – Newspaper headlines have skewered money lenders for dubious decisions that stoked the recession. Now the financiers are starting to headline newspapers in a new way — as the owners. These newspaper novices are taking control through bankruptcy proceedings and giving few clues about their turnaround plans. Their decisions will be crucial because this new age of media ownership is unfolding at a time that could make or break some of the largest publications. Banks and other financial firms have taken over or are angling to take charge at dozens of newspapers including four of the nation's 15 largest — the Los Angeles Times Chicago Tribune the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_new_newspaper_owners

'Twitter' declared top word of 2009
Global Language Monitor's vast survey of print and social media places Twitter ahead of Obama and H1N1 as most used word
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/30/twitter-declared-top-word-of-2009

Gorkana US Alert: Monday 30th November 2009
Investment News
John Goff has joined Investment News as Online Managing Editor. He was most recently Managing Editor of CFOZone. John previously served as Web Editor for Financial Week and before that as Editor of CFO.com. He can be reached on +1 (212) 210 0416 and jgoff@investmentnews.com

Euromoney
Jon Macaskill is to write a new monthly column for Euromoney starting with its December issue. “Macaskill on Markets” will provide a unique insight into how investment banks are making - or losing - money and will profile the people behind the businesses that matter. The first column will be live online December 1 at euromoney.com. Jon is former U.S. Bureau Chief and Derivatives Editor for International Financing Review and was most recently Head of Communications and Marketing at Deutsche Bank Global Markets. He can be reached on +1 (917) 208 5970 and jonmacaskill@gmail.com
http://www.gorkana.com/

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government academic and industry economic releases provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

China Creates Derivatives Clearinghouse
By DENIS MCMAHON
SHANGHAI—China launched a new body to centralize settlement and clearing of financial products traded among the country's banks in a move that could bolster confidence in China's derivatives markets and open the way for the regulators to approve new products.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703300504574565532572813994.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

China’s New Clearinghouse Could Be The Missing link
China’s government sometimes has a funny understanding of “independent.” On Saturday China announced a new institution to clear and settle financial products traded between banks. According to a statement from the People’s Bank of China (in Chinese) the clearinghouse is an “independent” company – even though its six founding stakeholders are all government agencies.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/11/30/chinas-new-clearinghouse-could-be-the-missing-link/

Clearing house part of global hub goal
China set up its first interbank clearing house in Shanghai on Saturday in a major step for the city to improve its financial market with better infrastructure and to boost innovation in currency and bond trading as it races ahead toward its goal of a global financial hub.
http://english.eastday.com/e/091130/u1a4845324.html

History smiles on ambitious yuan
By Barry Eichengreen
China is making a big push to encourage greater international use of its currency the yuan. It has an agreement with Brazil to facilitate use of the two countries’ currencies in bilateral trade transactions. It has signed yuan swap agreements with Argentina Belarus Hong Kong Indonesia South Korea and Malaysia. Last summer it expanded yuan settlement agreements between Hong Kong and five mainland Chinese cities and authorized HSBC Holdings to sell yuan bonds in Hong Kong. Then in September the Chinese government issued about US$1 billion worth of its own yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/11/29/2003459715

SGX Partners The Society Of Remisiers (Singapore) And Securities Association Of Singapore In Enhancing The Remisier Profession
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) the Society of Remisiers (Singapore) (SRS) and the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) today launched a programme to enhance the profile and development of the remisier profession.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87030

Chi-X Global Begins Application Process To Bring New PTS Platform To Japan - New Appointments Complete Japan Senior Management Team
Chi-X Global Inc. today announced that its Japanese subsidiary Chi-X Japan KK has begun the process necessary to file a PTS (proprietary trading system) application with the Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) in anticipation of launching a displayed alternative equities marketplace by summer 2010 subject to FSA approval.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87029

Chi-X To Start Equities Market in Japan
Chi-X Global Inc. Monday said it plans to launch an alternative marketplace for trading in equities in Japan by summer of 2010.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/-24302-1.html

Bursa Malaysia Scores Another First With Inaugural Foreign Sukuk Listing By GE Capital
Bursa Malaysia today announced the inaugural foreign listing of USD500 million sukuk issued by GE Capital. The five-year Islamic bond is structured based on the globally accepted Shari'ah principle of Sukuk Al Ijara.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87028

HKEx: Admission Of China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd. To List Of Designated Securities For Short Selling
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87025

Frontier Markets

Dubai Mercantile Exchange tops 1bn barrels mark
Cumulative trading in Dubai Mercantile Exchange's benchmark DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract (DME Oman) has exceeded one million contracts representing one billion barrels of crude oil traded since its launch on June 1 2007 Gulf News has reported.
http://www.ameinfo.com/217471.html

iShares and Van Eck Tackle Hot Markets
By Simon Maierhofer
SAN DIEGO (ETFguide.com) - There are emerging markets and then there are frontier markets. If emerging markets aren't exciting enough frontier markets are likely to offer the extra spark. The first time frontier markets entered the picture was in the summer of 2008. PowerShares launched the MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio (Nasdaq: PMNA - News) while Claymore unveiled the BNY Mellon Frontier Markets ETF (NYSEArca: FRN - News). Both ETFs were hit hard by the equities meltdown which unfolded thereafter.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/iShares-and-Van-Eck-Tackle-etfguide-321055296.html?x=0&.v=1

Africa: Land Grabs - New 'Resource Curse'?
Khadija Sharife
It has been called the next golden commodity by investment firms and 'neocolonialism' by the now repentant director general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jacques Diouf.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200911301447.html

NSE kicks-off MF trading with UTI 5 more funds to join soon
MUMBAI: The country's leading bourse National Stock Exchange made its mutual fund trading platform operational today beginning with UTI Mutual Fund.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Indices/NSE-kicks-off-MF-trading-with-UTI-5-more-funds-to-join-soon/articleshow/5285175.cms

MF trading: For a price but with advantages
R. Yegya Narayanan
Come Monday mutual fund units would be traded on the NSE. But unlike some of the close-ended schemes already being traded on the exchange the new units would not be available at a discount to the NAV.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/11/30/stories/2009113050670400.htm

IPO Returns in Emerging Markets Trample New Shares in Developed Countries
Initial public offerings in emerging nations are returning about 15 times more than IPOs in developed countries even as companies from China to Brazil flood the market with more shares than ever.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aVFBbou3aIDQ

Mubasher showcases next-generation trading and e-financial tools at first Arab conference on IT risk management and business continuity
http://www.ameinfo.com/217508.html

Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly Views 29 Nov 2009
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87016

Dubai Mercantile Exchange Announces One Billion Barrels Traded Since Launch
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87015

Miscellaneous News

Locust Plague Spurs Argentine Wheat Prices as Demand From Brazil Increases
Wheat farmers in Argentina are racing to spray fields and avert what may be the biggest plague of locusts in 30 years from attacking their harvest.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aUOW4i7ssp5c

London Luxury-Home Prices Increase as Bankers Return (Update1)
By Peter Woodifield
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Luxury-home prices in central London rose on an annual basis for the first time in 17 months as bank and hedge-fund executives bought houses and apartments in anticipation of bonuses Knight Frank LLP said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=au0_FpCV.1ts