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In shocking news, the New York Times cites figures that investors withdrew $33.12 billion from domestic stock market mutual funds in the first seven months of this year when billions of dollars should have been expected to be flowing in.

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell is going to war, it seems, in an effort to lure New York hedge funds to her state. Who can blame her? Albany, after all, attacked first — by moving to wrest millions in tax revenue from her state and New Jersey. In the end, alas, New York might turn out to be the big loser. As The Post noted Thursday, Rell’s rolling out the red carpet for hedge-fund bigwigs, offering to meet them over dinner at a fancy Darien steakhouse. She wants to discuss “Connecticut’s advantages” — particularly in the face of Albany’s plan to...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Recession-hit New York could raise an extra $50 million a year by collecting income taxes from people who work for hedge funds in the state but live elsewhere, according to a legislative plan to raise revenue. The new plan would tax so-called carried interest. A spokesman for Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said by telephone on Monday that it means hedge fund managers would be treated the same way as other commuters. Congress also has considered taxing carried interest -- profits gleaned by managing assets -- at ordinary income rates -- much to the dismay of...

Three years ago, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., leaned on hedge funds to lobby more. The funds soon hired his banking staffer as a lobbyist. She began raising money for Schumer. Now he's championing financial regulation that would benefit these hedge funds. "Racket" might be the right word here. Here's the story: In January 2007, the month Democrats took control of Congress, Schumer invited hedge funds executives to dinner, where, the New York Times reported, he "had some simple advice for the billionaires in his midst: If you want Washington to work with you, you had better work better with one...

Last week's passage of the Dodd finance reform plan dredged up bad symbolism, none of it good. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal front page headline touted legislation that would be the "Biggest Regulatory Overhaul of Wall Street Since Depression". Though most of us didn't suffer the federal government's persecution of the productive back in the ‘30s, basic history tells us that reforms back then did nothing to revive an economy on its back thanks to too much government. In that sense, we perhaps shouldn't pin all of the stock market's recent ill health on problems in a country as economically...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Washington hedge fund lobbying group has given names and contact information about its members to Congressional investigators, the Wall Street journal reported in its online edition on Monday. The Managed Funds Association turned over the information about more than 2,600 members on May 13 under threat of subpoena from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the Journal said, citing a letter the hedge-fund lobbying group sent to members.

Don't even think about not watching these Question: What caused Bear Stearns, then Lehman Brothers to fail on Wall Street, at their appointed times, as the the mortgage meltdown "progressed?" Clue: It wasn't someone who couldn't tell where the "M" and "B" keys are, on a keyboard. Answer: Peruse these videos, produced by Judd Bagley.

The major media say the chaos on Wall Street was the result of a "trader error, possibly a typo," as the Washington Post put it. Some reports claim the culprit was a "fat finger" on a computer somewhere that pressed the wrong key. But Zubi Diamond, author of the Wizards of Wall Street, says these claims are all lies. "What happened in the market on Thursday is a typical example of pure market manipulation" by unregulated hedge fund short sellers. His book, whose subtitle refers to the scam that elected Barack Obama, warns that the same hedge fund short sellers...

The world’s top-earning hedge fund managers have bankrolled almost exclusively Democratic campaigns, according to Silla Bush of The Hill: The top 10 highest-paid hedge fund managers in 2009 have dished out campaign contributions almost only to Democrats. Over their lifetimes, those managers have given almost $33 million in campaign contributions to Democrats, according to research by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and that is based on data maintained by the nonpartisan CQMoneyline. The same managers gave roughly $600,000 to Republicans, according to the research. The contributions went 98 percent to Democrats and two percent to Republicans.

The world’s top-earning hedge fund managers have bankrolled almost exclusively Democratic campaigns. The top 10 highest-paid hedge fund managers in 2009 have dished out campaign contributions almost only to Democrats. Over their lifetimes, those managers have given almost $33 million in campaign contributions to Democrats... The same managers gave roughly $600,000 to Republicans... The contributions went 98 percent to Democrats and two percent to Republicans. As the Senate prepares to debate possibly hundreds of amendments to a Wall Street overhaul bill, labor unions and others have criticized the bill for not having tough restrictions on hedge funds. “It’s very disconcerting...

It didn't take long for the non-scandal that allegedly threatened the reputation of Goldman Sachs to die of its own contradictions. As a public company whose sole constituent is its shareholders, evidence quickly revealed that Goldman was serving its owners well through investment vehicles meant to match the needs of both its bullish and bearish customers. Unfortunately, the non-controversy surrounding Goldman dredged up other, more dangerous notions about market speculation itself. To believe the naïve musings of commentators on the left and right, the oft-mentioned trades engineered by Goldman Sachs, along with others of the "speculative" variety, don't serve any...

"The world may still be coming out of the Great Recession, but for the richest hedge fund managers, 2009 was the best year ever. And it couldn't have happened without the carnage of 2008," the magazine said. Appaloosa Management chief David Tepper, who bet on the recovery of banks and the debt of bailed-out US insurer AIG, earned the biggest payouts with $US4 billion ($4.36 billion) in 2009, a record for the sector. US financier George Soros, the head of Soros Fund Management, took the second spot with $US3.3 billion ($3.6 billion), followed by James Simmons of Renaissance Technologies with...

The NYPost is reporting that Blackstone's president, Tony James, is throwing a party at his house for Nancy Pelosi. Their sources tell the Post that the party is meant to encourage Pelosi to vote against the proposed tax rate increase on carried interest, the profits people make on money they have invested. Raising taxes on carried interest is a hot topic because carried interests isn't really income, but some people want to tax it as if it were. Currently carried interest is taxed at 15%. The proposed tax rate for carried interest is the same as the income tax rate,...

A secretive group of Wall Street hedge fund bosses are said to be behind a plot to cash in on the decline of the euro. Representatives of George Soros's investment business were among an all-star line up of Wall Street investors at an 'ideas dinner' at a private townhouse in Manhattan, according to reports. A spokesman for Soros Fund Management said the legendary investor did not attend the dinner on February 8, but did not deny that his firm was represented. At the dinner, the speculators are said to have argued that the euro is likely to plunge in value...

Whitney Tilson: US Economic Growth Will Be Feeble For Years Courtney Comstock Jan. 29, 2010, 3:47 PM Whitney Tilson predicts anemic economic growth for the next few years. His views are much like Nouriel Roubini's. They both agree that the market's signs of stabilization were not grounded in the fundamentals of economic growth - unemployment is still high, housing prices are still collapsed, and there is still a need to de-lever after decades of excessive consumption and declining savings. So in his latest letter to investors, Tilson predicts the market rally is essentially over. Once government stimulus and subsidies disappear,...

Kyle Bass Is So Bearish On Japan, He Financed His Home In Yen Joe Weisenthal Jan. 21, 2010, 8:11 PM We knew that Dallas-based Kyle Bass was bearish on Japan and the yen, but boy, this takes it to an extreme degree. Forbes reports: The Dallas hedge fund manager (no relation to the famous Bass family of Fort Worth) is so convinced the Japanese government's profligate spending will drive the nation to the brink of default that he financed his home with a five-year loan denominated in yen, which he hopes will be cheaper to pay back than dollars. We'd...

Do hedge funds have an impact on energy trading? While the answer might seem intuitive, the debate as to whether they actually do has come to resemble the medieval theological dispute about how many angels can dance on the head of the pin. Because, like angels, many trades in energy futures are invisible, and it is often not possible to pinpoint where they take place. And yet, for most of us, including lawmakers on Capitol Hill, it seems obvious that when hedge funds buy and sell billions of dollars worth of oil and gas futures, it must be having an...

John Hempton of Bronte Capital has an eye that quickly spots financial chicanery. He has been regularly reporting on the Joe Biden brother and son activities at 650 Fifth Ave in NYC. The Sydney Morning Herald has a nice story on how he busted open the hedge fund Trio, as a scam.

Jim Chanos: We're Shorting Autos, China, And Commodities But Not Financials John CarneyDec. 15, 2009, 2:16 PM Kynikos Associates founder Jim Chanos stopped by the Fast Money set for an interview with CNBC's Melissa Lee this afternoon. A few highlights from the video: * He's not short the financial sector right now, although he thinks there may be another shoe to drop and more losses. He is short some select financial names but not the sector. * There are opportunities for shorting individual companies in this market but he would recommend shorting the market as a whole. * He's shorting...

Hedge Funds Target Euro Zone's Weak BY JOANNA SLATER, GREGORY ZUCKERMAN AND CASSELL BRYAN-LOW The sudden spotlight on troubled government borrowers is presenting a long-awaited payday for investors who placed early bets against countries now under pressure. Investors including Balestra Capital Ltd., Hayman Capital Partners LP, North Asset Management LLP and Pivot Capital Management Ltd. have been anticipating such flare-ups for at a year or longer, betting that some countries would emerge from the financial crisis in much worse shape than others. Those bearish positions had led to a difficult 2009, as investor confidence picked up and rivals gained by...