Learning the language of finance.

The most important mystery of ancient Egypt concerned the annual inundation of the Nile floodplain. The calendar was divided into three seasons linked to the river and the agricultural cycle it determined: akhet, or the inundation; peret, the growing season; and shemu, the harvest. The size of the harvest depended on the size of the flood: too little water, and there would be famine; too much, and there would be catastrophe; just the right amount, and the whole country would bloom and prosper. Every detail of Egyptian life was shaped by the flood. Even the tax system was based on the level of the water, which dictated how successful farmers would be in the subsequent season. Priests performed complicated rituals to divine the nature of that year’s flood and the resulting harvest. The religious élite had at their disposal a rich, emotionally satisfying mythological system; a subtle language of symbols which drew on that mythology; and a position of unchallenged power at the center of their extraordinarily stable society, one that remained in an essentially static condition for thousands of years.

But the priests were cheating, because they had something else, too: Nilometers. These were devices that consisted of large, permanent measuring stations, with lines and markers to predict the level of the annual flood, situated in temples to which only priests and rulers were granted access. Added to accurate records of flood patterns dating back for centuries, Nilometers were a necessary tool for control of Egypt. They helped give the priests and the ruling class much of their authority.

The world is full of priesthoods. On the one hand, there are the calculations that the pros make in private; on the other, elaborate ritual and language, designed to bamboozle and mystify and intimidate. To the outsider, the realm of finance looks a lot like the old Nile game. In The Economist, not long ago, I read about a German bank that had some observers worried. The journalist thought that the bank would be O.K., and that “holdings of peripheral euro-zone government bonds can be gently unwound by letting them run off.” What might that mean? There’s something kooky about the way the metaphor mixes unwinding and holding and running off, like the plot of a screwball comedy.

Read more here http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/money-talks-6

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    Greece Sunday, January 25, 2015 n/a   EUR Hellenic Parliament Elections Germany Monday, January 26, 2015 10:00   EUR IFO - Business Climate (Jan) Australia Tuesday, January 27, 2015 01:30   AUD National Australia Bank's Business Confidence (Dec) United Kingdom Tuesday, January 27, 2015 10:30   GBP Gross Domestic Product…
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    China Monday, April 13, 2015 04:00 CNY Trade Balance (Mar) New Zealand Tuesday, April 14, 2015 00:00   NZD     NZIER Business Confidence (QoQ) (Q1) United Kingdom Tuesday, April 14, 2015 10:30   GBP Consumer Price Index (MoM) (Mar) United States Tuesday, April 14, 2015 14:30   USD Retail…
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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWz_Pln_uuI
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BIG MARKET NEWS WEEK 01 Sep – 07 Sep 2014

China Monday, Sept.1, 2014 03:00  
CNY NBS Manufacturing PMI (Aug)
China Monday, Sept.1, 2014 03:45  
CNY HSBC Manufacturing PMI (Aug)
United Kingdom Monday, Sept.1, 2014 10:30  
GBP Markit Manufacturing PMI (Aug)
Australia Tuesday, Sept.2, 2014 03:30  
AUD Building Permits (MoM) (Jul)
Australia Tuesday, Sept.2, 2014 06:30  
AUD RBA Interest Rate Decision
Australia Tuesday, Sept.2, 2014 06:30  
AUD RBA Rate Statement
United Kingdom Tuesday, Sept.2, 2014 10:30  
GBP PMI Construction (Aug)
United States Tuesday, Sept.2, 2014 16:00  
USD ISM Manufacturing PMI (Aug)
China Wednesday, Sept.3, 2014 03:00  
CNY Non-manufacturing PMI (Aug)
Australia Wednesday, Sept.3, 2014 03:30  
AUD Gross Domestic Product (YoY) (Q2)
United Kingdom Wednesday, Sept.3, 2014 10:30  
GBP Markit Services PMI (Aug)
Canada Wednesday, Sept.3, 2014 16:00  
CAD BoC Interest Rate Decision
Canada Wednesday, Sept.3, 2014 16:00  
CAD BOC Rate Statement
Australia Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 03:30  
AUD Retail Sales s.a. (MoM) (Aug)
Australia Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 03:30  
AUD Trade Balance (Jul)
United Kingdom Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 13:00  
GBP BoE Interest Rate Decision
United Kingdom Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 13:00  
  GBP BoE Asset Purchase Facility (Sep)
European Monetary Union Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 13:45  
EUR ECB Interest Rate Decision (Sep 4)
United States Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 14:15  
USD ADP Employment Change (Aug)
United States Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 14:30  
USD Trade Balance (Jul)
United States Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 14:30  
USD Continuing Jobless Claims (Aug 22)
 United States Thursday, Sept.4, 2014 16:30  
USD ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (Aug)
European Monetary Union Friday, Sept.5, 2014 11:00  
EUR  Gross Domestic Product s.a. (YoY) (Q2)
Canada Friday, Sept.5, 2014 14:30  
CAD Unemployment Rate (Aug)
Canada Friday, Sept.5, 2014 14:30  
CAD Net Change in Employment (Aug)
United States Friday, Sept.5, 2014 14:30  
USD Nonfarm Payrolls (Aug)
United States Friday, Sept.5, 2014 14:30  
USD Unemployment Rate (Aug)
Canada Friday, Sept.5, 2014 16:00  
CAD  Ivey Purchasing Managers Index s.a (Aug)

 

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     European Monetary Union   Monday, Sep. 22, 2014 15:00   EUR ECB President Draghi's Speech China Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2014 03:45 CNY HSBC Manufacturing PMI (Sep)Preliminar France Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2014 09:00 EUR   Markit Manufacturing PMI (Sep)Preliminar Germany Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2014 09:30 EUR   Markit Manufacturing PMI (Sep)Preliminar…
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     Japan Sunday, June 8, 2014 23:50      JPY Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) (Q1)  Japan   Sunday, June 8, 2014 23:50   JPY Gross Domestic Product Annualized (Q1)   China    Tuesday, June 10, 2014 01:30       CNY Consumer Price Index (YoY) (May) United Kingdom   Tuesday, June 10,…
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    This Week : April26 – May2   Australia Tuesday, April 28, 2015 00:40   AUD       RBA's Governor Glenn Stevens Speech United Kingdom Tuesday, April 28, 2015 10:30   GBP       Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) (Q1)Preliminar United States Tuesday, April 28, 2015 16:00   USD Consumer…
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See how these fast-growing, innovative companies are redefining money lending, e-commerce, and more.

Often, the only way to get ahead is to have a great plan. Which is exactly what makes the companies below so special. It’s not just that they’re making the big bucks (and they are doing that). This small group of companies from the Inc. 5000 class of 2014 are notable for their innovative business models. Read on to find out how they work and why they’re so successful. 

Read here :

http://www.inc.com/jill-krasny/5-most-innovative-business-models-inc-500.html

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Warren Buffett Has Some Brilliant Advice For Investors Freaked Out About Geopolitics

2014 has been unnerving.

Every day, there’s a new worrisome headline coming out of Russia, Iraq, Libya, the Gaza Strip, or any of the world’s other geopolitical hotspots. And there’s also the ongoing fears of an ebola outbreak in West Africa, an unstable volcano in Iceland, and the ever-present risk of a solar flare knocking out the world’s communications networks.

We’re now reading about Russia invading Ukraine, which has caused U.S. stock market futures to tank.

So, what are investors to do?

Warren Buffett would probably recommend taking a step back, reflecting on history, and then looking to the future.

During the darkest days of the financial crisis in 2008, Warren Buffett wrote a brilliant op-ed for the New York Times, reminding us that bad things happen all of the time. Here’s an excerpt:

A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.

Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.

Buffett made a similar statement in his 1994 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders:

We will continue to ignore political and economic forecasts, which are an expensive distraction for many investors and businessmen. Thirty years ago, no one could have foreseen the huge expansion of the Vietnam War, wage and price controls, two oil shocks, the resignation of a president, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a one-day drop in the Dow of 508 points, or treasury bill yields fluctuating between 2.8% and 17.4%.

But, surprise – none of these blockbuster events made the slightest dent in Ben Graham’s investment principles. Nor did they render unsound the negotiated purchases of fine businesses at sensible prices. Imagine the cost to us, then, if we had let a fear of unknowns cause us to defer or alter the deployment of capital. Indeed, we have usually made our best purchases when apprehensions about some macro event were at a peak. Fear is the foe of the faddist, but the friend of the fundamentalist.

Buffett’s saying two things. First, the market will weather crises no matter how bad they are. Second, a good business offering attractive long-term returns is always worth investing in.

Are stocks about to crash? Maybe.  Maybe they’ll keep rising.

But whatever the path, prices will likely be higher for patient investors.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-on-geopolitical-risk-2014-8#ixzz3BgipDB5k

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    Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/upshot/the-big-economic-unknowns-of-2015-from-unemployment-to-oil.html I wish I knew where the economy will be heading next year. If I did, I might become rich. But, alas, I don’t — and even if we don’t always acknowledge it, no economists do. Too much uncertainty clouds the crystal ball to be confident that any particular…
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    The Dow had broken 17,000, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index had touched a record high and was spitting distance from crossing 2,000. Even the small-cap indexes such as the Russell 2000 and the S&P 600 have notched new highs. And the Nasdaq, up 255 percent since the March 2009…
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    Here are 10 warning signs that the markets may drop further. Vix fear gauge Rising US Treasury yields Credit insurance Rising US credit risk Rising UK bank risk Interest rate shock Bull market third longest on record Overvalued US market Commodity collapse Professional investors exit Watch those signs
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Square Feeling Squeezed From All Sides

Square is starting to look oddly hollow. The payments company, set up and run by Jack Dorsey, is set to raise $200 million in new financing, according to Bloomberg. That would value the company at $6 billion. While big, it’s a deflated figure, considering Square’s former hype, the small amount raised and rivals’ ease in securing higher valuations.

Square’s credit card readers for smartphones and tablets are easily spotted in the wilds of flea markets and coffee shops. They are easy to use, and the 2.75 percent they charge for each swipe is relatively appealing for small transactions. The company racked up more than $500 million in revenue last year.

Yet it’s a difficult business to make a buck in — and getting harder. Square lost about $100 million last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. That’s because it must pay a majority of the transaction fees to banks and payment networks like Visa and MasterCard. That leaves little to cover overhead and investment needed for growth.

Increasing volume might solve this problem, but finding new users is getting more difficult as competition grows. PayPal charges less for each transaction for its card reader. So does Amazon.com, which entered the fray earlier this month.

That helps explain Square’s frenetic attempts at diversification. Online scheduling, invoicing, ordering for restaurants and business financing are just some of its expanded offerings.

The $200 million it hopes to secure should help build these businesses. That would amount to just more than 3 percent of the company, a fund-raising strategy other technology companies have used of late. Uber, Dropbox, Airbnb and now Snapchat have all attracted $10 billion valuations or more by selling small chunks of equity.

These can be useful for establishing high valuations. But Square is more in need of cash than anything else as its existing businesses burn through its hoard and the company keeps tacking on new businesses that require investment. If Square’s ambitions don’t pan out quickly enough, it may be at risk of needing to raise more money at a lower valuation. That would be a big comedown for a company that just a couple of years ago was flying so high.

Source : http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/08/29/square-feeling-squeezed-from-all-sides/

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Guide to Hedge Funds and Branding – Part 2 Introduction into Industry

The hedge fund industry used to have humble beginnings: in 1990, it had $40 billion in assets under management. Now, its growing appeal has led to a staggering $2.6 trillion in 2013. In retrospect with the mutual funds industry and the global financial markets, this is a small figure. However, there has been tremendous growth in the hedge fund industry, with an estimated 10,000 active funds today[1]. The most initial hedge fund was started by Alfred W. Jones in 1949, who used a combination of leverage and short selling to hedge against the market risk. In spite of his success, hedge funds gained real prominence in the 1960s. This was when major investment names like Warren Buffet and George Soros implemented Jones’s strategy. As a result, the figure of new hedge funds has grown despite the alarming 10 percent of hedge funds shutting down each year due to a host of reasons such as unsatisfactory performance or inability to raise adequate funds.

Hedge funds not unlike real estate and private equity investments are perceived to generate high returns that are not related to traditional investments; this is what attracted many investors and institutions towards hedge funds. Nowadays, the hedging strategies used have become more complex, sophisticated and accurate, as compared to the short selling and leveraging techniques used initially. However, in the year of 2008, the hedge fund industry faced a great hit in its popularity as numerous successful investors and institutions incurred heavy losses of around 30 percent and more. As a result, the assets under management dwindled as the investors selected treasury bills and cash investments, which were deemed much safer than hedge fund investments. Fortunately, the advanced hedge fund strategies employed rendered attractive returns in the precarious market, which helped regain some of the lost charm of hedge funds. In 2009, the situation improved and hedge funds regained popularity.

Most hedge funds are extremely specialized and rely upon the specific expertise and skill of the management or fund managers. These managers make use of a variety of investment strategies, which will be elaborated on later. They specifically try to minimize the market risk by shorting equities and/or using derivatives. Since the hedge funds make use of sophisticated investment strategies, their returns have tended to outperform standard equity and bond indexes for a number of years, with not only less volatility but also less risk of loss as opposed to equities. This is why usually many endowment funds, pension funds, private banks, and high net worth people indulge in hedge funds. However, the main investors in the hedge fund industry are usually state and municipal pension plans, corporate pension plans, and universities endowment. The key players within the hedge fund industry can be explained via the following diagram:

HedgeFund chart

Source: Managed Funds Association 

Portfolio managers identify the strategy and are usually invested in the hedge fund themselves; however, they are compensated according to the fund’s annual performance. The prime brokers secure their loans with collateral to generate margin and secure trades. As a result, each broker (typically in a large securities organization) employs their own risk matrix to assess how much to lend to each client as they act as a stand-in regulator. On the other hand, auditors are the ones who ensure legal fund compliance and verify financial statements as per the federal law[2]. Hedge funds are regulated and registered by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US and are subject to certain trading regulations as well as outlined by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, in order to ensure that what happened in 2008 is not repeated.

In spite of the scrutiny the hedge funds are under, the industry has grown. This is particularly due to the fund of fundsdevelopment, which is a mutual fund that is able to invest in multiple hedge funds. This enabled investors to have a more diversified portfolio and a lower minimum investment requirement that went as low as $25000. The fund of funds feature led to a proportion of the risk being taken out of the hedge fund investment and also made it possible for average investors to invest in the hedge funds as well, unlike before.

Source : http://www.hedgethink.com/industry/guide-hedge-funds-branding-part-2-introduction-industry/

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IMF Lists 25 Brightest Young Economists

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified twenty-five young economists who it expects will shape the world’s thinking about the global economy in the future.

The list of bright, young economists (they are all aged under 45) is dominated by Americans who share US nationality with other countries like France, India, Australia and Canada. There are also representatives from the UK, Russia and Argentina.

The IMF has prepared the list after surveying international economists, journalists and other readers, which will appear in the September volume of Finance & Development, published on 27 August.

Another important feature most of those who made it to the list share is their place of study. Except two, all had their advanced studies done in a famous US institute.

Here is the list of institutes: MIT-five, Harvard – six, Princeton – two, University of Chicago – three, New York University – two, University of California – one, University of Columbia – one, University of Stanford – two, Peterson Institute – one. The non-US institutions are the London Business School, and Paris School of Economics.

American Melissa Dell and Russian Oleg Itskhoki, both 31, are the youngest ones in the list.

And here is the list of economists.

1. Nicholas Bloom, 41, British, Stanford University, uses quantitative research to measure and explain management practices across firms and countries. He also researches the causes and consequences of uncertainty and studies innovation and information technology.

2. Amy Finkelstein, 40, American, MIT, researches the impact of pub- lic policy on health care systems, government intervention in health insurance markets, and market failures.

3. Raj Chetty, 35, Indian and American, Harvard University, received his Ph.D. at age 23. He combines empirical evidence and economic theory to research how to improve government pol- icy decisions in areas such as tax policy, unemployment insurance, education, and equality of opportunity.

4. Melissa Dell, 31, American, Harvard, examines poverty and insecurity through the relationship between state and non-state actors and economic development, and studies how reforms such as government crackdowns on drug violence can influence economic outcomes.

5. Kristin Forbes, 44, American, Bank of England and MIT, has held positions in both academia and the economic policy sphere, where she applies her research to policy questions related to international macroeconomics and finance.

6. Roland Fryer, 37, American, Harvard, focuses on the social and political economics of race and inequality in the United States. His research investigates economic disparity through the development of new economic theory and the implementation of randomized experiments.

7. Xavier Gabaix, 43, French, New York University (NYU), has researched behavioral economics, finance, and macro- economics, including corporate executives’ compensation levels and asset pricing.

8. Gita Gopinath, 42, American and Indian, Harvard, studies international macroeconomics and trade with a focus on sovereign debt, the response of international prices to exchange rate movements, and the rapid shifts in relative value among world currencies.

9. Esther Duflo, 42, French and American, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, focuses on microeconomic issues in developing economies, including household behavior, education, access to finance, health, and policy evaluation.

10. Matthew Gentzkow, 39, American, University of Chicago, applies micro- economic empirical methods to the economics of the news media, including the economic forces driving the creation of media products, the media and the digital environment, and the media’s effect on education and civic engagement.

11. Emmanuel Farhi, 35, French, Harvard, is a macroeconomist who focuses on monetary economics, international economics, finance and public finance, including research on global imbalances, monetary and fiscal policy, and taxation.

12. Oleg Itskhoki, 31, Russian, Princeton University, specializes in macroeconomics and international economics with a focus on globalization, inequality and labor market out- comes, international relative prices and exchange rates, and macroeconomic policy in open economies.

13. Hélène Rey, 44, French, London Business School, focuses on the determinants and consequences of external trade and financial imbalances, the theory of financial crises, and the organization of the international monetary system.

14. Emmanuel Saez, 41, French and American, University of California, Berkeley, is recognized for using both theoretical and empirical approaches to income inequality and tax policy.

15. Jonathan Levin, 41, American, Stanford, is an expert on industrial organization and microeconomic theory, specifically on the economics of contracting, organizations, and market design.

16. Atif Mian, 39, Pakistani and American, Princeton, studies the connections between finance and the macro economy. He is coauthor of the critically acclaimed House of Debt, which builds on powerful new data to describe how debt precipitated the Great Recession and continues to threaten the global economy.

17. Emi Nakamura, 33, Canadian and American, Columbia University, is a macroeconomist whose fields of research include monetary and fiscal policy, business cycles, finance, exchange rates, and macreconomic measurement.

18. Nathan Nunn, 40, Canadian, Harvard, focuses his research on economic history, economic development, political econ- omy and international trade. Of particular interest is the long-term impact of historic events such as slave trade and colonial rule on economic development.

19. Parag Pathak, 34, American, MIT, played a role in apply- ing engineering approaches to microeconomics. His research focuses on market design, education and urban economics.

20. Thomas Philippon, 44, French, NYU, studies the interactions of finance and macroeconomics: risk premia and corporate investment, financial crisis and systemic risk, and the evolution of financial intermediation.

21. Amit Seru, 40, Indian, University of Chicago, researches financial intermediation and regulation as well as issues related to corporate finance, including resource allocation within and between firms, and organizational incentives.

22. Amir Sufi, 37, American, University of Chicago, is coauthor of House of Debt. He studies links between finance and the macro economy, including the effect of house prices on spending and the effect of corporate finance on investment.

23. Iván Werning, 40, Argentine, MIT, is a macroeconomist who aims to improve tax and unemployment insurance policies via theoretical economic models. As well as optimal taxation, he studies stabilization and monetary policy, including macroprudential policy.

24. Justin Wolfers, 41, Australian and American, Peterson Institute for International Economics and University of Michigan (on leave), studies labor economics, macroeconomics, political economy, law and economics, social policy, and behavioral economics. In addition to his research, Wolfers is a columnist for The New York Times.

25. Thomas Piketty, 43, French, Paris School of Economics, is known for his research, with Emmanuel Saez, on the distribution of income and wealth. His bestseller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, argues that global inequality will increase because the rate of capital return in developed economies is higher than the rate of economic growth, exacerbating wealth inequality.

 

Source  : http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/imf-lists-25-brightest-young-economists-1462827

 

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    2014 LA Hacks Keynote The following keynote was delivered by Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, during LA Hacks at Pauley Pavilion on April 11, 2014. I am very grateful for your time and attention this evening. It is absolutely incredible to see so many young people gathered here together to…
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17 Facts About Warren Buffett And His Wealth That Will Blow Your Mind

Warren Buffett has been incredibly successful, and he’s extremely wealthy. Warren Buffett’s wealth jumped by around $12.7 billion in 2013 alone. But how much is $12.7 billion anyway?

And how good an investor is Warren Buffett really? We’ve put together some facts that really put him in perspective.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mindblowing-facts-warren-buffett-2014-8?op=1#ixzz3BZbB6BSz

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Guide to Hedge Funds and Branding – Part 1 What is a Hedge Fund?

What is a Hedge Fund? 

A hedge fund is an aggressively managed investment fund that is maintained by a professional management firm. Hedge funds are typically a portfolio of investments that makes use of advanced and complex investment strategies like short and long positions, leveraged positions, arbitrage, and derivative positions in domestic and international markets with the aim of generating higher returns. Hedge funds invest in a broad set of markets and employ an extensive variety of investment styles and financial instruments. The term “hedge funds” employs the varying hedging techniques conventionally used by hedge fund investors. This definition may seem confusing to understand; hence, traditionally, hedge funds are classified as any sort of investment company or private partnership that makes use of the below mentioned strategies and instruments:

  • Long or short positions across varying asset classes
  • Derivatives, such as options and swaps
  • Financial leverage

Hedge funds are legally set up as private partnerships that are open to only a few investors and require a hefty initial minimum investment. Typically, investments in hedge funds are largely illiquid because it stipulates the money to be held in the fund for a minimum of one year.

 Some common characteristics of hedge funds are:

  • Hedge funds are usually formed as an unregulated investment pool and are domiciled offshore.
  • Their performance is measured in absolute terms, which means that it is unaffected by market direction, and any benchmark.
  • Hedge funds charge a performance fee. A performance fee is a payment made to a fund manager when they generate high positive returns for the investor. This fee is usually calculated as a fraction of investment profits.
  • Hedge funds have fairly restrictive subscription and redemption policies and can even impose lock-up periods (a time duration within which hedge fund investors are disallowed from selling or redeeming shares) and gate provisions (this is a limit placed on hedge funds restricting them the amount of withdrawals from the fund for the duration of the redemption period).
  • Hedge funds employ a combination of financial instruments to minimize risk, increase returns, and decrease the correlation concerning the bond and equity markets. Hence, many hedge funds are fairly flexible in their investment strategy options. Fund managers can use short selling, leverages and derivatives.
  • Hedge funds greatly vary in terms of investment returns, volatility and risk. Most hedge fund strategies lean towards hedging against downturns in the market being traded.
  • Hedge fund managers tend to invest their own capital along with that of their clients.

Typically, hedge funds are unregulated as they cater solely to sophisticated investors. The United States has made it mandatory for the hedge fund investors to be accredited. This implies that the investors must earn a minimum fixed amount of money each year and have a net worth exceeding $1 million and rudimentary knowledge about investment. Hedging is actually the practice of reducing risk; however, the name is now largely ceremonial as their aim is to maximize returns. The first traditional hedge funds were used to hedge against the downside risk of a bear market by shorting the market, however now many intricate techniques are used via hedge funds.

The different types of hedge funds are usually categorized as either fixed income or equity-focused. Subcategories of hedge funds are divided according to their investment techniques. Some common types of hedge funds include:

  • Long-short funds: This is a common investment strategy used for hedge funds that entails taking a long position in stocks that are anticipated to increase in value and simultaneously taking a short position in stocks that are predicted to decrease in value.
  • Market-neutral funds: This is an extension of the long-short hedge fund as it entails a combination of different investment strategies that the hedge funds have expertise in. These funds focus on making concentrated bets hinging upon observed price asymmetry whilst minimizing the general market exposure.
  • Event-driven funds: This strategy entails taking advantage of pricing inefficiencies that can occur before or after a corporate event, such as bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions.
  • Macro funds: This strategy focuses on financial instruments that have a broad scope and operate based on systematic risk. Thus, fund managers trade within the context of broad global macro strategies (currency, interest rate, and stock index strategies).
  • Absolute-return funds: Also known as non-directional funds, as the name suggests, this fund guarantees a consistent return regardless of the market direction. These are also known as alpha funds.
  • Directional funds6These are funds that do not hedge. Fund managers do account for some market exposure and they try to aim for the higher-than-expected return for the amount of risk undertaken. These are also called beta funds.

Source :: http://www.hedgethink.com/education/guide-to-hedge-funds-and-branding-part-1-what-is-a-hedge-fund/

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hedgefund.asp

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So what motivate Kobe Bryant from NBA ?

Despite spending the better part of the last two seasons recovering from a pair of injuries, Bryant is optimistic that he can close out his nearly two-decade career on a high.

Fan support for Bryant in China goes beyond mere cheering to a deeper sense of engagement.

The fan reaction to Kobe in China is different than it is in the U.S. In Shanghai, these admirers showered him with unconditional love.

Bryant’s focus at this point in his life and career is on efficiency. He knows what he needs to do to return to the level of play that expects for himself and for his team. He is also keenly aware of the importance of finding a purpose for his life beyond basketball.

While Kobe says that he and his father, Joe (Jellybean) Bryant, “couldn’t be more opposite,” the son has lately been showing the sort of joy in the game for which his father was so well known.

Bryant’s career has been marked by transformation. He began as the precocious heir to MJ, then won titles as the uneasy sidekick to Shaquille O’Neal, weathered a reputation-damaging trial for sexual assault (the charges eventually dropped) and finally emerged in 2009 as a champion again, this time on his own.

His 19th season awaits him, and Bryant appears determined to will himself and his team to a level beyond what reasonably could be expected. Beyond that, the NBA’s most fearsome competitor faces new challenges with the same fierce spirit.

Read this longform here : http://www.si.com/longform/kobe/

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