Sovereign wealth
Sovereign stress and its impact on bond portfolios
The sovereign earthquake
CIC gets Fed approval for Morgan Stanley stake
The Chinese sovereign wealth fund has committed to the US Federal Reserve that its interest in Morgan Stanley will remain a passive investment and that it has committed to not exert controlling influence over the bank
Asia Risk 15: Jack Lin, Janus Capital
The development of mainland Chinese markets may mimic what has already occurred in Taiwan, according to Jack Lin, co-chief executive officer of Janus Capital International in Hong Kong, but the role of sovereign funds and the quantum of scale indicate…
ING warns of ‘dramatic divergence’ in interest rates if euro fails
Widely diverging interest rates could occur if EMU is dissolved, warns Dutch insurer
Sheikh Yamani: Saudi Arabia unlikely to embrace oil futures
In an interview this week, former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Yamani told Energy Risk that futures trading on exchanges had turned the global crude oil market into a "casino".
CIC opts for MSCI Barra multi-asset analytics
China Investment Corp (CIC) has signed up to use risk and performance analytics provided by New York-based MSCI Barra, called Barra Analytics, for an undisclosed sum.
Islamic inroads
Cover story
Investors' interest intensifies in hedge funds as countries compete for business
With vast sums looking for attractive investment opportunities, the Middle East is ripe for hedge fund development. While there are significant challenges still to overcome, liberalisation and the development of viable financial service centres are…
Focus on regional strategies brings value for investment managers
Following a strategy focused on a specific region gives managers a chance to concentrate on a specific universe of investment opportunities that can bring good returns for portfolios. Stephen Quigley and Jamie Wynn-Williams talk to managers running funds…
Seeking a bite from the goliaths
Sovereign wealth funds
Merrill raises yet more capital after Q2 losses
Merrill Lynch is selling $6.7 billion of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), terminating hedges on CDOs and undertaking a $8.5 billion public stock offering to raise capital.
PowerShares launches Frontier Countries ETF on Nasdaq
Invesco PowerShares has launched its frontier countries ETF, designed to offer access to particular equity markets in the Middle East and North Africa, on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Back in Black
New York-based asset manager BlackRock's buying up of distressed mortgage portfolios - most notably its purchase of UBS's portfolio of subprime and other non-agency securities totalling approximately $22 billion - has been making headlines. What does it…
Gulf states face inflation threat to single currency
Plans by the Gulf Co-operation Council to launch a single currency by 2010 are beginning to look optimistic, with the spectre of runaway inflation throwing the whole scheme into doubt
Sovereign wealth funds spark lively debate
At the Sovereign Wealth Management conference - hosted by Central Banking Publications in London on Thursday - calls for greater transparency by sovereign wealth funds were matched by demands from the funds themselves for fair regulatory treatment.
Sovereign Wealth Saviours
Government funds