Reuters Hedgeworld

Galleon Paid Wall Street Banks Millions for 'Edge': Report

BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm Galleon Group, whose founder has been charged with insider trading, paid $250 million to its Wall Street banks last year and in return received market information that other investors did not get, the Financial Times. New York-based Galleon, which invested $7 billion at its peak last year, became known for pushing its contacts at banks for hints about market developments such as big buy and sell orders, the newspaper wrote.

K1 Founder Kiener Arrested in Fraud Probe

FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - German authorities placed Helmut Kiener, founder of Germany's K1 hedge fund group, under arrest on Thursday [Oct. 29] in a multi-million-dollar corruption probe of a Caribbean-registered fund he ran. According to his arrest warrant, Barclays and BNP Paribas may have lost many millions of dollars in the case, which prosecutors say spanned the Atlantic and featured lavish personal spending on planes, a helicopter and luxury properties.

Och-Ziff Revealed As Buyer of Tpg's Debenhams Stake

LONDON (Reuters) - Confirming speculation mooted yesterday, Och- Ziff has emerged as the buyer of TPG's stake in British department store chain Debenhams PLC after the U.S. buyout firm made its exit from the business earlier this week. Och-Ziff, one of the world's largest hedge fund managers, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday [Oct. 29] it now owns 11.52% of Debenhams. The fund is also a shareholder in Peacocks, the British privately owned budget retail chain.

Accused Rajaratnam 'Confident' He Can Win at Trial

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lawyers for Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire founder of Galleon hedge fund accused of insider trading, said the U.S. government's case is weak and they were confident of winning any trial, according to a letter filed in court on Thursday [Oct. 29]. Mr. Rajaratnam's lead lawyer, John Dowd, said the hedge fund manager was being treated worse than investment fraudster Bernard Madoff, who was released on $10 million bail last December after his initial confession to a multibil...

Opinion: Bear Is the Securities Case Worth Watching

Matthew Goldstein is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own. NEW YORK (Reuters) - The financial world remains abuzz over the latest twist and turns in the insider-trading case involving Galleon Management co-founder Raj Rajaratnam. At the same time, too little attention is being paid to the criminal trial of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers.

Key Firms Can't Be a Secret: U.S. Regulators

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Thursday [Oct. 29] scoffed at the administration's plan to not publicly identify financial firms the government considers "systemic," saying such a list cannot remain under wraps for long and federal laws could mandate disclosure. "It's likely that most, if not all, of the institutions so identified would eventually be known to the public," said Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo, to the House Financial Services Committee during a hearing on syst...

Asia Team at Stark Quit to Launch Orchard

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Two senior Asia managers at Stark Asset Management LLC are quitting the hedge fund, taking more than two dozen employees with them, to launch Orchard Capital Partners, sources said on Thursday [Oct. 29]. Stuart Wilson and Teall Edds, both principals at Stark, are taking the firm's funds, offices and employees in Hong Kong and Singapore with them, one source, who had direct knowledge of the matter, said.

Mf Global Analyst Kilduff Leaves, Forms Hedge Fund

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Energy analyst John Kilduff has left MF Global and formed a food and energy commodity hedge fund and, the newly formed company, Round Earth Capital, said in a release. Mr. Kilduff was a senior vice president at MF Global and is a CNBC contributor.

Citadel Banking Head D'souza Abruptly Leaves

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A year after he was hired to build a top- tier investment bank, Citadel Securities chief Rohit D'Souza abruptly left the hedge fund firm on Thursday [Oct. 29]. Citadel confirmed the departure but declined to say why Mr. D'Souza was leaving. Patrik Edsparr, president of Citadel Europe and a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive, will take over the securities unit, a spokeswoman said.