(BN) Hedge-Fund Millionaire Diggle to Offer Farms, Introduce Life Sciences Fund

30.5m, with 30m of partners money => 500k of Other Peoples Money....the 3bn days are over..

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

Hedge-Fund Millionaire Diggle Bets on Farms, Life Sciences

Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Stephen Diggle, who co-founded a hedge fund that made $2.7 billion in 2007 and 2008, plans to open his personal farmland portfolio to investors and start a fund that will trade life-sciences companies.

Diggle will transfer the farm assets from his family office to Singapore-based Vulpes Investment Management, which he set up in April after liquidating his previous firm's volatility funds. Diggle's family also holds "significant stakes" in life sciences, including biotechnology companies, which will be moved to a fund he plans to set up next year, the 47-year-old said.

"Everything that we are investing in personally is available to investors," Diggle said in an interview. "We have got capital committed, we are focused on a number of things where we think there's a compelling opportunity to make money."

Diggle is widening his new firm's investments after starting a volatility fund in May and taking over the Russian Opportunities Fund and Testudo Fund from Artradis Fund Management Pte, which he and co-founder Richard Magides closed in March. Once Singapore's biggest hedge-fund manager, Artradis's funds, which sought to profit from price swings, lost $700 million as volatility declined in 2009 and 2010.

"The one thing I didn't want to do was to spend the rest of my life talking about how great 2008 was," Diggle said. "You have to move on and find new challenges. That's what gets you up in the morning."

Volatility Cost

Vulpes, which focuses on alternative investments, started its long Asian volatility and arbitrage fund, LAVA, on May 1 with $30.5 million, of which $30 million was the founding partners' money. The fund size has increased to about $50 million after some of Artradis's former clients returned to invest Diggle. The fund has gained 6 percent since May, he said.

LAVA seeks to produce returns that aren't correlated with the market by trading instruments that thrive on volatility, such as options, warrants, and convertible bonds. The fund uses strategies such as arbitraging or profiting from disparities in the price of similar securities simultaneously traded on more than one market, and tends to work well when markets go down.

"The cost of being long volatility on a daily basis as a buy and hold strategy is not going to make money in the next few years," Diggle said. "You have to be more deft in your timing and more selective in what you own."

Farmland Transfer

Diggle plans to transfer ownership of his farmland into a holding company, in which outside investors can hold shares, he said. Vulpes, which currently manages about $200 million, will own and operate the company. After buying farms in Uruguay and Illinois, as well as a kiwi-and-avocado orchard in New Zealand, he plans to pour money into Africa and eastern Europe as global food prices soar.

The value of farmland in the U.S. has probably gained 20 percent to 30 percent in the last two years, while Diggle's investments in Uruguay may have risen 50 percent as sheep and cattle prices almost doubled in Latin America this year, he said.

Agriculture would be the "single most interest opportunity over the next 10 to 20 years," Diggle said.

Vulpes favors investments in metals, energy and food, and "dislikes" government bonds, he said.

"Being long stuff in the ground is going to be a better place to be than holding pieces of paper," Diggle said.

The firm's Testudo Fund, which is heavily invested in precious metals and the mining industry, has gained 2.5 percent this year. The Russian Opportunities Fund has declined about 10 percent in the same period.

'Biggest Risk'

Governments and their policies represent the biggest threat to investors, he said. "The biggest risk will come from governments: government interference in markets, government debt and government manufacturing of paper money to pay off the debt," he said.

Diggle said he's focusing on "new exciting commercially viable technology" in the life sciences industry that will find cures for illnesses including cancer and Parkinson's disease.

"We certainly see a lot of interest by big pharma in small innovative biotechnology," Diggle said. "If we can find those small new exciting biotechnology companies before big pharma gets to them, there's a big uptick in terms of valuation if they can prove their work."

To contact the reporter on this story: Netty Ismail in Singapore nismail3@bloomberg.net .

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net

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One of the stupidest articles around.

What can you do? these people could turn to geniuses if you would pay them more instead of paying them like monkeys. 

THE INNOVATION ENGINE November 08, 2011, 2:28 PM EST

Three Types of People to Fire Immediately

Want a more innovative company? Get rid of these folks. Today

By G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitón

“I wanted a happy culture. So I fired all the unhappy people.”
—A very successful CEO (who asked not to be named)

We (your authors) teach our children to work hard and never, ever give up. We teach them to be grateful, to be full of wonder, to expect good things to happen, and to search for literal and figurative treasure on every beach, in every room, and in every person.

But some day, when the treasure hunt is over, we’ll also teach them to fire people. Why? After working with the most inventive people in the world for two decades, we’ve discovered the value of a certain item in the leadership toolbox: the pink slip.

Show of hands: How many of you out there in Innovationland have gotten the “what took you so long?” question from your staff when you finally said goodbye to a teammate who was seemingly always part of problems instead of solutions?

We imagine a whole bunch of hands. (Yep, ours went up, too.)

These people—and we going to talk about three specific types in a minute—passive-aggressively block innovation from happening and will suck the energy out of any organization.

When confronted with any of the following three people—and you have found it impossible to change their ways, say goodbye.

1. The Victims
“Can you believe what they want us to do now? And of course we have no time to do it. I don’t get paid enough for this. The boss is clueless.”

Victims are people who see problems as occasions for persecution rather than challenges to overcome. We all play the role of victim occasionally, but for some, it has turned into a way of life. These people feel persecuted by humans, processes, and inanimate objects with equal ease—they almost seem to enjoy it. They are often angry, usually annoyed, and almost always complaining. Just when you think everything is humming along perfectly, they find something, anything, to complain about. At Halloween parties, they’re Eeyore, the gloomy, pessimistic donkey from the Winnie the Pooh stories—regardless of the costume they choose.

Victims aren’t looking for opportunities; they are looking for problems. Victims can’t innovate.

So if you want an innovative team, you simply can’t include victims. Fire the victims. (Note to the HR department: Victims are also the most likely to feel the company has maliciously terminated them regardless of cause. They will often go looking for someone—anyone—who will agree that you have treated them unjustly. Lawyers are often left to play this role. So have your documentation in order before you let victims go, because chances are you will hear from their attorneys.

2. The Nonbelievers
“Why should we work so hard on this? Even if we come up with a good idea, the boss will probably kill it. If she doesn’t, the market will. I’ve seen this a hundred times before.”

We love the Henry Ford quote: “If you think you can or think you cannot, you are correct.” The difference between the winning team that makes industry-changing innovation happen and the losing one that comes up short is a lack of willpower. Said differently, the winners really believed they could do it, while the losers doubted it was possible.

In our experience, we’ve found the link between believing and succeeding incredibly powerful and real. Great leaders understand this. They find and promote believers within their organizations. They also understand the cancerous effect that nonbelievers have on a team and will cut them out of the organization quickly and without regret.

If you are a leader who says your mission is to innovate, but you have a staff that houses nonbelievers, you are either a lousy leader or in denial. Which is it? You deserve the staff you get. Terminate the nonbelievers.

3. The Know-It-Alls
“You people obviously don’t understand the business we are in. The regulations will not allow an idea like this, and our stakeholders won’t embrace it. Don’t even get me started on our IT infrastructure’s inability to support it. And then there is the problem of ….”

The best innovators are learners, not knowers. The same can be said about innovative cultures; they are learning cultures. The leaders who have built these cultures, either through intuition or experience, know that in order to discover, they must eagerly seek out things they don’t understand and jump right into the deep end of the pool. They must fail fearlessly and quickly and then learn and share their lessons with the team. When they behave this way, they empower others around them to follow suit—and presto, a culture of discovery is born and nurtured.

In school, the one who knows the most gets the best grades, goes to the best college, and gets the best salary. On the job, the person who can figure things out the quickest is often celebrated. And unfortunately, it is often this smartest, most-seasoned employee who eventually becomes expert in using his or her knowledge to explain why things are impossible rather than possible.

This employee should be challenged, retrained, and compensated for failing forward. But if this person’s habits are too deeply ingrained to change, you must let him or her go. Otherwise, this individual will unwittingly keep your team from seeing opportunity right under your noses. The folks at Blockbuster didn’t see Netflix (NFLX)‘s ascendancy. The encyclopedia companies didn’t see Google (GOOG) coming. But the problem of expert blindness existed well before the Internet.

Two of our favorites from rinkworks.com: “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” —Western Union internal memo, 1876.

And “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” —David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

At one point in his career, Thomas A. Edison had dozens of inventors working for him at the same time. He charged each with the task of failing forward and sharing the learning from each discovery. All of them needed to believe that they were part of something big. You want the same sort of people.

You don’t want the victims, nonbelievers, or know-it-alls. It is up to you to make sure they take their anti-innovative outlooks elsewhere.

G. Michael Maddock is chief executive, and Raphael Louis Vitón is president of Maddock Douglas, an innovation consultancy that helps clients invent, brand, and launch new products, services, and business models. Maddock is author of the upcoming book Brand New: Solving the Innovation Paradox—How Great Brands Invent and Launch New Products, Services, and Business Models (Wiley, April 2011).

(BN) Paulson Gold Fund Said to Lose 10.5% in 2011 Even as Metal Heads for Gain

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

Paulson's Gold Fund Said to Fall 10.5% in 2011 as Metal Rises

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- John Paulson, the billionaire money manager mired in the worst slump of his career, lost 10.5 percent in his Gold Fund this year even as the metal heads for its 11th straight annual gain, according to people familiar with the fund's performance.

The fund, which invests in mining stocks and other gold- related securities, remains the best performer in Paulson's $28 billion fund family this year. His Paulson Advantage Fund, which seeks to profit from corporate events such as takeovers and bankruptcies, has fallen about 35 percent. The performance numbers for the two funds are from Dec. 28, 2010, through Dec. 20, 2011, and may not reflect returns for all shareholders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Armel Leslie, a spokesman for Paulson, declined to comment on the firm's returns.

Paulson & Co., based in New York, has lost money this year on investments including Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Sino-Forest Corp., the Chinese forestry company accused by short-seller Carson Block of overstating timberland holdings. Paulson, 56, cut the so-called net exposure in his main hedge funds to 30 percent last month and reduced bullish bets across all his funds.

Net exposure is calculated by subtracting the percentage of a hedge fund's short positions, or bets on falling securities, from its longs, or wagers on rising stocks and bonds.

Gold BUGS Index

Gold has climbed 13 percent this year, holding onto gains after peaking at $1,891 an ounce on Aug. 22. The 17-company NYSE Arca Gold BUGS Index fell 11 percent as investors fled equities amid the turmoil caused by the European sovereign-debt crisis.

Paulson was the largest holder of American depositary receipts in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the third-biggest gold producer. Paulson also owned shares or ADRs of Gold Fields Ltd., NovaGold Resources Inc., Randgold Resources Ltd., Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., Iamgold Corp., Barrick Gold Corp. and International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katherine Burton in New York at kburton@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net

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(BN) IPad Beat on Power, Speed by New Non-Clones: Rich Jaroslovsky

Ive no idea what he is trying to say. 

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

IPad Beat on Power, Speed by New Non-Clones: Rich Jaroslovsky

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- We're finally beginning to see some distinctive 10-inch Android tablets that are more than iPad knockoffs.

Earlier this year, Sony released its wedge-shaped Tablet. Now, two more entries provide features and functionality beyond Apple Inc.'s offerings: Asustek Computer Inc.'s Eee Pad Transformer Prime and the Droid Xyboard 10.1 from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

Granted, every Android tablet comes at an automatic disadvantage to the iPad: Unlike in wireless phones, where the Google Inc. operating system is attracting a rapidly growing number of applications, the marketplace for tablet apps remains thin. Meanwhile, the iPad has more than 140,000 apps, and they tend to be higher-quality.

A prerequisite for luring developers is getting more Android tablets into users' hands. And that means giving customers more reasons to buy them.

The Transformer Prime offers several. It is as pretty a tablet as you're likely to find anywhere. It weighs about 1.3 pounds and measures less than a third of an inch thick, making it marginally thinner and lighter than the iPad 2. The metallic back has a cool, spun finish marred only by the ill fit of the Apple-style multipin cable used for charging the device. The tablet's angled edges leave even more of the connector's metal exposed than does the iPad's, which has a similar issue.

Paperclip Rescue

My time with the Transformer Prime didn't start auspiciously. The unit from Asus appeared to charge normally but refused to boot. Eventually, with the help of a handy paperclip, I was able to reset it.

Under the hood, the Prime is powered by Nvidia Corp.'s Tegra 3 quad-core microprocessor. A chip that powerful is overkill for many tablet tasks, like reading e-books. But if you play games, you'll quickly gain an appreciation, as I did through many sets of Zen Pinball and frantic races in Riptide GP. The play was fast and fluid and graphics on the 10.1-inch screen were little short of stunning.

All that, of course, requires battery power and a lot of it. The Transformer does pretty well on that score. I got more than seven hours on a charge, using it to surf the Web, check e- mail and watch a movie. While that's considerably less than on an iPad, the Transformer also offers an option to downshift the computer into two lower-power modes to extend battery life.

Transforming the Transformer

There's one other way to keep things going: buying and attaching the optional $150 metallic keyboard that gives the Transformer Prime its name, converting it into a netbook-PC replacement. The keyboard has its own six-hour battery, plus an SD expansion-card slot and a USB port. Using the keyboard and intense battery management, Asus claims you can coax up to 18 hours of use between charges.

The Transformer Prime comes in two Wi-Fi-only models, one with 32 gigabytes of storage for $500, the other with 64 gigabytes for $600 -- both $100 cheaper than the comparable iPads. They run "Honeycomb," Google's first-generation tablet operating system. An upgrade to the new version of Android, "Ice Cream Sandwich," is promised. If you're looking for an iPad alternative, you can't do much better.

Speed Demon

Unless, that is, your most important criterion for a tablet is how fast it connects to the Internet when you're on the move or don't have a Wi-Fi connection. In that case, the Droid Xyboard 10.1 -- known outside the U.S. as the Xoom 2 -- is the way to go.

The Droid Xyboard runs on Verizon's LTE 4G network, the fastest wireless data network out there, and it is mighty swift: Using Ookla's SpeedTest app, I regularly registered download speeds of 10 to 20 megabits per second in the San Francisco Bay Area.

That's faster than many home broadband connections, and it makes the Xyboard roar when it's engaged in Internet-intensive tasks like surfing the Web, downloading apps or streaming movies and videos. Unlike some LTE phones, battery life isn't terrible.

I got about six hours of continuous use on the high-speed Verizon network. You can expect to do better in normal use, since I was deliberately trying to stress the battery by doing things like streaming videos and not taking advantage of Wi-Fi networks. And at 1.3 pounds, the Xyboard is right in line with the Transformer Prime and iPad 2.

Unfortunately, several other aspects of the Xyboard are less satisfying. Although it also runs the Honeycomb operating system (and will be upgradeable), it feels noticeably more sluggish than the Transformer when it comes to things like scrolling through apps or even waiting for the screen to reorient itself when you turn the unit sideways.

Tacky to Touch

Perhaps some of the difference stems from its less powerful dual-core processor -- but I've used plenty of tablets with dual-core processors that felt zippier than this.

Matters aren't helped by a water-repellent coating Motorola has added to the Xyboard's touchscreen. It's supposed to help protect against accidental spills, but I found it a little tacky to the touch.

Then there's the price. The Xyboard starts at $530 for a 16-gigabyte version, up to $730 for 64 gigabytes. At first glance, that seems to be $100 cheaper than the comparable iPad 2 models. But there's a big difference: While Verizon and AT&T Inc. allow users of 3G-equipped iPads to decide month by month whether they want service, Verizon requires Xyboard buyers to sign a two-year contract. Otherwise, the price zooms to an uncompetitive $700 for even the least expensive model.

At those prices, the Droid Xyboard's appeal may be limited to those with a real need for speed. Still, being the fastest tablet -- or in the case of the Transformer Prime, the most powerful -- counts for something.

(Rich Jaroslovsky is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Rich Jaroslovsky in San Francisco at rjaroslovsky@bloomberg.net .

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net .

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(BN) BlueCrest’s Platt Says Most European Banks Insolvent, Debt Crisis Growing

If he talks less maybe he will make more than his 5%..

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

BlueCrest's Platt Says European Banks Insolvent, Crisis Growing

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Platt, the founder of the $30 billion hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management LLP, said most of the banks in Europe are insolvent and the situation will worsen in 2012 as the region's debt crisis accelerates.

"I do not take any exposure to banks at all if I can avoid it," Platt said in an interview on Bloomberg Television today. If European lenders had to mark their books to markets every day in the same way hedge funds do, most would be proven "insolvent," he said.

BlueCrest is pouring money into U.S. Treasuries and short- term German debt because of concerns about market volatility and counterparty risk, Platt said. BlueCrest Capital International, the fund he personally manages in Geneva, has risen about 5.6 percent in 2011, posting gains when hedge funds broadly are on pace to have their second-worst year ever.

Platt said he's disappointed in the measures that came out of last week's meeting of European leaders, saying they were too focused on budget cuts. Austerity will ultimately lead to slower growth in Europe, making the region's debt woes even worse, he said. A solution will come when the European Central Bank pumps significant amounts of money into economies, something it lacks a mandate to do, Platt said.

"We need much more radical measures," he said. The continuing crisis will make European nations look "more like Greece," he said.

Brussels Agreement

The debt crisis began two years ago in Greece and has spread to Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain. At last week's meeting in Brussels, European leaders proposed their fifth attempt at a solution since May 2010, agreeing on a closer fiscal union and a willingness to add 200 billion euros ($260 billion) to International Monetary Fund coffers.

While hedge funds have had bearish views on Europe, they've struggled to make money on the crisis. Global market volatility has prompted hedge funds to decline 4.4 percent on average this year through November, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research. The industry lost a record 19 percent in 2008.

Hedge funds have struggled because there hasn't been an obvious trend and there have been periods of bullishness that have confused traders, Platt said.

"The process has been unfolding over two years," he said. "It has been extremely gradual and there's been a lot of optimism that a solution will be found."

To contact the reporters on this story: Stephanie Ruhle in New York at sruhle2@bloomberg.net Jesse Westbrook in 東京 at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net

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(BN) Paulson’s Bright Spot Amid Slump May Fade as Gold Drops to Five-Month Low

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

Paulson's Bright Spot May Fade as Gold Plunges to Five-Month Low

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- John Paulson, the hedge-fund manager enduring the worst year in his career, may be facing a final blow from this month's selloff in gold, an investment that mitigated losses at his $28 billion firm earlier in 2011.

The SPDR Gold Trust exchange-traded fund, of which Paulson was the largest shareholder as of Sept. 30, fell 10 percent from the end of last month, and all eight of his gold stocks slumped with a 9.6 percent decline for bullion. The declines would translate into a $672.1 million paper loss on those securities for Paulson & Co., assuming his holdings haven't changed since the end of the third quarter, when the firm reported its equity stakes in a regulatory filing.

Until this month, gold had been the bright spot for Paulson & Co. clients, who can choose to invest in gold-denominated shares of the hedge funds. Gains in bullion had alleviated losses of 46 percent, in the dollar share class, for one of the firm's biggest funds this year through November. Paulson also offers a dedicated Gold Fund, its best performer this year.

"With the dramatic moves of gold and the recent decline from its peak, I think some investors will be deciding whether they want to continue to invest in that share class," said Don Steinbrugge, managing partner of Agecroft Partners LLC, a Richmond, Virginia-based firm that advises hedge funds and investors.

Scaling Back

Paulson, who turned 56 yesterday, has lost money this year on investments including Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Sino-Forest Corp., the Chinese forestry company accused by short-seller Carson Block of overstating timberland holdings. Paulson cut the so-called net exposure in his main funds to 30 percent last month and reduced bullish bets across all his funds on stocks including gold companies.

Net exposure is calculated by subtracting the percentage of a fund's short positions, or bets on falling securities, from its longs, or wagers on rising stocks and bonds.

Armel Leslie, a spokesman for Paulson, declined to comment on the firm's potential gold-related losses.

Paulson & Co. held shares of SPDR Gold Trust and eight gold companies in the third quarter, according to its 13F filing. The firm, which uses the ETF to denominate the gold share classes of his funds, pared its stake in the gold trust to 20.3 million shares from 31.5 million as of June 30.

The firm was the largest holder of American depositary receipts in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the third-biggest gold producer. Paulson also owned shares or ADRs of Gold Fields Ltd., NovaGold Resources Inc., Randgold Resources Ltd., Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., Iamgold Corp., Barrick Gold Corp. and International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

200-Day Average

Gold's plunge to a five-month low sent it below its 200-day moving average for the first time in almost three years, signaling more declines to traders who follow technical analysis. Bullion fell below $1,600 an ounce yesterday to settle at the lowest level in five months as a stronger dollar curbed demand for the metal as an alternative asset. Gold futures for February delivery dropped 4.6 percent to settle at $1,586.90 at 1:44 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the lowest closing level since July 13. The 200-day moving average was near $1,613.

The metal was up about 12 percent in 2011 and still heading for an 11th straight annual gain, the longest winning streak in at least nine decades. It has outperformed commodities, global equities and Treasuries.

11% Gain

The Paulson Gold Fund, which can buy derivatives and other gold-related investments, rose 11 percent in this year's first 11 months.

Paulson's biggest funds, Advantage Plus and Advantage, seek to profit from corporate events such as takeovers and bankruptcies and have $11 billion in combined assets. The Advantage Plus Fund fell 46 percent in 2011 in its dollar shares and 29 percent in its gold shares. The Advantage Fund lost 32 percent in its dollar class and 13 percent in its gold class.

The Paulson Partners Enhanced Fund, which invests in the shares of merging companies, decreased 18 percent in its dollar class and 0.9 percent in its gold class.

The Recovery Fund, which invests in assets Paulson believes will benefit from a long-term economic upturn, declined 28 percent in its dollar shares and 12 percent in its gold class. Paulson has been betting on a U.S. economic recovery by the end of 2012.

Paulson's Credit Opportunities Fund dropped 18 percent in its dollar shares and gained 0.3 percent in its gold shares.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Bit in New York at kbit@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net

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(BN) Credit Agricole to Report a Loss for Full Year, Eliminate 2,350 Positions

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

Credit Agricole to Report a Loss for 2011, Cut 2,350 Jobs

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Agricole SA, France's second- largest bank by assets, said it expects to report a loss for 2011 and will eliminate 2,350 jobs at its investment-banking and consumer finance units.

Credit Agricole will book about 2.5 billion euros ($3.24 billion) in writedowns on investments, including its stake in Spain's Bankinter SA and Banco Espirito Santo SA of Portugal, the bank, based outside Paris, said in an e-mailed statement today.

The company scrapped its dividend for 2011 and said it can't confirm its 2014 goals because of "the lack of visibility on the economic and financial climate." The lender joins BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA in reducing corporate- and investment-banking staff.

Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings of Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale last week, citing funding constraints and deteriorating economic conditions amid Europe's two-year-old debt crisis. Moody's lowered the long-term debt ratings of Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas by one level to Aa3, the fourth-highest investment grade.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fabio Benedetti-Valentini in Paris at fabiobv@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at

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(BN) Leslie’s James Caird Will Liquidate Main Hedge Fund, Investor Letter Shows

Bloomberg News, sent from my iPad.

Ex-Moore Trader Leslie to Liquidate $1.6 Billion Hedge Fund

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- James Caird Asset Management LP, the London-based firm run by former Moore Capital Management LLC trader Tim Leslie, plans to liquidate a $1.6 billion credit hedge fund after eight years.

"I have been frustrated by our performance during the current year," Leslie wrote today in a client letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. He said he plans to start giving money back to investors in the JCAM Global Fund in January.

The JCAM fund lost 8.9 percent for 2011 through November, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Hedge funds have lost an average 3.8 percent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Leslie joins an increasing number of money managers who've shuttered hedge funds in recent months after Europe's debt crisis roiled markets and limited investment opportunities. The number of funds liquidating in the third quarter rose to 213, the worst three-month period for the industry since the first quarter of 2010, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research. In the second quarter, 191 hedge funds shut.

Leslie attributed the losses to "poor liquidity and the unfolding crisis in financial markets." He said the lack of market liquidity is "structural" and not something that will go away any time soon. As a result, he plans to start a smaller hedge fund with a "narrower trading focus," according to the letter.

New Hedge Fund

The new fund will start next year and be managed by Robert Miller, who has worked with Leslie since 2003, according to the letter. Leslie seeks to raise $500 million for the new fund and cap assets at about that level, the person said.

Leslie wasn't available to comment, according to a spokesman for James Caird.

Leslie started the JCAM Global fund in 2003 while trading for Moore, the New York-based firm founded by Louis M. Bacon. He left Moore in 2008 and continued managing the JCAM fund at his new firm. Moore is an investor in the JCAM fund.

James Caird also manages two other hedge funds, the $150 million Vintage II fund and the $70 million Mortgage Opportunities fund. The firm will continue running those two funds, the person said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jesse Westbrook in london at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net Saijel Kishan in New York at skishan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net

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(BN) Clinton Offers Path to Ease Myanmar Sanctions, Hails Opposition’s Suu Ky

A joke isn't it? Blessed by US and lift sanctions and get aid of 1.2m from US and investments from (bankrupt ) western countries.  Currently $25bn invested by china Thai and others.....

Clinton Offers Path to Ease Myanmar Sanctions, Hails Suu Kyi

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid out a path to ease sanctions during a trip to Myanmar as she aimed to embolden reformers trying to roll back five decades of military rule.

Clinton met separately with Myanmar's president, Thein Sein, and its most prominent dissident and democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, during her three-day visit, telling both that the U.S. stands ready to lift punitive measures if the government builds upon moves to grant greater political freedoms. Suu Kyi, who Clinton called an "inspiration," said the visit may pave the way for a "new future" in Myanmar.

"I am cautiously hopeful," Clinton told reporters in Yangon yesterday before departing. "Reformers both inside and outside the government have our support, and it will increase as we see actions taken that will further the hopes and aspirations of the people."

Clinton's visit may help ease the international isolation of Myanmar, one of Asia's poorest countries, where Internet and phone usage is sparse and cash is required for most transactions. Thein Sein has released hundreds of political prisoners, eased censorship and started a dialogue with Suu Kyi since his junta-backed party won an election last year to end five decades of military rule.

"This will be the beginning of a new future for all of us provided we can maintain it," Suu Kyi said before embracing Clinton yesterday on the veranda of the lakeside home, where she spent 15 years under house arrest. "Because of this engagement, our way ahead will be clearer and we will be able to trust that the process of democratization will move forward."

U.S. Assistance

Clinton said the U.S. would provide assistance to groups providing microcredit, health care, English-language training and help for land-mine victims. The programs will cost the U.S. $1.2 million, according to an administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Clinton's "confidence-building measures" may help reformers come forward, said Derek Tonkin, a former U.K. ambassador to Vietnam, Thailand and Laos and now chairman of Network Myanmar, a U.K.-based group that promotes reconciliation.

"There are probably many people sitting on the fence, wondering what they ought to be doing," Tonkin said of reform- minded members of the government. "What she has done is very important. The longer this process is maintained the more likely that the changes that we've seen will be sustained and in due course be irreversible."

Market Access

A political breakthrough would allow U.S. and European companies greater access to a market of 62 million people who are dependent on neighbors China, India and Thailand to grow one of Asia's smallest economies. Those countries poured more than $25 billion into ports, power plants and pipelines to capitalize on Myanmar's rich natural resources and strategic location on the Indian Ocean.

U.S. sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have been tightening since 1988, when President Ronald Reagan suspended aid and banned arms sales after soldiers killed about 3,000 student protesters, according to an estimate by Human Rights Watch. A series of congressional acts and presidential orders since then have banned imports, restricted money transfers, curbed aid money, frozen assets, prevented engagement by the World Bank and other agencies and targeted jewelry with gemstones originating in Myanmar.

Easing Sanctions

Before President Bill Clinton banned new investment in 1997, boycott threats prompted U.S. companies such as PepsiCo Inc., Levi-Strauss & Co. and Apple Inc. to leave Myanmar. Chevron Corp., based in San Ramon, California, is one of the few U.S. businesses operating in the country, having obtained a 28.3 percent stake in a gas field and pipeline that stretches to Thailand through its 2005 purchase of Unocal Corp., which made its investment prior to the 1997 ban.

Clinton told Thein Sein that the U.S. would loosen restrictions on engagement by the World Bank and the United Nations, she told reporters on Dec. 1. Other measures leading toward an end to sanctions, including an upgrade in diplomatic relations, would occur if Myanmar takes additional steps, such as releasing more than 1,000 political prisoners still behind bars, she said.

"We agreed that an important test of the government's stated commitment to reform and change will be the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience," Clinton said after meeting with Suu Kyi.

Thein Sein told Clinton that his government would release more political prisoners, sever military ties with North Korea and seek new ways to ease violence with ethnic groups seeking more autonomy, according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity.

Political Freedom

At a Dec. 1 dinner with Clinton, Suu Kyi said the U.S. should support reformers in Myanmar's government and encourage officials who are still unsure to join them in fighting hardliners opposed to more political freedom, the official said.

Yesterday, Clinton and Suu Kyi strolled through the yard in front of her two-story paint-chipped house, where dozens of local and foreign journalists had gathered. During their meeting, Suu Kyi acknowledged opposition in some parts of the U.S. to engagement with Myanmar, and made the point that it was important to listen to voices inside the country, the U.S. official said.

Suu Kyi, 66, will run in an election for the first time after her party voted to rejoin the political process on Nov. 18. Last month, she said Thein Sein was "very genuine in his desire for the process of democratization."

The Nobel laureate called for international agencies to help improve health and education in Myanmar. She also said her country aims to maintain "good, friendly" relations with China.

"If we go forward together, I'm confident that there will be no turning back from the road towards democracy," Suu Kyi told reporters in a 10-minute joint appearance with Clinton. "We are not on that road yet, but we hope to get there as soon as possible with the help and understanding of our friends."

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net

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