AFP-The world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., said Wednesday it had won approval from Mexico’s government to open banking centers in its Mexican stores. A spokesman for Wal-Mart de Mexico, Wilfred Castro, said the US retail giant was initially planning […]

Scotsman- Northern Rock shares rose almost 12 per cent after reports that hedge funds were moving in for a bid for the troubled bank. The mortgage lender, which was bailed out last month by the Bank of England, surged after […]

Reuters- The hedge fund and private equity industries have reached a near-term peak in their cycles after years of rampant growth, speakers at a Reuters Forum said on Thursday. “Private equity and hedge funds both have cycles, and I think […]

New York Post- Hedge-fund executives say the next blow to hammer their industry will likely come from a wave of hedge-fund redemptions driven by highly-levered funds that invest in other hedge funds. One bellwether of how this may play out […]

CityWire.co.uk- Private equity group JC Flowers has raised £15 billion for a possible takeover of Northern Rock after viewing the ailing mortgage bank’s data room last week, the Financial Times has reported without naming sources. Northern Rock shares jumped 9% […]

Reuters- Smaller hedge fund firms hard hit by the current tighter credit conditions may be bought by larger, more traditional fund houses or may simply fold, law firm Eversheds told Reuters. “There’s bound to be a shake-out of hedge funds […]

Reuters UK- Recent volatility and slumping returns in the hedge fund industry have not dampened the appetite for new funds founded by former investment bankers from firms such as JPMorgan Chase to Merrill Lynch & Co. The new funds are […]

Reuters- London & Capital Group, a $3 billion fund that invests in hedge funds, said on Monday its U.S. arm could raise more than $1 billion by 2009 in six new investment vehicles aimed at European markets. The London-based hedge […]

Times Online- Goldman Sachs is understood to have made a profit of $370 million (£181 million) from the rescue last month of its imploding “black box” hedge fund Global Equity Opportunities. Goldman injected $2 billion of new equity into the […]

Reuters- The British Treasury has given two U.S. hedge funds permission to start takeover talks with stricken British mortgage lender Northern Rock Plc, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported. The Treasury was not immediately available for comment. The paper said JC […]

MSN MoneyCentral- UBS announced the departure of its investment bank head as it warned that it has written off billions of dollars on fixed-income assets, making the Swiss banking group the biggest casualty so far of the turmoil in the […]

Financial News Online US- Hedge funds shrugged off a disappointing August and made money again last month – though funds trading in credit continued to feel the impact of thecredit squeeze. The industry generated a positive return for investors of […]