ABC Online- An influential global economist has warned the widening financial crisis could plunge the world into recession, as an Australian company becomes the latest victim of the market turmoil.<\/p>\n
The Sydney-based hedge fund Basis Yield Alpha, run by entrepreneurs Stephen Howell and Stuart Fowler, has filed a petition for bankruptcy protection in New York.<\/p>\n
Its parent company Basis Capital has asked the US courts to bar legal action against the fund while it liquidates assets – news that is likely to send a chill through financial markets.<\/p>\n
The suit, filed overnight in the US Bankruptcy Court, is essentially a plea that investors and creditors not be in a position to sue Basis Yield Alpha whilst it winds up and liquidates assets held in the Cayman Islands.<\/p>\n
The hedge fund’s fate demonstrates the six degrees of separation that now exists in financial markets.<\/p>\n