I was watching Bloomberg's In The Loop with Betty Liu this morning and they were doing a piece on Big Oil and BP featuring a hedge manager's view of what is going on in that market that I found a bit interesting, the video isn't up yet but what piqued my interest had already been covered in Bloomberg Businessweek the other day:

Sick of hearing about Tea Party Protests -- about Taxes going down?

Here's some "Protest News" that is worth knowing about ...

Oregon sues fund company for college savings losses
AP Executive Morning Briefing - April 14, 2009

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — State officials are seeking $36.2 million in damages from OppenheimerFunds Inc., which managed a fund responsible for steep losses in the Oregon College Savings Plan. Officials said in a statement Monday that risky, "hedge-fund like" investments cost the Oppenheimer Core Bond Fund 36 percent of its value last year — and 10 percent more so far this year.

(emphasis added)

Robert Reich contrasts the situation on hedge fund managers who are raking it in because of Berancke's largess and the rest of us who are paying the bill. Originally posted April 6, 2009 on from his blog.

Why You Should Work for a Hedge Fund 

Just because I lost a big chunk of my total retirement savings over the last year doesn't mean I should be upset that 25 hedge-fund managers reaped a total of $11.6 billion during the same interval, according to Institutional Investor's Alpha Magazine -- including $2.5 billion for James Simons of Renaissance Technologies and $2 billion for John Paulson. (To be included on the list, you had to take home more than $75 million.)

I do admit to being irked that some of what these guys earn is taxed at a 15 percent rate because the earnings are treated as capital gains, while I'm just about to be walloped by the Internal Revenue Service come April 15.

by roxy and avahome

In mythology, Cerberus is the many headed dog that guards the gates to hell.  In modern times, Cerberus is a hedge fund group -- a many headed beast that has been devouring companies at a rapid rate. A hedge fund group with over 16 Billion in assets (as reported here) and allegedly bigger than "Cisco, Coke, Or McDonald's".

Cerberus was founded by Steven Feinberg in 1992 with just a little over 10 million dollars.  The shopping spree started in 2003, with Cerberus more than doubling its assets during a two year period.

Promoted as jamess provides us with information that all of us need to know more about to help understand our current crisis - standingup

In the Olden Days (B.D. -- Before Deregulation)

1) you want to buy a House

2) you put 10-20% down and got a mortgage loan, after intensive scrutiny of your income and creditworthiness

3) you spend 30-years making monthly Mortgage Payments

4) you take Ownership of your Home, free and clear.

5) IF you fail to make Mortgage Payments, for 3 months or more, a Snidely Whiplash character would show up from the Bank, and promptly put you out on the street.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?) in these 21st century days of Investment Banks and Hedge Funds, riding herd in a "wild west" electronic economy with little to NO Oversight, you may still default on your Mortgage -- yet too often it seems, that No One really knows, exactly WHO owns your House, when you do ...

AFP: Ex-CIA agent admits waterboarding, but calls it torture

Kiriakou said the method broke Zubaydah -- one of the first top Al-Qaeda suspects captured after the September 11, 2001 attacks -- in less than 35 seconds, according to ABC."

Here's the thing that nags: At this point any information released to the press by "ex-CIA" personnel of any stripe are extremely suspect (being kind). The only indisputable fact here is that waterboarding is torture, and is therefore illegal under domestic and international law.

ABC scores a direct miss. Another "Curveball" outside the zone.
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MSNBC/AP: Top Dem threatens to abandon budget talks

Obey said . . he would rip up the compromise bill and devise a new one using the strict spending ceiling set by Bush - but would reach it by whacking GOP priorities and stripping the measure of billions of dollars in pet projects for lawmakers in both parties

Not a good thing to piss off Obey-Wan. You'da thunk the Empire woulda figured that out by now.
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