Hedge Fund News Wrap: Week Ending 11/28/14

Abdallah Salem el-Badri, Opec’s secretary general, said that the group would not decrease supply to prevent the free-fall of oil prices. There is a decrease of demand around the globe with the US shale industry contributing to the oversupply of oil. Some are benefiting from the current oil market. Asian countries, net-importers of oil, have had upticks in their stock markets, and airplane stocks are rising with expectations that there will be a drop in fuel prices. Senior oil analyst Michael Wittner, of Societe Generale, believes that it is clear that OPEC now has diminished power, stating to BBC News, “The market itself – prices, in other words – will be the mechanism to rebalance the market. We cannot overstate what a dramatic and fundamental change this is for the oil market.”

See detailed coverage from:
BBC News
Fortune
MarketWatch

SEC Grants Waiver to Bank of America for Hedge Funds

The SEC will allow Bank of America to continue to sell hedge funds for the next 30 months. The bank settled a record lawsuit last year for not providing consumers with enough information about the risks involved with mortgage securities. Financial institutions are prevented from selling private offerings for five years when breaking a securities law unless they obtain a waiver. Daniel Gallagher, a Republican commissioner at the SEC, made a statement this month in which he proclaimed the importance of impartiality when deciding on waivers: “If we are going to deny waivers as a way of inflicting additional punishment for past wrongdoing, essentially treating disqualifications as enforcement remedies, then I will have to re-evaluate whether I can vote on an overall enforcement case without considering waiver issues at the same time.”

See detailed coverage from:
Wall Street Journal
FINalternatives
Reuters

Hedge Fund Hopes to Balance Social Good with Profits

A hedge fund is stepping in to help provide affordable housing for low-income and disadvantaged people in the U.K. Cheyne Capital will be purchasing debt-ridden properties from charities to lease them out to other social services organizations with the goal of providing a social benefit while also producing steady profits. There will be audits in place to ensure that the property is maintained properly and that those with the most considerable needs will receive housing. Jonathan Lourie, CEO of Cheyne Capital told Bloomberg News, “The reduction in government grants and the altered market structure provide an opportunity for alternative investment managers such as Cheyne to enter the sector and to be providers of responsible private capital.”

See detailed coverage from:
Bloomberg News
Wall Street Journal
DealBook