Colm Toibin, Jhumpa Lahiri Lead Shortlist for Man Booker (Bloomberg)
Colm Toibin and Jhumpa Lahiri are among six finalists for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the U.K.’s most prestigious literary award. Sponsored by hedge-fund manager Man Group Plc., the annual contest nets the winner 50,000 pounds ($78,550) and the promise of an almost certain increase in book sales. “We were drawn to novels that sought to extend the power and possibilities of the form,” Robert Macfarlane, chairman of this year’s judging panel and an author and academic, told journalists at Man Group’s (EMG) London headquarters. ‘‘We were looking for originality.’’
Louisiana Sheriffs fund rounds up opportunistic credit finalists (Pensions & Investments)
Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension & Relief Pension Fund, Baton Rouge, will likely hire in October its first opportunistic credit manager to run about $30 million, said Osey “Skip” McGee Jr., executive director. The $2.3 billion pension fund originally conducted an invitation-only search for a third hedge fund-of-funds manager to join Blackstone Group and Corbin Capital Partners, which currently run $48 million and $54 million, respectively.
Global hedge fund AUM declined by more than $6 billion in August (HedgeCo.net)
Hedge funds witnessed slightly negative returns in August amid increased risk aversion in global markets during the month. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was down 0.32% during the month, outperforming global stock indices as the MSCI World Index declined by 2.26% in August. The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index gained 0.48% in August mostly due to strong returns posted by Brazil-focused funds, which were up on the back of a strong rebound in the Bovespa (up 3.68%).
Hedge Funds Off 1.13% In August (FINalternatives)
Unless you were involved in some sort of arbitrage last month, chances are you suffered losses, according to Lyxor Asset Management. The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index fell 1.13% last month, cutting its year-to-date returns to 2.02%. Ten of the 13 strategies tracked by Lyxor also lost ground—the only exceptions being long/short credit arbitrage (up 0.51%), convertible arbitrage (up 0.26%) and merger arbitrage (up 0.04%).
Dubai Holding investment unit extends $1.2 bln loan (Reuters)
Dubai Holding’s investment unit has extended the repayment of a $1.2 billion loan until 2020, following moves by other state-linked firms, who have promised full repayment of debt by extending maturities. The loan is related to Dubai Holding Investment Group’s (DHIG) acquisition of a 9.9 percent stake in U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital in 2007, according to a banker familiar with the deal. DHIG bought the stake for $1.25 billion.
