German Bundesbank is worried about hedge funds - and disagrees with Bernanke

--> Bundesbank Says Hedge Funds Can Cause `Considerable Tension'

By John Fraher
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The Bundesbank said hedge funds can
cause ``considerable tension'' in global financial markets during
times of slowing economic growth.
``One potential source of market disruption comes from hedge
funds, whose continuously growing weight and frequent use of
trend-following trading strategies could magnify market swings,''
the German central bank said in its annual financial stability
report, which was published in Frankfurt today.
The $1.3 trillion global hedge fund industry has drawn
attention from some European policy makers who say it needs closer
and more coordinated supervision because the size and agility of
its funds have the ability to destabilize markets. The Bundesbank
today called for hedge funds to adopt a ``code of conduct'' to
improve the industry's transparency.
``Measures aimed at strengthening market discipline are
highly welcome,'' the central bank said. The Bundesbank cited the
collapse this year of Amaranth Advisors LLC, a U.S.-based hedge
fund that lost $6.6 billion betting on natural gas prices, as
exposing ``shortcomings in risk management''
The central bank's comments contrast with views expressed by
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and predecessor Alan
Greenspan, who have repeatedly cautioned against over-regulation
of hedge funds and praised their role in capital markets.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has
adopted a more conciliatory approach than the Bundesbank, saying
hedge funds can also help investors protect themselves against
financial shocks.
The funds were first allowed to operate in Germany, the euro
region's biggest economy, in 2004. The French, Italian, German,
Spanish and British hedge-fund market grew 22 percent last year to
$110 billion in total assets, according to a Datamonitor report in
September.

London: Alternative Investment Market (AIM) could fall victim to fraud scams due to lack of mining expertise by exchange regulators.

www.business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1957690,00.html

FOCUS: Lofty Euro Could Be Iron Cage For Exports, Growth

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=86574

MILAN (Dow Jones)--While robust global growth may mitigate the pain, the U.S. dollar's current slide threatens to shrink the euro-zone's slice of the economic pie.

The euro continued to trade above the $1.30 barrier it broached during thin Thanksgiving trading, rising 0.2% Monday to close above $1.31. Should it rise further and stay high, European exporters will suffer, and some weaker firms risk outright extinction, managers and analysts said.

Large media monopolies are losing control because of internet TV and blogs etc.. One way they can get it back is ending internet neutrality and thus increasing cost for mom and pop blogs etc. Big telecoms are lobbying for it to make more money but real casualty will be free (as in freedom) internet media.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.