(FINANCE) a limited liability partnership (LLP), originally limited to 99 partners, and organized to trade securities under specialized guidelines. The first hedge funds were organized to be a counterparty to the riskiest forms of derivative transactions: writing exotic options or swaps in which the buyer transferred most risks (and potential gains) to the hedge fund, but then offsetting the risk with different derivatives.
The first hedge funds benefited (or thought they benefited) from the Black-Scholes formula used to calculate the value of options; supposedly a hedge fund manager could design an immensely complex portfolio consisting mainly of explosively volatile instruments , whose pieces were supposed to absorb each other's risk.
Hedge funds mainly avoided the consequences of the financial meltdown they helped create, racking up gains through the '00's that far exceeded the rest of the stock market.
The first hedge funds benefited (or thought they benefited) from the Black-Scholes formula used to calculate the value of options; supposedly a hedge fund manager could design an immensely complex portfolio consisting mainly of explosively volatile instruments , whose pieces were supposed to absorb each other's risk.
Hedge funds mainly avoided the consequences of the financial meltdown they helped create, racking up gains through the '00's that far exceeded the rest of the stock market.
The hedge fund used to play a major role in absorbing and structuring the risks associated with hedging risks associated with large portfolios, but they now are sophisticated gambling enterprises.
Hedge funds supply market liquidity for the most exotic of instruments.
Hedge funds supply market liquidity for the most exotic of instruments.
by Abu Yahya September 02, 2010
Get the hedge fund mug.(FINANCE) financial instrument in which buyer is someone who needs insurance against the possibility that a borrower will default on a loan. In that case, the counterparty is whoever receives the CDS premiums, and pays out in the event of default.
WHY IT'S BAD
Loans are usually made by either commercial banks (in which a loan officer is supposed to make a professional assessment of risk of default before handing over the money), or by investment banks (which underwrite securities like bonds). If the borrower has a high risk of default, then the loan should not be made--period.
Credit default swaps were a stupid method of supposedly turning a bad loan into a "risky" (and potentially high-yield) "investment"; they were in reality a strategy for fraud. Since portfolio managers knew they were bundling securitized loans that contained mostly crap, they would arrange credit default swaps and cash in when the borrowers defaulted.
WHY IT'S BAD
Loans are usually made by either commercial banks (in which a loan officer is supposed to make a professional assessment of risk of default before handing over the money), or by investment banks (which underwrite securities like bonds). If the borrower has a high risk of default, then the loan should not be made--period.
Credit default swaps were a stupid method of supposedly turning a bad loan into a "risky" (and potentially high-yield) "investment"; they were in reality a strategy for fraud. Since portfolio managers knew they were bundling securitized loans that contained mostly crap, they would arrange credit default swaps and cash in when the borrowers defaulted.
What the bankers hit on was a sort of insurance policy: a third party would assume the risk of the debt going sour, and in exchange would receive regular payments from the bank, similar to insurance premiums. JPMorgan would then get to remove the risk from its books and free up the reserves. The scheme was called a "credit default swap," and it was a twist on something bankers had been doing for a while to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates and commodity prices.
{Newsweek, "The Monster That Ate Wall Street," 27 Sep 2008}
{Newsweek, "The Monster That Ate Wall Street," 27 Sep 2008}
by Abu Yahya July 17, 2010
Get the credit default swap mug.In economics, (1) Materials or equipment used to produce goods (e.g., tools, parts, inventory, buildings, fixtures, hours of training); or (2) money that is used in a business venture. Capital is created by saving, rather than consuming, economic output. Over time, saving accumulates into capital; it also depreciates.
by abu yahya September 29, 2008
Get the capital mug.(FINANCE) on a financial derivative, the price at which the final transaction occurs. For example, the strike price of a call option is the price at which the owner of the option may buy the underlying item. If a call option is for 100 bbls of WTI crude oil at a strike price of $85.75/bbl, and the spot price is $86.50, then the option is worth (86.50 - 85.75) x 100 bbls = $75.
by Abu Yahya April 05, 2010
Get the strike price mug.(FINANCE) when a trader in a short position is wrong about the price movement, and is consequently forced to buy the asset at the higher price in order to meet legal obligations.
The classic example of this is the broker who sells stocks he does not own, in the expectation that he can buy the stock in the future at a lower price for delivery. If the price goes up instead of down, the broker must "cover his shorts," and very possibly drive prices higher still.
The classic example of this is the broker who sells stocks he does not own, in the expectation that he can buy the stock in the future at a lower price for delivery. If the price goes up instead of down, the broker must "cover his shorts," and very possibly drive prices higher still.
When Morgan was ready to squeeze the shorts, he was damn certain his corner would hold as the Twombly men scrambled to buy shares at any price.
"I've got your short cover right here, Gentlemen," he snorted from his seat overlooking the trading pit.
"I've got your short cover right here, Gentlemen," he snorted from his seat overlooking the trading pit.
by Abu Yahya April 15, 2010
Get the short cover mug.*noun*; a concept central to the idea of Keynesian economics. Under this theory, business cycles (recessions, depressions, booms, recoveries) are caused by a failure of total demand across the entire economy to match total output.
Aggregate demand is not merely influenced by people's ability to buy what they produce; it is also influenced by the marginal propensity to consume (MPC). If the MPC is less than 1, then an increase in national income will be matched by a smaller increase in aggregate demand, causing unemployment to rise and prices to fall.
Aggregate demand is not merely influenced by people's ability to buy what they produce; it is also influenced by the marginal propensity to consume (MPC). If the MPC is less than 1, then an increase in national income will be matched by a smaller increase in aggregate demand, causing unemployment to rise and prices to fall.
...When we say that the expectation of an increased demand, i.e. a raising of the aggregate demand function, will lead to an increase in aggregate output, we really mean that the firms, which own the capital equipment, will be induced to associate with it a greater aggregate employment of labour
J.M. Keynes, *The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money* (1936), Ch.4
J.M. Keynes, *The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money* (1936), Ch.4
by Abu Yahya March 03, 2009
Get the aggregate demand mug.foreign direct investment; includes direct capital investment in companies that have not yet issued stock. As opposed to portfolio investment (purchases of traded securities in a firm). Both FDI and portfolio investment refer to capital transfers from country to country.
by abu yahya September 28, 2008
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