BRITAIN TO BUILD HEDGE FUND FRAUD DETECTOR
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/british-agency-to-build-hedge-fund-fraud-detector/

May 21, 2009, 7:50 am Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is building a system to help it detect hedge fund fraud, according to Reuters.

“We’re looking in particular at a system of red flags to give warnings in respect of hedge funds,” Reuters cited Richard Alderman, head of the S.F.O., as saying at a briefing Wedsnesy. “We want to be able to help the market, as it recovers, in knowing what are the features of hedge funds that can give rise to fraud.”

His comments come after British authorities arrested two men last week in connection with hedge fund Weavering Capital, which collapsed this year owing investors more than $600 million.

NAO THAT KLAOUWN HAS OPENED KALQL8G8*

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jIXO4tIDZZq5DP_mpfgGOuH0CA4Q

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Oscar-winning director Michael Moore vowed Thursday to turn his sights on the Wall Street chieftains blamed for the global economic meltdown in a new documentary to be released later this year.

Moore, whose past targets have included President George W. Bush, the US healthcare system and the gun lobby, said his as yet untitled film would be released on October 2.

“The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn’t have enough wealth. They wanted more — a lot more — so they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money,” Moore said. “Now, why would they do this? That is what I seek to discover in this movie.”

The film’s distributors Overture Films and Paramount Vantage said the movie would take “a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans” that culminated in last year’s multi-billion-dollar Wall Street bailout.

You’ll be humming that all day now.

SELL STOCKS, SELL BONDS, SELL THE DOLLAR. ANYTHING ELSE?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2009/05/for-wall-streets-orneriest-bears-thursdays-us-market-action-was-a-dry-run-for-the-day-of-reckoning-they-believe-is-s.html

Some investors and traders viewed S&P’s stance on Britain as a warning about America’s AAA grade, amid our own soaring budget deficits to pay for the unprecedented wave of federal bailouts of the financial system, auto companies and, perhaps next, cash-strapped California.

To the bear camp, however, Thursday was a glimpse of what’s to come if the world finally decides, for whatever reason, that it has had its fill of U.S. assets……………………………

PRESS DIGEST – Financial Times – May 22
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLM6409520090522

WARNING TO BRITAIN OVER HIGH DEBT LEVEL
BANK DEPUTY WARNS OF THREATS TO RECOVERY
BUSINESS INVESTMENT FALLS
M&B CHIEF RESIGNS OVER LOSSES

BRITISH LAND HOPES TO CASH IN ON FALLEN PROPERTY PRICES
British Land (BLND.L) is said to be positioning itself to exploit a future recovery in the property market as the real estate investment trust now has access to three billion pounds of undrawn credit lines following its 740 million pound rights issue earlier in the year. British Land reported pre-tax losses of 3.9 billion pounds with gross rental and related income sliding 14 percent to 554 million pounds. Overall losses per share rose from 251 pence to 614 pence.

NATIONWIDE CHIEF BERATES STATE LEVY
Nationwide (POB_pa.PZ), the UK’s largest building society, has complained that a charge and provisions of more than 250 million pounds to be paid under the government’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme amount to “daylight robbery” of its members. The levy is being imposed on banks to pay for bank failures such as Bradford & Bingley (BB_p.L), but the amount of retail deposits held by building societies has left the societies bearing a disproportionate amount of the cost, they have complained.

HOW MANY FIRST-TIME MORTGAGES FOR 250 MILLION POUNDS?