A.E. Feldman Blog

Despite the subprime meltdown and subsequent volatility in global financial markets, hedge fund assets have posted double digit growth in the past six months. That’s according to the 9th biannual HFMWeek Hedge Fund Administrators Survey. The primary drivers of growth in the hedge fund industry: institutional investors. A recent Investment News report contends that endowments [...]

The issue of data center efficiency is garnering more attention as companies face mounting pressure to cut back on spending. That’s because the massive, energy-gobbling data centers that hold racks of mission-critical equipment are costly to maintain. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that data centers in the U.S. consumed 61 billion kilowatt hours of [...]

As the economy continues to slow, a number of experts anticipate a virtual flood of bankruptcies and restructurings in the coming months. U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings already jumped nearly 31% last month versus a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), citing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). Moreover, ABI says [...]

U.S. foreclosure actions hit a record 243,353 cases in April, a 65% jump from a year ago, according to a recent report issued by research firm, RealtyTrac. Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, says as a consequence of rising delinquencies, foreclosure proceedings were initiated on some 1.5 million U.S. homes in 2007, up 53% from 2006. Bernanke [...]

Fed Bank of New York, President, Timothy Geithner, has proposed a plan to reduce risk in the financial system. In his comments published by FT.com, Geithner outlines five steps to improve market resilience in the future. Meanwhile, subprime losses have not only captured the attention of corporate boards, they’ve also forced banks to shore up [...]

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, is calling upon California venture capitalists to help Congress solve some of the most pressing issues facing the United States today, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The report states that Pelosi has asked Silicon Valley leaders to send Washington their ideas on how to reverse global warming, improve education and health [...]

This week, the U.S. Senate began deliberation of the Climate Security Act of 2008 – a bill which calls for capping carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, transportation and industrial sources with the goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gases. The foundation of the legislation, sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and [...]

Thanks to the accounting scandals at Enron, Tyco and WorldCom, firms are under greater scrutiny to be clearer with financial statements, audits and tax reports. “The years in the aftermath of Sarbanes-Oxley have spotlighted the critical role the accounting profession plays in our capital market system,” said Denny Reigle, AICPA Director of Academic and Career [...]

Compliance professionals have become white-hot commodities at banks, reports Bank Technology News. The report states that while Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations have driven up salaries for accountants, financial and legal staff as well as compliance officers, the current credit crisis is further exacerbating the hunt for compliance talent. Moreover, BTN notes there is a shortage [...]

Société Générale has made another move to restore its reputation in the wake of the massive trading scandal that cost the bank a staggering $7.1 billion. The French bank has announced it will replace its head of investment banking, Jean-Pierre Mustier, with Michel Péretié, the former Chief Executive of Bear Stearns in Europe. Mustier will [...]