Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Commodity Giant "Ospraie Management" Shuts Down Largest Hedge Fund on Falling Prices

Poor decisions on the way prices for oil and natural gas were going, among others, has ended with the closing of the largest hedge fund run by giant Ospraie Management. The fund held up to $3.8 billion in assets at its height.

Industry analysts say that this could be just the beginning of a big correction by funds and investors heavily into commodities.

This is also more bad news for Lehman Brothers (LEH), which had a 20 percent stake in Ospraie.

Reflecting the falling value of commodities, Baltic Dry index, which measures costs in relationship to shipping dry bulk commodities like iron ore, fell by 4.95 percent to 6,146. That's the lowest it's been since February 2008.

The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, which measures commodities prices globally, plunged to its lowest levels in sevn months as well, after agriculture and energy prices continue to fall.

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