News Digest for October 16, 2006

There are 6 items… As Lenders, Hedge Funds Draw Insider Scrutiny | Blue Funds to Invest in Companies that Support Democrats | Stock Exchange fends off predators | Outcry grows over naked short sales | Corporate America’s Pay Pal | 55 Million Blogs, and Now a Service to Track Them

As Lenders, Hedge Funds Draw Insider Scrutiny
The Movie Gallery case provides a window onto the growing power of hedge funds in financial markets, and raises questions about their role in how information flows on Wall Street.

Blue Funds to Invest in Companies that Support Democrats
The two new funds seek to capitalize on research that finds that Democrat-supporting companies significantly outperform Republican-supporting companies.

Stock Exchange fends off predators
Some point out that a possible moment for Nasdaq to pounce might be around the time the LSE releases its profits next month.

Outcry grows over naked short sales
Dozens of public companies, investors and financial experts are pushing the SEC to tighten loopholes that they say allow hedge funds and stock brokers to profit from naked short selling at the expense of American companies and investors.

Corporate America’s Pay Pal
The soft-spoken Mr. Cook, 65, does not see himself as corporate America’s Pied Piper of pay. Instead, he asserts, he is just a “foot soldier” in the army of capitalism. But in any study of executive compensation practices over the last 25 years, the contributions of this foot soldier are more akin to those of a field marshal.

55 Million Blogs, and Now a Service to Track Them
Corporations are growing increasingly conscious of the power, and potential pitfalls, of blogging. A favorable review from an influential blogger can help generate the kind of buzz around a new product that traditional advertising struggles to achieve. A negative write-up can help doom a product before it even hits the market.

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