By Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque London: A roundup of last week�s hedge fund launches, closures, index performance, trends, regulatory, legal and financial events pertaining to the alternative investments world.

Last week, we heard of fund launches from Value Partners, Craigmillar, Paskewitz, Armada Capital, Cogo Wolf, Putnam, Ferox and Brian Pinsker.

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Yesterday's and previous Exclusives

Technical Research

S&P500
Oil
Gold
US10Yr
Nikkei
�vs.$
Wheat
AUS$ vs US$

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CME - S&P 500 INDEX (Dec) � Daily

Near Term Trend: Negative Friday�s Close: 895.30 (+ 9.10) UPDATE: NOTE: We featured a long term continuation chart dating back to 1996 in our last report for the sake of showing key pivotal support at the 770.00 region. As of this report we are back to the December chart. Last week, the Index traded to its lowest level since 1997 (11 years). The market was certainly oversold by way of the spread between current price and the position of the M.A. line. As per, a week ago, we noted (in this report and live on CNBC); this should be cause for some buying (mean reversion at the very least). Subsequently the market posted a healthy rally in excess of 160 points within five trading days. Holding above our proprietary long term support line at 770.00, to ending the bear market. However, on a near term basis, the market needs enough positive price action to shift the slope of the 21- day M.A. upward. As of Friday, price action was sneaking above the line.

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NYMEX - CRUDE OIL - (Weekly)

Intermediate Term Trend: Negative Friday�s Close: $54.43 (- .01) UPDATE: NO CHANGE: Week before last, the market was off 67% in 4 1/2 months, and traded to its lowest level since May 2005. Our theme has been- Based on the current position of prices in relation to the Moving Average Line (spread was $55.00 last week), the market is grossly oversold. As per we would not sell Crude at these levels, and as we stated Sunday evening, bounce toward $65 should be within weeks. As of last Friday, the market is within $11.00 of that objective. Unfortunately, we might have been a week too soon, on our recommendation to go long Crude a week and a half ago. We shall see - for now, as the Stock market trades- Crude will follow.

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NYMEX - GOLD (December) � Daily

Near Term Trend: Neutral to Positive Friday�s Close: $816.20 (+ $7.70) UPDATE: Over a week ago- pre opening, we wrote, �The pattern, at this juncture, is a classic double bottom, and a daily settlement above $750.00 should produce a clean upside breakout, and allow the market to trade up toward $800.00 ($50.00 higher)�. As it turned out- Within the next six hours Gold was $53.00 higher, and just over $800.00. As of five days ago, following Friday�s settlement of $791.80, we identified resistance at $825- $840. Thus far $830.50 remains the near term high.

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CBT - U.S. Ten Year Note (December) - Daily

Near Term Trend: Positive Friday�s Close: 122�285 (+ 17) Yield: 2.92% UPDATE: Early last week we stated, �For us, at this juncture, we think it�s hard to chase the market at these levels, even though the fundamentals point to higher prices (lower yields)�. Subsequently, as of Wednesday, the market posted an historical high as it broke through resistance at 121�22(old high). Again on Friday, the market rallied significantly as Yields have fallen below 3.00 percent. I would expect a drop (price) of 2 points in the week ahead.

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CME- NIKKEI � (Cash) Weekly

Intermediate Term Trend: Negative Friday�s Close: 8,515 (- 50) UPDATE: As we have said for many, many weeks, �The support base remains intact, only by a very thin margin- and this market is only, slightly, out of the woods if a weekly settlement above 9,200 is posted�. As of the last five trading days, the market is gaining support, and is within 700 points of our Key Near Term Resistance Pivot (see chart).

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CME- EURO vs. U.S. DOLLAR (CASH) - Weekly

Intermediate Trend (3 months): Negative Friday�s Close: 127�00 (- 174) UPDATE: For the last five weeks the support base held. In light of this, we kept stating, �The only way to confirm the market can erase the threat of breaking below the possible Bear Pennant pattern is by settling above 12810 on the basis of a weekly close�. As of last Wednesday, the Euro is above our upside pivot, but we were very clear in stated that evening, �It needs to settle above this region by Friday (weekly settlement based on a weekly chart)�. Sure enough, it did not; as of Friday, the Dollar rallied significantly, and prices fell back into the triangle.

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CBT� WHEAT (December) - Daily

Near Term Trend: Negative to Neutral Friday�s Close: $5.42 1/2 (+ 7 cents) UPDATE: As with Crude Oil, we may have been a week early for an anticipated rally. Regardless, this market still has some work ahead of it before it can be considered constructive. That being said the support base just finished its fourth week of construction. In addition, the DMI and the SLOW STOCHASTIC indicators are positive. A daily settlement above $5.46 (just four cents higher) should send this market accelerating higher.

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CME � AUSSIE DOLLAR vs. U.S. Dollar - Weekly

Near Term Trend: Negative Friday�s Close: 6555 (+ 45) UPDATE: As of last Thursday�s settlement, the market came within 100 points of the recent lows, posted three weeks ago. As we stated during the last week, �This region still remains an area of a possible support base. For now, the base remains intact, and buying could ensue from this region�. Subsequently, as of the last four trading days, the market has in fact held support at the lows, and rallied nearly 560 points above last weeks level.

Hard Assets Update

Beryllium: Bombs And More (Much More)

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: � "When the beryllium atoms begin to kick out neutrons heavily, we'll turn on full force and see what happens ... The brilliantly incandescent beryllium suddenly turned to a strange bluish-white radiation...

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Gold Hedging: Up Close And Personal

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: "There certainly doesn't seem like there's an economic slowdown here," said one visitor from British Columbia. What was apparent, however, was a sense of nagging unease among the investors who roamed through...

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Gold Stocks Soar

From HardAssetsInvestor.com:

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Update On Your Morning Coffee

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: "The collapse of global credit markets that is pushing the U.S., Europe and Japan into simultaneous recessions for the first time since World War II also threatens farmers in Brazil, the world's biggest...

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Larry Swedroe: What To Do Now

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: � Larry Swedroe is a principal and director of Research of BAM Advisors Services, and one of the leading financial advisors in the U.S. He is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Only Guide to Alternative...

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Oil Guesses Wrong Again And A Worrying Contango

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: The inventory spike marks the tenth consecutive weekly increase. Domestic crude oil stocks are now in the upper half of their average range for this time of year, according to the Energy Department. Technically,...

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Win Thin: Dollar Will Rise, Global Growth Will Slow

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: Mike Norman, HardAssetsInvestor.com (Norman): Hello everybody, and welcome once again to HardAssetsInvestor.com's interview series. I'm Mike Norman, your host. Well, currency crises erupting around...

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Another Brick In The Wall: GDP Sinks

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: Consumers continue to wield a strong influence upon the U.S. economy as most of the weakness in GDP was traced to a downturn in personal consumption expenditure (PCE). In the third quarter, PCE tumbled...

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Trading The Gold/Oil Ratio With ETNs

From HardAssetsInvestor.com: On Friday morning, we began our examination of these two exchange-traded notes as means to trade the gold/oil ratio last week in "Gold Vs. Oil: Gold Winning." � Gold/Oil Ratio � DTO is new. It was launched...

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A Square - Alternative Alternatives

Structured Finance: A South African Structured Finance Fund

Exploit built-in-system, lending structure related inefficiencies

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Music: A music/media investment fund

Staff has collectively over 250 years of music industry experience. Over 26,000 copyrights, with genres including rock, country, pop and alternative

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Wine Investing: A Wine Fund

Whose performance has held up well through the financial turmoil and has returned +19.46% from Jan.-Oct.�08

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A SQUARE Faculty

Neural Network Investing

Faculty Jason Kulhanek Can human beings ever trade like systematic, emotion-free, systems?

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How BRIC became Brazil:

Brazil-based hedge fund managers, fund of funds and family office believe the country is now getting ahead of the pack compared to its emerging market peers.

Brazil has enough foreign reserves to pay down all the public foreign debt. This is the first time the country is in such a condition.

In the last crisis in 1998, China was the only country which had sound fundamentals and they could maneuver their monetary policy to keep the country growing, despite the fact that all of the economies in the region were going down by 10% or 15% in GDP. Managers believe that this time Brazil has exactly the same characteristics.

Read more in this brand new Opalesque Brazil Roundtable:

Current Issue (Brazil)| | Roundtable Archive

Event Calendar

» This week » This month » Next month » All Events

Achieving Quality Internal Audit for Maximum Performance, Hong Kong » Thu, 4 Dec 2008

Best practices in conducting effective audit function...

CLO/CDO & Structured Products Summit, Dana Point, CA » Sun, 7 Dec 2008

Opal Financial Group's Eighth Annual CDO Summit is an educational forum designed for investors, issuers, underwriters, credit enhancers, rating agencies, lawyers and accountants...

Surviving the PE Credit Crisis -- Where To Go, What To Do, Who To See, New York » Thu, 11 Dec 2008

Chaired by Christian Oberbeck -- featuring 19 Speakers...

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Alternative Market Briefing

How BRIC became Brazil: