Much of the market activity on any given day is influenced in large part by the estimated 9000 hedge funds, which have a combined value of some 2 trillion dollars. Today the heads of five of the biggest funds were called before Congress, Congress hoping to gain some insight into their largely unknown and unregulated world. Here’s ABC’s Bill Weir.
(Do you, uh, solemnly swear that …) Only a Congressional hearing could put some of the richest and most secretive men in the world on record. “Each of you made more than one billion dollars in 2007.” Normally we can only read of their exploits between the yachts and antique shotgun ads in Hedge magazine, catch a glimpse of them in the Bentley showroom, or marvel at their neighborhoods in “Upper Hedgistan,” better known as Greenwich, Connecticut.
Steve Cohen’s home has 31,000 square feet, and Paul Tudor Jones has a 25-car garage. They can afford places like that because they charge the highest fees in all the financial world. A hedge fund manager can keep anywhere between 20 and 50 percent of an investor’s profits. But in this economy there are no profits to split.
"… The perfect storm for hedge funds is lenders that have lent to hedge funds want their money back, investors that have invested in the hedge funds want their money back, and they’re selling at a very bad time to sell. And hedge funds aren’t just losing rich people’s money but also the endowments of universities, charities, and pension funds, as they invest in anything they choose.
“Can they invest in, uh, precious metals?” “They can invest in anything.” “Securities?” “They can invest in…” “Sports teams, restaurants?” “You name it. Any... anything that trades, that’s their business, and increasingly they’re getting into the private equity business. They’re actually buying whole companies.” And they’re not just trying to pick winners; they’re also allowed to bet against losers, like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearnes.
And they use borrowed money to increase the size of those bets by 30 or 40 times. When things go well, it’s new Ferrari time. When those bets go bad, it makes a horrific economy even worse. It’s estimated that hedge funds lost a hundred billion dollars last month and thousands of them are doomed to go broke, which may explain why these men said today that after years of resistance, they will now welcome some regulation. Bill Weir, ABC News, New York.
given : 주어진, 정해진, 기정의, 지정된, ~ 을 고려하면, ~ 가 주어진다면 ex. meet at a given time and place 주어진 시간과 장소에서 만나다 / ex. within a given period 주어진 기간 내에 * any given moment 아무때나, 항시 ex. on any given morning more than 100 million Americans reach for a cup of coffee. ex. Given their inexperience, they've done a good job. = Given that they're inexperienced, they've done a good job. ex. Given the same treatment again, he is sure to get well. 다시 한 번 그 치료를 더 받는다면 그는 반드시 회복될 것이다. in large part : 주로, 대부분 estimate : 견적, 추정, 견적하다, 추정하다 ex. It's difficult to estimate the cost of making your house safe. ex. The Antarctic ice cap is estimated to contain 90% of the world's fresh water. ex. The total cost was estimated at $ 50 million. ex. We estimate that 20 per cent of the harvest has been lost. ex. An estimated 300,000 people came to the demonstration insight : 통찰, 간파, 통찰력 ex. a man of insight 통찰력이 있는 사람 ex. Children can sometimes show remarkable insight. solemn : 진지한, 엄숙한, 장엄한 solemnly 엄숙하게, 장엄하게, 거룩하게 hearing : 청문회 ex. hold a hearing 청문회를 열다 / * a public hearing 공청회 secretive : 숨기는, 비밀주의의, 입을 다물고 있는 / If you are secretive, you like to have secrets and to keep your knowledge, feelings, or intentions hidden. record : 기록적인, 기록 * put ~ on record : ~을 기록하다 * for the record : 기록하기 위한 [해], 공식적인 [으로] * for the record books : 기록에 남을 만한 * a record high[low] 사상 최고치 [최저치] (= an all-time high [low]) exploit : 공훈, 공적, 위업 /something unusual that someone does that you think is brave, exciting, or entertaining ex. perform a heroic exploit 영웅적인 행위를 하다 ex. Her amazing exploits include walking across Antarctica. antique : <가구 등이> 고미술의, 골 동의, 고미술품, 골동품 glimpse : 흘끗 봄 [ 보임 ], 일견 , vt., vi. 흘끗 보다 * glimpse of: The crowd were anxious for a glimpse of the President. * catch/get/have a glimpse (of~) : I only caught a glimpse, but I think it was a badger. marvel : 놀랄 만한 일[것, 사람], 불가사의한 일[것, 사람], 경이, (~에) 놀라다, 경탄하다 ex. the marvels of science 과학의 경이 * marvellous 놀라운, 믿기 어려운, 신기한, 기묘한 split : 찢다, 쪼개다, 쪼개지다, 분열시키다, 이간시키다 perfect storm : 개별적으로는 큰 힘이 없는 기상현상 몇 개가 동 시에 발생하면서 커다란 폭풍을 형성해서 많은 피해를 입히는 현상; 동시에 발 생한 여러 가지 악재 endowment : 기증, 기부, 기부금, [보통 pl.] (천부의) 자질, 재능 ex. natural endowments 천부의 재능 charity : 1. [count] 자선단체 , 2. [uncount] these organizations considered as a group, 3.[uncount] 기부금, 의연품(money or food that is given to people who are poor or ill ) 4. 자애 , 자비, 자선[행위] ex. The Children's Society is a registered charity. * give/donate something to charity: ex. I donated the prize money to charity. ex. Their plight is a miserable one, but they do not want charity.의연품을 원치 않았다. / ex. He showed no charity to his former friend and partner. * charity work 자선 사업 pension fund : 연기금 precious metal : 귀금속 trade : 매매, ~을 매매하다, 교역하다, 거래되다, ~업, ~업계 ex. the tourist trade 관광업 ex. the publishing trade 출판업계 * trade down : to sell something and buy a less expensive one. ex. They are selling their five-bedroom house and trading down to a two-bedroom house. * trade up : ex. We want to trade up our apartment for a house. private equity : 사모주식 * equity : 공평, 공정(fairness), [pl.] 보통주, 재산 물건의 순가( the value of a property after you have taken away the amount left to pay on the MORTGAGE) * private equity fund 사모 펀드 / * private equity firm 사모주식투자회사 winner : 승리자, 성공한 것 (something that is very popular or successful), 혜택을 보는 사람 ex. Her latest book looks like being another winner. ex. There are clear winners when a dam is built. Farmers get irrigation water, businesses get electricity. loser : 실패자, 패자, 전연 쓸모없는 것 [사람], 손해를 보는 사람 * a good/bad loser : someone who behaves well/badly when they have lost horrific : 무서운, 소름끼치는, 지독한 doom : (보통 나쁜) 운명(fate), 파멸(ruin), [보통 수동형] (보통 나쁘게) 운명짓다(fate), ex. The plan was doomed to failure[~ed to fail]. 그 계획은 결국 실패하게 돼 있었다 go broke : (go bankrupt ) 파산하다 ex. The company went broke earlier this year. * go for broke : to try as hard as you can to get or achieve something, even if this involves taking risks or doing dangerous things ex. Jacob decided to go for broke and gave up his job to become a writer. cf. risk one's neck, go out on a limb resistance : 저항, 반항, 반대