Markets Stuffed on Thanksgiving Day - Thanks to Dubai's Delayed Repayment

Market trauma was caused by the news of Dubai today. FTSE showed biggest one day fall since March (3.2%). Bank stocks got hit with investor fears over "emirate exposure".

Equities and riskier currencies suffered as Dubai World, state-owned holding company, announced delayed repayment of the company's $59bn liabilities. In addition, glitches on LSE meant trading did not start until 2pm.

Dubai is one of the 7 emirates in the UAE. 75% of population is expatriates. It has the world's first 7 star hotel, the Burj al Arab, 20 km south of Dubai. It is designed to resemble the sails of an Arabian dhow and features an underwater themed restaurant, the Al Mahara (mainly seafood, the name Al Mahara means oyster) which serves Green pea Gazpacho (a cold Spanish, raw vegetable soup).

JP Morgan devours JV Partner in Billion Pound Feeding Frenzy

Having fully digested Bear Stearns and having chewed through the subprime of WaMu, "JPMorgan will on Thursday unveil a £1bn deal to buy Cazenove, the UK broker with which it has had a joint venture for the past five years" says the FT.

Hedgies on the Move

BlueCrest Capital (the third largest hedge fund manager in Europe, size $15.5bn) founded in 2000 by Bill Reeves and Mike Platt of JPMorgan (not to be confused with Bill Reeves, one of the founders of Pixar), is relocating 50 out of 300 staff to Geneva. Brevan Howard, Europe's largest hedge fund, also expressed similar desires earlier in the year.

Hedge Funds by Size

1. Brevan Howard
2. ???
3. BlueCrest