Mark Pack

Car manufacturer vs hedge funds

By | Wed 29th October 2008 - 10:51 am

From today’s Independent:

The sports car giant Porsche has pulled off one of the greatest share killings of all time in a coup that has left some of the world’s largest hedge funds nursing combined losses that could total $20bn (£12.6bn).

The vast sum was won and lost in bets on the share price of Volkswagen. While Porsche has been building a secret 74 per cent stake in its rival, the hedge funds have been betting that the shares will fall. The shares soared by 400 per cent in two days, leaving Porsche with a huge profit and the hedge funds – some of which are based in London – with losses that could drive them into bankruptcy.

City traders were stunned by the audacity of Porsche’s move, although there is no suggestion that it broke German law or trading regulations.

Read more by .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Tom Arms
    @ John Kelly: I certainly didn't mean to imply that Gaza is peaceful. Sadly, civilians continue to die, humanitarian conditions remain appalling and Israel cont...
  • Peter Wrigley
    @Jana: The definition I like is taken from an article by Timothy Garton Ash in the Guardian way back in the 2000s: "Liberalism properly understood (is) a quest...
  • Roland
    Another limitation is the ability to take a hire car on a ferry; I initially thought it was this restriction Alistair was going to comment upon, given the wide ...
  • Ian Sanderson (RM3)
    Hire car companies do have some bizarre restrictions, often related to individual companies and airports. Among them is various age restrictions for seniors. I ...
  • Katharine Pindar
    Excellent to read this from Southwark Liberal Democrats. I am proposing a motion for September Conference calling for Emergency action to be taken for sufficien...