Pat Wellenbach
A look at some must-read news on deals and deal makers around the world
Sara Lee bidding war not much of a war
Sara Lee Corp.'s attempt to wrest a higher bid out of a private equity group led by Apollo, or to find a white knight, is so far not gaining much traction. Bloomberg reports that the Apollo led group hasn't raised its initial bid for the food maker, even after Sara Lee rejected it, while a potential higher bid from a rival has so far not found financing. The company is now looking at other options such as spinning off its coffee business.
Regulation will push risks into dark, Goldman warns
A top Goldman Sachs Group Inc. argument is pushing the "squeeze the balloon" argument against tighter rules against risk at banks. Goldman president Gary Cohn argues that stopping risk at regulated banks will just force risk takers into less regulated environments such as hedge funds. It's not a new argument, but the Financial Times notes that the source is significant becase Goldman hasn't been vocal on regulatory issues.
Investment banks keep heading east
The latest investment bank to expand in Hong Kong is Moelis & Co., the independent advisory shop. It's buying it's way into the city's financial sector with the purchase of Asia Pacific Advisers. Asia Pacific is a startup firm launched by a former ABN Amro banker, but it has already done some big deals in its short time on the scene, the Journal reports.
Resources are so 2010, top manager says
A top performing hedge fund manager with a bias to small caps says that he's moving from resources, which he expects to have a modest year in 2011, to tech stocks. Resources helped power the AlphaNorth fund to more than a double in 2010, Shirley Won reports, but gold, especially, is due for a downturn, the manager says.
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