Hedge Fund Whipsaw

In the UK, Parliament had three of the leaders of its largest hedge funds on the hot seat.  The members wanted to know whether they were making too much money off the bank difficulties in the country. Some of the funds had shorted bank stocks.  To defend themselves the fund managers showed their market losses. This apparently made the members feel better.  So hedge funds, had they collapsed like the domestic banks, would have been pilloried for taking on too much risk, were not pilloried for making money.  Their defense was that they also lost some money.  In the United States we will regulate hedge funds for taking on too much risk even though they are not the cause of our troubles and we are begging, begging them to put their money in the market.  Hedge fund managers had better have a very good sense of humor or humour.