Hedgies Have Their Day

Thanks to CNBC, here is a wonderful chart of a summary of the testimony of hedge fund managers today:

Highlights From Hedge Fund Hearing

George Soros:— Crisis Was Generated By Financial System Itself
— Financial System Pricing Somewhat Distorted In Proportion To Actual Problem— Regulators Must Accept Responsibility For Controlling Asset Bubbles
— Controlling Credit Means Using Regulations That Have Fallen Into Disuse
— Financial Market Reforms Must Be International In Scope— Basel Accords Need To Be Replaced By New Rules Reflecting New Paradigm
— Hedge Funds Need To Be Regulated Within New Framework
— Underregulation Helped Cause Current Problem, But Overregulation A Danger As Well
— Hedge Funds Helped Cause Bubble, But Have Been Devastated By Its Bursting

James Simons:
— Rating Agencies Are Among The Most Culpable For Current Problems
— Hedge Funds Were Not A Major Cause of Current Systemic Risk
— Additional Regulation Focused On Market Integrity Would Be Appropriate
— Most Important Step We Can Take Is To Keep People In Their Homes
— More Transparency From Hedge Funds Could Be Helpful
— Any Change In Tax Policy Should Be Applied Equally To All
— PIMCO, Others Should Sponsor A New Derivatives Rating Agency

Philip Falcone:
— Hedge Funds Have Positive Role In Financial Markets
— Compensation In Hedge Fund Business Is Performance Based
— Short Selling Is A Valuable Long Standing Feature of our Markets
— Our Analysts Perform Thorough Due Diligence, Not Relying On Rating Agencies

Kenneth Griffin:
— Champions The Idea of Building Clearinghouse For Credit Default Swaps
— Proper Regulation Is Key To Health Of Financial Markets
— Congress, Regulators, Industry Must All Work Together
— We Must Not Stifle Best Innovative Qualities Of Our Financial Markets

 Major news outlets are saying that they were "called to testify" before a House committee.
James Simon politely thanked the House for the opportunity to offer comments. He made my favorite quote:

There is much blame to be shared: the SEC and perhaps the Federal Reserve for taking such a hands-off position on the leverage posture of the investment banks and the uncontrolled nature of the CDS market; the players all along the chain of creation and distribution of the paper, each of whom should have blown a whistle rather than passing the problem on to the next guy; and finally, and in my opinion the most culpable, the rating agencies, which failed in their duty and allowed sows' ears to be sold as silk purses.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27699730