We've been sitting on this story because we didn't want to rain on the comeback parade Brian Hunter's been enjoying at the Peak Ridge Commodity Volatility & Fallen Heroes Shot at Redemption Fund, and Nick Maounis had quite nearly completed the assembly of his pussy posse, so there was that, but we can't in good faith wait any longer: on Wednesday, a federal judge denied a motion by Amaranth Associates and its erstwhile golden boy B. Hunter, to dismiss charges brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which said something about AA and BH attempting to manipulate the natural gas markets, and then lying to the NYMEX to cover up the botched mission. At the heart of the matter, the CFTC claims, are a series of instant messages between Hunter, Matthew Donohoe, other Amaranth employees and a trader at another firm, that supposedly "reveal [an] intent to manipulate prices." You can find them here.

Personally, all I see are a bunch of "hahas," instances of experimental grammar and, most offensively, "LOLs." Are these transgressions emblematic of one's trading acumen/criminality? I'm not sure. If they are, however, these guys are going down.

Hunter's attorney, Michael Kim of Kobre & Kim LLP, told Reuters Friday, "When the case is fully examined, we are confident that Brian Hunter will be vindicated." Kim (fictitiously) added, "Or, he will hang himself in his cell. Could go either way."

Judge Denies Amaranth, Hunter Motion to Dismiss [Reuters]

Destroyer of all worlds/marine life/investor capital Brian Hunter has finally touched something that didn't turn to shit (yet...as you know, his genius needs time to percolate). The Peak Ridge Commodity Volatility Fund, which Hunter has been advising since last year, gained 6 percent last month and 103 percent since it was started in November. The success of the fund probably has a lot to do with the fact that Peak Ridge brought Hunter on to do what he does best, i.e. suggest the riskiest trades possible, but retains complete control over trading, operations, and BH's personal favorite, risk management. Hunter has absolutely no decision making authority, though being allowed to speak is apparently a step up from his initial role of potted plant, a pity gig he's rumored to have scored after Solengo lost all its money over legal fees incurred trying to shut down some pissant blog. Early entries are being accepted now on the exact date Hunter blows the ass out of P. Ridge.

Brian Hunter Helps Deliver 49% Return After Demise of Amaranth [Bloomberg]

Steven J. Karavellas, a former director of the New York Mercantile Exchange, pleaded guilty this afternoon to commodities fraud and tampering with evidence. For his role in illegal trading in natural-gas markets between September 2002 and May 2003, in a scheme that defrauded at least one individual investor, Karavellas will pay a $850,000 fine and go to jail for five months. RE the “Brian Hunter” picture: I don't think there's even a tenuous link here, 'cept that they were both natural gas traders. I just love that fish. And Blarney’s gone and I can do whatever I want. While we’re on the subject, I need to hit a quota of Ron jokes for the day/week/month he’s away, and at the time will be officially taking submissions from the field.

7 Charged in NY Mercantile Probe [AP]

In all of the media coverage of that wily Société Générale employee, Jérôme Kerviel, and those $7 billion that were lost in fraudulent trades, no one has pointed out the biggest villain of them all, which is Canada. Since nobody will stand up and rectify that-- the Times, the Journal, the freaking FT-- Canada will just have to be the one to do it. An impassioned plea from reporter Deborah Yedlin in the Calgary Herald implores readers to understand that there are several connections between the tract of land north of Vermont and the Paris-based bank. These nebulous links place the Big C at the scene of the crime, and so help me god, credit will be given where credit is due. 1. SocGen owns a piece of FirstEnergy Capital Corp., which is located in Canada. 2. SocGen was a member of the banking syndicate that financed the building of the Alliance Pipeline back in the late 90s 3. French. French is spoken in both Canada and France, where SocGen's headquarters are. And who among us can argue with this incontrovertible evidence? Yedlin also reminds the crowd that market manipulator Brian Hunter is from Canada, and he was pulling this kind of shit way back in '06. So it's not even like they're new to the scene. To finish off the stirring address extolling Canada's up-and-coming status on the global financial fraud scene, Yedlin tells Canadians to suit up, put their game face on (I know now hockey metaphors -- take out the false teeth?) and get ready to play an even bigger role in the next shithouse fraud; her oratory may well end up the Canadian equivalent of Henry V's Agincourt speech:

"The next time -- and there will undoubtedly be a next time -- a financial crisis of some sort erupts in a far-flung part of the world, we all might be best advised to leave the smug face in the closet. The global reach of the financial world is alive and well in Calgary."

City On Global Finance Map [Calgary Herald]

Not sure how many of you can get the time off, but if you're not doing anything September 26th and 27th, Kobre and Kim LLP founder (and Brian Hunter apologist) Michael Kim will be speaking at C5's 12th Annual Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery conference in London. K&K graciously emailed yesterday to invite us, but, sadly, we will not be able to attend, because we don't want to. If you'd like to go in our place, please send an email to tips at dealbreaker dot com. Ideas for your contribution to the question and answer portion of the program include, "Have you recently sued a small internet company" and all queries must be prefaced with, "As the representative of the fraud-committing community..."

The world’s most famous energy trader has become an investor and a consultant in a new commodities hedge fund managed by Peak Ridge Capital, according to a wire story. Brian Hunter, whose natural gas portfolio blazed and burnt Amaranth Advisors to the ground, had hoped to start his own hedge fund—with the unfortunate name “Solengo”—but has been plagued by legal troubles stemming from Amaranth’s collapse.

Last month Hunter had complained to a federal court an investigation into his alleged market manipulation was driving away Solengo’s directors, traders and potential investors. It looks like he wasn’t pulling the court’s leg. Taking a consulting job with another fund is at the very least a leading indicator that this whole Solengo thing doesn’t seem to be working out.

Peak Ridge Capital is new to the energy trading game. It’s main focus in the past has been in venture capital and real estate. The Peak Ridge Commodity Volatility Fund will focus on natural gas trading, the area where Hunter made and broke his name. According to a press release on Peak Ridge’s website, the fund will be capped at $1 billion. Coincidentally, that is exactly how much Brian Hunter reportedly made for Amaranth after successfully trading 2005’s hurricane season.

Hunter is reportedly kicking $10 million of his own money into the Peak Ridge fund. He could not be reached for comment. Peak Ridge did not immediately return DealBreaker’s phone calls and emails.

Ex-Amaranth Hunter gets job at buyout firm [Financial News]
Peak Ridge Press Release [Peak Ridge website]

Some of us walked to work this morning, because why not, and upon getting into the office remarked to our publisher, “Jesus fuck it’s hot out. Seriously, my jeans are sticking to my body, it’s disgusting. Feel it, it’s so gross.” Sick of listening to our complaining, Publisher, who declined to touch the actual dampness, responded, “Well, genius, that’s what happens when there’s about to be a hurricane. It gets humid out. Hey idiot, I’ve got a tip for you at dealbreaker dot com: try reading a book on weather or taking a science class.”

We took a pass on both suggestions on the basis of a categorical refusal to read books or take science classes, but having little interest in finding out what Bernanks was up to (or not up to), decided to look into this hurricane of which David Minkin spoke. Apparently it doesn’t yet have a name (nomination: Carney, because he likes to see his name in print as often as possible), and by Sunday, could become the seventh Atlantic tropical system of 2007 and the first to affect the East Coast.

Okay, great. But affect us how, we wondered? Do we care about buildings being damaged? No. Subway usage being limited? Not so much—there are these things called cabs. People who might be dispossessed from their homes? Not really. Looting and killing in the streets? No.

We sat at our computer for a while, really having a difficult time relating to/having an interest in something that will probably have no impact on our lives whatsoever (except for the fact that we’ve got plans to get melanoma in Central Park on Sunday, and JC melts when it rains). But then we remembered—some people could stand to make a lot of money off of a hurricane, if—fingers crossed—it’s big enough, and does enough harm. People like John Arnold. And Ken Griffin. And—this is almost too much to bear—Brian Hunter. B-boy! And if B-boy makes (or loses) a lot of money, you know what that means—we get to use the fish picture! Do you know of anyone else who stands to win big (or crash and burn) based on this weekend’s predicted drizzle? And a graphic as awesome as the fish one to go with? Let us know!

Former Amaranth energy trader and current fishing enthusiast Brian Hunter, whose natural gas picks turned out to be so wrong that they lost the hedge fund $6 billion in week, filed an 18-page plea with a federal court in Washington, D.C. on Friday, asking them to stop FERC from looking into his job history. Why? It’s causing all sorts of problems for him at his new place of employment, and not just catty inter-office talk, like “B-bone’s ass looks huge in those pants.” (That was just a for instance. “That picture with the fish was totally staged. Dude’s never caught a guppy in his life” would work, too). According to Hunter, as a direct result of FERC’s investigation into his alleged market manipulation, Solengo has lost fund directors, traders and potential investors.

“The FERC’s OSC has continued to damage Solengo Capital Advisors and the company is now on the brink of complete disintegration,” Hunter noted in a supplemental declaration, and you know he must mean it because this guy never lies. Among the supposed ways Solengo has been victimized by FERC are the fact that two directors of the Solengo Managed Funds resigned on July 25, two portfolio managers who’d previously given their word to join the firm reneged, and the fund has lost an enormous amount of (potential investor) money, though not as much as Brian misplaced at Amaranth (come on now). The filing states that prior to FERC’s (just plain rude) action, 25 investors had plans to fork over $800 million in ‘lengo. The fine wine now counts less than 12 entities with a total of $100 million among them willing to give the fund any money. And—get this—there’ve been no new inquiries since FERC started sticking its nose in other people’s business.

Hunter also jumps in his Delorean and comes back to report in the filing that he may have to walk away from the operation entirely, since Solengo will probably not win the approval of Alberta regulators while his name remains on the box. (Unsolicited: maybe that’s what you should’ve done in the first place? Taken the hundreds of millions that remained in your bank account even after you guessed everything wrong at Amaranth, sat on a beach in the Virgin Islands (or down the shore, whatever) and promised to never trade again, even through E*TRADE Financial? OR, alternatively, used these psychic powers to not blow up your former employer?).

If salty discharge hasn’t appeared around your eyes yet, wait. By Hunter’s estimation, he has invested $1.7 million of his own money and an “enormous amount of [his] time” setting up the fund that may soon just be a distant memory (remembered for getting miffed at us for showing its marketing brochures, which have since been replaced with pictures of puppies in the sun). Anyone need a minute? There's no judgement in this room.

Anyone who’s ever interfaced with a jerk knows that the best of breed have an uncanny ability to turn situations around so that, all of a sudden, they’re accusing *you* of being the prick. Brian Hunter is no exception. In the middle of an interview earlier this year with Washington regulators, everyone’s favorite salmon lover went off for lunch and “never came back.” Just, you know, never came back. Made small talk about the turkey sandwiches from the deli across the street, acted as though he would be returning, like everyone else, and then never came back.

When FERC chairman Joseph Kelliher dared to go public with this information, a spokesman for Hunter said that he "voluntarily flew to the U.S.A. to meet with FERC officials and give an interview. Brian ended the interview when he and his attorney became aware that the FERC had misrepresented the agenda for the discussion." Got that? Not only will the Hunter not be apologizing for unilaterally ending the meeting, but *he,* Brian Hunter is accusing *other people* of pulling the wool over *his* eyes.

The trader who went to lunch and never came back [globe and mail]

This has not been a good week to be Brian Hunter. Yesterday the world’s most famous energy trader got slapped with a lawsuit by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for allegedly manipulating the markets in natural gas futures. This morning, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced that it would seek penalties amounting to $291 million from Brian Hunter, Amaranth Advisors and another trader formerly with the hedge fund.

FERC seeks $30 million from Brian personally. It has assessed penalties of $200 million against Amaranth Advisors, plus $59 million in unjust profits. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this morning laid boot into various Amaranth entities, along with natural gas traders Brian Hunter and Matthew Donohue, seeking “penalties of $200 million for Amaranth, $30 million for Hunter and $2 million for Donohoe. The commission also proposes that Amaranth disgorge more than $59 million in unjust profits, plus interest.

Things could get even worse for Hunter. This morning , for instance, Gary Weiss wonders whether or not Hunter might face jail time. "Hey, I have a question: isn't market manipulation against the law? Don't people go to prison for that? Just wondering. After all, it seems to me that what these guys are talking about is a lot worse than insider trading," Weiss writes.

FERC wants Amaranth, Hunter to pay $291M for manipulation [Market Watch]
Another Regulator Piles on Brian Hunter [Gary Weiss]

The job of a trader is a confluence of responsibilities, essentially limited to executing trades and IMing. Anyone who's ever interfaced with one of God's special creatures through AIM knows such an experience is a guided tour through copious spelling errors, homonym problems that suggest serious learning disabilities, response times that range from jackhammer to 3-hours-later-I'm-still-sitting-here and cockiness as far as the eye can see (*very* occasionally justified, most often not).

So while they're not particularly revealing, it's nice to read through some instant-message conversations between Brian Hunter, Matthew Donohoe, other Amaranth employees and a trader at another firm, who were all included in CFTC's complaint against Hunter y Amaranth, and see that the biggest hedge fund fuckup of all time's "experimental" grammar is no better than his actual trading. Next, we'll publish his IMs with thefish. Those are some quality exchanges not to be missed.

"Brian Hunter simply did not undertake any manipulative trading and we are going to prove it,” said Michael S. Kim. Kim is a partner at the Kobra Kai dojo Kobre & Kim lawfirm that advises Hunter’s new hedge fund, Solengo.

Earlier today the CFTC filed a lawsuit charging that Hunter, who was trading gas for Amaranth at the time, had illegally manipulated the natural gas futures market by exploiting the New York Mercantile Exchange’s rules for determining the settlement price on futures contracts. Prices for futures contracts are set according to the volume-weighted averages of trades executed during between 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on the last day of trading for each contract, a period known as the “closing range.”

According to the CFTC’s lawsuit, Hunter attempted to push the price of the futures contracts down by dumping large amounts of the contracts into the closing range. The complaint states that Amaranth traders would buy up large amounts of gas contracts prior to the closing range, then dump them in order to depress prices. Amaranth wanted lower prices because it held a huge short position in the contracts, the CFTC report alleges.

Hunter’s lawyers say that the contention that Amaranth desired lower prices prices is contradicted by a recent report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which they say concluded that Amaranth sought rises in natural gas futures prices.

“None of these various government bodies can come up with a consistent theory of Mr. Hunter’s alleged misconduct because in fact there was no misconduct” said Mr. Kim, “These accusations from the CFTC and the FERC against Brian Hunter are aimed at finding a scapegoat to bear the public outrage over ever-increasing energy prices. We will not stand idly by as the regulators use Brian for political cover, their action is meritless and we will prove it.”

After our review of confidential trading documents, which you may download here,* DealBreaker has concluded that Brian Hunter should tell us whether he wanted to inflate or deflate the prices in the gas futures markets while he was making these trades. Pointing out that the government is confused, inconsistent and probably abusing its power is a bit like pointing out that the Pope is Catholic. That’s what governments do.

But just because the government is out to get you, doesn’t mean you didn’t do anything wrong. So come on, Brian, give up the goods. Was Amaranth after a higher or a lower price?

*We're totally kidding about those confidential documents. Sorry.

It looks like Brian Hunter is getting his way. Yesterday his lawyers asked a federal court to block an energy regulator, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, from filing a lawsuit against him on the grounds that it was infringing on the jurisdiction of another regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This morning the CFTC responded by filing a civil enforcement action against him and Amaranth Advisors.

Our favorite hedge fund newsletter, FinAlternatives, nicely points out the irony.

Hunter and his lawyers may now regret the vigorous defense of the CFTC’s right to bring such charges they put on in court yesterday and in court filings on Monday. During those proceedings, Hunter’s attorneys argued that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission did not have the authority to bring civil charges against him, as it had said it intended to do. The CFTC and FERC collaborated on the Amaranth investigation.

“FERC is not [emphasis in original] statutorily authorized to regulate futures markets for energy commodities, which include natural gas futures contracts,” Hunter’s lawyers wrote in their complaint against FERC. “FERC’s assertion of jurisdiction to bring an enforcement action is an impermissible encroachment on the exclusive statutory jurisdiction of the CFTC, and is beyond the scope of FERC’s statutory authority to regulate wholesale energy markets.”

A similar lawsuit from FERC is expected to be announced later today.

Amaranth, Hunter Hit With Market Manipulation Charges [FinAlternatives (free registration required)]
Complaint Against Amaranth Advisors and Brian Hunter [pdf]

Brian Hunter has filed suit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday, asking a court to block the regulator from bringing an enforcement action against him. Hunter, of course, needs no introduction to regular readers of DealBreaker. But for those of you new to the site, Hunter (pictured left) is the energy trader whose positions in natural gas futures led to the collapse of Amaranth last year. We have no idea who the guy holding him up is.

Hunter claims that FERC lacks jurisdiction over trading in natural gas futures, which he says falls under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. FERC and the CFTC have been investigating natural gas futures trading at Amaranth.

But Hunter’s boldest claim is probably that his reputation would be damaged by a FERC action.

“If FERC files the unlawful action it contemplates against me, Solengo and I will suffer irreparable injury. The ability of the Solengo Managed Funds to attract potential investors in the future is based primarily on my personal reputation as well as Solengo’s ability to qualify for certain registrations, permits, and other legal arrangements,” Hunter writes in a statement to the court.

Apparently, Hunter believes that his role in destroying Amaranth hasn’t really hurt his personal reputation all that much. But a lawsuit from FERC. How could anyone survive something that big?

Ex-Amaranth Trader Fights Regulator [Wall Street Journal]

While it’s true that Brian Hunter lost a record-setting $6 billion in two weeks, that was other people’s money. He still got to keep the hundreds of millions he earned running the energy trading desk at Amaranth in happier times. And there are rumors that he's raised hundreds of millions from Arab investors to fire up his new hedge fund, Solengo. So we were more than a bit shocked to learn from Greg Newton that Hunter has opened up shop in a worn-down strip-mall on the outskirts of town.

Newton, who mans the helm of the Naked Shorts blog, writes that he took a trip up to Calgary over the weekend to scope out the new space. The Solengo Headquarters are conveniently located a stone’s throw from “George’s Barber Shop” (which is closed indefinitely) and a colon hydrotherapist, according to Newton.

We don't want to ruin a good gag, but we're not sure that any of this took place outside of Newton's head. To begin with, we're pretty sure you can't really open the windows on a G-V. Although DealBook seems convinced it did.

The neighborhood’s gone to hell [Naked Shorts]

Details are emerging about the funds managed by the hedge fund reportedly founded by Brian Hunter, the energy trader who became famous when his natural gas bets helped topple Amaranth Advisors just six months ago. Notable features of the fund they are calling Solengo: quick exits for investors if portfolio managers cross risk control lines and the ability to opt out of funds managed by Brian Hunter himself. (We’re cribbing all this from Ann Davis, the Wall Street Journalreporter who had the cover story interview with Hunter shortly after news broke of Amaranth’s woes. The closest we’ve ever been to Hunter is hearing he ate at Sparks. Maybe he’s pissed about that fish picture.)

One other notable feature: the fund’s founders won’t discuss why they’ve named it after an Italian wine. Which raises the hairs on the back of our neck. These guys are going to make the very name of their fund an inside joke, and they expect you to give them your money? We’re kind of worried that Solengo might also be the name of the best stripper in Calgary.

Trader Behind Amaranth Collapse Launches Fund Focusing on Commodities [Wall Street Journal]

CNBC has just reported that famed Amaranth trader and icthyophile Brian Hunter is starting his own hedge fund to be called “Solengo,” like the wine. Run out of Calgary, Alberta and Greenwich, CT, “Solgengo” is still hiring traders and seeking money for a series of funds across the commodities space, an area that Hunter is still apparently “very comfortable in,” even after that little snafu that happened last year. For “Solengo,” Hunter has wrangled former Amaranth energy traders Shane Lee and Matthew Calhoun, as well as former quantitative analyst for risk management, Karl Koster.

“Solgengo,” potential investors should note, is a wine whose “concentrated aromas of berries and chocolate make the aftertaste last for minutes.” Its color is deep ruby to purple, with a captivating, rich, dense nose, replete with “ripe fruits and sweet spicy aromas. The palate is structured and “temerped by silky tannis.” A sometime wine writer and DB director of beverages notes that “Solengo” is a “California monster,” a description from which there is much to extrapolate: Hubris. Inferiority complex vis-avis better quality European wines. A need to crush everything in its path. And things of that nature.

On a related note, we’ll be starting our own hedge fund in Second Life later this year called Franzia. More info TK.

Trader in Amaranth Failure Starts New Hedge Fund [WSJ]

The energy trader who brought down hedge fund giant Amaranth with his bets on natural gas futures is "said to be planning an energy-focussed hedge fund," according to senior TheStreet.com writer Mark DeCambre. (You might recall that we reported this rumor back when Brian Hunter was allegedly spotted in New York City's Sparks in February.)

So who are Hunter's new sugar daddies?

The planned venture is said to have been seeded with around $750 million to $800 million, from primarily Middle East investors.

Now this makes sense: those "Middle East" types often come from countries that sit atop the Western world's oil supply and might be very interested in diversifying their portfolio with a fund centered around alternative energy strategies.

But we can't help recalling that in Liar's Poker whenever traders couldn't explain the movement of the markets, they blamed the Arabs. Mike Lewis calls it the "logical lie" because it kind of makes sense and is basically irrefutable.

"I spent much of my life inventing logical lies like this. Most of the time when markets move, no one has any idea why. A man who can tell a good story can make a good living as a broker. It was the job of people like me to make up reasons, to spin a plausible yarn. And it's amazing what people will believe. Heavy selling out of the Middle East was an old standby. Since no one ever had any clue what the Arabs were doing with their money or why, no story involving the Arabs could ever be refuted. So if you didn't know why the dollar was falling, you shouted something about the Arabs."

Amaranth's Hunter Tries Again [TheStreet.com]

We wouldn't recognize Brian Hunter if we stole a cab from him on Water Street at four a.m. Our famous picture (see left) of Brian Hunter being held aloft by a friend is even more famously unhelpful for figuring out what the guy looks like. We haven't been able to find any confirmed pictures of the Amaranth energy trader whose bets on natural gas futures brought down what was once the "biggest hedge fund you've never heard of."

But apparently not everyone is as ignorant as we are. And some of those "in the know" folks are our readers. One writes in with a totally unconfirmable sighting of Hunter in New York City. And so, of course, we would be totally irresponsible to actually go ahead and publish such an unconfirmed report. But we're doing it anyway. 'Cause this is DealBreaker.

So here's the scenario. It's Sparks, the midtown steakhouse where mobsters go to get killed and women go to meet the kind of guys who want to eat steak in the kind of place where mobsters go to get killed. Dinner. The man who is allegedly Brian Hunter (known for the rest of this piece simply as "Hunter") is seated with an unknown group of financial types. Everyone orders steak.

Except "Hunter." Shocking our source, "Hunter" completely eschews the steak. Instead he goes with four orders of mac & cheese. That's right. On his first reported appearance in public, "Hunter" ate at a steakhouse and ate no steak.

Of course there are all sorts of questions responsible reporters would ask. We just aren't sure what they are. Our question: what is "Hunter" doing in New York? Who were those carnivores seated with him? For several weeks there have been rumors that Hunter was talking to investors about starting his own fund. But we'd heard those were mostly Europeans. Maybe New York money still wants to own a bit of Brian.

[Note: we love these people spotting tips. Please send more to tips@dealbreaker.com. Anyone whose name DealBreaker readers would or should recognize is fair game, and the more mundane the activity the better. We'll totally protect your anonymity. We'll even send Bess Levin to jail, Judy Miller style, rather than give you up to the authorities.]

Previously on Brian Hunter [DealBreaker Archives]

Winner: Ken Griffin -- The Amaranth Advisors LLC corpse was still warm when Griffin took advantage of the hedge fund's disastrous $6 billion loss to scoop up its distressed natural gas, crude oil and power positions. With Amaranth investors still reeling from the devastating plunge and founder Nick Maounis scrambling to offer an explanation, Griffin's Citadel hedge fund enjoyed a 3% bounce within weeks. Thank you ...
Loser: Brian Hunter -- The wily Canadian energy trader for Amaranth was the envy of everyone on Wall Street with his bold bets on natural gas reaping $2 billion in profits in just over half a year. But what a difference a month of sunshine and no hurricanes makes. Hunter went from hero to goat in the span of about two weeks, delivering a loss the likes of which has not been seen since the legendary Long Term Capital Management implosion of 1998.

Related:
Winner: MarketWatch, for this Ted Haggard-inspired tour de force, "Come on, what's a handshake and few drinks among friends? OK, if we're splitting hairs, it was more like a rubdown from a gay whore."

Winners & losers
Commentary: Piles of cash, pop culture, hardware wars [Market Watch]