Briefs

by John Temple Ligon

Hedge funds, cont'd.

Three years ago, managers of the top 25 hedge funds earned about $250 million each. Two years ago, they brought home close to $350 million each. Last year, managers of the top 25 hedge funds earned a total of $15 billion, which is about $600 million each.

Europeans wheeling and dealing

So far this year, the value of mergers and acquisitions announced in Europe is $656.4 billion, compared with $601.4 billion in the United States, according to Thomson Financial.

Will USC baseball stadium make it?

Opening game next baseball season for the Gamecocks is Feb. 22, 2008, which means the new $28 million stadium must be completed in less than 10 months. Demolition and site preparation have begun, and construction can be under way by June.

Does she or doesn't she?

The dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was exposed recently for lying about her personal academic credentials for the three decades she's been at M.I.T. Claiming degrees from three upstate New York institutions, the dean was found to have no degrees from any of the three or from anywhere else. She resigned in late April.

Sanford pitches in

S.C. Governor Mark Sanford recently helped attract a crowd to a luncheon to benefit the United Negro College Fund. He was the keynote speaker. The luncheon raised $75,000.

Laurens goes straight

Laurens Street is getting straightened out by city workers. Soon the street's intersection with Greene Street will be aligned, and the railroad crossing will be installed with automated road- crossing arms, preventing the need for trains to blow their horns.

Barnes raising

The Barnes Foundation is about to begin design of its new 120,000- square- foot museum building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. The foundation must first choose its favorite architect among a list of five: Tadao Ando from Osaka, Japan; Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York; Kengo Kuma, Tokyo; Rafael Moneo, Madrid; Thom Mayne/Morphosis, Los Angeles; and Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, New York. The Columbia Museum of Art went through a similar process for its building at the corner of Hampton and Main, and the lowest architectural fee was the deciding factor.

Insurance for the coast

Governor Sanford warns against following the example of Florida and its state- run insurer, Citizen's Property Insurance. Sanford prefers the private route, pushing for free- market reforms to attract carriers to S.C.

St. Patrick's Day does Five Points

With a total take of $795,000 from its St. Patrick's Day festival, the Five Points Association spent $377,000, leaving a profit of $418,000. The profits came with help from the city, $232,000 in city accommodations and hospitality taxes.

The Festival of the Arts does Columbia

The 11- day schedule of performances and exhibitions, most of which were already scheduled a year earlier and listed in the January 7 edition of the local daily newspaper, doesn't project a profit. Like mass transit, it's something necessary and shouldn't show a profit. The city contributed $250,000, and the county contributed $50,000. There was at least another $300,000 in private contributions. By bundling the 11 days on the calendar and calling it a festival, Mayor Bob Coble declares the occasion "the most important cultural event in this city's history."

Jasper County port

The S.C. House of Representatives voted to authorize the State Ports Authority to take the lead in the new port in Jasper County on the Savannah River. The bill was sent to Governor Sanford for his signature.

Smart kids

The S.C. Council on Economic Education (SCCEE) and Merrill Lynch will host the SCCEE's 18th Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday, May 11, 2007. The event will honor more than 200 public, private, and home school youths who have demonstrated keen financial know- how and outstanding entrepreneurial skills. Call Donna Windham, SCCEE, 777-2968.

You must be rich

Intelligence has little to do with being rich according to a new study from Ohio State University. The theory is the unusually clever are more likely to take financial risks. Overconfidence can come from being the smartest one in the room.