Hedge Fund Meltdown Pressuring Luxury Goods Market

Date: Friday, January 23, 2009
Author: Audit Integrity

Audit Integrity has compiled a list of companies catering to the affluent that it thinks are at most risk as a result of the meltdown of hedge funds.

In 2008, hedge funds lost $350 billion globally. “It would not surprise us if an additional $750 billion evaporates over the next 12 months,” Audit Integrity says.

The four companies catering to the affluent that have the highest corporate responsibility risk are Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), and Talbots (NYSE: TLB) Other famous names with high Accounting & Governance Risk (AGR) ratings include Coach (NYSE: COH) and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF). Standard & Poor’s downgraded Harley’s debt to BBB+ on Jan 16.

Exposed companies that have more conservative ratings and therefore are at lesser risk in Audit Integrity’s view includeRoyal Caribbean (NYSE: RTL) , Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) and Callaway Golf(NYSE ELY).

Follow this link for the complete list: