The vast majority of family offices -- private companies that manage investments and trusts for a single wealthy family -- is happy with their private equity investments and want more. According to a new report from alternate investment research firm Preqin, 84% of family offices are satisfied with investments in private equity, and 69% are "willing to consider forming relationships with new firms, as of year-end 2009." The opportunity for new inflows, of course, comes with some baggage, as 27% of offices require tighter, more personal relationships with the fund managers with whom they invest.

One of the top performers in the U.S. growth fund sector has lost his appetite for tech. Jerry Jordan has booted almost all his Apple (AAPL) holdings from his portfolio, and he's done the same with Google (GOOG). Both, Jordan says, have become too expensive. In fact, he's getting out of almost all U.S. and European tech companies for that reason -- and is turning his attention to China.

Jordan tells Reuters, "The growth [in China] is much faster, it's much more of a green field opportunity."

It's not exactly a shock, but tangible confirmation is always nice. Alternative investment research firm Preqin found in a recent survey that institutional investors are happier with their hedge fund returns now than they were a year ago. But, the gaps between happy and sad aren't as wide as you might expect.

A September 2009 survey of institutional investors revealed that 62% say "hedge fund returns have met expectations," compared to 53% in October 2008, when the market was consumed by all kinds of calamity. Only 11% responded this year that "hedge funds have exceeded expectations," which is up slightly from last year's 9%. Remember, though the market hit its worst late last year, the problem was building momentum for a while. Participants who do not feel that hedge funds have hit the mark shrank from 38% last year to 27% this year. And 66% are confident or very confident that their hedge fund investments will reach their objectives.

Twitter is on the brink of nabbing another $100 million in financing, according to the New York Times. This would value the company at $1 billion, bringing back memories of outrageous valuations without corresponding revenue.

Insight Venture Partners and T. Rowe Price are said to be involved in the transaction, which would put them with Spark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners as investors in the popular microblogging site.

August 2007. You remember the month.

Oil had zoomed through $70 on its way to almost $100 by year's end, and soon there were research reports arguing that oil would top $150 or even $200 in the year ahead, on surging global economic growth.

Few knew it then, but the month also marked the start of the subprime mortgage default problem -- first deemed isolated, then sector-wide in scope, and that now encompasses every corner of the globe, in the world's most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Concern over the credit crunch and an accompanying slowdown in global economic growth sent oil prices below $70 Thursday for the first time since August 2007, with crude plunging $5.04 to $69.50 at mid-day. Oil has now fallen 53% since hitting an all-time high of $147.27 per barrel in July.

The other major energy commodities also continued their nearly month-long downtrend. Heating oil fell 11 cents to $2.07 per gallon, unleaded gasoline plunged 17 cents to $1.61 per gallon, and natural gas fell 6 cents to $6.65 per million BTUs.

Some investors/readers -- and certainly casual observers of the stock market in towns small and large -- have been perplexed by the turn of events that has led to the current state of affairs in these United States: namely how and why does the U.S. government need to pass a $700 billion bailout/intervention bill to end a financial crisis in the U.S., possibly globally?

While numerous economic, regulatory, and behavioral factors created the conditions that formed the basis for the crisis, economist Richard Felson told BloggingStocks that the imminent failure of insurance giant American International Group (NYSE: AIG), in his view, "was the flashpoint at which both [U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson and [U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben] Bernanke realized that a case-by-case, reactive policy would not be adequate to check the building financial storm."

No AIG, massive exposure

Felson pointed out that at least a portion of hedge fund trades -- and the trades of other financial institutions -- are predicated on the assumption that mortgage-backed securities are good/have value, or, if not, that the insurance behind these securities is in force as a result of policies written by AIG. When it became clear that AIG did not have the assets/resources to pay claims, it was necessary for the U.S. government to take over AIG via a $85 billion loan from the U.S. Federal Reserve for warrants for a 79.9% stake in the company.