GSO Capital Partners, the credit division of alternative asset giant Blackstone, has raised $6.5 billion for its third mezzanine fund, making it one of the largest vehicles of its kind....

This money is too hot for traditional US bankers to handle — with its breathtaking size in dollars — but the much-maligned hedge fund industry can’t ignore it. These hedgies are looking to jump into corporate lending in an attempt to corner a market estimated at as much as $500 billion in capital needs. It’s a sum that could threaten the financial system with huge investor losses, bankruptcies and job losses as signs of economic trouble appear, experts say. “The banks are not allowed to make these loans anymore,” said Dick Bove, a bank industry analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets....

An insidious relationship has developed between the largest private equity firms, the banks that lend them billions to fund buyouts, and the law firms that advise on these deals.

In a recent update I gave six signs of an impending crash. Just today we have a number of those signs starting to hit. Despite a $486 billion fund to prop up its market, China’s stocks sunk another 8.5% on Monday – the biggest one-day drop since 2007. This is following a 35% crash into early July. Now, after bouncing back up to 4,200, the Shanghai Composite is down to 3,750. If it falls another 10% to below its recent low of 3,374, that will be the decisive blow – for us and them. I say this because China is my No. 1 indicator for a global market crash. If – not, when! – its stock bubble continues to burst, real estate will be on its heels. Because China owns so damn much of it, falling real estate prices will be the single biggest trigger for the global markets. Europe’s in bad shape too. The DAX in Germany just started to crash again down 2.56% to below 11,100 today – down over 10% from the top! It’s showing little sign of reaching a new high. Overall the broader European markets are nowhere near their 2007 highs. Measured by the Stoxx 50 (FEZ ETF), they’re down 41% – even with the recent bounce! As for U.S. stocks, they seem to be imploding from within! Even though the Nasdaq hit new highs recently, the advance/decline line didn’t. That means more stocks went down than up, even though the most aggressive market hit a high! That’s an extreme bearish sign showing that investors have gotten very selective in the final stages of this bull market. Another important divergence in U.S. markets is that the Dow did not make new highs – most notably, Dow transport stocks. Then there’s biotech, the leading sector of the bubbling tech stocks, which is also taking a near 2% hit today. With the way stocks are selling off, I expect we’ll see a bounce in the coming weeks. I even think we could see China’s Shanghai index bounce to between 4,300 and 4,500. But I do not expect that bounce will reach new highs. When they fail to achieve that, it will signal the final top. Finally, the greatest near-term threat that will wreak havoc on American soil will be the death of the fracking industry. Just last week, oil broke below $50. Today, it fell to a four-month low of $47.39. That means last year’s $42 low is likely on its way, and $32 after that. Most experts keep saying oil will be back to $70 to $80 by the end of the year. Not us! Oil will keep falling. It will force the frackers out of business. And when they default on the $600 billion in junk bonds and leveraged loans they’ve used to fund their drilling, it’ll be like the next subprime crisis in the U.S.! Oil’s down. Stocks are down. Gold too. It’s all coming to pass! Now more than ever, it’s critical that you equip yourself with the necessary strategies to survive the onslaught ahead. It’s coming, likely fast. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you as the markets continue to topple. Find a strategy that suits you, stick to it, and breathe. We will keep you updated… But the great crash ahead looks more and more imminent.  Join the conversation about this story »

In its effort to limit leveraged loans, the government is finding once again that regulating the financial industry is like a game of Whac-a-Mole, with new unregulated players popping up to fill the ...

Last week, BlackRock announced that it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire the Mexico-based independent infrastructure investment firm Infraestructura Institucional.

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management agreed to research and develop an investment offering, according to a statement today from the Columbia business at Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) Class A sha...

“Leveraged finance is a key business…and one where we see significant growth opportunities in the future,” said William Vereker, UBS’s head of corporate client solutions in EMEA, and Brendan Connolly...

By the middle of 2013, the Blackstone Group LP (BX) dealmaker had his shot. Pressured by regulators to boost capital under new rules, the bank started looking for investors to take pieces of Rothesay Life Ltd., the insurer that Loudiadis heads in London.

There is a philosophical tug-of-war waging within the leveraged credit market today. This debate pulls at the very tenets of the leveraged loan asset class and raises questions of how investors should interpret, analyze and, possibly, recalibrate their investment approach to leveraged loans.