Hedge fund liquidations worldwide outpaced starts for seven consecutive quarters through June. : New York: John Burbank’s Passport Capital, which shot to fame for its lucrative bet against sub-prime housing ahead of the global financial crisis, will shutter its flagship hedge fund after returns slumped.The fund’s “returns over the past two years are unacceptable and cause me to rethink how to manage money in this environment,” Burbank wrote in a December 11 letter to investors, the contents of which were first reported in the Wall Street Journal.