Additional detail on Amaranth

The Amaranth losses were worse than reported in the Times, at least that's all one can conclude from this Wall Street Journal report ($).

The fund, based in Connecticut, told investors in a letter yesterday that it ran into a nasty patch in September, with its energy-trading desk losing $5 billion in about a week. Its assets under management have dropped to $4.5 billion, from $9 billion at the start of September.

The peak to trough loss this year was 57%, and the firm could be forced to unwind positions in other markets as well. On the other hand, several hedge funds have handsome returns in the same markets that burned Amaranth, according to the report.