Stephen Hancock

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the Cayman Islands by Simon Whicker and Theo Bullmore, as the Foreign Representatives of Univest Multi-Strategy Fund II Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the Bahamas by Clifford Johnson and Wayne Aranha, as the Foreign Representatives of Globe-X Management Limited and Globe-X Canadiana Limited, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Nassau-based Cardinal International Fund Services Ltd. was due to exit the fund administration business effective December 31, 2004, in the midst of an investigation by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas. Cardinal unexpectedly announced its plans to close within weeks in late 2004. In announcing the decision, the firm's Chairman, Stephen Hancock, claimed the Board of Directors "had concluded that the economic outlook for fund administration both internally and as a jurisdiction created insufficient comfort to warrant the continuation of the business". However, the abrupt nature and timing of the closure announcement indicated there were other reasons.

A new mutual fund that uses a proprietary, automated trading model to invest in futures has been established in the Bahamas. Flexus Futures Fund Ltd. was incorporated in the Bahamas on December 2, 1999 and was this month licensed as