Red Kite hedge fund comes a copper

Red Kite Metals, a hedge fund run by RK Capital Management Ltd. of London, lost 22% in November as metals prices fell, according to published reports. The fund, which was co-founded by Michael Farmer who once ran the world's largest copper-trading company, has posted losses of 50% this year, contrasting the roughly 190% return in 2006, said unnamed investors in a Bloomberg report. Red Kite had more than $1 billion under management as recently as September, but as investors saw the early performance numbers, many were said to have become nervous, according to a Reuters report. Traders in metals markets said there was talk that Red Kite, known to have a bulk of its investments in copper, had been selling physical stocks of the red metal to honor investors who wanted out, according to the report. Copper prices fell 9.4% in trading on the London Metal Exchange last month as inventories gained and traders speculated that a slowing U.S. economy will curb demand, according to the Bloomberg report.