Fairfax takes a $1bn+ Q4 investing loss exiting hedges

Fairfax Financial, in the middle of raising cash to buy Allied
World Assurance for almost $5bn, reported a net investment loss
that topped $1bn in the fourth quarter, erasing an operating profit
mainly derived from its insurance subsidiaries.
Fairfax closed out all its defensive equity hedges and reduced
the duration of its bond holdings to about one year to adjust to
rapid, fundamental changes in the US economy in the fourth quarter,
chairman and CEO Prem Watsa said in a...