Hedge trim

Hedge funds lost 18.3 percent in 2008, their worst year on record, as managers misjudged the severity of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. A gain of 0.42 percent in De cember lessened the av erage loss for the full year, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.’s HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index.

Less credit

Consumer borrowing dropped by a record $7.9 billion in November as Americans scrambled to boost savings in face of the deepening recession and amid an investor exo dus from securities backed by credit-card and other loans. Consumer credit was down to $2.57 trillion, for the first back- to-back monthly declines since 1992, the Fed said.

Lehman

Bankrupt Lehman Brothers is poised to sell a $3.3 billion merchant- banking fund to the man agers overseeing the unit for an undisclosed price, sources said. Lehman’s bankruptcy estate would retain stakes in the fund’s previous investments after the buyout.

Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market posted its biggest gain in Nasdaq trading since going public 17 years ago after Ron Burkle’s Yu caipa Cos. disclosed a 7 percent stake in the company. Whole Foods climbed $2.26, or 23 per cent, to $12.27.

Fund flows

US investors pulled a record $205.5 billion from stock mutual funds in 2008 as they fled the worst equity market in seven decades, research firm Morningstar said.