This story is fraught with PR lessons. Recall that hedge fund Eliot Management, run by Paul Singer, embarked on a widely publicized, self-described "witch hunt" in search of the employee, investor or whoever it was that leaked a memo containing confidential performance numbers to the hedge fund magazine Absolute Return +Alpha.

Apparently the firm has given up the hunt "because developments since the application was filed made the discovery unnecessary," reports the New York Post.

It's unclear what happened. Perhaps the fund found the leaker and extracted its pound of flesh. But more likely cooler heads prevailed and some PR professionals were able to reason with Singer.

You really have nothing to gain by going after leakers. Leaking is a grand tradition on Wall Street; the practice will not end anytime soon.

But its reasonable for the company to embark on an educational mission, especially regarding employees and limited partners. In most cases, there is no conspiracy to harm the company, just some people trying to be helpful to journalists who don't understand that some information should be guarded.

For more:
- here's the article

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