HEDGE FUNDS PILE BACK INTO STOCKS Hedge funds bought global equities for a second straight week, reversing a sharp risk reduction in late July, according to Goldman Sachs. Gross trading activity rose at the fastest pace in seven weeks, with long buying outpacing short sales 1.4-to-1. Single stocks saw net buying for the first time in a month, while materials led sector demand amid the strongest short-covering wave in nearly two years.(*Walter Bloomberg)