Hedge Funds Frozen Shut

There's a chill spreading across the hedge fund industry. With more portfolios falling victim to the credit crunch, managers by the dozen are freezing investor redemptions, preventing a mad rush to the exits that would force funds to sell beaten-down assets to raise cash. But is this unprece­dented move just postponing the day of reckoning for funds and the market? Since November at least 24 hedge funds have barred or limited investors from taking their money out, tying up tens of billions of dollars for an indefinite period.