Ticker Talk

John Meriwether, founder of controversial Long-Term Capital Management, is trying to raise $1 billion for a new hedge fund, according to people who have spoken with the fund’s partners. Meriwether and five of his current partners plan to set up the new fund, JWM Partners, by November. The venture comes 14 months after a group of lenders injected $3.6 billion into Long-Term Capital, rescuing it from $4 billion of losses incurred during last year’s rout in global financial markets. . . .

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Gabelli Asset Management opened the Gabelli Blue Chip Value Fund on Wednesday to invest in out-of-favor stocks. Top holdings include Allstate, Cendant, Mattel and GM’s Hughes Electronics unit. Barbara Marcin, who arrived in May from Citigroup’s fund-management unit, manages the fund, which opened with $100,000 in seed money. . . .

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Shoe and clothing-accessory designer Kenneth Cole Productions said it plans to buy back as many as 1 million shares, or about 7% of its shares outstanding, as it completed the sale of a similar stake to Liz Claiborne. On Wednesday, Kenneth Cole shares rose 50 cents to close at $35.13 on the New York Stock Exchange. . . .

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Lehman Bros. is set to sell $309 million of securities backed by $185 million of so-called “reverse” mortgage loans, the first such sale in the U.S. Reverse mortgage loans carry no regular payment obligation and are made to homeowners 62 years and older.