September was a difficult month for the New Star Hidden Value Fund, which fell 19.7%* while the FTSE All-Share Total Return Index lost 13.2%*. Only 10 FTSE 100 Index companies were up while the poor performers list was dominated by financial and mining stocks. The 61% fall in HBOS made it the worst performer and marked the death knell for its independence. One bank that bucked the trend was HSBC, which has a relatively strong balance sheet.Small companies were particularly hard hit, with the FTSE AIM 100 Total Return Index falling 27.3%#, taking its decline over the first nine months of 2008 to 41.8%#. The worst performers in the AIM 100 index were mining and oil exploration and production companies but property stocks were also weak.Within the portfolio there were few gainers although Nautical Petroleum, a North Sea exploration and production company, did move ahead. It spudded its Kraken appraisal well on 21 September, a move that analysts said increased the upside potential for the share price.The main disappointment was Central African Mining, a diversified mining group with assets across the Sub-Saharan region. The shares fell more than 50% in response to the falling copper price although the price of the group's other main product, cobalt, remained firm. The other laggards were resource companies.The White House's $700 billion bailout of the US financial industry must work to stop the system grinding to a halt. It was followed by coordinated global interest rate cuts in early October.
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