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It's a good thing hedge fund manager Dan Loeb sold off his carriage house a couple of months ago and is now renting out his jet on an hourly basis. Despite some peppiness on his part, these are clearly tough times for the notoriously temperamental hedge funder. According to his most recent letter to investors, Loeb's firm, Third Point, is currently managing just $1.8 billion, down from more than $5 billion a year ago. And he's been forced to cut staff, too, although the people he kicked to the curb were accountants, techies, and admins, so it's not like it's a big deal or anything. Of course, if he gets really desperate, there are other ways to cut the fat. He could vow to never give fameseeker Julia Allison another free trip on his plane, starters. See? Scaling back in a recession isn't that hard, after all. [Zero Hedge]