* Hedge funds’ hit as Shire slumps * John Paulson and Paul Singer have stakes in Shire LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Some of the world’s best known hedge funds lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the value of the stock they hold as Shire plunged after AbbVie’s decision to reconsider its $55 billion bid for the British healthcare group. Data from Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulatory body showed that no fund had a major “short” position of more than 0.5 percent, indicating that most hedge funds were confident of the deal’s success.