The path of the financial manager and CFO since the mid 1990s is littered with trash and rotten ideas.
Hedges funds are one of my favorite topics. Today's Financial Times brings more news that they are completely bereft of value. Citadel closes the exit gates, keeping investors' money until March. And innumerable hedge funds and funds of funds have lost money to Madoff's scam. It is simply amazing they never bothered to do any serious "due diligence". The laziness of the greedy and arrogant investment managers, lenders and the investors themselves seems endless. Investment and lending departments of major banks such as BNP and RBS seem to be victims; Man Financial, a major fund of funds plus numerous Greenwich-based funds were defrauded.
The Wall Street CFO shows his ignorance, too. The WSJ reports that Goldman, Sachs spent $26.5 billion on stock buybacks in the four years to the third quarter of 2008, which is not far from its current market capitalization of $27.6 billion. Many, many CFOs were culpable: members of the S&P 500 spend $1.7 trillion on stock buybacks in those four years. All buying at much higher prices than now, virtually wasting that huge sum. Current shareholders bear the burden of that outlay. Imagine the financial strength of those companies if their management had not been so foolishly greedy.
Markets
Charter rates for Capesize vessels jumped considerably as Chinese iron ore demand revived a bit. There were rumors of that last week as dry shipping stocks rose considerably. The rumors were true.
I am still working on Santa's list.
Word of the Day
"Welkin" - noun [$10] poetic
Welkin means the sky, the upper air.
Sentence: Now it is perfectly clear that the sophisticated hedge fund managers, CFOs and investment advisors mostly have simply been selling the welkin, not any sort of reality.
About Me
- Bunkerman
- I have a pioneer mentality. My wife & I live in the woods - neighbors aren't visible except slightly in winter. Our "bunker" - hehe, really a fine home & barn - has plenty of security. We have four dogs: Krypto (age 9, Kelpie), Ava (age 13, Rat Terrier), Sky (Kelpie, age 5) and Lucky Star (age 1, kelpie). I don't take crap from anyone anymore, having enough resources & gear stocked up to survive in any circumstance. I have three degrees from Harvard including a Ph. D. in a physical science, and an MS in Management from MIT. I worked as an investment banker for about 25 years, mainly in secured finance, at three major Wall Street firms and for the last 17 years with my partners at our own firm. I'm semi-retired now, managing some private corporations and business interests and doing my own trading & investing. This is not to boast, but to give you an idea I know a little about some subjects from experience. The photo is my 1943 M16 half-track which I am restoring. These armored vehicles were ubiquitous in the US Army in World War II and Korea. It's driveable.
45 comments:
huh ?? laziness and arrogance ?? is that exclusively a 'dumb rich' character ??
when was the last time you went to a carnival Bman?? 3 card monte is a very popular game amongst the 'common man'
coaching football at iowa state only leads to bigger things
cyclone head coach gene chizum new top gun at auburn
Bman you see the article in the journal on the ultra-etf's??
lolol very true, Bud - not jsut a rich man's phenomena
BUT the poor don't get paid for it.
yes, those ultra ETFs are a disaster.
Since they're a walking, talking evasion margin rules and trading rules, I don't see why they are permitted, except that the SEC people are being paid off with lucrative jobs.
Frosty sent me a story about how the computerized trading and loss of a central market is causing the huge increases in volatility. Plus all the derivatives, no short selling rules, etc.
I think these huge swings at the close are robbing the common man trying to exchange a mutual fund - those get priced at the close.
www.firetomcoughlin.com
seriously that guy has got to go.
loses to fat andy. next a completely disfunctional cowgirlz team, led by wade "don call me bum" phillips.
plax more important than we thought? guess they need jacobs, too.
panthers look like the team to beat, imo.
NO MUSHING MY PANTHERS!!!
Leave us under the radar
running errands all AM ... spending money ... supporting economy ... like a Patriot
Tommy Bowden back in Ames this morning.
CitigroupCitigroupCitibank
Citi - UAE
Region-wide | Financial Services
News | Profile | Officers
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Incorporated has arranged more than $8 billion (Dh29.3 billion) finance for various Dubai government entities in recent months, the global banking group said.
So Citigroup takes from the TARP and invests in Dubai? nice use of the common man's funds....
Turner Gill turns down cyclone alley
good.......i'll take tommy over turner anyday
afterall.......turner gill is a moon-cricket......they have a 'lo iq'
The Volatility Jig
8:57 AM EST
The regular 5% swings have to stop.
Bunky must be back in the tank, taking a cue from jim...Bunky, do you have no shame sir.
How the heck can a football coach win at iowa State? trying to recruit against the Texas schools, Oklahoma schools...and even a lot of the Big Ten schools...seems almost impossible...
tellya what.... come play here.... and .....all the corn you can eat....sound good??
Bunky...your boys at GS out this morning attempting to hack away at the markets flegling leadership with downgrades T VZ AAPL etc...why not just say "we are the wrong side of the trade coming into the quad bitch friday"
if u can dodge a shoe, u can dodge a ball.................
atta boy dubya!
rofl
Bunkerman why not write some December options against your DRYS position? implied vols trading over 200, which is simply insane...the 12.5 call is .70 bid with 4 1/2 days to go....what say you?
looked like a 2 seamer buster browm...didnt turn it over...kinda sailed on him
if he wants to make it to Triple A Mosul.....he better focus
lol
"Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd."
- Benjamin Graham
frosty, I can't help it if "he" reads my blog ... imitiation is the sincerest form of flattery.
I figured he did, as Bud is always brown-nosing him here
;))
I don't have the psychology for writing calls ... If the stock got to 12, I'd worry the stock was going to 20 and would cover and then lose money.
I dislike writing puts, too.
super beefer GS earnings tomorrow? when do we start buying men?
Secada reports like crazy on John Adams....House of Saddam????...nutten..pfftttt
give me a f'ng break !!!
brownosing.......i have never been accused by anyone who knows me of that.......in fact i have often been accused of the opposite
ungrateful unappreciative rude etc.......
floridaazzhole indeed
PS.......great job this morning......thanks jim !!!!!
you guys are a bunch a sore and bitter f'ng losers
Bunkerman threw a knuckler that landed 10 feet in front of the plate, and this kid Bud is swatting at it like he's playing intramural softball at Iowa State....
steee-riiii-kkeeee one....
sheesh, and I even told him the pitch was coming with that ";)"
that's a wink, Bud ;)
hmmmm there does seem to be some sensitivity about that topic re "him"
;)
if you have a brown nose and stick it someones aaazzz, is it then a double brown nose...just thinken.
On a busy news day for the Phillies, lefthander Jamie Moyer has agreed to a 2-year contract to return. The deal took much longer than anticipated to get done, with the second year seemingly being a sticking point.
imvho, his arm falls off in spring training.
i luv the guy, but a 2 yr deal, for a 46 yr old.................
bob just remember, it the mariners yr, in 2009.
merny ...ya better drop about 15 more teams name so ya can say..."I told-----------ya---------soooooooooooo"
i just hope the iggles lose tonight, so i can bitch at how much i hate fat andy.
if they win the next 2 games, ill be simply miserable for festivus!
i just got my bonus from jp morgan.
ive been enrolled in the donut of the month club, from dunkin donuts.
1 donut a month for all of 2009.
and my peers said there wudnt be a bonus this yr......
IDIOTS!
2009 world series odds
Boston Red Sox 11/2
New York Yankees 6/1
Chicago Cubs 15/2
Los Angeles Angels 17/2
New York Mets 13/1
Philadelphia Phillies 13/1
Los Angeles Dodgers 15/1
Cleveland Indians 16/1
Tampa Bay Rays 16/1
Arizona Diamondbacks 18/1
Detroit Tigers 18/1
Chicago White Sox 22/1
Minnesota Twins 25/1
Florida Marlins 30/1
St. Louis Cardinals 30/1
Toronto Blue Jays 30/1
Atlanta Braves 34/1
Colorado Rockies 35/1
Houston Astros 40/1
Milwaukee Brewers 45/1
Cincinnati Reds 50/1
San Francisco Giants 50/1
Oakland Athletics 55/1
Texas Rangers 60/1
San Diego Padres 65/1
Baltimore Orioles 75/1
Kansas City Royals 75/1
Pittsburgh Pirates 75/1
Seattle Mariners 75/1
Washington Nationals 75/1
come on frosty get on that bandwagon NOW!
rays were 75 to 1 last yr.
griffey resigns and the mariners win 116 games like in 20001.
i saw obama when his odds were almost that bad. but i actually bet on that one.
;-)
oops i got drunk at the office xmas party. one of the peeps i work with is a creationist. i swear, all of em, r just so ignorant (creationist).
the 40 yr old dumped me
:-(
damn!
thought you said you were fired Costanza????
i was told to stop doing my job, 6 weeks ago.
i am george costanza!
im supposedly being retrained right now.
i shud have about 12 hours of intense training by today.
its been about 3 hours so far.
im repairing my home, and putting in the market in jan.
if it sells in the first 3 to 5 weeks, great, and costa rica here i come!
if it doesnt, ill take it off the market and just sit here until they can me or give something else.
i just wish my boss understood she is way tooooooo busy to train me. ive been saying that since june.
again, today, is the worst day of my life.
gets better, the 4th grader im trying to help out, get expelled on friday from the 4th grade.
i was doing basic math with him yesterday. he is 10, and shud be in the 5th grade. he cant multiply 6 times 7, yet. he can barely write his name.
i really tried to beat it into his dumb head that school is the only way he wont turn into the loser his father is. then i said "unless u plan on being a professional athlete or musician" that got him nodding his head, yep "IM GONNA be a star!"
this country, truly makes me sick. maybe its just a southern thing, but im sick of debating the earth is 14,000 yrs old. im tired of kids who feel so entitled to the american dream, they think school is stupid.
almost makes me wish the south won the civil war and we were 2 seperate countrys!
i really tried to beat it into his dumb head that school is the only way he wont turn into the loser his father is.
did you really say that?.....thats a violation of Star Fleets prime directive sir
i asked him yesterday, do u like your dad.
the answer almost made me cry.
it mite be the only thing that motivates him.
do u want to be like your father?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
well guess what, u r already headed in that direction, and u r only 10. trust me, the decisions u make today will affect u when u become an adult.
i dont have the time, but he needs a real male role model. i hang with him on weekends, and he is just so lost, already.
i cant figure do i break him down further and then build him back up. or is he already at a bottom and just needs to be constantly coached up.
and the way he eats, i seriously wonder if he is totally underfed at home.
he just doesnt understand anything.
its totally jacked up!!!!!!!!
you dont trash the dad.....what happens when you get bored of being big brother or ship off to Costa Rica???...whose he got left?? for better or worse... his dad.....your hearts in the right place...help the kid all ya want....but tellin a 10 yr ol his dads a douche aint cool...lol
let me explain further.
i asked him a few questions about his father and he just threw him under the bus, BIGTIME.
the father is under house arrest. from what i do not know or care to (i wud tend to thinking selling of drugs, but who knows?).
the father is thrilled i want to spend time with his son!
the father does whatever he can to get his sentenced moved to another house. when they let him, he moves, giving the mother no notice. he is just gone in the middle of the nite, and it takes her weeks to track him down.
i really cant imagine what that does to christopher, but i bet it completely makes him feel like a total loser and is the reason he has no self esteem.
hence by reluctance to break him down. i did a little yesterday but he wasnt responsive. it doesnt take much for him to get discouraged.
then when i finished with him, i called the mom, and said i was worried i went down a path, that i shudnt have.
she told he, that she (right or wrong) crushes the father and chris know what a deadbeat loser his father is.
ive seen kids like this in the past. the ones who seem to turn it around, just get so disgusted by their parents they decide to rebel and be gud.
he just needs to see what is possible by not being a complete fuck up.
i think it speaks volumes that i am gud influence on him and his mom asked me to start hanging out with him.
we r friends, no chance of romance. we just friends. i use to blow farts in her face at do we rob cheat em how in 2007, all day, everyday. so we have that type of relationship, no sexual tension.
i hope i can just coach him up for a while and he can pick it up, but there is so much inertia going against the kid, imo, its just a matter of time till he goes down the ole mans path, and becomes another leach on society.
pass the costa rica!
Does Chris remind you of you???..almost Donny time!!!!Go get em Fat Andy!!!
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