Friday, February 13, 2009

Back from the Beast

Like Jonah, I survived a stay Belly of the Beast, viz., Manhattan, New York City. At least the weather was balmy, but very, very windy. The Acela train is by far the best way to travel from Boston to NYC and back. The train was comfortable and on time, while the planes were delayed up to three hours due to the wind. And as usual, my ties received fine compliments from unknown beautiful women. New York fashion is still buried in black, so my colorful ties and fine suits stand out. Someone has to show a bit of life.

My bilingual blog efforts are paying off. I see my readership in France is growing [from FT]:

"France on Friday will press for tighter controls on hedge funds, urging other big industrialised nations to strengthen regulation of the industry and compel banks that lend them money to hold more capital.

"Paris wants the European Union, and eventually all leading economies, to beef up indirect regulation of hedge funds via their prime brokers, the banks which provide them with loans and other services.

"Under plans to be floated by Christine Lagarde, French finance minister, banks could face higher capital requirements to reflect the riskiness of their hedge fund clients, a proposal likely to be resisted by banks that are already struggling to raise capital."

France montre le chemin. [France shows the way.]

Good move. Obama, get moving on this. Hedge funds are the "root cause" of the financial crisis.

Here's news of more hedge fund skulduggery [from WSJ]:

"The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether several hedge funds traded improperly after being given advance notice by a research analyst of his negative report on a prominent insurer, people familiar with the agency's investigation said.

"The investigation comes amid a civil-court case brought by the insurer, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. That case, filed in a New Jersey state court in 2006, unearthed documents indicating that executives at the hedge funds discussed the coming report of the analyst and made bets that the company's stock would decline.

"Companies routinely bar analysts from distributing reports to investors before publication to prevent the trading of nonpublic information. Analysts who give out information that isn't public but is market-moving and violates company policy can violate the securities laws. It also is improper for investors to trade using information that they know they've received improperly.

"In the civil suit, Toronto-based Fairfax alleged that the hedge funds, the analyst and his firm conspired to profit by driving down the company's stock, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The suit alleges that SAC Capital Advisors, Third Point LLC, Kynikos Associates LP and others acted together, paying the analyst, his investment firm and other defendants in the suit to spread false and defamatory information about Fairfax from 2002 through 2007."

The article provides considerable evidence from emails between SAC Capital Advisors and Kynikos. Sigh ...

This behavior of hedge funds should be no surprise to readers of this blog.

Why are these market Vikings allowed to continue raiding ?

Markets

From the reversal yesterday, it's clear that early weakness in stocks was caused by short selling hedge funds. They cover on any sign of strength or positive rumor. But in its absence, they are trying to break support levels to create more panic and fear.

Word of the Day

"Cathexis" - noun [$10] and "Cathect - verb, transitive [$10]
Cathexis means a concentration of emotional energy on an object or idea.
Cathect meansto concentrate emotional energy on (an object or idea).
Sentence: The American public has cathected upon Obama as the agent to improve their lives. Will he perform or flop ? Cathexis can dissipate quickly when weakness appears. He needs to show firm hand in dealing with the Pelosi et al whose sleaze shows no bounds.

Le Mot du Jour

"S'écrouler" - verb, pronomial; regular -er conjugation.
S'écrouler means to fall down, to collapse, to crumble.
La Phrase: L'adminstration Bush se sont écroulée par l'incompétence et les nombreuses erreurs.
Sentence: The Bush administration crumbled through incompetence and numerous errors.

45 comments:

Bud said...

root cause ?? huh ???

the structured finance departments at the investment banks.......the predatory lenders based out of california ( new century, countrywide etc...).....the CDO buyers overseas......they played a far bigger role in the credit crunch



PS....please don't group me with the other readers of this blog.........i'll speak for myself

Bud said...

last nite's 'house of cards' show by david faber was pretty good


there are no 'root causes' for the credit crunch..........it has many fathers........it was a perfect storm


i like what mrG said was the main reason......very simple.....a very powerful human emotion called 'greed'

Bunkerman said...

None of the CDS, etc. could be created without buyers of the below investment grade classes - those are crucial.

And who bought those ?

The hedge funds.

I talked to a person who works at an investment bank that created many and he confirmed that hedge fund demand for those classes was very strong.

Bud said...

so lemme understand this correctly

the yankees have about 30million in bonuses for A-fraud for milestone home runs and mvp......well played Boras...well played indeed



LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Bud said...

no question hedge fund demand for CDO's was very very strong...............but the CDO's were a pool of mortgages...........and the demand for mortgaes was very strong ........i can go on and on and on.......



PS.......no one forced the common man to lie about his income on the mortgage app's

Bunkerman said...

good point, Bud .. I changed the "is no surprise" to "should be no surprise".

I can only write, but cannot force comprehension.

;)

[there's a well-known adage for that concept ... about a horse]

mfl59 said...

Bunkerman are you familiar with the work of a man named Joel Skousen?

Bud said...

i happened to catch some of joe 'douchebag' torre's interview with mad dog on sirius

torre say he had 'no clue' guys were takin steroids on the yankees when he was manager there


no clue ?? huh ??? what ?? he thinks we're idiots?? man he really is a f'ng lying douchebag


PS......i can't wait for the yankees to retire the douchebag's jersey....heck make it a very special day......do A-fraud and roger 'misremember' clemens the same day


'pride of the yankees'

mfl59 said...

article in local newspaper this morning....claims "Mr. Misremember" himself is going to have a few criminal charges brought against him....apparently it is illegal to lie to Congress...

Bunkerman said...

Joel Skousen ... never heard of him.

Did he play for the 1961 Yankees ... no, that was Moose Skowron.

Spin-em said...

buddy gets spanked for 2 days.....quiet as a bitch mouse....makes a lil coin yesterday and turns into Flazzhole again..lmaooooo checkers boy not tough to read thats for sure...

Spin-em said...

did ya have your atomic bunktini in NYC???..lol

mern said...

house of cards blame elmer for most of this mess?

i read a lot about elmer last nite. i forgot how absouletly insane he was from 98-2005. he gave all the crooks a helluva lot more than an inch and they took not a mile but the world.

torre is no where as pathetic as Bud Selig. hes been added to snipe list!

how did tejada stay out of jail?

anecdotal data point. recently and ive noticed it becoming bigger. many homeless people hitching for rides on i-75, on my way to work.

is this a depression?

but we dont have deflation. in the beefer controlled stuff and durable guds, ok. but honestly, as someone who pays their own bills inflation is still going up. look at pet food, jesus christ! none of my bills have rolled over, food hasnt rolled over.

so for how many qrts now has inflation outpaced economic growth? 6 or 7?

depresslation..............

Spin-em said...

added to snipe list!


looooooool

mfl59 said...

this kid Santelli has a lot of heart....although he keeps chirping he's definitely gonna face an audit...

kudos sir!!!!

Bunkerman said...

yes, spin, I had two Gold Kryptonite martinis Wednesday evening at the bar ...

mfl59 said...

mern check out Scott Van Pelt mocking Selig on ESPN radio....he got suspended for taking him apart....funny stuff

mern said...

thats hilarious!

i cant wait to listen.

Bud said...

selig another 'hear no evil....see no evil......

why don't these guys just admit what we all know.............steroids were rampant in every clubhouse ( especially in the yankee one)


i'd listen to van pelt later.........i'm shocked someone on espn finally did that........all the national baseball media guys keep apologizing for mlb

Bud said...

http://www.realclearsports.com/video_log/2009/02/scott-van-pelt-audio-insulting-bud-selig.html



hilarious !!!!

Spin-em said...

pfftttt who has time..bunkerboyz busy making money......

Spin-em said...

Je devine que Monsieur buddy n'aime pas le goût de sa propre médecine ?

Bunkerman said...

Oui, peut-être.

mfl59 said...

"Monsieur buddy"


lmaoooooooooooooooo

Spin-em said...

oui. le silence de Monsieur buddy l'indique tout… Je n'aime pas les insultes mais son la seule chose qu'il comprend que ..... telle est la vie.

mfl59 said...

Bunkerman how would you assess the mood of NYC? somber? wisftul ($10)? angry?

Spin-em said...

wisftul ($10)looooool........

Bunkerman said...

coping was the mood.

Bunkerman said...

some anger / disgust over things like the ML bonuses, etc.

Some just coping.

mfl59 said...

did you catch a workout at the NYAC?

Bunkerman said...

I exercised by lifing my martini glass to my mouth.

I should have done a workout, but didn't feel like it after the train .. and had a breakfsat meeting so that killed the AM workout..

Bunkerman said...

Interestingly, at the bar I was standing near some guy who must have been a really good wrestler - I just overheard the conversation.

mern said...

listening to van pelt

rofl

for the same reason espn pulled that awesome show, "playmakers", is the same reason they suspended van pelt.

the fear of never showing another NFL/MLB on their networks, again.

every word he said is correct

mfl59 said...

Yes NYAC has some world class wrestlers floating around....lots of Olympians train there I believe

Spin-em said...

yes Rulon Gardner thinks the gold Kryptonites are DYNO----MIIIIITE!!

mfl59 said...

lmaoooooooooooooooooooooo

Bunkerman said...

I think I'm the only person who drinks them there. Sam or Luis on the night crew know how to make them ... but sometimes need a reminder.

mfl59 said...

I assume you are gracious in tipping Luis....

Bunkerman said...

Very gracious for both.

Bunkerman said...

Bunkerman is no cheapskate.

mfl59 said...

I figured as much....just checking though....lolol

Bunkerman said...

Hmmm maybe I'll have a pizza with my Bunktini tonight ... Mrs. B is away at a dog agility event.

mern said...

The reality is that the banks are fearful of the high rate of credit card default, and they know they've got you if you're among the 70 percent of Americans who carry a month-to-month balance.

OMG thats nutz! 70%! wtf?

that is almost as mind blowing as reading 44% of americans believe humans were created in the last 10,000 yrs with a single stroke from god.

it all starts with education.

on my street i am begining to feel like will smith in im a legend. my street is empty. maybe 50%.

is this a depression?

Bunkerman said...

no, it's a whinession.

My parents grow up in a real depression, and fight WW II and all I hear this endless whining ....

Jeez, what a bunch of wimps.

Suck it up and go on with one's life. Improvise & adapt.

Spin-em said...

"Adapt, improvise, overcome"...Gunny Highway

this is the AK-47...the preferred weapon of the enemy...

old spinny...Why...in my day...snfff ..it got so bad.....we couldnt go to starbucks....we had to go to Dunkin Donuts......Granny had to cook 4 days a week.....life was tough I tellya..so we just gave up and played Guitar Hero all day....