It doesn’t take much of an observer to note that debt markets are all aflutter. Last Monday thrashed treasuries, one assumes on increased investor confidence, and woe to the option trader that was long puts on Lehman (for instance, it being up $5.50 at the moment) this week, betting that it was next in line for a crisis of confidence. “Damn you Paulson, damn you and your Treasury Securities Lending Facility,” one trader could be heard cursing today. Ironic, that, given that the TSLF seems to be experiencing softer demand now. Sour hopes that the ripo market might collapse on some less than careful investment banks have, it would seem, soured. A second trader was heard to berate the first with a “It’s not the TSLF, you ass, its the damn Primary Dealer Credit Facility that’s saving their bacon. Slap my ass and call me Linda. I’m going to have to cancel my trip to the Vanderbilt Spring Festival now.” True, the PDCF had something like $40 billion in outstanding, overnight loans last I checked. Not bad for a vehicle that was just invented.
Watching Bear Stearns trade at $10.80 is somewhat amusing. Almost as entertaining as a 330 point gain on the Dow.
In this environment, you have to love market inventions that allow you to make pure bets on volatility. Nay? (Or I suppose Lehman puts could just look that much cheaper right now).
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- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
More reasons for why people have begun smoking in the elevators
so distraught these days that they just can’t wait
If you liked LEH puts last week, shouldnt you be LOVING them today?
I can’t wait for I.D.I.O.T.S.
[Illiquid Debentures Indexed On Treasury Securities]
Since I been around them most of my adult life, they should be a natural to trade, and very liquid.
Can idiots trade I.D.I.O.T.S. ??
Copper in Pennies is worth twice more than pennies themselves!!!
(but melting them for metal will cost you 5 years in jail)
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/melting-down-copper-pipes-and-pennies/index.html?hp
likewise the nickel. much more worth your time
@2:02 – yeah but they’re heavy and the melting process keeps ruining all my nice pots.
@36th: If you’re going to go to all that effort turning your kitchen into a forge, why don’t you just try out household chemistry rather than metallurgy and set up a meth lab a la Breaking Bad?
–Calgary Schmooze
If you are going to do all that you should just set up a household alchemy lab and turn pennies into gold.
@2:20 – I believe that is exactly what some banks did in their coffee rooms. And we know how that is turning out.
Wait, is this the Debt Bitch or Equity Private? I’m confused.