Take a piece by New Republic blogger Marty Peretz...
The Wall Street Journal has a soft spot for Joseph "Jay" W. Brown the once -- and once again CEO of MBIA, the world's largest bond insurer and insurer of much dubious paper at unreliable values. I've posted on The Spine about his company several times, and particularly about how it and another company (AMBAC, on its way to the graveyard where Enron now is buried) cooperated with the three ratings agencies (Moody's, S & P, Fitch) to dish out truly false AAA grades.
...add a dash of counter-attack in Marty's blog comments purporting to be from Jay Brown himself...
Marty, I’m not sure how much more candid I could have been with the Wall Street Journal than a straight Q-and-A interview. If you think that’s “bullying” I can’t imagine what you would say if I had declined comment altogether.But what’s also puzzling is the omission that you have been both a major stakeholder and an advisor to Pershing Square, a hedge fund that has led a short-selling position against our company. In other words, you profit when MBIA suffers and you have a financial interest in spreading doubt about our strength.
...stir, add popcorn, wait.
Brown the Bully [The Spine]
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 3:25PM
"Marty"? You mean Martin Peretz, the owner/publisher of The (liberal) New Republic. Who only comes out of his hole when he senses something is happening that's counter to the best interests of Israel? Hence his constant fawning over Bush's Iraq policy on the OpEd pages of the WSJ, to the consternation of his fellow liberals. Why would he care about MBIA? I'm guessing Brown is another big Israel supporter.
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 3:26PM
you didnt even post the best part of the back and forth--where Brown gets all in Marty's kitchen! I dont have a view one way or the other on MBI but you go Jay!
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 3:27PM
oops read it too quickly... Brown is probably an Israel CRITIC (not supporter)
Posted by ep , Apr 04, 2008 3:27PM
His blog calls him "Marty," take from that what you will.
Posted by Anal_yst , Apr 04, 2008 3:39PM
here we go....
15:38 04/04 =DJ Rep. Frank Asks SEC To Expand Bear Probe To All Of Wall St
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney
Frank, D-Mass., has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to scrutinize
trading in all large investment banks in the days before the collapse of Bear
Stearns Cos. (BSC), citing "strong indications" of manipulative short sales.
In a letter Friday to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Frank called on the SEC to
broaden its investigation into questionable trading in Bear Stearns stock in
mid-March, just days before JPMorganChase & Co. (JPM) agreed to buy Bear for $2
a share. The offer, encouraged by federal regulators fearful of systemic panic
should Bear go bankrupt, was later revised to $10 a share.
"Depending on what the Commission finds, this may lead to a broader inquiry
into short selling by the SEC and Congress," Frank wrote in the letter, which
his office released to reporters.
Short sellers borrow shares they sell and profit if the stock price falls,
allowing them to replace the borrowed shares at a lower price. Frank's letter
notes there was an unusually high level of short-selling activity in Bear's
stock, and in purchases of then out-of-the-money puts, in the days preceding
Bear's collapse.
Frank said there are "strong indications of similar market activity in the
stocks of other major investment banks," and allegations by some of a
coordinated effort by market participants who spread rumors that the banks were
in trouble in an effort to drive down share prices.
Posted by Johnny Debacle , Apr 04, 2008 3:55PM
Short seller manipulation my ass. More like insiders trading on what they knew. Schwartz went to BB on Thurs night. Like ppl didn't know.
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 4:43PM
Looks like Marty's shorts were disclosed in the prior post on his blog of 12/30/07, just not the magnitude or the name of Pershing.
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 5:10PM
EP, I can't understand why you keep saying that Ambac is going the way of Enron. If anything, they are now overcapitalized as a result of the massively dilutive and unnecessary equity offering that the regulators and rating agencies forced upon them. Have you done the work or are you simply making assumptions?
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 5:15PM
Barney Frank sounds like a guy with a dick in his mouth when he talks..oh right..isnt he gay?
Posted by ep , Apr 04, 2008 5:23PM
"EP, I can't understand why you keep saying that Ambac is going the way of Enron."
I'm quoting the blog that is linked in the piece. I have no view on AMBAC (that I am going to share here).
Posted by guest , Apr 04, 2008 8:00PM
@ 5:15 Dude - Too funny! I just blew beer throough my nose. Haven't done that for a while!
The Other Guy From Delaware.
Delaware: It's the Cows.....