Muffie Benson-Perella (muffie AT dealbreaker.com) was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of a “Bulge Bracket” bank. She holds a B.A. in French and Art from Vassar College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She concentrated in Contemporary French Poetry at prep school where she was awarded the exclusive premiership of the school’s “French Club.” Today, Ms. Benson-Perella is the Founder and Managing Director of “Muffie on Markets” (http://www.muffmarkets.com), a deep dive into capital markets, finance and investment strategy. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Muff Cap, LLC., an invitation only, private investment vehicle for non-existent, prestigious and accredited investors only, employing an actively managed, long-short strategy.
Quick, name the source of this quote: “The shortage of fossil fuels will happen far earlier than a real change in global warming, it will happen in the next 50 years.” I’ll give you a hint, it is one of the foremost authorities on petroleum products.
No, but good guess.
It was Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chief Executive of Bentley. Personally, when it comes to energy matters and finance, I can’t think of a better source than someone like Paefgen, who must have his well-manicured finger directly on the pulse of the petroleum marketplace. He cuts a stylish figure across the showroom and is always quick to address the concerns of clients and investors with a soft touch and a quick smile.
In case you didn’t know, Bentley was founded back in 1919 and the reputation of the classic automobiles was easily sustained though the rough poundings of many “24 hours at Le Mons” conquests before, unable to avoid the crisis of confidence caused by the overly-dramatic and overstated ills of the Great Depression, the company was eventually sold to Rolls-Royce in 1931. The new firm, Bentley Motors, was forced to carry the indignity of the Rolls-Royce name and, stripped of its individuality until 1980, was mostly known as a cheaper, less appealing Rolls-Royce.
In 1980, the firm was purchased by Vickers, owned by the Vicker’s family of more recent NASCAR fame, and began to regain some of its luster. Most recently, the firm was sold to Mexican based Volkswagen, but has managed to maintain much of its independence.
Paefgen is, as you might expect, a man of many talents. He doubles as “Head of Technical Research” for Volkswagen, which makes him the group’s authority on CO2. “We are much more afraid of the worldwide banking crisis than we are CO2,” he quips. So much for the import of global warming. My bets are on a resurgence in large, expensive transportation. The backlash from wealthy consumers to the nanny-state nonsense that has been crammed down the throat of every productive member of society is slowly building. Class warfare makes it easy to point fingers at Bentley, and its customers. But, says Paefgen, Bentley’s impact on CO2 is “totally negligible.”
And as for the credit crunch? Spirits here are so high, I can confidently say those concerns are quite overstated. But, then, I knew that already.
The Times Online
you suck, stop posting. no one reads EP’s or “muffie’s” posts (I only “read” it so I could post this comment.) are EP and muffie one and the same? both post anoymously…and both write articles that no one reads.
please bring back carney! Or at least post pageviews on these articles so the rest of us can prove the obvious – nobody cares about or reads muff.
Both “Muffie” and EP are pathetic. The whole “Muffie” thing is just plain stupid and rediculous. DB is really going downhill with all this pathetic nonsense.
This muffie thing is a joke right? Please tell me its some kind of fictional character you made up to amuse us. I mean honestly, the posts on that site are so inane…I scarcely believe its real. If she is indeed a real person, I would ask for whom she spread her legs for to get into “HBS” (which she only mentions constantly throughout the site).
@2:03
It’s a joke
Get over yourself
pageviews would be great – while posts by Bess are idiotic, they are usually fairly amusing, so people read it for pleasure. Posts by EP and muffie are not at all amusing/funny, and not particularly insightful/intelligent either, and so no one really reads it. EP, writing posts in a complicated/arcane way doesn’t actually make you smart (although I’m sure it convinces you that you are, and probably is driven by some subconscious desire to feel better about yourself).
post pageviews! (preferably withouth having to click the article itself, thereby increasing the pageview!)
You ep-haters are insane. Her posts are amusing, insightful and intelligent. Her intellect just intimidates you.
her posts don’t intimidate at all, actually. they’re just drab and arcane. either make it funny or make it intelligent/insightful.
As others have pointed out, its a character act, a joke. Duh.
I.e. “…most recently the firm was sold to Mexico-based Volkswagen…”
http://dealbreaker.com/community/2008/04/petition-to-get-rid-of-ep-and.php
EP is great, but she can’t write the Muffie voice. Its too far out of character for her. Leave it to Carney.
I continue to be intrigued by her last name: Benson-Perella Muff’s not married, so that must be her mother’s name. So mom married a wasp? Had a cousin like that. When they arrived at a family event she would announce “Here we are, the wasp and the wop”.
I agree. Muffie and EP posts are just not funny – at least when compared to Bess posts.
Muff is a market magician. If you didn’t know, she wrote for FT almost a year ago, made great returns over the last three years, and holds wonderful insight/connections within the financial world. Her posts are in code. If you can’t decipher, it’s your loss.
@ 3:36
Benson-Perella obviously a pseudonym, it may be in reference to a merger that took place a number of years ago involving Kleinwort Benson and Wasserstein Perella (now part of Dresdner), or the parties involved.
Running a basic whois search on muffmarkets.com, it notes that the domain owner is in Liechtenstein. However, I’m not sure what to make of it from there. Maybe loosely connected to the Liechtenstein tax scandal and the possible involvement of Dresdner bank.
@5:40 3:36 here. Yes, I forgot that KWB had merged with Dresdner prior to Dresdner merging with Wasserstein. Muff’s last name was just too absurd to not have some underlying meaning. Thanks for that.
Horrible post.
I am Muffie Benson-Perella. And EP is my lesbian lover. There. Now are you satisfied?
Erin Callan
Lehman Brothers
I’ve always wanted to post something as “Erin Callan” on DB. Tee hee.
Steve Cohen
I like this post. Half-truths make people think more than basic facts. Which is scary…
keep it up
still beating this joke horse to death huh- see you at cyril’s- 1/2 off bbc’s thanks to bear sterns