What I Meant To Say Was-- BUY INDY

Posted by Bess Levin, Jul 14, 2008, 2:34pm

Ladenburg analyst Dick Bove has been strong armed, probably by the person who called him insane, into clarifying his outlook concerning the state of banking. Everybody just calm down, because nothing, apparently, is fucked. Not really sure where you got that idea from.

The main thrust of this report is that the banks are in better condition than is generally perceived. Firm says apparently, it has been misinterpreted to suggest that there are significant problems in the financial system. This is not firm's point at all. To reinforce this, firm produced 2 ratios which indicate the percentage of non-performing assets in the system compared to loans outstanding and capital defined as common equity plus reserves. These ratios indicate that the stress on the banking system at present is substantially less than it was in 1990. Additionally, information was produced to indicate that capital is rising in the banking system and that reserves have been increased in the past 2 years. Firm says no bank under their coverage is in this danger zone, although Washington Mutual (WM) is on the edge. Firm is definitely not suggesting that National City (NCC), or First Horizon (FHN), is in dangerous condition at the present time.

Confidential to Dick:

You're better than this. I know tensions are flaring but you need to stay strong. Stop responding to the misreading of anything you say, write, or do, no matter how batshit insane flipping out on Citi like the fifth cast member of Sex and The City, or nominating Phil Purcell for CEO of Wachovia, may seem to lucid-minded individuals. It's a slippery slope from releasing a statement clearing up what you intended to convey in an earlier report to responding to the misinterpretations of anonymous 'guests' on 2-bit blogs at three in the morning (if it's already come to that, I don't want to know).

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Comments

Posted by StMarc, Jul 14, 2008 2:51PM

Firm needs better lawyers to write firm's disclaimers and who also know how to properly phrase attempts by firm to refer to firmself in the third person. Firm is, however, to be congratulated on finding a metric which shows that everything is actually quite hunky-dory when it's obvious to your average shoeshine boy that things are circling the drain.

M

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 2:57PM

Was Bove blinking the word "torture" in morse code as he read that statement in front of his captors?

Fake Jeremiah Denton

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:17PM

WHAT THE HELL EVER HAPPENED TO FREE SPEECH AND BEING ABLE TO EXPRESS A GODDAM OPINION.

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:26PM

Where can I find these "internet message boards" where stocks are being slandered and evil short sellers lurk???

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:27PM

dude easy on the caps lock, I've got quite a headache.

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:29PM

i'm pretty sure free speech doesn't apply to speech being being made when acting as an agent of a private company.


lol

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:34PM

guest @ 2.57 - haha! Just chocked on my coffee at that mental image.

Posted by Investorcluzo, Jul 14, 2008 3:35PM

did gasbagarumor just say that dick fuld was thinking about taking LEH private? is chuck-e-cheese from the bronx or brooklyn (or whatever hole he crawled out of) on crack?

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:37PM

cluz-- thought you were above the lame, easy to punch holes in, attacks on gasparino because of his ethnicity and cultural background.

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:40PM

i am not at a bloomberg --- wtf just happened?

Posted by Investorcluzo, Jul 14, 2008 3:50PM

@3:37 - not taking a crack at his ethnic or cultural background, just his on air antics. both the bronx and brooklyn are fine places (yankee stadium/decent lager-still american), just couldn't remember which borough the talking head was from...ethnicity/culture is/are not a reason to preempt attacks, just shouldn't be the reason for the attack.

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:54PM

"is chuck-e-cheese from the bronx or brooklyn (or whatever hole he crawled out of)"...yeah, sure you weren't taking a crack at his ethnic or cultural background.

Posted by miami, Jul 14, 2008 3:57PM

If we can't let guys from holes they crawl out of like Chuck E. Schumer start a run on the banks then THE TERRORISTZ HAVE ALREADY ONE !!!1!!!

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 3:58PM

Can Cluz or anyone else expand on what Gasparino said about taking Lehman private? Missed it

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 4:05PM

@3:35

some of america's most prominent and successful business people are from the bronx and brooklyn. lots of 'em. even jews.


ever hear antonin scalia? probably not because you're retarded.

Posted by Investorcluzo, Jul 14, 2008 4:07PM

@3:54 - was not used in a pejorative manner. not sure how that is taking a crack at his ethnicity or culture. please explain what you were inferring from the statement (as it wasn't implied).

@3:58 - "I need a headline chuck" (how's that @3:54) stated that dick fuld would reach into his "bag of tricks" and take LEH private.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=793129321&play=1

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 4:11PM

Cheers Cluz

Posted by Investorcluzo, Jul 14, 2008 4:14PM

@4:05 - get your 'effing facts straight before coming with a third grade rant about "you're retarded". scalia was from trenton, nj and moved to queens when he was five...nice try.

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 4:33PM

Can everyone calm the eff down?! And concentrate on whether Gasparino's pants are on fire rather than where he's from?!!!Go to your corners, mommy has a headache....

Posted by Anal_yst, Jul 14, 2008 4:46PM

@ Cluz

So theoretically if Dick Fold takes Leh private, waddya thinking the deal looks like/whos gonna be involved.

Purely on the surface (like very-very surface), it doesn't seem like THAT horrible of an idea (given the set of alternatives)

Posted by Investorcluzo, Jul 14, 2008 5:20PM

@anal: theoretically, if dickie boy took it private, LEH would look like sandler o'neil. I suspect neuberger is priced at cents on the dollar based on lehman's current market cap (they bought it in '03 for $2.7 billion). that means, assuming NO growth in that business, lehman's remaining ops are trading at $4.0 billion. I haven't looked at the numbers, but when you put an asset management multiple it - fuld would have sufficient funds to pay down the lbo debt. but would you really want to get rid of your cash cow?

they would have to scale back the cap markets and prop trading business. that means they would have to hope the M&A business picks up. the research franchise is good, so they could continue to get prominent underwriting roles - however, with reduced liquidity, you wouldn't see them winning too many block trades (which can be very profitable or expensive).

the $64k question is how ring fence their exposure to mortgage related securities in a going private transaction. lehman has been left for dead before and they have come back just like mike myers (halloween, not austin powers)...

Posted by guest, Jul 14, 2008 5:20PM

Wondering where LEH would get funds to go private and at what level would they have to borrow?

Posted by a dead horse, Jul 14, 2008 5:33PM

Chuck Schumer is short Lehman

Posted by Investorcluzo, Jul 14, 2008 5:56PM

@5:20 - blackstone/TPG et al. in fact, they could be potential buyers. blackstone has been (not so quietly) setting up its own internal investment bank. this would put the project on the fast track.

in terms of leverage, how much depends on what the pro forma business model looks like. neuberger could be leveraged to the hilt and M&A business doesn't need any real equity (save for all of the bonuses that get paid before deals close). but the cap markets business would require plenty of capital. so it is a question of what the "new" regulation/cap requirements means for the future of debt/equity ratio at investment banks.

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