“Is . . . is there something wrong, Senor d’Anconia? I mean, on . . . on the Stock Exchange?”
Francisco jerked his finger to his lips, with a frightened glance. “Keep quiet,” he whispered. “For God’s sake, keep quiet!”
The man was shaking. “Something’s . . . wrong?”
“You don’t happen to own any d’Anconia Copper stock, do you?”
The man nodded, unable to speak. “Oh my, that’s too bad! Well, listen, I’ll tell you, if you give me your word of honor that you won’t repeat it to anyone, You don’t want to start a panic.”
“Word of honor . . .” gasped the man.
“What you’d better do is run to your stockbroker and sell as fast as you can–because things haven’t been going too well for d’Anconia Copper, I’m trying to raise some money, but if I don’t succeed, you’ll be lucky if you’ll have ten cents on your dollar tomorrow morning– oh my! I forgot that you can’t reach your stockbroker before tomorrow morning–well, it’s too bad, but–”
The man was running across the room, pushing people out of his way, like a torpedo shot into the crowd.
“Watch,” said Francisco austerely, turning to Rearden.
The man was lost in the crowd, they could not see him, they could not tell to whom he as selling his secret or whether he had enough of his cunning left to make it a trade with those who held favors–but they saw the wake of his passage spreading through the room, the sudden cuts splitting the crowd, like the first few cracks, then like the accelerating branching that runs through a wall about to crumble, the streaks of emptiness slashed, not by a left to make it a trade with those who held favohuman touch, but by the impersonal breath of terror.
Ever get the sense that Cox and Cuomo read too much Rand?
too long didn’t read it.
SPODE
The options markets are completely fubar. You can’t get in or out of anything without eating it up the ass on bid/ask sense the market makers can’t hedge. How do send a bill to Chris Cox?
oy.
oy…oy OY!
Loved the applicability of the passage.
Unfortunately, next thing that would happen with even more regulation is trains stalling, bridges blowing up and the lights on the New York calendar going out.
That’d really suck.
Chris Cox just gave John Galt the shocker.
i’m too wasted to look this up myself, but does anyone know the details of what existing shorts are expected to do under this new fancypants shamwow? that is, do all existing short positions have to be closed out today on these names?
@ bank_teller – I’m not 100%, but they were talking about it on cnbc this morning, and you don’t have to cover your existing positions, just no new shorts.
6, no. Jim Chanos said on CNBC this a.m. that they were essentially grandfathered.
Galt’s Gulch, anyone?
Are you saying that Dick Fuld is a crafty capitalist who is quitting to hide out in a secret valley in CO, instead of just a dumb fuck loser?
That makes a lot of sense. Nobody could be that big a screw up–he had to do this on purpose.
By the way, EP, want to act out some of the Dagny/Hank scenes with me?
@6 my understanding is that existing shorts on these bubbas do not have to be closed out today, just no new positions for the duration of the order.
“By the way, EP, want to act out some of the Dagny/Hank scenes with me?”
How about the one where I take your wife’s bracelet and put it on my own wrist in the middle of a cocktail party and then leave without sleeping with you?
who is john galt?
13 = where have you been?
EP, I am beginning to like you.
“Ever get the sense that Cox and Cuomo read too much Rand?”
Anyone who read this post has read too much Rand.
Great book, but the Galt speech was TLDR.
Who is Vince Offer?
Nicely played EP. Between this and the 2nd derivative of AIG comment the other day your value is coming along nicely.
Congrats on getting Carney’s gig by the way!
Who is #17?
ReardenBilliton +6.48%, lets hear it for Wesley Mouch…
What happens to a short position resulting from an option exercise? Are these grandfathered as well?
Reading this stuff this morning
incident – repsone, incident – response…
sheesh getting coffee…the reading exhausted me..
EP @ Most excellent comeback
@16–John Galt’s speech is the definition of TLDR
Why is Mr. D’Anconia wrecking his own stock?
That’s it. I’m moving to my secret hideaway in the Rockies and won’t lift a finger unless you pay in me PURE GOLD BARS.
Do I get the sense that EP feels betrayed by her leadership, Herrs Hank, Ben and Chris? And why doesn’t she include Herr Blankfein and Mack in that little list of Cox and Cuomo? Are we all Democrats now and she can’t stand it? In these times of confusion, a reading of the book of Greenspan (“I didn’t do it”) is in order, forget his teacher Rand.
I hope the market fails. I’m tired of hearing everyone on the news complain about their 401k’s and how we’re screwing them, as if we exist to serve them. They’re mad because we’re losing our jobs, but not because we’re actually losing our jobs — but the impact it has on them. They’re not mad at the stupid moves our MGT has made, but how it affects their retirement. I want to grab them by the necks and say “Very little of this is your business, and to the extent that you were invested in any of our companies, you assumed that risk. Go Away.”
Mr. D’Anconia is wrecking his own stock to bring about the death and rebirth of civilization. Mr. Greenspan and Mr. D’Anconia go way back. Take that how you will.
@27. The road is very nearly cleared. Give it a little more time.