One of the stocks in Paulson’s portfolio, Alpha Natural Resources, is getting clobbered today after the company and rival Walter Energy warned that output for steelmaking-coal will fall short of expectations…Paulson’s bet on Alpha Natural Resources is a relatively small chunk of his portfolio, but it is another ill-timed wager this year from the man who made a fortune from smart wagers against subprime bonds. [WSJ]
Archive for September 2011
-
Posted in:
Hedge Funds
Paulson And Co. Investors May Be Getting Coal In Their Stockings This Year
By Bess Levin-
Posted in:
Analysts
Dick Bové Finds The Federal Reserve’s Spray-and-Pray Bombing Regimen Lacking
By Bess Levin
But what can he expect, really? So typical. Continue reading »
-
Posted in:
Banks
Could Moody’s Saying BofA Is Not Too Big To Fail Make BofA Not Too Big To Fail?
By Matt Levine
Michael Feroli at JPMorgan had an interesting note this morning (via ZH) on the Republican letter to Bernanke, pointing out that this sort of saber-rattling against easing might actually make it more likely as a way for the Fed to assert its independence.
Moody’s downgrade of BAC/WFC/C, on the other hand, may have the opposite effect, precisely because the government hasn’t yet been able to declare its independence from the ratings agencies. Moody’s cut the banks’ credit ratings because they think the government is less likely to bail them out if they run into trouble. And that downgrade itself may have the effect of making the government less likely to bail out the banks if they run into trouble.
Continue reading »
-
Posted in:
Banks
Thirty-Thousand Job Cuts Have Not Squelched Bank Of America’s Appetite For Fresh Meat
By Bess Levin“Our plans [to recruit] are consistent with last year,” said Kristen Williams, head of Bank of America’s global banking and markets campus recruiting team. “We have our target school list in the U.S. and globally. We’re not in a 2009 situation.” [FINS]
-
Posted in:
Banks
UBS Suggests Employees Savor This Weekend’s Pebble Beach Outing, As Next Year’s Event Will Be Held At The Hartford Pitch ‘N Putt
By Bess Levin
Put it in your purse
Less than a week ago, UBS announced that profits for the third quarter may not be what they were hoping for, as a result of a trader named Kweku Adoboli losing the bank $2.3 billion dollars. Tensions have been running a bit high since then, on account of many employees wondering if a) they’ll be the lucky recipient of a zero dollar bonus this year or b) they’ll still have a paycheck period by the end of the year. While management can’t make promises on either front, they may be able to do one better. Do the sounds of waves crashing, some complimentary rounds of golf and a few days out of the office that will afford you the time to conduct phone interviews with other shops sound like something you’d be interested in? If you answered yes, consider this your lucky day. Continue reading »
He may be in a mood. Continue reading »
“The only regulation that works is failure”? “I’ll buy you a big breakfast, just not your neighbor’s mortgage”? One measly foot stomp? Come on Ricky. Remember when these things had a hint of authenticity? When you threatened to throw synthetic CDOs into Lake Michigan? When we actually believed you might give yourself a hernia? It’s like you’re not even trying anymore. Short-Sleeves Shirt shouldn’t be laughing, he should be calling the cops. Continue reading »
G.O.P. Urges No Further Fed Stimulus (NYT)
Republican Congressional leaders expressed not only skepticism that further easing would improve the recovery, but also concerns that such actions might be damaging. “Such steps may erode the already weakened U.S. dollar or promote more borrowing by overleveraged consumers,” the letter from Republicans said.
BOE Officials See QE as Increasingly Probable (Bloomberg)
“This is clearly a major swing in a dovish direction,” James Knightley, an economist at ING Group in London, said in an e-mailed note. “Should the Bank of England cut its growth and inflation forecasts, as pretty much everyone else has, then a November increase in asset purchases will look likely.”
Greece to outline more austerity to secure loan (Reuters)
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos acknowledged before the meeting that Greece’s public finances would have gone off the rails without checks by the so-called troika of EU/IMF inspectors, who walked out of Athens on September 3 after uncovering a new deficit shortfall. But he also said the EU had failed to manage the debt crisis as decisively and fast as required, and Greece was being blackmailed by the financial markets.
Focus on Goldman Ex-Director (WSJ)
The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and the Securities and Exchange Commission have maneuvered for months to determine whether and how to proceed against Mr. Gupta, who has denied any wrongdoing. The SEC dropped a civil administrative proceeding against Mr. Gupta last month but said it was “fully committed” to refiling the charges in federal court. It now plans to wait for any criminal charges to be brought by the Justice Department, and it could hold off until any criminal proceedings are completed, these people say.
Netflix Blunder Could Cost It 30% of Subscribers: Study (CNBC)
Sixteen percent of those surveyed are likely to cancel in the next six months, according to Magid’s survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers completed at the end of August. Another 14 percent are “seriously considering” cancellation according to the survey. Netflix currently has 24.6 million subscribers.
Rent-A-Guinea Pig Service Takes Off in Switzerland (Spiegel via MR)
Without her rent-a-guinea pig service, the owner would have to purchase a new, probably younger guinea pig as a companion to the ageing survivor, whose eventual death would force the purchase of yet another guinea pig, locking the owner into an endless cycle of guinea pig purchases in order to adhere to Swiss law — even though he or she may only ever have wanted one guinea pig in the first place.
Continue reading »
$$$ Kynikos’ Chanos Calls Chinese-Government Backed Debt `Staggering’ (WaPo)
$$$ Greece Makes ‘Good Progress’ In Payment Talks (Bloomberg)
$$$ Morgan Stanley Misses Deal-Making Harmony as Kelleher Clashes With Taubman (Bloomberg)
$$$ ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protestors Claim Excessive NYPD Force in Latest Arrests (Daily Intel)
$$$ Gryphon’s Kenneth Marsh Gets Eight Years in Prison for Boiler-Room Fraud (BW) Continue reading »
If you were worried that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and planned to fund your retirement with poker winnings, today turned out to be a bad day for you. While we here at Dealbreaker generally endorse keeping all of your money in poker, keeping all of your money in Full Tilt Poker was not the correct way to do so. Insofar as it now looks like you’ll only get back at best fifteen cents on the dollar. From the US Attorney’s complaint today:
Continue reading »
If someone were to tell you that on a comparative basis, you were getting lapped by government employees when it came to compensation and perks, you’d probably find that 1) downright offensive and 2) extremely hard to believe. Maybe you work at allegedly prestigious hedge fund or investment bank. Maybe they tell you that the food they stock in their pantry is the best you can find on the Street. Maybe they plied you with promises of the most delicious refreshments money can buy and maybe they even closed you on the state of the art trading floor fondue pot and men’s room barista. Maybe they thought you had you fooled about the opportunities elsewhere.
For those duking out the perks sections of a new contract, don’t let yourself be taken for a fool. Continue reading »
