Master of None

Recent Comments

  1. 1

    on the bright side, MS has reserved 49% of revenue for compensation YTD, versus 40% last year (total accrued comp +14% ytd), so as long as nothing gets fucked in 4Q, they could conceivably pay people this year.

  2. 2
    Posted 2011-08-15 08:21:00 on Opening Bell: 08.15.11

    Oh Warren, you are such a masochist. And so controversial! Of course, this was a perfect opportunity to argue for a consumption tax (or VAT if you like) that would actually be a fairer way to address the inequalities in people's standard of living. But did you do that? No, no you did not.

  3. 3
    Posted 2010-06-05 13:24:31 on Good Luck To All

    I also thought it was easy; I definitely scored in the top decile. I'll outperform on the afternoon exam as well. Which two behavioral finance concepts have been demonstrated in the above statements?

  4. 4
    Posted 2009-12-23 14:02:31 on Write-Offs: 12.23.09

    #1 for sure, as if you couldn't tell from the graphic arts portrait on the cover page. Also, ARS looks like a hobbit in his picture.

  5. 5
    Posted 2009-10-13 15:57:57 on Valuation Exercises At Wharton

    I remember Penn did a study that showed Wharton undergrads make less than the liberal arts students 10-15 years out. The two undergrad programs have the same cost, so the relative "value" of the degree could be said to be negative.

  6. 6
    Posted 2008-10-13 21:06:48 on Caption Contest Monday

    The wizard promised me a brain and a shiny new balance sheet!

  7. 7
    Posted 2008-10-01 19:10:07 on You Guys Like Taxes, Right?

    If the government wants to write me a $700 bn check, I will gladly give back another 10% of it in taxes.

  8. 8
    Posted 2008-10-01 14:38:13 on Investing In The Buff: Warren Endorses GE

    I propose more use of the word "thick" in conjunction with WB. Also "hard" and "gentle but assertive".

  9. 9
    Posted 2008-10-01 10:10:52 on Premium Disequilibrium

    EP - awesome post. Putting the issue into context will hopefully help others understand what to most sounds like a no-brainer good idea.

  10. 10
    Posted 2008-09-29 18:58:58 on Liquidity Versus Solvency: Part II

    Seriously? People didn't realize this was the main issue? The whole reason it's a "bailout" is the fact that both Paulson and Bernanke stated that the only way the plan works is to buy the securities at "something greater than market value." It would be very easy to make sure there are no such abuses: facilitate 100% of the asset sales via reverse-auctions where the tranches of assets are homogeneous. A further step would be to require private asset managers to participate to some degree. That would DAMN SURE guarantee Treasury gets a fair price. Also, anyone who read the original bill can throw "coincidence" out the window. This was designed from the beginning to be the largest Golden Parachute in the history of modern financial markets.

  11. 11
    Posted 2008-09-24 12:30:45 on “ETF Land Is Broken”

    This jumped out at me at about 9:31am today and I freaked a little bit. I had to double check with our ETF desk because I'd never seen a dividend that large come out of these funds. SDS distributed $3.83 DXD distributed $3.65

  12. 12

    Stock trading up on the news, at $30 right now; valuation will be based on BV after due diligence, which probably means $31+ if management was as conservative with the quarter's earnings as they indicated.

  13. 13
    Posted 2008-09-19 09:37:41 on Dow Soars 300 Points In 5 Minutes

    Bess, Smartest thing you've ever said. Regards, MoN

  14. 14
    Posted 2008-08-25 16:23:17 on This Is Serious

    @2, 6, and 10 Button-down collars don't look great with ties, but spread collars look terrible without ties (especially with sweaters, which should be worn ONLY with button-down dress shirts). American men of the fifties and sixties (i.e. the golden age of mens' style) generally only wore spread collars if they wore a suit. While most would probably have scoffed at the idea of wearing anything BUT a suit to the office, if business casual had been around they would have laughed at any asshole who wore a spread collar with no tie. Then they would have gone to have a cocktail. At 10am. Regarding undershirts, it's very simple: You wear an undershirt if you find it more comfortable, or if you sweat. If you choose to wear one, however, it should NEVER be visible at the collar or anywhere else. In the South, where air conditioning is a relatively new technology, officemates who chose to go sans undershirt were said to be able to "keep their cool."

  15. 15
    Posted 2008-08-21 10:41:25 on Asians Balk At Lehman Buy and The Fed Steps In

    1) We all know that Dealbreaker is in the rumor-reporting business 2) We all know that Carney isn't as funny as Bess 3) I hear worse from CNBC, Fox News, and CNN on a daily basis (in terms of ethno-racism and bad jokes), so let's not expect a fledgling media venture to stand up to take the high ground when it comes to journalism OR compete with HBO's best writers 4) Go back to work

  16. 16
    Posted 2008-08-19 10:23:58 on Lehman’s Neuberger Berman Sale

    Better question: will the Fed will continue to take formerly unprecedented steps to keep i-banks from failing? Remember that the stability of the financial system is the #1 priority. With a freight train of corporate bankruptcies arriving in the next 6-9 months, whomever is still around will have to settle all the outstanding CDS. That will be an interesting exercise.

  17. 17
    Posted 2008-08-14 09:56:32 on How To Avoid Hedge Fund Managers

    Whew. It's a good thing I live on Bank St. That was close.

  18. 18

    I still say it's a pelican.

  19. 19
    Posted 2008-07-28 13:08:40 on The Vindication of David Finnerty

    Two questions: 1. Who are you? 2. What did you do with Bess Levin?

  20. 20
    Posted 2008-07-25 10:07:03 on Bonus Watch ’08: Morgan Stanley Update

    Sounds right; I heard the high for 1st years was 80, down from 90 last year