shalimar

Recent Comments

  1. 1
    Posted 2009-04-28 18:45:25 on Let’s Bicker Over: OFFICIAL B-School Rankings

    1. Being There 2. HBS 3. Sand Hill Sandlot 4. Esso Proof: a. Most successful investors never went to a brand name b-school. b. The top echelon at east coast PE firms and west coast VCs require the HBS stamp, according to the bios. c. People occasionally recruit Stanford sandcastle builders. Otherwise, the students realize they've wasted time, and revert to option 1. d. Gas station attendants know less about EMH & corporate finance than Wharton/CBS/Stern/SOM grads, and are easier to unteach.

  2. 2
    Posted 2009-03-31 19:39:20 on Let’s Talk B-School: A Dealbreaker Reader Poll

    @ 63. It is. Although, for a new applicant (to BS or a fund), your approach (shown through innovation in the application method itself) would be more prized. PA management only matters if you're applying to be a PM. @ Bess Count for people I'd hire: CBS: 0 GSB: 1 (JD/MBA who's apparently smarter than the girl I'd love to recruit) Objectively, Harper is more isolated than CBS, and hence more conducive to the important things in the program: meeting future partners in bed and for business. @ CBS/GSB No offense. I only have the people I've met as reference points. CBS has a good value investing program, and GSB kids tend to have a better macro perspective.

  3. 3
    Posted 2009-03-25 17:16:44 on More Debt Than They Bargained For
  4. 4
    Posted 2009-03-16 20:36:05 on We Love You, So Hurry Up And Die

    Lovely, as usual. Get back.

  5. 5
    Posted 2009-03-10 18:00:11 on The Obama Portfolio

    0 and 35 Collected annually on April 15 No high water mark No redemptions Incentive may be increased to 80 at the GP's discretion following his own indiscretions

  6. 6
    Posted 2009-02-18 14:04:26 on Government Mortgage Cheese

    "Companies that service mortgages will get $1,000 for each loan that's modified" Backdoor way to recap WFC and similar.

  7. 7
    Posted 2009-02-09 19:52:00 on Layoffs Watch ’09: Dartmouth

    "because of the global recession." And not so much because of indiscriminate security purchase policies.

  8. 8
    Posted 2009-02-05 17:43:48 on Fail.

    It's amazing how academics manage to prove history after the fact. Also, the events of '08-'10 are not "Black Swan" events. The irrationality of '05-'07 in various asset classes may be defined as such. Generally, when things are overpriced, there's a sharp revaluation. I'd say chicken, or KFC, if you're American. After all, EMH fanboys can't complain. The markets are always right, hence the current price levels are the proper ones.

  9. 9
    Posted 2009-02-03 18:18:23 on Dear Investor

    Unclear how long/short continues to lose money. Of all "strategies", long/short value has traditionally had the more rational managers, and have the most flexibility with regards to asset allocation and timing. Maybe the successful ones don't spend as much time in the media. Greenlight Jan '09: down 60 bps (it's a relative VICTORY guys, and a bigger incentive-less hole in the more absolute sense)

  10. 10
    Posted 2009-02-02 14:24:44 on Dear Vikings

    The "net YTD" numbers are cute. Not making any incentive till they get the FYTD numbers back upto par. That's going to take some time.

  11. 11

    Prices are converging towards intrinsic value. By the way - "bankers", you guys are salespeople. Sales people are paid on commission. If there's nothing to sell, or if the buyers realize that you're not worth anything, you don't make money. Now that you've run out of stupid buyers, the used-company dealership model falls apart. If you want to maintain high wages, work in a job where you can directly attribute your pay to performance (ideally, contractually), have some level of agency over your work, then put in the sweat to make some money for your firm and yourself.

  12. 12
    Posted 2009-01-28 18:14:58 on Write-Offs: 01.28.09

    What defines "top tier"? Is that the same set of people who oh-so-called the coming crash yet were down 20-70% in '08 because of "unexpected market conditions" while trying to "preserve capital"? Or maybe top-tier merely means they have they've paid for the best connections to pension managers. Also, @5, the only problem with everyone returning to rational investing is that rational investors will cease to make abnormal returns, and will ply their trade elsewhere. Hence, equilibrium requires a healthy dose of idiots in the market, including quants.

  13. 13
    Posted 2009-01-28 08:28:11 on Opening Bell: 01.28.09

    $(294)m net charge-offs related to Madoff fraud - part of WFC's big bath http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_bath

  14. 14
    Posted 2009-01-27 13:18:28 on Presented Without Comment: Efficient Markets

    Now you're really bored.

  15. 15
    Posted 2009-01-23 13:32:37 on Hunting The CDS Demons

    @30 As are any contracts that do not represent ownership of the reference entity. i.e. most derivatives. The justification for legalization (vs gambling laws) is that they provide risk liquidity for certain parties. Allows said parties to somewhat cover their asses for making stupid purchases elsewhere.

  16. 16

    Bess Levin and Win Smith share an alma mater. Why the spite? Did you have a tiff with little Merrill back in college days?

  17. 17
    Posted 2008-11-05 18:00:08 on Evening Wrap: Absence Of Recovery

    Tomorrow evening? Let's say nine. You name the place.

  18. 18

    Anyone else listen to that WFC "Business Update" call? "That sounds scary (laughter)" - After the risks were read out "We expect to take a $40b hit related to the acquisition, so that our future EPS looks better" (vs $100b market cap, $36b tangible equity, $25b TARP debt, $10b equity raise) "No calls? Really operator? Guess we'll wrap up for the day."

  19. 19
    Posted 2008-11-04 14:08:19 on All-Staff Dark Arts Retreat Paying Off Big Time

    Surprising that it's only 18% for October. They get paid on an inverse-market basis. Which would mean this year they're the equivalent of a down 11%, long-only, relative-pay fund (or an up 17% absolute return).

  20. 20
    Posted 2008-11-04 11:00:39 on Buyout Loans: Next In Line?

    Aren't these akin to the C&I loans held by the regional banks? Granted, the credit quality may differ. But Wells & Co are carrying these on their books at 98 vs a market price of 65.