Dealbreaker

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.

Entry: Asians Balk At Lehman Buy and The Fed Steps In

posted by Master of None

Aug 21, 2008 10:41AM

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

Entry: This Is Serious

posted by Master of None

Aug 25, 2008 4:23PM

@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."

Entry: This Is Serious

posted by Master of None

Aug 25, 2008 4:29PM

Also, what is absolutely NOT acceptable is to wear button-down shirts and NOT BUTTON THE COLLAR. Some guys (generally first-years) do this in an effort to effect the look of a spread collar, but I cringe every time I see it.

Entry: Dow Soars 300 Points In 5 Minutes

posted by Master of None

Sep 19, 2008 9:37AM

Bess,

Smartest thing you've ever said.

Regards,

MoN

Entry: Dow Soars 300 Points In 5 Minutes

posted by Master of None

Sep 19, 2008 9:59AM

Next we will have US taking a page from China and allowing direct investment of taxpayer money into the equity markets.

The economy is just as shitty today as it was on Wednesday. The only thing that has changed is that a lot of asset classes have been reclassified from risky to risk-free by the government.

This is great for those who scooped up distressed mortgages (PIMCO) and holders of other securities.

When it's all said and done the bailouts could be close to $1 trillion in a matter of weeks; that's close to adding 10% more to the national debt, which has built up over a hundred years.

In a few months the dollar will have dropped to "unprecedented" levels and inflation will be running at 5%. Then maybe we'll see interest rate hikes. That will kick the last leg out from equities - in the meantime the EPS downgrades from currency will be enough to limit upside going into 3Q and 4Q earnings.

Bear market rally. Sell into strength.

Entry: Mitsubishi Takes 20 Percent Stake In Morgan Stanley

posted by Master of None

Sep 22, 2008 8:36AM

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.

Entry: "ETF Land Is Broken"

posted by Master of None

Sep 24, 2008 12:30PM

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

Entry: Liquidity Versus Solvency: Part II

posted by Master of None

Sep 29, 2008 6:58PM

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.

Entry: Premium Disequilibrium

posted by Master of None

Oct 01, 2008 10:10AM

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

Entry: Investing In The Buff: Warren Endorses GE

posted by Master of None

Oct 01, 2008 2:38PM

I propose more use of the word "thick" in conjunction with WB.

Also "hard" and "gentle but assertive".

Entry: You Guys Like Taxes, Right?

posted by Master of None

Oct 01, 2008 7:10PM