Entry: CNN Has Finally Jumped The Shark

posted by Pro_Forma

Apr 30, 2008 6:15PM

My personal favorite was "40-lb chunk of metal hits driver in face".

How pissed would that guy be if he ever came across someone wearing that shirt?

Entry: Need My Payday Loan To Pay The Rent On My New Washer Dryer Set

posted by Pro_Forma

May 01, 2008 12:06PM

Trust me, the loan rates are pretty ridiculous. If you want the best of both "evil" worlds (PE and payday lending), take a look at Golden Gate.

Entry: Need My Payday Loan To Pay The Rent On My New Washer Dryer Set

posted by Pro_Forma

May 01, 2008 12:12PM

As an funny aside, Golden Gate's payday lending portfolio company (California Check Cashing, which also acquired Fast Cash) is the only investment not listed on the portfolio company page of its website.

Entry: When Brazil Has Better Credit Than You, It Is Time To Exit The Market

posted by Pro_Forma

May 01, 2008 5:26PM

People have expected immense growth from Brazil for years, and it has continued to disappoint.

Of the BRIC country group, Brazil along with Russia will grow from their own raw material supplies. The bulk of higher value, service-driven growth will come from India and China. Don't see any scenario where Brazil's GDP surpasses that of the U.S. during our lifetime, though I'd expect to see it from China in the next 30 years or so.

Entry: Citi Finding Innovative Ways To Further Demoralize Employees

posted by Pro_Forma

May 06, 2008 12:28PM

It's like reading a dumbed down version of EP's stuff.

Entry: Protestors Foul Up Evening Commute

posted by Pro_Forma

May 07, 2008 5:17PM

"Stupid fucks" are people who protest things they don't understand (e.g., the protesters at Bear). These people are protesting based on their own beliefs and principals - so the only stupid fucks here would be folks like 5:12pm that are so quick to judge.

Heard Sharpton got arrested, which brought a smile to my face.

Entry: Protestors Foul Up Evening Commute

posted by Pro_Forma

May 07, 2008 5:44PM

@ Anal_yst

I was merely making the point that someone protesting based on their own disagreement with the court's verdict shouldn't label them as a stupid fuck. Whether they have a clue as to why they disagree with the verdict, however, could label them as such.

Sharpton has lost any credibility he ever had - the man is to the left what Pat Robertson is to the right. Of course, as a moderate, I can't stand either of them.

Entry: Protestors Foul Up Evening Commute

posted by Pro_Forma

May 07, 2008 5:57PM

Sounds like there may be more delays coming. How fanfuckingtastic:

"We're trying to tie up the city on a moderate way," Sharpton said. "This is not the shutdown."

The protests were peaceful. Sharpton says the "pray-ins" are part of many planned for the coming weeks, unless something changes in the case. "

Entry: American Psycho: Sometimes Penis Envy Is Just Penis Envy

posted by Pro_Forma

May 09, 2008 4:28PM

Wow - actually a lot more entertaining and well done than I expected.

Entry: American Psycho: Sometimes Penis Envy Is Just Penis Envy

posted by Pro_Forma

May 09, 2008 4:51PM

@ 4:40

What makes you think people on this site are meatheads? This site is the freaking US Weekly of Wall Street for god sakes.

Entry: Older Guy Declares War On Millennials

posted by Pro_Forma

May 15, 2008 3:51PM

All this "back in my day" ranting is ridiculous. As it was pointed out way up this page, every generation has its groups of jackasses, its diligent workers, and everything in between.

Sweeping generalizations based on an N of 1 (i.e., the fairy kid) just make you sound senile.

Entry: Older Guy Declares War On Millennials

posted by Pro_Forma

May 15, 2008 4:06PM

Isn't today's grade inflation a product of draft-dodging - i.e., letting students attain "B" averages (or something similar) in order to avoid the draft all-together?

Entry: PIK Toggles And The Credit Crisis.

posted by Pro_Forma

May 19, 2008 1:38PM

I'm skeptical as to the actual magnitude of any cash impact on the holders of the PIK notes. Certainly the toggle represents a negative signal as to the quality of the credit - but it's not like these were 5 year straight line ammort notes to begin with (most that had any required paydowns were on the order of 1% per year), so the actual impact of reduced cash flow seems overstated.

Entry: PIK Toggles And The Credit Crisis.

posted by Pro_Forma

May 19, 2008 2:30PM

@ Analyst

That was my point. Agree that its a negative signal / leading indicator.

Didn't agree that the cash impact to noteholders would as material / meaningful as was portrayed in the DB write-up.

Entry: PIK Toggles And The Credit Crisis.

posted by Pro_Forma

May 19, 2008 2:43PM

PIK toggles generally aren't automatically triggered by changes in a company's financial standing, but for all intents and purposes the change is usually a product of more than "good financial management".

Even at the simplest level, the interest rate on debt that gets toggeled is usually significantly higher (e.g., by 400 to 500 bps). At my fund we've only used it when the alternative would be to trip over a debt covenant (e.g., fixed charge ratios or maximum debt / EBITDA multiples).

Entry: PIK Toggles And The Credit Crisis.

posted by Pro_Forma

May 19, 2008 4:40PM

@ 3:21

It depends on the specific terms and conditions of said leverage covenants. In the cases where we toggled, it was in order to meet fixed charge coverage ratios that included cash interest but excluded PIK interest expense.

Entry: PIK Toggles And The Credit Crisis.

posted by Pro_Forma

May 19, 2008 4:44PM

I've also seen companies flip the toggle and move PIK debt up to the Holdco level in order to avoid busting total debt / EBITDA covenants.

I'm sure the creditors were ecstatic.

Entry: Write-Offs: 05.22.08

posted by Pro_Forma

May 22, 2008 9:28PM

Probably near an oil rig.

Entry: Welcome to the Nosedive Economy, Apollo Founder Says

posted by Pro_Forma

Jun 04, 2008 6:32PM

@ Diablo

Putting on my conspiracy hat, I'd say this kind of rhetoric has nothing to do with alleviating LP concerns and everything to do with coercing potential targets into doing deals at lower multiples.