cauxion's Profile
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Entry: John Thain's Favorite Part Of Merrill
posted by cauxion
Jun 13, 2008 10:34AM
Yeah, I don't know if that is the reason why the herd is quiet.
I think (actually I know) they're quiet because they see all of their friends at the brokerage and bank houses getting thrown out on their a$$e$ and they're afraid because they still have another 3 years worth of payments on that new porsche and a balance of $52.34 in the checking and $154.33 in their savings account...
Entry: John Thain's Favorite Part Of Merrill
posted by cauxion
Jun 13, 2008 10:36AM
and american express has wanted posters with their pictures on it hung up at all of the high end retail stores... lol
Entry: Tim Sykes: The Ed Wood Of The Financial Services Industry
posted by cauxion
Jun 13, 2008 11:15AM
You know, this was actually pretty funny.
Entry: Government Officials Worry About Bond Market's Muted Reaction To Lehman News
posted by cauxion
Jun 14, 2008 8:33AM
I think anyone who has ever had any exposure to counterparty risk at an I-bank knows the ramifications of letting a major investment bank fail. I definitely think that the Fed knows that the street may try to get a little more reckless due to their assumption of a guaranteed backstop.
...but really think about it....
These banks are so inter-tangled that letting a large one go bankrupt is just too risky. The banks are like a loose piece of string on your shirt. You pull one end and the next thing you know the whole seam is coming undone.
I've worked in the back-office, middle-office and front-office at various times in my short career and I think that I have seen enough to be able to truly understand why it is the Fed could not let these banks fail. I think it is close to impossible to get a true understanding of what is going on at an I-bank if you just worked in the front-office, or just the middle, or just the back-office. Being exposed to all three gives you a better understanding of how these firms operate.
I know about the various types of exposure that these banks have with each other. I worked in counterparty risk for a year and I know how much trouble we would have been in if Bear or LEH fails. You just can't risk it, ESPECIALLY in an election year!!
Entry: Angelo Mozilo Ups Used Car Salesman Ante At Countrywide
posted by cauxion
Jun 14, 2008 8:45AM
Yeah, what else is new? This shouldn't be a shock to anyone. Whether you think it is right or wrong, it's common practice...
Entry: Why Is Anyone In Philadelphia Paying Their Mortgage?
posted by cauxion
Jun 14, 2008 8:55AM
Interesting way of dealing with the issue. Though I applaud the effort, it is not his place to make a decision such as that. His job is to uphold the law, which he is not doing. This is a very interesting story, and one that I will be following very closely.....
Entry: Jamie Dimon: We Got Bear On The Cheap
posted by cauxion
Jun 17, 2008 1:12PM
Very interesting...
Entry: In Praise Of Conflicted Stock Analysts
posted by cauxion
Jun 17, 2008 1:26PM
I agree 100% with 12:38 pm. The negatives associated with an analyst owning the stocks that they cover FAR outway the so called positives.
Though flawed and in need of some tweaking, I think some variation of the current system should stay in place.
Me personally.... I don't trust any analysis done buy the stock analysts on the street, and I know my views would not change if they were somehow required to hold the stocks they cover. This coming from a former equity analyst (buy side)....
Entry: Who Is Behind The Fannie Mae-Countrywide Story?
posted by cauxion
Jun 17, 2008 6:16PM
I think we veered off of the topic just a bit but that is ok. I agree with 2:30 pm in that Angelo had many enemies in the finance/mortgage world. I also think that this smells of political back-stabbing, which would not surprise me one bit.
I now live in Washington, D.C. and many of my close friends work on Capitol Hill. Our semi-weekly happy hours have been quite interesting as of late. This "scandal" has definitely replaced our normal discussions on foreign policy, the economy and the daily shenanigans of our chosen "leaders of the free world"... Actually, from some of the cap hill whispers that I've been hearing, this latest thing with Angelo ties in to the rest of our topics, so maybe "replace" is not the correct word.. Something to ponder perhaps.
I will be keeping my eye on this story to see how it develops but this is very interesting to say the least.
Entry: Did Bank of America Write The Bailout Bill?
posted by cauxion
Jun 23, 2008 4:30PM
This is hilarious!! lol... You guys are 100% correct, they got Dodd on the cheap.
I wonder how they are going to try and explain this one way.
Entry: Lehman Brothers Sued In Shareholder Suit
posted by cauxion
Jun 25, 2008 9:49AM
Lehman had to have known this was coming months before it happened. I'd be willing to bet you a grilled caciocavallo podolico cheese sandwich that Lehman had their lawyers getting their sh*t together for potential lawsuits WHILE they were painting that rosey picture of their finances.
Someone tell me something.... what is the difference between the actions of Lehman and Cioffi & Tannin (C&T)? Virtually nothing if you ask me....
Entry: Dick Grasso Scores Another Win In NYSE Compensation Case
posted by cauxion
Jun 25, 2008 10:05AM
Yeah, I caught Gas P breaking the story a full 3 minutes before Bloomberg. Say what you want about him, he does often break a story before most of the other media outlets....
But yeah, I saw this was one coming about 10 minutes after the Spitzer story broke, and my thoughts were reaffirmed about 3 minutes after his press conference.
This is just the beginning though. I wonder if the majority of the defendants in the cases Spitzer brought will be appealing in the very near future.... I'm interested in seeing how this one turns out.
Entry: The Bear Stearns Man: Poor Smart And Desirous of Wealth
posted by cauxion
Jun 25, 2008 10:24AM
Ummmm... I think we kind of veered off of the topic again.. lol..
Bottom line, no one knows what the hell Cioffi, or Tannin, or any one else was thinking when they got caught up in this sh*t.
I mean it's normal for people to be blinded by that dense fog of profits surrounding you....problem is, they never see that 30,000 pound tractor trailer filled with horse manure heading straight for your little drop-top aston martin DB9 Volante. Maybe that was the case with Cioffi.. Or maybe.. he just didn't know what the hell he was doing. Either one of those scenarios wouldn't surprise me one bit. One thing I have learned during my brief career in finance is that this industry is filled with people who are on both sides of that fence...
Entry: Dick Grasso Scores Another Win In NYSE Compensation Case
posted by cauxion
Jun 25, 2008 10:32AM
You're right FUNdamental. The majority of his cases never went to trial.
Entry: Should Stock Analysts Own Their Picks?
posted by cauxion
Jun 25, 2008 6:13PM
Simple solution.... Bonuses should be based on the percentage of stock picks they get correct. Problem solved!
Anything else and you are asking for trouble.
Entry: Should Stock Analysts Own Their Picks?
posted by cauxion
Jun 26, 2008 8:34AM
I have to admit, I've only read a handful of sell-side analyst reports. When I used to do reports for my firm they were actually pretty in-depth and reliable... of course I was on the buy side.
I mean come on, we all know sell-side analysis is a joke. It's not a big secret to those that know anything about how the system works.
A bunch of us analysts (buy and sell side) used to get together and laugh about how ridiculously stupid people had to be to base their trading decisions off of these reports.
Entry: Goldman Downgrades Citi, Merrill, Mediocre Liberal Arts School
posted by cauxion
Jun 26, 2008 11:25AM
Hmmm... time to go car shopping perhaps.... I was never a fan of GM cars, but I do kind of like that new Lucerne. lol
Entry: Comebacks: Rich Marin, Bear Stearns Asset Management
posted by cauxion
Jul 02, 2008 10:03AM
Let's take bets on how long this new venture will stay in business...
I got $2 (lol) that says this business fails by the first quarter of '09!
Entry: Gasparino: CFO Erin Callan, COO Joseph Gregory Out At Lehman Brothers
posted by cauxion
Jun 12, 2008 8:33PM
Is it me or does Gas P. always look real greasy? I might send Kernan an email to tell him to hand that guy a deep cleaning facial cleansing wipe... a paper towel or something..
But yeah, he broke the story... sounded out of breath while he was reading it too. Must've sprinted to the phone after that second year analyst at LEH tipped him off....