Connecticut

  • 22 Oct 2010 at 2:07 PM

Hedge Fund Manager/Senate Candidate Puts Up $100 Million For Someone To Prove To Him The US Can Run Out Of Money

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Warren Mosler is running for Congress in Connecticut. Before he can be elected, however, he says we need to get a few things straight.

“I am running for U.S. Senate to see my policies implemented to create the 20 million jobs we need,” he said today. “And to do this it must be understood that there is simply no such thing as the U.S. Federal government running out of money, nor is the Federal government operationally dependent on borrowing from China or anyone else. U.S. states, individuals, and companies can indeed become insolvent, but U.S. government checks will never bounce. Yes, large Federal deficits that push the economy beyond the point of full employment can lead to inflation or currency devaluation, but not bankruptcy and not bounced checks. If lawmakers today understood this fact, they would not be looking to cut Social Security and we would not still be mired in this disastrous recession.”

Because lawmakers apparently do not understand this, Mosler, who also threw in an analogy about football (“When a touchdown is scored, the number on the scoreboard changes from 0 to 6. No one wonders where the stadium got the 6 points, no one demands that stadiums keep a reserve of points in a lockbox and no one is worried about using up all the points and thereby denying our children the chance to play.”) has said that if anyone can prove him wrong re the government not being able to run out of money, he’ll donate $100 million of his own money to “pay down the Federal deficit.” Read more »

  • 14 Oct 2010 at 11:35 AM

Billionaire Hedge Fund Managers: They’re Just Like Us!

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They cut/piss people off on the morning commute and effectively ruin their days. Read more »

  • 12 Oct 2010 at 2:30 PM

Greenwich Youth Abandons Wall Street For Siren Song Of Teddy Bear Manufacturing

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Growing up in Greenwich, with a father who works in finance, there were expectations placed on Matt McCarty. You know the ones. Prep school, followed by an Ivy or Ivy-esque college, a job on Wall Street, all that stuff. And in the beginning, those expectations were met. Matty attended the Brunswick school, then Vanderbilt, and did a summer internship at CRT Capital Group. But he always felt like there was something else he was meant to do. And one day, he got up the courage to go for it. Read more »

  • 22 Jun 2010 at 5:02 PM

Hedge Fund Manager’s Son Is The Guy Connecticut Residents Will Want To Talk To When Convention Of Worst People On Earth Invade Next Weekend

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As he is the son of an extremely principled man, it’s no surprise to hear that Matt Dalio spends a good portion of his time helping others. The main avenue through which Dalio shows he cares is the China Care Foundation, which Matthew found and which provides “medical care and nurturing to Chinese orphans.” This coming Saturday, CCF will hold it’s annual fundraiser– a concert at the Belle Haven Club (accessible by boat). This is, of course, wonderful– humanity people at all that jazz. And while the children of China will certainly benefit, there is a not insignificant number of people who will be indirectly hurt by this event, and who are, at this very time, quaking in their boots. You see, this year, Dalio and Co decided to go with Dave Matthews as the headliner for the concert. And the neighbors are already terrified.

“We’re expecting a big crowd, an invasion of Dave Matthews followers,” said Lt. Richard Cochran, a Greenwich police spokesman. “So we’re going to have in excess of 40 or 50 officers down there on land. That doesn’t include officers who will be on the boat monitoring boat traffic to keep trespassers from invading the beaches and the surrounding residences down there.”

Unfortunately, Cochran underestimated the sheer will of Dave Matthews Band fans. As a representative of the groupies noted:

“People want to hear their DMB, they’re going to hear their DMB. They’re going to figure out a way. He’s got a cult-like following,” said Jake Vigliotti, a Norwalk native now living in Orlando, Fla., who runs the Dave Matthews fan site AntsMarching.org with two friends.

Read more »

  • 22 Apr 2010 at 10:45 AM

Metro-North Officials Contemplating Ruining The Lives Of Connecticut-Dwelling Financial Services Hacks

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Don't take this away from them.

Listen up. Something serious is going on. I’m not talking about Goldman v. the SEC and I’m not talking about Obama’s scheduled hate speech. I’m talking about the one thing that makes the lives of those of you slogging back to Connecticut each day after what was probably a miserable twelve hours on the job worth living– I’m talking about the right to get smashed during the commute. You fought the proposed ban on Happy Hour on Wheels a few years back and you won. And now, due to the “recession,” officials are saying that new trains may not included a place to booze it up, claiming that more seats are a bigger priority than the bar car, or something like that (I stopped paying attention because I was so seething mad, for you). I know it’s wrong, you know it’s wrong, and eventually it’s gonna kill a few people, either due a stress-related heart attack, or by sucking out their will to live. Read more »

  • 26 May 2009 at 5:18 PM

We Are Not Changing The Rules

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vegas2.jpgFarewell, poor Connecticut, we barely knew ye. Next stop: Vegas, baby.

Prompted by the Bernard Madoff investment scandal and other financial failures, Democratic senators called Tuesday for Connecticut to become the first state in the nation to require more disclosure and transparency for hedge funds, private-equity firms, and venture capitalists.
Led by Senator Bob Duff of Norwalk, senators said the move was necessary in order to protect consumers and investors. The bill, which is supported by the Managed Fund Association, states that any firm that is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission must still abide by the SEC rules that state that material conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the investors.
“We’re not changing the rules. These are the rules the SEC has,” said Duff, who has been pushing for legislation for three years.

We are looking forward to seeing all the hedge funds move to Nevada. Actually, when you think about it, the convenience factor alone is reason enough to make the move. A lack of proximity to Washington is also a major point for the trip West. Then there are the amazing deals on hotels that the credit crunch has created. And do I even have to mention the ease of parking?
Senate Debates First State Hedge Fund Regulation in USA [courant.com]

  • 06 May 2009 at 1:23 PM

The Truth Is In Stamford

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We know, we know. The crushing blows being delivered to New York’s financial sector are crushing every other sector in New York. Yes, we feel it too. But take a few moments to remember that Manhattan is not the center of the world. Well, not entirely the center of the world. You know, get some… what do they call it exactly… perspective? Express some deeper understanding for your fellows. After all, New York City is not the only hub of finance in New England. Have you forgotten Stamford, Connecticut?

In 2002, UBS AG built North America’s biggest trading floor here. Not to be outdone, rival Royal Bank of Scotland broke ground across the street in 2006, planning its own lavish headquarters — and a trading floor nearly as large.
Then the turmoil on Wall Street began, shaking and shrinking these giants of the financial-services industry.
So what is next for the city that has garnered the reputation, at least locally, as “Wall Street North?”
It is a question frequently heard around Stamford, a city whose growth in recent years is owed in large part to the financial-services sector. Aside from its twin banking giants, Stamford’s financial companies include Thomson Reuters Corp., General Re Corp., part of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and a slew of hedge funds and smaller companies that sprouted up in the last 15 years. In 2006, at the RBS groundbreaking, Mayor Dan Malloy declared that “Stamford’s place in the financial industry in the world, as a capital of financial services, is now secure.”

Yeah… maybe not so much.
Remember how Vancouver was sort of the Stamford of Canada (ok, it is nothing like Stamford but that’s not the point) until some sage film production tax breaks and media incentives turned it into a throbbing, vibrant mecca for people who wanted to film the X-Files? That is, until no one wanted to film X-Files in Vancouver anymore and they all preferred to be in Los Angeles. But in the interim, there were a lot of good years.
Well, Vancouver, Stamford is going to eat your lunch:

To weather the downturn, city officials know they can no longer bank only on banks. Instead, they are looking west — to Hollywood.
[...]
The state offers a 30% tax credit on production and a 20% tax credit on infrastructure costs exceeding $1 million, factors cited by NBC Universal when it announced earlier this year it will be shifting production of several shows, including “The Jerry Springer Show” and “Maury,” along with some 150 jobs, to Stamford.

Outstanding!
Trouble in ‘Wall Street North’ Spurs Search for New Identity [The Wall Street Journal]

  • 23 Mar 2009 at 2:45 PM

Connecticut Is Mad As Hell And Is Not Going To Take This Anymore!

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Seriously. Connecticut is really pissed off and they want their piece of the pie. Yesterday.

The state of Connecticut is analyzing the details of bonuses paid by American International Group to see whether they violated state law and what possible remedies might be pursued, the Commissioner of Consumer Protection said on Monday.

But that’s nothing. Consider the point of this $165 v. $218 million bonus discrepancy thing. Connecticut wants to get that. Now.

This discrepancy now will be probed, Farrell said.

Well, Ed, prepare to be probed.
Connecticut eyes AIG bonuses, possible remedies [Reuters]