QE2

  • 11 Jan 2011 at 4:15 PM

Meet The Fed’s QE2 Traders

By Bess Levin

Around the office they’re known as “Trader One,” “Trader Two,” and “Trader Three,” but you can call them Tiffany, Blake, and Uncle Jim. Continue reading »

  • 17 Nov 2010 at 10:45 AM

Charlie Gasparino: Lay Off Ben Bernanke, Lay On Obama

By Bess Levin

Charles Gasparino is just going to cut right to the chase– he’s seen that YouTube clip. You know the one, with the bears talkin’ economics and calling the chairman of the Federal Reserve “The Ben Bernank”? Someone sent it to him the other day and not just some pissant from a bucket shop on Long Island but a real live BSD.

I should point out that I was told to download the YouTube video not by some dopey trader during a slow day in the markets, but by a CEO in New York City who runs one of the biggest financial firms in the world. Bernanke’s senior staff has seen it too, I’m told, though a spokesman wouldn’t say whether the chairman has. “This video is going fucking viral,” the CEO told me with a laugh.

You know who’s not laughing? Charles Gasparino. After he got the clip to work (there were a few false starts and he didn’t have the volume turned on) he became filled with rage at these furry little shits. Continue reading »

  • 15 Nov 2010 at 1:53 PM

Matt Taibbi Indentifies Latest Big Insider Trading Scam

By Bess Levin

Ben Bernanke is advised to watch out for any flying cups of coffee or suspicious-looking pies. Continue reading »

  • 15 Nov 2010 at 12:50 PM

PIMCO’s Paul McCulley Tells Bernanke To Not Let The “Bastards” Grind Him Down

By Bess Levin

Earlier today, PIMCO managing director Paul McCulley took to the company blog to offer a word of congratulations to Ben Bernanke. “Bravo, Ben,” McCulley, a fan of QE2, wrote. How has the mustachioed investor come to the conclusion that the Fed’s program is the right move for the economy? It passed his litmus test when it was panned in equal measure by both smart, savvy individuals and Sarah Palin. Sayeth McCulley:

It brings me great angst to observe professional critics – many of them acquaintances and friends of mine – rhetorically beating Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke about the head and shoulders for launching QE2. At the same time, the fact that Sarah Palin has joined the chorus brings me great joy. If what Ben is doing offends both the learned and the unlearned, then he is clearly acting unconventionally relative to orthodoxy. And this is good, very good.

So just, you know, get on board. And if you can’t get on board, just shut the hell up and take it. This is happening, so buckle up. Continue reading »

  • 05 Nov 2010 at 12:34 PM

Bill Fleckenstein Has Some Thoughts On QE2: “These Idiots Think We Can Print Our Way To Prosperity”

By Bess Levin

In addition to a question for Bloomberg TV anchor Betty Lui, who asked Bill to “admit” that “the markets were in a better mood yesterday after QE2,” which is simply this: “Betty? Betty? Betty? How about in summer 2008, 2007, were the markets in a good mood? Were the markets in a good mood then?” Continue reading »