Write-Offs: 12.15.11

Author:: Dealbreaker
Updated:: Jan 14, 2019
Original:: Dec 15, 2011

$$$ Burton Malkiel on Emanuel Derman: "While quantum electrodynamics is a genuine theory of all reality, financial models are only mediocre metaphors for a part of it." [WSJ]

$$$ Corzine: “I don’t know how to respond to something that someone said to somebody else to somebody else that is unidentified.” Just like that! [FT]

$$$Peak credit, peak vol, peak corr [Aleph Blog, PragCap, WSJ]

$$$ Prosecutors think Allen Stanford is faking amnesia [CNBC]

$$$ Credit Suisse marks its two-weeker policy to market [Marketplace]

$$$Zynga IPO prices at $10 a share, top end of range [IFR]

$$$Fitch Downgrades a Bunch of Banks, Including Bank of America and Goldman [MarketBeat]

$$$ Some people think European banks are insolvent [Bloomberg, ZH/Bloomberg TV]

$$$ Retiring Goldman Sachs head of sponsors coverage Milton Berlinski is a bad at skiing, awesome at sucking up to clients [Bloomberg]

$$$ SORRY WORLD LEADERS: if you don’t email Henry Blodget soon, you won't be on his slideshow of Davos vacation pictures [BI]

$$$Should you fuck Tim Tebow? [Jezebel]

$$$ Germany Takes Hard Line on Spanish Banks $$$ Wall Street pay: Headed up or down? [Unstructured Finance] $$$ Bank CEOs Fear the Fiscal Cliff They Apparently Don’t Understand [DI] $$$ Swaps Rule Sends Wall Street Into Clearing Limbo [Bloomberg] $$$ "One visitor recalls a family ritual: Every night at around 9:30 or 10:00, Mitt and Ann would meet at the foot of their staircase, clasp hands, and escort each other upstairs to the bedroom, in full view of their brood." [TNR] $$$ Tim Tebow Has Officially Trademarked Tebowing [Deadspin] $$$ A global investment bank is looking for a director for Financial Crime Compliance [DBCC] $$$ Cries of abuse grow with use of complex U.S. stock orders [Reuters] $$$ SocGen to Sell Its Greek Bank [WSJ] $$$ Happy birthday Fox Business! [TBN] $$$ "Why does the male nude get no respect?" [WSJ] $$$ The Psychic Friends Network Cannot Predict Its Future [Bloomberg View]

$$$ Pierre-Henri Flamand is closing his event-driven hedge fund Edoma because there are no events [WSJ] $$$ Global Regulators to Cut List of Too-Big-To-Fail Banks to 28 [Bloomberg] $$$ Wells Seeks Mortgage-Suit Dismissal, Citing Redundancy [WSJ] $$$ Bloomberg endorses Obama [Bloomberg View] $$$ So does Whitney Tilson [BBW] $$$ Obviously there is a Harvard Business School Gangnam Style video [YouTube] $$$ The SEC is looking for a graphic artist / web designer in DC [DBCC] $$$ "Bernanke Depression Guru Seeks Roosevelt Well-Being" [Bloomberg] $$$ "The guide's popularity offers a glimpse into the world of aspiring management consultants" [WSJ] $$$ "Over the last 60 years, poll questions that asked people which candidate they expected to win have been a better guide to the outcome of the presidential race than questions asking people whom they planned to vote for." [NYT] $$$ Yield is the Last Refuge of Scoundrels [Aleph Blog] $$$ Cory Booker Not Taking Hot Pocket Crisis Seriously [DI]

$$$ Italy Vote Shows No Clear Winner, as Berlusconi Rises [WSJ] $$$ Goldman to begin fresh round of job cuts [Reuters] $$$ Remember That $83 Billion Bank Subsidy? We Weren't Kidding [Bloomberg, earlier] $$$ "There appears to be a growing trendin dying industries: The bosses want to hold their bedside vigils in private." [Deal Journal] $$$ Banks to sell complex CDS books [IFR] $$$ "As an excellent student with advanced people skills and an exciting resume, with a desire to be part of a challenging, energetic, and reputable organization, I will be a valuable addition to The Catholic Church as your new Pope." [McSweeney's] $$$ A top-tier investment management firm is looking for a VP, behavioral finance specialist in New York [DBCC] $$$ Wells Fargo Role in Heinz Deal Is Credit Negative, Moody’s Says [Bloomberg] $$$ Leveraged loan market on fire [Sober Look] $$$ Banks Face Key Hurdle in Libor Fight [WSJ] $$$ RBS plans IPO for U.S. arm Citizens in next two years [Reuters] $$$ John Kerry Brings Democracy to Kyrzakhstan [DI]

$$$ Dell Founder Said to Weigh Switching to Blackstone Offer [DealBook] $$$ Mortgage Securitizers Didn’t Know Housing Was Going Bust [WSJ] $$$ The case for Cypriot national equity [FTAV] $$$ BRICS Nations Plan New Bank to Bypass World Bank, IMF [Bloomberg] $$$ "Nestled in the shadow of the picturesque southern mountain range Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, home to Ireland’s three highest peaks, Kilgarvan is little more than a blink-and-you-miss-it blip on the busy road between the tourist towns of Killarney and Kenmare," but now you can drive drunk there [NYT] $$$ Sorry for today's technical difficulties. We expect things will be better tomorrow. If they're not, we'll probably be at Dealbroken, so check there too. $$$ Dudley gives first hints of slowing QE3 [FT] $$$ Bernanke Rejects Currency War Charges [WSJ] $$$ "Perhaps if we paid more money we’d have skilled associates." Instead you have bill padding. [DealBook] $$$ Tesla's Elon Musk tweets about big announcement for Thursday [CNET] $$$ "Hiring Richard Fuld is potentially so hazardous, he requires his own risk factor." [Overheard] $$$ The Most Expensive T-Shirt in New York City Costs $91,500.00 [The Awl]

$$$ Stocks Near New Heights as Small Investors Regain Faith [NYT] $$$ J.P. Morgan Risk Officer Taking Leave of Absence [WSJ] $$$ Soros Says Hedge Funds Can’t Beat Market Because of Fees [Bloomberg] $$$ UBS Chairman proposes industry-wide settlement over Libor [Reuters] $$$ "One explanation for the confusion is that many things that are considered normal in finance look like fraud to almost everyone else." [Free Exchange] $$$ Outcry Over Bid to Make Water Cheaper Than Beer [WSJ] $$$ An investment management firm is looking for a senior investment associate to research credit hedge funds in D.C. [DBCC] $$$ Europe's Banks Rush to Repay ECB Funds [WSJ] $$$ U.S. Court Ruling Threatens Consumer Bureau Decisions [Bloomberg] $$$ Italy's Monte Paschi faces shareholder fury as scandal widens [Reuters] $$$ You may be surprised to learn that "the president and chairman of Mortgage Xpress, Inc. (subsequently renamed The Alternative Energy Technology Center, Inc.)" was sued by the SEC [SEC] $$$ Cory Booker Continues His Steady March Toward Canonization by Personally Saving a Stranded Dog from Freezing to Death [Gawker]