28JAN09:
Q1-09 DOW: 8900
Q2-09 DOW: 7250
Q3-09 DOW: 5810
Q4-09 DOW: 3960
CITI NATIONALIZED
OBAMA GETS SICK 27AUG09:
Mini Crash 21SEP09 Predicted correctly:
Bailout=Bonuses
Demise of Bear Stearns
Demise of Lehman Bros.
Demise of AIG
Subprime would cause problems
Date of 2007 crash
CRAs were to blame
G20 riots were a party
Northern Rock run
Northern Rock Nationalization
HBOS and RBS demise
UBS really was Useless
So the perpetrator of the credit crunch, the subprime CDO triple A stampers Standard and Poor have belatedly decided to give me and my fellow high tax payers a good kicking.
The world of structured finance is awash with illiquid, almost fossil solid ABS positions with unloved owners seeking new homes. Systems like ABS Exchange are redundant and middle office urchins are on long vacations. There are many ex Structured. Producters wanting to set up hedge funds but there are no investors investing or prime brokers willing to lend. And yet it wasn't that long ago when these assets were liquid and enjoyed the sort of credit rating the UK currently has.
This is the worse day of my life (the other was last week when plod decided to have a chat; I mean yellow walled cells that smell of violence and echo the screams of lawyerless mortals was almost as bad as being force fed a subway six footer).
The next worst day will be when I have to decide where to live. The levy on non doms is a real pain and along with the many Goldman Sachs partners who have to pay this too, the thought of living in Switzerland is too much.
Apparently Monaco is the place to live and they are looking to make it possible to run funds from there too. Thankfully I am visiting at the weekend to cheer on Jenson Button who has matured like a good cheddar and to find out who I am.
The Times Sports News Correspondent finds a few less yachts in the harbour, believes that Hamilton has lost his sparkle and offers a few tips to those thinking of moving to Monaco.
Oh, a life on the ocean wave. Or, at least, a week on a yacht tied up alongside the glitzy harbour in Monte Carlo.
The Monaco Grand Prix is under way and the familiar white hulls of the super yachts and the not so super yachts are bobbing in the harbour as the Formula One cars race around the twisty streets of this oddball little Principality.
Fintag says With Euros being so expensive, you won't find me helping out with their recession. Not that I am there for the shopping; sun and F1 groupies are on my agenda.
WASHINGTON PENSION BOARD SUES OVER $100M LEHMAN LOSS
Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) is suing Lehman Brothers' officers and directors, its investment bankers and its accountants to recoup more than US$100m lost in Lehman's securities.
The complaint alleges the defendants did not disclose the “precarious situation” of the bank - which went bust last year - at the time WSIB purchased Lehman subordinated and senior debt notes.
Fintag says As you know I have some collateral stuck at Lehman (Europe) and suing them is taking ages. Still, I have set up a distressed debt fund with this in it. Its worth 10 cents.
COLUMNIST ARGUES HEDGE FUNDS SHOULD BE “REGULATED OUT OF EXISTENCE”. TIME FOR A REALITY CHECK.
A lot of commentators - particularly in the mass media - have blamed hedge funds for the financial crisis. But unfortunately, their rhetoric is often very knee-jerk and lacks the necessary detail to actually make their arguments convincing. So in our yearning for a cogent argument against hedge funds, we were very excited to read this column yesterday by Kiplinger.com contributing columnist Steven Goldberg called “Ban Hedge Funds?”
But alas, Goldberg's arguments don't wash. In fact, they're so stained with apparent indignation toward hedge funds that we felt a need to document the fallacies and half-truths raised in the piece. As players in financial markets, hedge funds - like mutual funds, banks, pension funds, and individual investors - are all accomplices to the calamities. But the cause? I guess that you can find research to prove anything. But here's our take on the arguments raised by Goldberg...
Fintag says That is fine by me. I need to be taught a lesson [Editor: Steady].
Asian hedge funds rose 4.08% on average from a month ago and gained a second consecutive month of returns in April, according to Eurekahedge.
This brought gains in Asian hedge funds to 4.16% in the four months to April 30. The positive returns in April and March followed monthly losses in January and February.
Asian hedge funds performed better than their counterparts in North America which returned 3.62% and Europe which returned 3.79% in April.
Eurekahedge said hedge funds globally saw net outflows of $25.1 billion in April, leaving the industry with assets of around $1.3 trillion.
Morgan Stanley, which scaled back its group that services hedge funds in the past six months, hired UBS AG's Alexander Ehrlich to oversee the so-called prime brokerage, replacing Stuart Hendel.
Ehrlich, 50, is based in New York and will start in August, reporting to Richard Portogallo, Morgan Stanley's co-head of institutional sales, according to an internal memo obtained today by Bloomberg News. Hendel “has decided to leave the firm to pursue outside interests,” the memo said.
Morgan Stanley, the sixth-biggest U.S. bank by assets, decided in November to shrink its prime brokerage division to increase its focus on fewer important clients. Revenue and client balances were little changed in the first quarter compared with the fourth, a signal of stability after a 65 percent drop in client assets from September through November.
Fintag says Shocking. Morgan Stanley should have tried harder. I mean hiring someone from ...UBS? The bank is going to the dogs.
Fire him - even if he makes a few profitable trades.
At least that's what happened over at Morgan Stanley.
On February 6th, 2008, London-based oils trader David Redmond, then 26, is said to have returned to the office from a 3-hour boozy lunch break and engaged in a frenzied bout of trading - in a 90 minute period in the early evening, Redmond traded, on average, once every 7.5 seconds!
Realising that he was in breach of his trading limits, Redmond then concealed his trading positions overnight by apparently transferring them onto an unknowing colleague's book. In doing so, he is said to have exposed Morgan Stanley to a possible loss of up to $10m. The next day, without informing the firm what he was doing, Redmond managed to trade his way out of the position and returned a small profit. The trader only admitted what happened when Morgan Stanley's internal controls picked up on it.
Fintag says Now I thought Morgan Stanley routinely tested for drug and alcohol abuse. More proof that Morgan Stanley is turning into UBS.
Edward Liddy, the government-appointed chairman and chief executive of AIG, is to leave the stricken insurer after only eight months in a move that will allow the Obama administration to choose its own leaders for the troubled group.
The AIG board, which is now controlled by government appointees, said it would split the role of chairman and chief executive and look at external and internal candidates for those positions.
Fintag says So where is he going? Not Morgan Stanley surely?
GEITHNER PLEDGES TO CUT DEFICIT AMID RATING CONCERN
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Obama administration is committed to reducing the federal budget deficit after concerns rose that the U.S. debt rating may eventually be threatened with a downgrade.
“It's very important that this Congress and this president put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over the medium term,” Geithner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. He added that the target is reducing the gap to 3 percent of gross domestic product or smaller, from a projected 12.9 percent this year.
Fintag says Come and join us Brits. We were once Manchester United and we are now Newcastle United (will they or wont they?).
The week ended May 13th was the second largest ever increase , $34.735 billion, in marketable securities held in custody for foreign official and international accounts. The week just ended was the 13th largest ever. 336 weekly data points, starting December 18th, 2002.
Fintag says Which foreigners are they talking about? Why does the USA always assume we are foreigners? They are foreigners to us. It is imperialistic arrogance. For heavens sake we gave them their democracy and the language. We even gave them the iPod. I still love the place though and will retire there.
Arizona. Dog. Ranch. Checked shirt. Guitar. Fire. A big packet of illegal leaves.
30 comments
anonymous said ...
Laws keep us from any expression besides those that are politically correct so the unhappiness stews inside of us, we sublimate, and become more depressed with the inability to do anything different or 'special'.
The time is ripe for someone to rise up and give hope for change to the populace. I think we have voted that person into power. We now need to sit back and watch the depression ferment into anger - on both sides.
22 May 09 - 06:43 gmt
My Name Is Moronic said ...
Second behind the sixth form philosopher
22 May 09 - 07:02 gmt
Weavering Capital said ...
h ttp://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6335954.ece
No mention of your firm Fin ...any reason?
22 May 09 - 07:21 gmt
anonymous said ...
Hey Fin, Alex was at Goldman prior to taking over at UBS. When he left GS, your friend Manny Roman took on Alex's responsibilities. Goldies lost on both counts
22 May 09 - 07:36 gmt
Top Cat said ...
It must be time for another episode of GLG-enders soon?
22 May 09 - 07:53 gmt
I love Manny said ...
Finbar - you should ask about the size of Noam G's new retirement pad in NYC....apparently it has a larger atrium than MoMa.......
22 May 09 - 11:12 gmt
Anonymous Bull said ...
Where's Moron today? Hiding behind his 5 minute mkt pullback....
22 May 09 - 12:49 gmt
Moron said ...
I'm here......bring it on Anon Bull, this is a temporary setback. I'm hard as nails, I will take you down :))))))))))))))))))))
22 May 09 - 12:52 gmt
Moron said ...
wasnt me.....but I would have said something similar anyway:)
22 May 09 - 13:06 gmt
Moron said ...
anon bull.....I WILL CHEW U UP AND SPIT U OUT IF U DONT SHORT THIS MARKET NOW.....LONG ONLY MONKEY:))))
22 May 09 - 14:57 gmt
anonymous said ...
VICTORIOUS Gurkhas last night said they wouldn't live in Britain if you paid them, insisting they really just wanted to prove a point.
22 May 09 - 15:18 gmt
Anonymous Bull said ...
Moron not sure which back alley bucket shop you work for...But at a real HF we build a p/folio. I suggest you look up A Jones and hedge funds on Wikipedia to give yourself a better idea of what HF's are really about
22 May 09 - 15:46 gmt
Moron said ...
yes my friend u build a market neutral portfolio that goes nowhere when the market goes up and goes even more nowhere when the market goes down bcos everything is so neatly balanced....i hear u bro:)))
22 May 09 - 15:51 gmt
Anonymous Bull said ...
Spot on Moron...Yes our HF really is that charitable to allow me to build a neutral pfolio that goes nowhere. As I said earlier, check out Wikipedia will give you a smidgen of an idea of how HF's profit in all kind of mkts. Word of advice the SPX would need to first close below 870 before you can call off this bear mkt rally
22 May 09 - 16:32 gmt
Moron said ...
i think i know who u are and where u work:)))
22 May 09 - 16:53 gmt
anonymous said ...
If I ever meet you Moron, you'll be wearing your bollox as earrings, you stupid snivelling tool
22 May 09 - 18:17 gmt
anonymous said ...
Hey Moron - you scared off your internet date, Maria. Seemed like a pleasant lady, and you ruined it.
22 May 09 - 18:19 gmt
Alpha60 said ...
Fin - Didn't know you were a guitar hero fan. Game is fiendishly tough!
22 May 09 - 18:25 gmt
Moron said ...
Ladies....the rally is over.....I can feel it...I can smell it...I can see it....the great Moron has survived again.....time to prosper:)))
22 May 09 - 18:50 gmt
Top Cat said ...
Don't remember it being so violent on here until recently!
22 May 09 - 18:54 gmt
Moron said ...
KILL KILL DESTROY.....!!!!!
22 May 09 - 19:26 gmt
anonymous said ...
Desperately Unfunny Moron. Has now moved on to faux aggressive statements. Comedy genius!
22 May 09 - 20:50 gmt
llcarlos said ...
I'm long the CDN dollar. The US dollar is toast.
22 May 09 - 22:09 gmt
anonymous said ...
Long CDN maple leave gold. Not holding US gold liberty or bars, as it is too likely to confiscate. US on its way to 2nd world status. England on its way to 3rd. China has too many people in the interior to be 1st world unless it uses the entire world's resources, hence I'm long Brazil.
23 May 09 - 00:54 gmt
anonymous said ...
Alternative Bet: USA loses its triple A status over holiday weekend as it can't do anything Monday. Down big across globe but GS uses dark pools to boost s&p futures, making everyone in America think all is well.
Finbar Taggit: You swimming in the dark pools? What do you see?
23 May 09 - 00:56 gmt
Moron said ...
KILL KILL KILL!!!!!
23 May 09 - 01:02 gmt
HOWARD said ...
NO MERCY FOR THE LONGS, NEXT WEEK THE PAIN INTENSIFIES - MORON ES CORRECTO!!!
23 May 09 - 16:56 gmt
Moron said ...
KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!
23 May 09 - 18:25 gmt
Moron said ...
If i wasnt in this business i wud be a terrorist i like money but I LIKE BLOOD EVEN MORE!!!!!!!
facebook
free daily e-mail
feed
