THE FINTAG NEWSLETTER
@ Mon 25 May 2009 : GMT

FINTAG COMMENT

Bank holiday.

As part of my own cost cutting, my beloved Centurion Amex card (it is the rare Titanium version) has been cut up. The new annual charge (GBP1800) is the price of a two month vacation in Iceland. This struck well with the well known Pirate Equity jocky I had supper with at the weekend who has done the same even though Amex waived the fee because he spends, I kid you not, over 4 million a year on it. PA. He was a Pirate who made off with the gold coins during the leverage years and is now quite frankly lost in a world of luxury and by all counts should be living in Dubai. But he chooses to stay here and pay his taxes. You see, Amex provide details of excessive expenditure statements to the tax authorities and check out that the individual concerned is paying up. He is mad but stays because he is actually a socialist. Image that. A socialist private equity partner.

Where did it all go wrong? History is made in corridors and brothels, but with agents of the state everywhere snooping like hound dogs on the trail of their own scent, it is time to go under the radar.

So cash it is. Never again will I use a piece of plastic. But since I don't like putting things in the pockets of my suit, I will be using my socks instead.

I hear you cry, why weren't you in Monaco watching the F1? Well after I cut my Amex card, I had no means of paying for the trip on line. However, given my life is less flash and more cultured these days, I spent the weekend gardening and enjoying the green shoots instead.

Today is another UK Bank Holiday so I can ramble on about nothing because the rest of the UK is too, in the garden. Or the park. Have you noticed that only fit people picnic in the parks these days? It is always an excuse to strip down and show off those thousands of man hours in the gym. A good idea I say.

Keeping hip
Despite my natural luddite tendencies, I do try and keep up with the latest fads. I was one of the first UK citizens to adopt Twitter (check it out) and one of the last to adopt Spotify. However, as an internet radio it is quite awesome and to celebrate saying goodbye to my iPlod, here is a playlist for Hedgies. It is collaborative so you can add your own songs to the playlist that the world can see. Let me know what you think. Rules are the song titles and or artists should have something to do with hedge funds.

Music For Hedgies (Spotify Playlist) - http://open.spotify.com/user/fintag/playlist/6inoXwGz9HTlxMKwnfgbNN

Today's news is grim. Nuclear War and a Chancellor who doesn't understand the tax system and pays for an Accountant to do his tax return:

telegraph says " MPs' expenses: Alistair Darling's claim for help with his tax return "

bloomberg says " Yen Falls as Report Says N. Korea Launched Short-Range Missile "

times says " Geneva, here we come "

icfa says " BNY Mellon new mandate "

independent says "Backlash from investors over Shell bonuses set to intensify "

bbc says " 'Loan sharking comeback' warning "

finalternatives says " Eurekahedge: LaGrange Capital Partners Gains Over 100% In April "

financial times says " China stuck in 'dollar trap' "

tradefeed (via ftalphaville) says " Twitter as a Virtual Analyst "

boston herald says " Started here, first mutual fund celebrates 85th anniversary "

upi says " Two U.S. banks seized, making 36 failures "

all about alpha says " Does the presence of a HF secondary market embolden funds of funds? "