April 2009

More Hot Links: Original Dow 30 & Marc Dreier

More Hot Links for Weekend Reading Here’s the story about a lawyer you will hate even more than all of the other lawyers you already despise.  Marc Dreier was a powerhouse bi-coastal player, ripping off hedge funds, real estate developers and possibly one of my favorite rock bands in the world, Wilco.  New York Magazine…

Hot Links: Trading, PPIP, Protests, Spices & Econoland!

Hot Links for Weekend Reading Ever wonder about the “being responsible” side of trading on your own for a living?  I have a lot of trader friends and I respect the discipline they show in terms of segregating moneys and so forth in the heat of the battle.  Michael Higgins of Tickerville wrote a really…

TGIF: 8.5% Unemployment…Here's the Anthem

In honor of another horrific Non-Farm Payroll number, here is the ultimate anthem for the unemployed, George Thorogood & The Destroyers with a live version of “One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer“. Take it away, George… [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgxhLJKMDsc] From the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline sharply in March (-663,000), and…

Dude, Where's My Hedge?

This morning, Bloomberg has an article about how hedge fund managers are no longer in the driver’s seat when dealing with clients.  They are now flying to visit with their accounts when they used to force them to come to Connecticut.  They are adjusting fees downward to keep assets from CALPERS and other large investors. …

Market Recap: Monster Day for US Market, Vegas Stocks Lead the Way

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2311899&w=425&h=350&fv=m%3D27467187%26type%3Dvideo%26a%3D0] Let me get this straight, Obama hosted an unscripted Q&A and the market still went up triple digits?  That’s Gangsta.  This will take some getting used to as our prior President wasn’t that good at the whole off-the-cuff thing. The mark-to-market standards easing, while already telegraphed in advance, was like an anabolic steroid…

Fashion Meets Finance: Gold is THE Trend for Spring

If I’m on a flight and forget to bring my own reading material, I’ll pretty much read anything, even the ingredients on a candy bar wrapper.  I recently resorted to sharing a nearby girl’s fashion magazine stash and about halfway through Cosmopolitan (don’t laugh), I noticed something interesting:  Every fashion house on earth is doing…

The Distressed Asset Sweepstakes Begins

Here are a pair of encouraging signs of the thaw… From Forbes:  Carl Icahn knows a good deal when he sees one.  Following months of anticipation, the billionaire and activist investor made a $200.0 million offer to acquire the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City on Tuesday…year-earlier bids for the struggling casino were closer to $1.0…

FASB to Hold a Mark-To-Market Jam Session – Updated

OOOOOOOHHH!  The Financial Accounting Standards Board (known as FASB in the ‘hood) is meeting today to discuss, err, a possible, shall we say…relaxation of its policies regarding hard-to-value assets. I haven’t been this excited since I was a little girl waiting in the rain for New Kids On The Block tickets in 1989!  JK. By…

Obama's iPod Playlist for The Queen

Queen Mix, Spring 2009 Name                        Artist                           Genre                  Playcount London Calling        The Clash                    Punk                    6 If I Were President   Wyclef Jean                 Hip Hop              3 Anarchy in the UK   Sex Pistols                   Punk                   9 Her Majesty              Beatles                        Classic Rock       4 Trouble                     Lindsey Buckingham  Classic Rock      2 Kings and Queens    Aerosmith                   …

Judge Arthur A. Hiller aka Mr. Freeze

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.804530&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]   Oh Goody Gumdrops, a state judge in Connecticut has finally gotten around to freezing everything in sight related to Madoff and the feeder funds who loved him. From Dealbook (NYT): A state judge in Connecticut has slapped a temporary asset freeze on the managers of three large hedge funds that invested their…