Cartoon by Harley Schwadron

The Lending Club IPO takes place today on the NYSE under the ticker symbol LC. It’s a fascinating story and could make for a breakthrough business model that truly disrupts the way financiers interact with the public. Get up to speed here: Lending Club Set to Debut, and Industry Is Watching (New York Times) Lending…

I have no comment to add here, but you should know that the Wall Street – Washington influence corridor is alive and well and open for business. The banks got an Eleventh Hour rider attached to the new $1 trillion congressional spending bill that just passed. Here’s Common Dreams: Further sticking it to the American people,…

Wall Street’s brokerages are pushing securities-based lending in their wealth management divisions to stunning effect. Individual investors are being billed both investment management fees and interest on the same assets, while exposing themselves to additional retirement risks. If you’ve ever wondered where the hell all these “all-cash” bids for real estate were coming from, now…

Cool correlation chart from Richard Bernstein’s newest strategy note: Richard Bernstein uses LT Bonds as a counterweight in his portfolios, as many advisors have taken to doing, as opposed to more expensive forms of hedging (hedge funds, black swan funds, put protection etc): 3. Treasuries for diversification…yes, still. We have become somewhat notorious for our…