Click Image to Embiggen! The meme going around now is that the Dubai debt thing is only the start of a wave of sovereign defaults, including Latvia and Greece, coming soon. While this could be the case, I actually see a lot more similarities between what the Bear Stearns blow up ultimately meant to the…
Bear Stearns
Amazon's Top Ten Business Books of 2009 List is a Joke
I’ve just finished perusing Amazon’s Top Ten Business and Investing Books of 2009, both the editors’ picks and the customers’ picks, and I gotta tell ya – both are terrible representations of what was worthwhile reading this year. I’ll keep my critique relatively short and then give you the lists themselves. Feel free to chime…
Ralph Cioffi Acquitted, World Breathes Collective Sigh of Relief
Nelson Mandela. Gerry Conlon. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Spiritual Leaders, Freedom Fighters and Saints Among Men – all falsely accused, wrongfully imprisoned and later exonerated as justice eventually prevailed. Today you can add Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin to that list, as the world collectively breathes a sigh of relief. Detaining…
The Fearsome Foursome Hits the Links
Dear Kenny, Glad you could make it out with us today. Don’t worry about your scores on this round, you’ll have plenty of time to improve! CUL8R, Stan the Man
The Shareholder Bill of Rights: Better Late than Never
I’ll start off here with a caveat…I know that Chuck Schumer is pushing this bill because of the populist impression it gives, keeping in mind that some of his biggest fundraisers over the years have been pro-corporate entrenchment and traditional Wall Street interests. I also know that this is the type of after-the-fall legislation that…
A Footrace to Zero: Heelys vs Crocs!
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2297214&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] Oh boy, this is one ugly race, with the finish line possibly being bankruptcy for both participants. I never owned a pair of either Heelys or Crocs and never will. Its not that I don’t get sucked into fads every now and then (I rocked a yellow LIVESTRONG bracelet throughout most of 2003-2004)…
One Year Later: The Fall of Bear Stearns
It was a day many on The Street will never forget and in many ways, we probably shouldn’t. The events of March 17th 2008 will forever be a reminder to me that no one is too big, wealthy, established or smart to fail. The night before, on March 16th, a Sunday, the details about…
Hot Links: Doug Kass, DinoTrader & Jamie Dimon
Hot Links for Weekend Reading: Earlier this week, in print and on Kudlow & Co, Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners emphasized that he felt the market was printing a significant bottom at these levels. Regular readers of TRB know that Kass is my fave pundit/ commentator and his bottoming call is an important one. It’s…
Don't Blame the Repeal of Glass-Steagall…Blame Risk Management
Over on Breakingviews, Hugo Dixon is taking issue with those who believe bringing back some version of the Glass-Steagall Act would prevent the financial collapse we’re now fighting through every day. Why would anybody run a casino and a utility under the same roof? That is the supposedly killer argument of those who want to…
Give the Black Swan a Rest for 2009; The Search for a New Metaphor
With the fresh start we’ve been given, if only by the calendar, I’m here to say that enough is enough – let’s put the over-referenced, tired Black Swan trope into retirement. Just in case we get another year of absurdity and hyperbolic surprise, I’ve come up with a few equally improbable animal variations that could take it’s place for 2009
