Monthly Archives: July 2007

China Moves Out of Treasuries to Support the Mortgage Market

The Bush administration is very serious about it getting China to support the market in mortgage-backed securities.
Continue reading

Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off on China Moves Out of Treasuries to Support the Mortgage Market

iPhone Questions for Kevin Maney

Does Kevin Maney
take requests? I do hope so, because Walt Mossberg’s mailbox
column
this morning uncharacteristically raises more questions than it answers.
Continue reading

Posted in technology | Comments Off on iPhone Questions for Kevin Maney

Shari It Didn’t Work Out

It’s not easy, being the daughter of a media mogul and working for your dad.
Elisabeth Murdoch left News Corp to start her own company,
Shine. Today we learn
that Shari Redstone is leaving Viacom.
Continue reading

Posted in defenestrations, Media | Comments Off on Shari It Didn’t Work Out

The Blogs vs Dennis Kneale

Forbes managing editor Dennis Kneale isn’t having a good time
of it in the blogosphere today.
Continue reading

Posted in Media | Comments Off on The Blogs vs Dennis Kneale

Chart of the Day: Fixed vs Variable Subprime Default Rates

Alea today finds the most astonishing
chart, which I simply have to reproduce:
Continue reading

Posted in housing | Comments Off on Chart of the Day: Fixed vs Variable Subprime Default Rates

Why the Subprime Mess Doesn’t Require a Fed Rate Cut

Brad DeLong has
capitulated
.
Continue reading

Posted in fiscal and monetary policy, housing | Comments Off on Why the Subprime Mess Doesn’t Require a Fed Rate Cut

Blowing Bubbles

Both Shiller and Leonhardt conclude the same thing: that stocks are expensive.
Which is a bit weird, considering that, relative to everything else, they certainly
seem as though they’re actually
rather cheap
.
Continue reading

Posted in economics, stocks | Comments Off on Blowing Bubbles

Staying Sanguine About the Bear Stearns Losses

DealBook
today sets up a mini cage match between me and Janet Tavakoli:
Continue reading

Posted in bonds and loans, hedge funds | Comments Off on Staying Sanguine About the Bear Stearns Losses

Bear Stearns Needs English Lessons

What is it about banks that they find it impossible to write in English?
Continue reading

Posted in banking | Comments Off on Bear Stearns Needs English Lessons

NYT Economics Coverage Shrinks

To kill Economic View but to keep Ben Stein alive betrays a sense of priorities which can’t bode well for the NYT Business section.
Continue reading

Posted in Media | Comments Off on NYT Economics Coverage Shrinks

Bancroft Minority Can’t Block a Dow Jones Sale

It looks like the Bancrofts will sell out to Rupert Murdoch.
Continue reading

Posted in Media | Comments Off on Bancroft Minority Can’t Block a Dow Jones Sale

Management-Speak, Mixed Metaphors Edition

Joseph Giannone, of Reuters, has a Q&A with UBS investment
bank CEO Huw Jenkins up on the web today.
Continue reading

Posted in banking | Comments Off on Management-Speak, Mixed Metaphors Edition

Both Bear Stearns Hedge Funds Have Positive Valuations

That seems to be what
the WSJ is reporting
this afternoon, at least:
Continue reading

Posted in hedge funds | Comments Off on Both Bear Stearns Hedge Funds Have Positive Valuations

John Mackey Still Hasn’t Resigned

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wants
me to forgive him
. (I shop at Whole Foods on the Bowery – great sausage
selection – so I count as a "stakeholder" in the company.) Well,
I don’t forgive him. Not at all.
Continue reading

Posted in defenestrations, stocks | Comments Off on John Mackey Still Hasn’t Resigned

Does Pregnancy Prevent Women Getting MBAs?

Business schools should make more of an effort to accommodate mothers.
Continue reading

Posted in leadership | Comments Off on Does Pregnancy Prevent Women Getting MBAs?

Corrupt Finance Minister Watch: Miceli Goes, Patino Stays

If you had to guess, a few weeks ago, which Latin finance minister would be
forced to resign in the wake of a corruption scandal, your answer would be very
easy: Ricardo Patiño of Ecuador, who was censured by
his own congress on Friday for insider dealing in his own country’s debt –
a deal which reportedly
netted investors more than $150 million, while Ecuador itself made a healthy
$50 million.
Continue reading

Posted in defenestrations, emerging markets, governance | Comments Off on Corrupt Finance Minister Watch: Miceli Goes, Patino Stays

Why Highly-Rated CDO Tranches are a Bad Bet

Lets’s say you are given a choice between two AAA-rated bonds. Both have the
same probability of default, which is very low. But Bond X defaults pretty randomly,
while Bond Y defaults only during times of economic catastrophe. Which would
you prefer?
Continue reading

Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off on Why Highly-Rated CDO Tranches are a Bad Bet

A Brief History of Chinese Industrial Policy

The most impressive economic success story of the past 30 years has been the
astonishing resurgence of China, which is likely to become the world’s third-largest
economy
this year.
Continue reading

Posted in development, economics | Comments Off on A Brief History of Chinese Industrial Policy

CNBC Has A Winner

Mary Sue Williams has
won
the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge.
Continue reading

Posted in Media | Comments Off on CNBC Has A Winner

Fundamental Analysis Is Useless

Barry Ritholtz reads Mark Hulbert, and saves
the rest of us a Barron’s subscription.
Continue reading

Posted in stocks | Comments Off on Fundamental Analysis Is Useless

When Banks Diversify Internationally

Bloomberg is running a 2,000-word
story
today on how Bank of America and other banks with little in the way
of international diversification are likely to underperform the multinational
US banks this earnings season.
Continue reading

Posted in banking | Comments Off on When Banks Diversify Internationally

The Ethics of Markets

Steve Waldman continues
the debate
about short-selling
by looking at markets in ethical terms:
Continue reading

Posted in economics | Comments Off on The Ethics of Markets

Do Portfolio Managers Model the Illiquidity Discount?

Neil Shah of Reuters brings up the perennial
debate
about "mark to model" behavior among fund managers.
Continue reading

Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off on Do Portfolio Managers Model the Illiquidity Discount?

M&A Trial Balloons Move to the Web

Paul Murphy had a kindasorta
scoop
today:
Continue reading

Posted in M&A, Media | 1 Comment

Mackey’s Sock-Puppetry is No Joke

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page weighs
in
today on the subject of John Mackey and his sock-puppetry.
"Apparently U.S. financial regulators don’t get the joke," says the
leader-writer, although I can’t see anyone else smiling in here.
Continue reading

Posted in governance, stocks | 1 Comment