Monthly Archives: July 2007

Christopher Bancroft’s Foil-Rupert Scheme: Doomed to Fail

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

Christopher Bancroft doesn’t want to sell Dow Jones to Rupert
Murdoch, but at this point it’s clear that if no one else is willing
to pay $60 a share, then Rupert’s going to get his trophy.
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Posted in Media | Comments Off on Christopher Bancroft’s Foil-Rupert Scheme: Doomed to Fail

Go Sis!

Posted on July 15, 2007 by Felix

Much, much more here.

Posted in Not economics | 4 Comments

Why Raising Taxes on Private Equity Won’t Increase Tax Revenues

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

The net revenue to the US from implementing this policy would be tiny: what you gain in taxes on general partners, you lose in taxes on limited partners.
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Posted in private equity, taxes | Comments Off on Why Raising Taxes on Private Equity Won’t Increase Tax Revenues

Between the Cracks: Today’s $2 Billion Brazilian IPO

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

A consortium of three banks
in Brazil, including Citigroup, has just sold a
22% stake in Redecard, the Brazilian credit-card network, for $2.15 billion.
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Posted in emerging markets, stocks | Comments Off on Between the Cracks: Today’s $2 Billion Brazilian IPO

How to Start a Hedge Fund Without Having to Run It

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

How come Nassim Taleb is setting up a new hedge fund, Universa
Investments?
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Posted in hedge funds | Comments Off on How to Start a Hedge Fund Without Having to Run It

When Issuers, Not Investors, Drive Rates Higher

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

Justin Lahart says that if you buy a high-return investment,
you ought
to know it’s likely to be high-risk as well.
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Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off on When Issuers, Not Investors, Drive Rates Higher

Mackey Should Resign, Regardless of What the Law Says

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

If Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher can be fired
after having a legal, consensual affair with a co-worker, then it beggars belief
that Mackey, whose behavior was much more damaging to his company, should retain
his corner office.
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Posted in defenestrations, stocks | Comments Off on Mackey Should Resign, Regardless of What the Law Says

No Sympathy for Short Sellers

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

Steve Waldman unleashes
a heartfelt cry in the face of uncaring markets – a cry for the short
seller, a breed among which he counts himself.
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Posted in economics | Comments Off on No Sympathy for Short Sellers

Tax Loopholes, Cont.

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Felix

David Cay Johnston has revealed that $3.7 billion of the proceeds
from Blackstone’s IPO will be taxed not at the income-tax rate, not at the capital-gains-tax
rate, but rather at
a negative rate.
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Posted in taxes | Comments Off on Tax Loopholes, Cont.

Thursday Links Barely Manage

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

Does Italy really have better management than the UK?
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Posted in remainders | Comments Off on Thursday Links Barely Manage

Why Enormous Personal Debt Means a More Vibrant Economy

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

Chris Dillow finds
a silver lining to the ever-increasing amounts of leverage bidding up asset
prices around the world.
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Posted in bonds and loans, economics, personal finance | Comments Off on Why Enormous Personal Debt Means a More Vibrant Economy

BRICs vs ICs

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

Justin Fox today lays
out the reasons why Brazil and Rusia pale in importance besides India and
China.
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Posted in emerging markets, stocks | Comments Off on BRICs vs ICs

Why There Aren’t Anti-Collusion Lawsuits in the CDO Mess

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

A lawyer wants to know whether there might be an antitrust or collusion case
to be brought against Wall Street banks in the wake of the CDO mess.
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Posted in law | Comments Off on Why There Aren’t Anti-Collusion Lawsuits in the CDO Mess

Unexpected Correlations: Lead and Crime, Coffee and AIDS

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

Poverty reduction and AIDS reduction are not always, it would seem, the same thing.
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Posted in development, economics | Comments Off on Unexpected Correlations: Lead and Crime, Coffee and AIDS

Adventures in Corporate Doublespeak, Jones Apparel Edition

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

Jones Apparel CEO Peter Boneparth has
been fired. Bloomberg explains
why:
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Posted in defenestrations, stocks | Comments Off on Adventures in Corporate Doublespeak, Jones Apparel Edition

John Mackey Still Hasn’t Resigned, And Probably Won’t

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

The reaction to the John Mackey sockpuppet
scandal has been surprisingly muted this morning.
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Posted in stocks | 1 Comment

Real Estate Leverage Datapoint of the Day

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Felix

What
on earth are the lenders
to buyers of office buildings thinking?
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Posted in bonds and loans, housing | Comments Off on Real Estate Leverage Datapoint of the Day

When Papers Promise But Don’t Deliver, CDO Edition

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

I continue my search
for someone who can shed light on exactly what happens to the alphabet soup
of MBS and CDO and CDS when subprime default rates rise.
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Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off on When Papers Promise But Don’t Deliver, CDO Edition

John Mackey, Sockpuppet, Should Resign

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

Mackey should resign as CEO of Whole Foods: he clearly doesn’t have the self-control necessary to run a major public company.
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Posted in stocks | Comments Off on John Mackey, Sockpuppet, Should Resign

Why Live Earth Shouldn’t Count Its Viewers

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

Carl Bialik asks,
apropos the Live Earth estimates of 2 billion viewers: "Is it OK to cite
questionable estimates in service to a good cause?" The answer, of course,
is no. But especially not when the issue is one where the entire moral
high ground is predicated on your having more accurate and reliable numbers
than the other guy.
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Posted in statistics | Comments Off on Why Live Earth Shouldn’t Count Its Viewers

Private Equity: Why Higher Taxes Mean Higher Returns

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

The Epicurean Dealmaker has a
great argument today for abolishing the favorable tax treatement given to
private-equity principals.
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Posted in private equity, taxes | Comments Off on Private Equity: Why Higher Taxes Mean Higher Returns

Sun Valley: The Rich and the Reckless

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

Why doesn’t Barry Diller tie his shoelaces?
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Posted in wealth | Comments Off on Sun Valley: The Rich and the Reckless

Whether Computers Can Help Poor and Middle-Income Countries

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

Computers can do many things, but can they make poor countries richer? One
of the leading researchers when it comes to the impact of information and communication
technology (ICT) on development is the World Bank’s Charles Kenny
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Posted in development | Comments Off on Whether Computers Can Help Poor and Middle-Income Countries

Bottled Water

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

I’m hoping that by the time China becomes the world’s dominant economic power, bottled water will be remembered as a 20th-Century curiosity, rather than a fact of life.
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Posted in economics, governance | Comments Off on Bottled Water

Trying To Make Sense of the Mortgage-Backed Market

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Felix

Andrew
Leonard says that I’m "a voice of calm and restraint when the rest
of the econo-blogosphere is racing to the windows to see if the sky has started
to rain suicidal investment bankers". Always happy to help. So let me revisit
the issue of US mortgage-backed bonds, and try to put yesterday’s panic into
a bit of context.
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Posted in bonds and loans, housing | Comments Off on Trying To Make Sense of the Mortgage-Backed Market