Monthly Archives: July 2008

Chart of the Day: Merrill’s Write-Downs

Posted on July 29, 2008 by Felix

A picture tells a thousand words: Remember this. Just because a write-down is large, doesn’t mean it’s final. (HT: Ritholtz)

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Adventures in Technical Analysis, McClellan Oscillator Edition

Posted on July 29, 2008 by Felix

When I dumped on technical analysis last month, one of the more unexpected results was a long email thread with a chap called Jeff Drake, on the subject of something called the McClellan Oscillator. He’s a big fan, while I … Continue reading →

Posted in charts, investing, stocks | 1 Comment

The Failure of John Thain

Posted on July 29, 2008 by Felix

Want proof that CEOs are overpaid? Just look at the mind-bogglingly awful Merrill Lynch announcement yesterday. It’s hard to know where to start: maybe the fact that Merrill is selling off $30.6 billion of CDOs to Lone Star for just … Continue reading →

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The Economic Paradoxes of Contemporary Art

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Felix

Don Thompson has written, by far, the best book on the economics of the contemporary art market yet written. It might seem like a narrow area, not enough to get a book out of – yet after wolfing down these … Continue reading →

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Ben Stein Watch: July 27, 2008

Posted on July 27, 2008 by Felix

Ben Stein has some news for you, this week. "The economy isn’t at its best," he concedes. "But over all, it’s not all that bad." Yes, little Benjy Sunshine is back, and he’s up to the same old tricks, especially … Continue reading →

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Lush Life

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Felix

Matty’s cell rang. “Excuse me,” half turning away. “Got a pen?” It was his ex. “Yup.” Making no move to find one. “Adirondack Trailways 4432, arriving Port Authority, four-fifteen tomorrow.” “A.m. or p.m.?” “Guess.” “All right, whatever,” glancing at Billy. … Continue reading →

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Signing Off

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Just in time to avoid the aftermath of the dreadful Merrill results, I’m off on holiday. (Although it’s worth noting that the shares "sinking" 9% in after-hours trade only brings them back to where they closed yesterday.) There won’t be … Continue reading →

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Extra Credit, Thursday Edition

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Clinton Foundation Sets Up Malaria-Drug Price Plan Ashmore Group Surges After Assets Under Management Increase: To $37.5 billion. Called to account: The profitability of UK checking accounts. Appointments With Red Ink: Citi execs criticize Pandit’s "dull platitudes". Color me unsurprised. … Continue reading →

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One Hand, One Million Dollars, No Falsifiability

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Joe Nocera has a provocative parenthetical in his list of the best business non-fiction books: “Liar’s Poker”, by Michael Lewis (even though I’ve since become convinced that the anecdote that gives the book its title never happened). The title, and … Continue reading →

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The Busch and the Marlin

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

David Kesmodel has the wonderful story of what happened when Anheuser-Busch’s then-CEO, August Busch III, went on an ill-fated marlin fishing trip with a group of Modelo executives in the early 1990s. Go read the whole thing, it’s great. But … Continue reading →

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The Unconvincing Rally in Financials

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Financials are on a roll right now: the XLF index fund, which tracks the S&P financials index, traded as high as $20.89 this morning, exactly $4 or 23.6% higher than where it traded at the same time Tuesday morning. That … Continue reading →

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The Competitive Advantage of Stock Exchanges Without Parking Lots

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

The headline of the day, without a doubt, is at Bloomberg News: Pakistani Investors Stone Karachi Exchange as Stocks Plunge Yes, they really started throwing stones at the physical stock exchange. In Karachi investors today broke windows, threw plant holders … Continue reading →

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Bloomberg Datapoint of the Day

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Back in 1985, investment-banking powerhouse Merrill Lynch bought a 30% stake in Bloomberg LP for $30 million. A few years later, Bloomberg bought back a 10% stake for $200 million, leaving Merrill with 20% — which it’s now selling, again … Continue reading →

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Is Your Bank Your Mortgage Lender?

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Anthony Bianco on Ken Lewis: As lending volume exploded, the issue of whether B of A should jump back into the subprime game sparked fierce internal debate. Customers by the millions were going elsewhere for mortgages and taking their banking … Continue reading →

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Oil Company Economics

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

What would constitute price manipulation in the oil industry? Howell Raines doesn’t blame speculators for high prices in his latest column; instead, he blames the oil companies themselves. Supply and demand? Sure, but as John Lee, a business journalist at … Continue reading →

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Angelo Mozilo’s VIPs

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Dan Golden’s full 5,500-word cover story on the VIP loans given by Countrywide to "Friends of Angelo" is now online. He leads with the most damning of the cases: that of Richard Aldrich, a California state appeals court judge. Aldrich … Continue reading →

Posted in housing, Politics | 1 Comment

To Walk Away or Not?

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

I got an email this morning from a reader who will, for obvious reasons, remain anonymous: Let me give you a brief history and see if you have some advice from me. I am a physician who bought an investment … Continue reading →

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European Storms

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Felix

Chart of the day comes from the FT, which has updated its April financial weather map of Europe. Over the past three months, just about every country in the region has deteriorated: you can see why the oceans have been … Continue reading →

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Status Update

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Felix

I’ve gone and caught some kind of nasty stomach bug, but fingers crossed it’s getting slowly better now. Blogging will be infrequent today, and then nonexistent from Friday, when I take a break in the south of France; back in … Continue reading →

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Extra Credit, Tuesday Edition

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Felix

Executive Suite: Joe Nocera is blogging. Morals, hazards: "The problem might not be panic selling, but rather an appropriate assessment of market risk. On the other hand, the problem might be panic selling." Pollyannas of the World Unite! It Is … Continue reading →

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The SEC Panics

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Felix

I think it was about the time that the SEC started trying to curtail short selling that I finally decided that we’re in panic mode. The market’s actually flat, as I write this, although Fannie and Freddie are down 20%, … Continue reading →

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The Real Cost of the Agency Guarantee

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Felix

Dan Gross says that if and when the federal government bails out Fannie and Freddie, "the bailout will be a bargain for American taxpayers, because any cost of it will be overwhelmingly offset by the tangible and quantifiable economic benefits … Continue reading →

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Going Private, Lehman Edition

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Felix

Lehman Brothers is now trading at $12 a share, which is less than its asset-management business alone is worth. So at this point it makes perfect sense for CEO Dick Fuld to go private, sell off Neuberger Berman, and basically … Continue reading →

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Why Hotel Wifi is Broken

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Felix

I’m never going to stay at the Hotel Felix again. Why? Lots of little things, which I shan’t bore you with. But one of them is their idiotic system of charging for wifi – the subject of Joe Brancatelli’s column … Continue reading →

Posted in travel | 1 Comment

Central Banker Salary Datapoint of the Day

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Felix

Last year, the Bank of England paid about £520,000 to Mervyn King: a salary of £290,653 and pension contributions of about £230,000. This year, King isn’t eligible for pension contributions, since he’s 60 years old now and that’s the age … Continue reading →

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