Monthly Archives: November 2008

Extra Credit, Sunday Edition

Posted on November 30, 2008 by Felix

Burning Down His House: Steve Fishman on Dick Fuld. "At night, Fuld has trouble sleeping. Most of the time, he lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, in one of his five houses." U.K. Takes Majority Stake in Royal Bank of Scotland: Historic. … Continue reading →

Posted in remainders | 1 Comment

Further Adventures in Fried Pork

Posted on November 30, 2008 by Felix

Have you been to Back Forty recently? The first thing on the menu is a $4 starter of “Pork Jowl Nuggets with Jalepeno Jam” which is, I swear, the single greatest dish being served in New York City right now. … Continue reading →

Posted in Not economics | 2 Comments

Geithner isn’t Rubin

Posted on November 30, 2008 by Felix

Edward Helmore, of the (London) Observer, provides this weekend the neatest distillation of the "Geithner is Rubin" meme that I’ve yet seen: For Obama, the selection of Rubin acolytes suggests vulnerability. Yet defenders of the Rubinistas say it is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment

Ben Stein Watch: November 30, 2008

Posted on November 29, 2008 by Felix

Ben Stein, last week, was all in favor of the government spending vast amounts of money. A truly serious stimulus package is very much in order. It has to be big enough and last long enough that Americans do not … Continue reading →

Posted in ben stein watch | 1 Comment

Rubin’s Teflon Finally Wears Off

Posted on November 29, 2008 by Felix

In one of the most ill-advised pieces of PR I can remember, Bob Rubin has given an on-the-record interview to the WSJ, in which he takes no blame or responsibility for anything which has gone wrong at Citigroup. The reaction … Continue reading →

Posted in banking | 1 Comment

Understanding Synthetics

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Felix

Over the past few days, two very smart people have asked me about a passage in Michael Lewis’s cover story for Portfolio in which he talks about synthetic CDOs without actually using the term. They said that they didn’t quite … Continue reading →

Posted in bonds and loans, derivatives | Leave a comment

When a Publicly-Listed Hedge Fund Blows Up

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Felix

For the overwhelming majority of investors in hedge funds — and fund-of-funds managers, and hedge-fund consultants, for that matter — it’s really hard to get a solid grasp of any given fund’s risk management procedures. All funds will tell you … Continue reading →

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Extra Credit, Wednesday Edition

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Felix

Record U.S. CDS: 56 bp Things to be thankful for tomorrow: That we can pay real money for financial instruments insuring against the end of the world, which have almost zero chance of paying out if the end of the … Continue reading →

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Blogonomics: Blodget’s Shopping List

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Felix

At the end Daniel Roth’s profile of Henry Blodget and Alley Insider, he reveals that Blodget and his main shareholder, Kevin Ryan, might want to go shopping: Blodget is broadening beyond tech to get ready for what he sees as … Continue reading →

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Did Citi Suffer a Run on Deposits?

Posted on November 26, 2008 by Felix

Vikram Pandit was on Charlie Rose last night, and was asked point-blank whether there was a run on Citi’s deposits last week. Here’s the exchange, at around the 10:40 mark: Charlie Rose: So you go to them and decide that … Continue reading →

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