Author Archives: Felix

Bear Stearns Needs English Lessons

Posted on July 18, 2007 by Felix

What is it about banks that they find it impossible to write in English?
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NYT Economics Coverage Shrinks

Posted on July 18, 2007 by Felix

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.
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Bancroft Minority Can’t Block a Dow Jones Sale

Posted on July 18, 2007 by Felix

It looks like the Bancrofts will sell out to Rupert Murdoch.
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Management-Speak, Mixed Metaphors Edition

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

Joseph Giannone, of Reuters, has a Q&A with UBS investment
bank CEO Huw Jenkins up on the web today.
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Posted in banking | Comments Off on Management-Speak, Mixed Metaphors Edition

Both Bear Stearns Hedge Funds Have Positive Valuations

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

That seems to be what
the WSJ is reporting this afternoon, at least:
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John Mackey Still Hasn’t Resigned

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

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.
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Does Pregnancy Prevent Women Getting MBAs?

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

Business schools should make more of an effort to accommodate mothers.
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Corrupt Finance Minister Watch: Miceli Goes, Patino Stays

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

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.
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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

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

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?
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A Brief History of Chinese Industrial Policy

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

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

CNBC Has A Winner

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

Mary Sue Williams has
won the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge.
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Fundamental Analysis Is Useless

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

Barry Ritholtz reads Mark Hulbert, and saves
the rest of us a Barron’s subscription.
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When Banks Diversify Internationally

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

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.
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The Ethics of Markets

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

Steve Waldman continues
the debate
about short-selling by looking at markets in ethical terms:
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Do Portfolio Managers Model the Illiquidity Discount?

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

Neil Shah of Reuters brings up the perennial
debate about "mark to model" behavior among fund managers.
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Posted in bonds and loans | Comments Off on Do Portfolio Managers Model the Illiquidity Discount?

M&A Trial Balloons Move to the Web

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

Paul Murphy had a kindasorta
scoop today:
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Posted in M&A, Media | 1 Comment

Mackey’s Sock-Puppetry is No Joke

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Felix

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.
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Posted in governance, stocks | 1 Comment

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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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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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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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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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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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