Search results

FED hasn't back-stopped everything, obviously. If you're holding stuff that's junior in the capital structure, like equities, Fed (unlike the BoJ, which is, possibly why Nikkei is doing better) won't help. What a silly thing to say... Why is it stupid, pray tell? What is rather sub-par is...

I am planning on adding some physical longs arnd $892, if it gets there.

China is announcing all sorts of additional stimuli, including cutting stamp duty on stock trades, additional consumption expenditure, etc. What would be interesting is if they start using the current juncture as an opportunity to buy commodities (they've already started doing that). Oil...

Let me spell it out for you (you're clearly not someone who answers to your own description)... Let's say AIG has insured a tranche held by, say, RBS. All of a sudden this tranche stops paying the cashflows and this causes AIG to pay a lump sum to RBS. Lather, rinse, repeat and, as we all...

Have you looked at the stock mkt recently? Are you familiar with how the whole system-wide margin setup operates? Have you seen how much hedge funds lost last year and how much the banks have been writing down? As a 'thinking person with a half-a-nut rolling around', I am certain you can...

No, that's not really how pensions are supposed to work. A couple of years ago they had coverage ratios that were quite a lot higher and a much smaller duration gaps. Sadly, what you need to realize is that pension funds in many cases are run by famous idiots, who often just buy stocks, close...

Yes, there are, but there's a whole lot of causality issues with them...

You can use options, you can use diversification, you can do many things, but the best way to reduce PNL volatility is to have deep pockets (or size the trade accordingly, which is the same thing). That's the only way to do it, in my view. I'd argue that PNL volatility is part of the job...

This is just the first tranche of the TALF, the original one that was announced a while ago. There's gonna be more TALF-like programs as part of the new Geithner package, so this is just the beginning.

I am confused. I would be happy to oblige, sire, but I thought I did respond in appropriate context. The point I made earlier was that, currently, the relationship between China and US is characterized by interdependence. I agreed with you that US is dependent on China. I just wanted to...

Sneeze: Cold: I had to google these, so apologies if they're not up to the exacting standards of this forum :).

I never did claim that the US is "in control of the game", that was someone else. What is obvious to me from the Chinese GDP figures is that China has most certainly not decoupled. Clearly, and again I emphasize that this is the situation AT THE MOMENT, when the US sneezes, China most...

Totally disagree, this is a path-dependent process, so looking at it the 'logical conclusion', as you do, is wrong. Game theory might bring you closer to the truth, in my view.

I agree with you that it's a VERY complicated game that's being played by the two parties. All people see are headlines, like 'China is manipulating its currency' or such. What people refuse to understand is that economics is politics and vice versa and that we're in the world of realpolitik...

DUH! Did I just say 'modest modicum'? Ouch... Anyways, this sort of 'investigative reporting' really cracks me up. 'We bring you this latest, exclusive, most secret news. We have been reliably informed by K-Fed that Britney is, in fact, a MAN. This has been independently confirmed to me...

What does it have to do with economic policy? All I am saying is that, if you think about it just a wee little bit, the statement 'US grants China eminent domain as collateral for USTs' is about as nonsensical as can be imagined.

This is a JOKE... Anyone with the modest modicum of understanding of economics and finance should be able to tell you that this is idiotic. Maybe this should indicate to people that reading the finance headlines in the National Enquirer (the ones next to the 200lb baby and the latest Britney...

Don't like Redi, but couldn't recommend the Barclays system enough. Really nice...

From the AIG conf call: The Q4 hits were down to asset revals of varying sorts and a write off of tax credits and goodwill. The new govt rescue plan is complex but includes a repayment of the amount ($38bn) currently drawn under the govt credit line by transfer of the ownership of ALICO and...

At this particular point in time, politicians (esp. The Gord) have the same incentive issues as bank traders. They don't care about the long-term consequences of their actions. They just wanna get re-elected and not have the world blow up on their watch. Hence protectionism.