Archive - 2009

You were expecting an upgrade? Only Dick Bové has good things to say worthless piles of toxic asset heaps these days.

The report below.

Fitch Ratings-New York-06 February 2009: Fitch Ratings has downgraded the following ratings for Citigroup Inc. (Citi):

--Individual to 'C/D' from 'C'

--Preferred to 'BB' from 'BBB'.

Another really scary tidbit - first the fate of the CMBS market in the U.S. lies on Moody's not so broad shoulders, now, according to Barclays, the future of the $1 trillion covered bond market in Europe is about to depend on the shoddy analysis of S&P analysts. European covered bonds which date back to 18th-century Prussia, are Europe’s main source of funding for home lenders and have been promoted by the U.S. Treasury as a way of boosting the mortgage market.

Another really scary tidbit - first the fate of the CMBS market in the U.S. lies on Moody's not so broad shoulders, now, according to Barclays, the future of the $1 trillion covered bond market in Europe is about to depend on the shoddy analysis of S&P analysts. European covered bonds which date back to 18th-century Prussia, are Europe’s main source of funding for home lenders and have been promoted by the U.S. Treasury as a way of boosting the mortgage market.

You knew it was coming.

• Jobless rate at 7.6%, futures spike on doomsday expectations (Bloomberg)
• Julius Baer confirms "minor trading accident" relating to hiding trading losses (Reuters)
• Nomura needs $3.3 billion following Lehman gluttony leads to indigestion (Reuters)
• Ford on verge of begging after "unexpected" 4$ billion pension shortf
  

After fooling around with the Madoff account data, I decided to geocode some of it. As there is a lot of addresses, I focused on some of the core areas: NY, California, Connecticut, Palm Beach, and the rest of the world. Below are the mapped results for all accounts in any one given region. With some skill these addresses can be ported to Google earth and likely seen in all their 2 feet resolution splendor. Make sure to click on the hyperlinks for interactive maps (take a few seconds to load), the graphics are fixed snapshots.

After fooling around with the Madoff account data, I decided to geocode some of it. As there is a lot of addresses, I focused on some of the core areas: NY, California, Connecticut, Palm Beach, and the rest of the world. Below are the mapped results for all accounts in any one given region. With some skill these addresses can be ported to Google earth and likely seen in all their 2 feet resolution splendor. Make sure to click on the hyperlinks for interactive maps (take a few seconds to load), the graphics are fixed snapshots.

• $10 billion slipped between cracks...

Credit investors have been riding a high wave in the past few months. We have been sceptical of the breadth and duration of this exuberance for three main reasons:

1) The collapse of the shadow finance system. While issuers were historically allowed to offload capital needs to synthetic structures such as securitization and off balance sheet vehicles, companies now, more than ever, are forced to meet financing and refinancing needs in traditional pathways, involving convincing the investor pool of fundamental investment suitability.

Credit investors have been riding a high wave in the past few months. We have been sceptical of the breadth and duration of this exuberance for three main reasons:

1) The collapse of the shadow finance system. While issuers were historically allowed to offload capital needs to synthetic structures such as securitization and off balance sheet vehicles, companies now, more than ever, are forced to meet financing and refinancing needs in traditional pathways, involving convincing the investor pool of fundamental investment suitability.

In surprising news, David Bonderman's TPG has announced it is dramatically scaling down its distressed financial investing strategy. The company, which recently raised $6 billion to invest in distressed financial opportunities, has announced it will return 25% of that amount to investors.

In surprising news, David Bonderman's TPG has announced it is dramatically scaling down its distressed financial investing strategy. The company, which recently raised $6 billion to invest in distressed financial opportunities, has announced it will return 25% of that amount to investors.

The latest news from Detroit is that the U.S. Government has hired Cadwalader as bankruptcy counsel to the Distressed-3 sans Ford. Confirming that the government is known to throw away money first and ask questions later, Cadwalader is supposed to work with Chicago-based Sonnenschein to evaluate restructuring scenarios, including possible bankruptcy.

The latest news from Detroit is that the U.S. Government has hired Cadwalader as bankruptcy counsel to the Distressed-3 sans Ford. Confirming that the government is known to throw away money first and ask questions later, Cadwalader is supposed to work with Chicago-based Sonnenschein to evaluate restructuring scenarios, including possible bankruptcy.

Hilda Solis, labor secretary nominee, apparently shares not only the last name of Carlos from Desparate Housewives (don't ask why I know this), but also his penchant for tax evasion. In what is becoming a daily occurrence, another tax-scandal in Obama's camp has been uncovered.