Archive

Well, can't say we didnt see it coming. Portugal was downgraded with impunity by S&P from AA- to A+ on the belief that "the government's structural reform measures relating to the economy and public finances have proven insufficient to bring about convergence with the 'AA' peer group." And what a high quality peer group it is.

The entire airline space today was getting whacked in early trading. Delta was down over 10%, United was down roughly 9%, and American was down over 20% after the last two announced weak earnings with the major culprits given were a sharp drop in capacity and load factors on the revenue side, and bad fuel hedging on the cost side. American is being punished the most as it noted it still has 45% of its Q1 fuel hedged at $2.58/gallon or $108/barrel.

Bloomberg is reporting that last quarter investors withdrew $152 billion from hedge funds. While i have read about 10 different version of this number (anywhere from $100 to $300 billion) this is amazing considering that virtually every hedge funds has gated redemptions.

Bloomberg is reporting that last quarter investors withdrew $152 billion from hedge funds. While i have read about 10 different version of this number (anywhere from $100 to $300 billion) this is amazing considering that virtually every hedge funds has gated redemptions.

Looks like Mary Schapiro is eager to do something on her first day in office. Instead of focusing on the $1 trillion asset bubble and the thousands of scammers and ponziers, she has decided to go thru Steve Jobs' dumpster and check for old syringes and pill bottles. Enough already - give the man some peace.

In his 2008 self evaluation letter, Richard Perry notes all the mistakes that the markets did last year in not agreeing with his assessment of what sound investments are. Notable among them is the short squeeze in Volkswagen shares, which the 1 Sutton Place resident attributes as the main cause to his -26.8% performance in 2008.

At 9PM Eastern, the Chinese will announce their Q4 annualized GDP YoY change number. The consensus is 6.8% according to Bloomberg. This is a drop from 9% as of the prior reading. As Paul Kedrosky observes, the likelihood for a (much) lower number should not be excluded... 0% China GDP growth was presented as one of the major fat tail events of 2009 which in the current market environment means it is an almost virtual certainty.

The man who had lent Bill Clinton his chopper, was found dead on Monday in an apparent suicide. Patrick Rocca, 41, died from a single gunshot to his head in his home in Holmeleigh, an exclusive residential enclave on the edge of Dublin's Castleknock Golf and Country Club.

The man who had lent Bill Clinton his chopper, was found dead on Monday in an apparent suicide. Patrick Rocca, 41, died from a single gunshot to his head in his home in Holmeleigh, an exclusive residential enclave on the edge of Dublin's Castleknock Golf and Country Club.

The expectation is that Nielsen Co. (Caa1/CCC+) will be coming to market momentarily to take advantage of "demand" for junk debt. Apparently the issue will be $300 million maturing in 5 years. We say the OID will be 25 points and we also take the under.

9:21 *GM SAYS JANUARY U.S. SALES RATE MAY BE BELOW 10 MILLION

So you are saying 10.5 million was optimistic huh

• Citigroup and Bank of America "surge more than 4 percent" (Bloomberg)
• Foreigners buying up newspapers: first Slim-NYT, now Lebedev-Evening Standard (Moscow Times)
• Fiat catches Chrysler virus, drops to 24-year low (Bloomberg)
• American Airlines posts $69 million loss (

• Citigroup and Bank of America "surge more than 4 percent" (Bloomberg)
• Foreigners buying up newspapers: first Slim-NYT, now Lebedev-Evening Standard (Moscow Times)
• Fiat catches Chrysler virus, drops to 24-year low (Bloomberg)
• American Airlines posts $69 million loss (

Today's vomitfest in the markets apparently was greeted by holders of HF LP interests with a sense of utmost urgency/capitulation. In a nutshell - not a single bid, and over $150 million in ask interest just on Feb. 21. Among the more notable parties on the selling block:

SAC Multi Strat - $15 mm
Eton Park - $7 mm
Atticus - $20 mm
Pershing Square - $20 mm
Conatus - $20 mm
Wexford (Spectrum and Catalyst) - $30 mm

If anyone has color as to where these clear we would be very interested.

Chris Cox has said enough and resigned today at noon. After single-handedly destroying the primary U.S. regulator Cox took the back door. His replacement is Kappa Beta Phi sister Mary Schapiro who ran FINRA - the second most ineffectual regulator in the U.S.

Well, Mary, after Cox's stellar performance, it should not be tough to improve on expectations that are really low, kinda like Obama and all.