Archive - Dec 3, 2009 - Story

The most actively downloaded credit snapshots on DARPA recently are the following:

• Dresser-Rand Group - snapshot and writeup
• Cornell Companies - snapshot and writeup
• SPX Corp - snapshot and writeup
• DaVita - snapshot and writeup
• Whiting Petroleum - snapshot and writeup
• Alimentation Couche Tard Inc  - snapshot and writeup
• Warnaco Group Inc/The  - snapshot and writeup
• SEACOR Holdings Inc - snapshot and writeup
• Valmont Industries - snapshot and writeup
• Buckeye Technologies - snapshot and writeup

How times change. Managing expectations, we think, may be a lost art. Under promise, over deliver. Did no one teach this administration that?

Yesterday was a quiet day in CDS with broad tightening despite a weak equity market. Some of the only names wider were former CNBC owner GE, REIT BXP, XL Financial and COF. Today's data should provide for much more reddy goodness.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet declined by $15 billion to $2,183 billion from the prior week, after the Fed presumably offloaded $2.7 billion in MBS: this is the first time since QE started that MBS holdings have declined. If anyone can tell us just who the idiots are who bought MBS from the Fed (and at what price), and who the even greater idiots are who are supposed to believe this, please send us an email.

You should be out there pushing Webistics Zero Hedge.

First dumb taxpayers, now even dumber investors: your money is much appreciated. In other news: use of proceeds - meet black hole. Black hole - meet use of proceeds.

With a whole lot of posturing in the Senate today, long-winded monologues, and propaganda, there was little actual coherent Q&A with the Chairman. Which is why the segment below with Senator DeMint (courtesy of Austrian Filter), is quite valuable, as the South Carolina Republican asks so many of the right questions which his colleagues seem to believe they know the answer to (hint: you don't). Bernanke's responses, of course, leave much to be desired, but at least he is on the record with his arrogant evasiveness.

Farewell IPO window. European infrastructure company Hochtief was forced to cancel the IPO of its concessions business once investors became unwilling to pay more than €20 for the new shares, with the bottom of the range at €24 previously. Furthermore, according to market participants, the company was able to only fill half a book, after a hatchet job by Credit Suisse analysts, as well as management disclosure during a roadshow lunch that the Dubai jitters made finding investors complicated (to say the least). Watch for some material downside to HOT GY when it opens in Europe tomorrow.

These days catching the Fed chairman telling the truth as opposed to a b(a)ld faced lie is in itself a six sigma event. Sadly this post will continue with hugging the median. Some observations on the most recent fabrications by the chief money printer himself, which go to show just how willing Bernanke is willing to bend reality and/or his perception of it as the occasion suits.

Shockingly, Bank of America's ability to pay massive bonuses (i.e. TARP repayment) was not quite the market positive event CNBCOMCAST thought it would be. On the bright side, at least BAC first year analysts will be able to afford their own island in Nakheel's "The World" artificial archipelago.

Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) conveys to Ben essentially our view, but does it with an absolutely blistering delivery. Ouch.

Per the WSJ, looks like this whole "halting" thing may be useful after all.

Funny how Bernanke was skewered today on his inept mismanagement of the credit crisis and subsequent bust and bailouts. Of course, in order to avoid outright humiliation and embarrassment, he ordered the boys at Goldman to vacuum pump some key stocks in order to stave off an unfriendly market reaction to his miserable testimony.

"Maybe it is related to the recent situation with Dubai's debt, but in any case we have noticed a lot of economic forecasters point out a risk of sovereign default for an EM or even maybe a G10 country as the wild card for 2010. The anti-fiat currencies pro gold trade has been raging on. Because of its role as leader of the free world and excessive 2009 deficit, the US has been in the eye of the storm. Shorting the USD has also been a popular trade to express discontent towards Washington. However, it is hard to imagine a currency crisis in the US without starting with one in Japan or the UK. GBP has been relatively weak since 2007 compared to the rest of the G10." - Nic Lenoir

Unprecedented economic collapse? €0.69...

Unsustainable budget deficits? 1 ounce of gold...

Immaculately inexperienced administration? One Larry Summers bowel movement...

For everything else there is Tim Geithner.