Anal_yst's blog
Where NOT To Get Investment Advice
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/27/2011 19:20 -0500Earlier today a friend hit me up on bbm from the bar at JFK Airport to tell me the bartender was giving him stock tips. If the guy's working the bar, the airport bar, surely he's an expert stock jockey, no?
Do Diligence
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/27/2011 14:26 -0500With the release of the FCIC report we're seeing a new wave of reasons (excuses) for the Financial Crisis. Somehow, no one seems to place any blame on the rating agencies and the lazy institutional investors who outsourced their due diligence to them. Enough of that BS. What the report should have said is "Here's a simple rule: If you can't analyze a security yourself DON'T FREAKING BUY IT!"
Exploiting Economic Illiteracy
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/26/2011 16:04 -0500Too many investors want a magic elixir that guarantees outrageous profit with no risk, either to their pocket or their brain cells. But it does NOT have to be this way...
Lies, Damn Lies, & Statistics, or: Things That Weren't The Cause of The Financial Crisis
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/25/2011 17:30 -0500Ever heard the joke "How many European Economists does it take to come to the wrong conclusion about the cause(s) of the American housing crisis?" No? Really? Well, anyway, the answer, it seems, is three:
More FinReg Fail: The SEC Could Use A Few Good Men...
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/24/2011 16:10 -0500How the heck is the SEC supposed to identify and prosecute financial wrongdoing when they don't even have the staff in-place to analyze all of that data?!?
Why Do You Work on Wall Street?
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/22/2011 13:17 -0500Is it really all just about (the dream of) "Models & Bottles" or is it something more?
ETF Mania, or: A Study in Herd Behavior
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/21/2011 15:05 -0500Of the roughly 1,200+ (numbers change frequently with additions and closures) ETF and ETNs that can be traded, maybe 75 are truly understood and should be traded.
The rest are an exercise in futility, pandering to the masses desire for an investing elixir.
Words You Seldom - If Ever - See In the Financial Media
Submitted by Anal_yst on 01/19/2011 19:26 -0500From the WSJ's article about record flows into equity funds "Here Comes the Dumb Money!" (I totally dig the title btw!):
Squeezing costs, NYSE Christmas Edition
Submitted by Anal_yst on 12/27/2009 17:33 -0500Not even Christmas is safe from cost cutting, or so it seems when comparing this year's New York Stock Exchange Christmas dress-up to last year...
Enlighten Me: WHY Should AIG Have Paid Swaps at < Par?
Submitted by Anal_yst on 10/27/2009 16:49 -0500Fellow Zerohedge contributor George Washington parrots the lovely Janet Tavakoli and states his (her?) ire that the "Evil Vampire Squids" at Goldman SHOULD NOT have been paid at Par for their CDS trades with AIG.
I, for one, don't necessarily agree.
Retail/Apparel Stocks Back to Pre-Crash Levels, Huh?
Submitted by Anal_yst on 09/29/2009 23:29 -0500With the exception of a few, many retail/apparel stocks are back to - or in some cases even higher - than their pre-bubble valuations. Someone remind me, unemployment is where, again?
Unsolicited Offer to the Securities & Exchange Commission: Hire Me
Submitted by Anal_yst on 09/17/2009 00:03 -0500It seems almost each week, if not each day we learn of yet another FAIL from our alleged watchdogs at the Securities & Exchange Commission, but there is only so much facepalm a pseudonymous blogger can take before he is compelled to do something about it.
Those Who Fail to Learn From History...
Submitted by Anal_yst on 08/26/2009 16:26 -0500Because nothing bad could ever possibly come of this...
On Wall Street Compensation
Submitted by Anal_yst on 07/27/2009 16:52 -0500Information Arbitrage had a good summary of the Wall Street compensation argument over the weekend, and given the tension surrounding Phibro's Andrew Hall of-late, I think its high time to bring some logic and reason to the debate.
An Open Letter to Pension/Endowment Trustees & Investment Committees (PG-13 Version)
Submitted by Anal_yst on 07/21/2009 22:39 -0500Dear Sirs/Madams:
I get it, I really do: You enjoy your secure, mostly laid-back, relatively well-paying job. Insofar as you possess the capacity, experience, and inclination to comprehend the following though, please, enlighten me: Given this fact, don’t you think its in your best interest to get rid of nonsensical, self-defeating policies like the following (from CalPERS)?
"Counterparty creditworthiness, for non-exchange traded Derivatives (Anal_yst: substitute any asset/asset class here), shall be at a minimum of “A3” as defined by Moody’s, “A-” by S&P and “A-“ by Fitch...?"

