sr9web

AIG, PPIP and GM: A Tangled Web

Eeeks!

25 Companies That Lost America Nearly $1 Trillion

"As far as accuracy of numbers, this is irrelevant"

Buddy, you are an idiot...


On Mar 26 01:43 PM J Clinton Hill wrote:

> Gentle Readers,
>
> The purpose of this post is not to single out any specific companies.
> The original title at my website reads: Incentivized Management for
> Success or Failure: Only in America. SA's editors changed the title
> and as a result probably redirected the focus and intent of my article.
> I would strongly encourage you to check the primary source (hillbent.com)
> regardless of your impressions from reading.
>
> The post was from an email that a CEO friend sent to me and is not
> my own work. As far as accuracy of numbers, this is irrelevant. The
> fact remains is that we know many of the companies on this list have
> lost a LOT OF $$$ thru general incompetence. Period.
>
> Now, let's pretend or hypothetically consider that none of these
> companies were publicly traded on the exchanges and therefore were
> private entities. Let's also pretend that you, i.e. individually
> as the reader, owned these private companies in your portfolio. Given
> that many of these incurred massive writedowns and losses, would
> you as the owner of these businesses be awarding your managers of
> these companies bonuses like this in economic times like this? I'm
> not going to answer this question, but look forward to your responses.
>
>
> In the event that any of you would still consider paying out such
> hefty bonuses, please let me know if you have any positions available.
> I would love to have a job whereby my success or failure is decoupled
> from my incentive compensation.
>
> Sworn to fun and accountable to none... Only in America... God bless
> us all....

My Response to Soros' Views of CDS

excellent reply


On Mar 26 08:23 AM Blah, blah, blah, etc. wrote:

> "Perhaps I’m reading in too much into this sentence but to expect
> AIG (seekingalpha.com/symbo...) to somehow have hedged or
> offset its CDS trades is akin to an insurance company kidnapping
> sick people who have bought life insurance and sticking them in incubators
> to prolong their life."
>
> Insurance companies (responsible ones, anyway) have reserves and
> investments that are intended to guarantee payment on the policies.
> When they sell guarantees (in variable annuities, for example), they
> do buy hedges and make offsetting investments. Also, half the policyholders
> won't die in a nine-month period, which is what happened to AIG

Feds Balance Opposing Sides While Large Bank Stocks Fall

It's not the uptick rule that's needed, it's enforcment against naked shorting.


On Mar 22 02:11 PM jasonjim wrote:

> Big time rich shorters are killing the stock market, ruining many
> of the great firms listed thereon, and eventually will destroy America
> unless something is not done soon to curb their greedy appetites.
> Why is the SEC taking so long to reinstate the uptick rule, can't
> they see what is going on, or are they just stupid? I thought I'd
> never say this but it appears that Schapiro is even worse at the
> job than Cox was. At least the latter stopped shorting in financials
> for a time.

10 Reasons Why We Still Haven't Hit Bottom

It's not that we haven't "hit bottom", because we indeed have - a very bumpy bottom, which we will bounce along on for some time. Rather, what hasn't happened is that we haven't started back up yet (not for real any way). Why is that? You tell me - what's happened recently or is happening now or will happen soon that would make things move "up"? The answer is nothing. Housing is dead in the water. Lenders are dying on the vine, jobs are being lost and anyone left alive in the stock market is a trader, not a bull. Things move "up" when there's lots of easy jobs and easy money around and they stay "down" until upside pressure builds. There's no upside pressue building and there won't be for at least another year.

Cramer's Mad Money - AIG: Criminal or Stupid? (3/18/09)

None avail to short at Fidelity either - just checked.


On Mar 19 09:11 AM Duke Wong wrote:

> Citi-Group, NO STOCK AVAILABLE FOR SHORT.
>
> Swab, TD-Ameritrade, Scott have no stock for shorting C. My freind
> told me the SEC doesn't allow to short Citi-group.
>
> Is it true?

Ashamed of AIG

Very good point.

AIG is a menace to the other farm animals and should be put down.


On Mar 16 05:40 PM Just Say Whoa! wrote:

> If it's "too big to fail" without destroying our entire financial
> system, then it's "too big to live".
>
> Think about it.
>

CDS: The Sabotaging Asset

Money making scheme:

1) Buy some CDS on company X debt
2) Short the crrdu out of X's stock
3) Redunced market cap triggers net worth covenants
4) This causes defaults on some debt and cross-triggers via auto default to other debt
5) Collect the CDS
6) And for good measure, you probably bought puts too - so those rise in value.
7) Cover shorts

U.S. Debt Watch: Paths to Repudiation

Don't be absurd. Long before USA defaults, whoever is president will declare a national emergency, invoke exectuive various orders and do the following:

1) Declare martial law
2) Fire 50% of all government workers Federal and state (he can do this in a national emegergency)
3) Draft all fit non-working people into a new CCC
4) Use national guard forces to distribute food and essentials.

In fact, firing 50% of all government workers now would solve every budget crisis we face, federal, state and local.

The IBM Industrial Average

the .DJI is top heavy - one must also watch SP500 for better clarity.

I watch both during my trading days

Losing Trades: When to Double Down

losers average losers

if your original buy due diligence was sound, you'll eventually hit your target - so why try to "average down"?

better to make a 2nd bet on a different stock.

S&P's Best and Worst of 2008

Great article - thanks!

The Blue Chip Myth

"CEOs and directors of a subset of the largest and most widely owned American corporations engaged in stunningly irresponsible risk taking during the recent period of over-leveraging and corporate excess"

You said it all...

The Nefarious and Destructive World of TARP

Why any public company should be able to own CDS protection against debt they don't own puzzles me. A CDS is a form of insurance and the 1st rule of insurance is: Do you have an insurable interest?

These CDS's must be regulated very carefully.

Lehman's Collapse: Broader Economic Damage Unlikely

Good riddance Lehman. They were one of the prime movers of the scam 2/28 mortgages that were securitized. I'm happy to see them gone.