TechSavy

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    • Federal Reserve Buys AIG [view article]
      There is a tendency from most people to just chalk it up to the rich getting richer and the average joe getting the screw job, but that is because these people are just not very educated on what is going on out there. If AIG had collapsed, I dont think its far fetched to say that the entire market around the world would have shut down. Not millions, or billions, but trillions would have been lost. That means rich man's portfolio down to poor man's 401K would be a donut. This would have been a disaster on a grand scale unimaginable.

      That is how big AIG is. They are counterparty to billions of $'s worth of CDS contracts. They are major players in the commercial paper market. They are massive players in securtization. Not to mention, they are huge insurance issuers. Instead of having a run on one or two banks, there would have been a huge dislocation of every swap contract in the world that AIG participated in. That would mean that on the other side of every financial contract that in aggregate is in the trillions (my educated guess) nobody would be there to honor it. That is basically like everybody walking into their bank tomorrow and not being sure if the cash they saved (if Americans save anymore) is there.

      Lets be clear though, this does not excuse the mismangement of risk at AIG. As an acturial institution, they really dropped the ball here and got way too integrated into financial complexity without fully anticipating the downside scenario. Rip into management, no doubt about it. The treasury though, I would have to say just based off of the surface info here, the deal seems good. Tax dollars are the bridge loan, collecting some interest rate (not sure what) and are the first dollars out, when asset sales are made. We have a tight maintenance covenant package (dividends, preferred stock is restricted payment) and we get warrants to boot, to participate in the upside. I would find it hard to believe that this loan is not going to be money good (par).

      Lastly, I wish everybody would just sit back and think before rushing to throw out generic blame at "wall street" and "rich people". It makes you look ignorant and really doesnt do a service to anybody. For every idiot who ran AIG, there are some very brilliant people on the Street who work longer hours then almost all industries and really have the best interests at heart for their clients. Almost all of us in the industry have worked in excess of 100 hr weeks at some point in our lives and many of us continue to work 70-80 hrs weeks in good or bad times. Yes, we get compensated for it and very well might I add. However, we also work hard, most of the lot are very honest people and we worry more about the money we manage then even our own health at times. Don't take the bait of these two moronic candidates who are giving you the soundbite by blaming it on wall street. Most of the housing problems (the biggest issue to date) were caused by a Congress more focused on getting elected by giving power to HUD, uneducated mortgage brokers who were in it for the buck (they are not wall street people) and uneducated and extremely irresponsible American population who not only refused to read the mortgage documents they signed their names to, but claimed ignorance and manipulation more often then accepting personal responsibility for their own finances. Yes, a country is not only about good governing, but also an intelligent populace. Look in the mirror about how you spend your money and accept responsibility. If you spend more then you make you will stretch yourself thin. If you save less then you spend, you will get crushed when we have a recession (they always happen about every 3-6 years, regardless of presidential candidate). You are worse off for those actions as if your family and your country.       Sep 17 01:15 AM
    • Obama Is Bad for the Economy - Barron's [view article]
      As an self made wealthy individual from India living in America for years now, I cant tell you how much it troubles me to see something so great going up in flames. Much of this board is symptomatic of what is wrong with this country. America is what you want to make of it. Bush is not responsible for American's taking on more credit card debt then they can afford to pay off each month. He is not responsible for the average man / woman signing their name to a mortgage without reading the fine print. In a country where we have the most resources available to us, (especially on education), we should be appalled. We are dumb, lazy, fat and have an excuse for everything and the only effort we put out anymore is pointing a finger at others. Give me somebody from India or China, with far fewer resources but a much stronger work ethic and open view on the world and I will show you 10x the Americans who refuse to change their job skills when they are dated, refuse to take responsibility for their own financial decisions and look to the rich for another bailout. Remember, this latest crisis wasnt called the "rich crisis" but rather the "subprime credit". The only culpability the wealthy have is probably extending an opportunity to the poor who only demonstrated they couldnt handle their existing debts (hence subprime). Look in the mirror folks.....btw...you all voted Bush in twice, not just once. Aug 24 07:39 PM
    • Updates on Networking Sector: F5, Juniper, Akamai [view article]
      While her background suggests that she is accomplished in other fields, I am not sure that repeating the press release is exactly post worthy. I wish SA would do a better job of streamlining some of this stuff.......everybody who is on the buyside understands how to read a quarterly press release and interpret that data. I am not sure repeating what I already know helps all that much. Aug 01 10:31 AM
    • Sanmina-SCI: A Bargain at Current Prices [view article]
      How do you know there is a 90% chance on that contract? What are your comps that allow you to get to 25% preimum to where it trades today? A little support data might help instead of just your general specualtion. SANM also may trade where it does given managements penchant for always overpromising / underdelivering, not to mention back dating issues......... Jul 15 12:12 PM
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