Gtarras

Goldman Quant Case Continues

there is technology out there which will detect if any files were copied on a USB flash drive, not to mention uploading s/w up on the internet. as hired guns, people have zero privacy in the office.

i cant believe somebody would pay Sergey $1.1 million salary, when he, being a tech guy, does not even know elementary things like that. stupid small time thief forgot that honesty pays in the long run. what a moron.

Goldman's Macro-Bulls Out in Full Force

I suggest folks find and read Tyler's "first even interview". yoo-hoo! what a star he has become due to his sensational style of journalism. read his answers, you might be surprised that the team at zerohedge is nothing but a bunch of kids with mid-level experience on the street. Check out Tyler's posts from march, they completely missed the boat on this market. I suggest, Tyler, you stick to the investegotory side of reporting only, you do a great job there.

On Primus Credit Mitigations

thanks. just listened to their call, Jasper said they have experimented with the idea of a collaterized CDPC entity, and had promising results. he even said they were in talks with potential investors, as well as their current clients, as the talks were encouraging. I am especially interested in what their clients said, because the way I see it, the old business models such as AIGs are gone, while the demand to this sort of risk management service is spiking.


On Aug 04 03:48 PM James Cullen wrote:

> There's the possibility for a collateralized CDS seller, which could
> possibly be economic if spreads remain elevated, since it would operate
> with lower leverage than the CDPC. But if that's in the works, it's
> going to involve outside investors, since the stated operating plan
> is to run off PFP and return that capital. So there, you're relying
> not only on the ratings agencies to bless the endeavor, but whatever
> capital allocated to the structured credit markets that still exists
> to want to fund the venture.
>
> Devoting time and resources to building out a collateralized entity
> would also detract from the mission of building out Primus' asset
> management capabilities. There's plenty of institutional skepticism
> about how successful those efforts will be, so I don't know if management
> wants to tackle a second growth avenue at this point.
>
> You're right about the reduced competition finally making new business
> attractive (a theme applicable to a number of areas). I'd like to
> see them raise new capital and seed a collateralized DPC to extend
> the credit platform. But it'll take nine figures worth of fresh capital,
> so I don't know how realistic it is.

Will Sergey Aleynikov Cut a Deal?

wait, so Sergey is a good guy now? i mean, he has not stolen anything?

On Primus Credit Mitigations

So, what is the future for Primus? do you believe they return to writing new business/generating revenue?

if they do, how profitable do you think it will be? they will have to post CSAs, how much of capital will this be tying up? will they need a high rating?

TIA. i'm actually interested in this stock and this platform. given the upcoming demand for risk management products, and wiped out competition (such as monolines, AIG etc), i 'm curious if there is bright future for Primus.

Goldman Correlation Desk Profits from CIT CDS; Is Sallie Mae Up Next?

this better stop. i will be watching Sallie for coming weeks now. for how long are we going to allow these sharks to destroy businesses out of their greed??? its been all too familiar tactic recently- find a wobbly business driven by short term funding (stupid, maybe, but it worked for so long), preferably big, ie Lehman, CIT, drive up their CDS, cause panic, stop creditors from extending credit lines to the victim, kill their business. SEC, you have to stop this madness!!!!!!

Goldman Code Theft Bombshell

if true, this is an outrage. i hope somebody does something about it.

What Software Theft Could Cost Goldman

Maybe the code required GS infrastructure, but a smart programmer will re-write the code to fit a new platform. Its just a matter of time. That was an intellectual property theft , pure and simple. Probably worth of thousands of smart men hours. i do not think most people who follow this story care how much it'll affect GS's bottom line.

Regulatory Arbitrage Attempt of the Day

Felix
I am curious how exactly Goldman is providing this insurance? Is there any details? Is Goldman Sachs the BANK the protection provider or they have set up and Special Purpose Company for these means? Such as Derivative Product Company many of the IBs were setting up in the years prior to the Lehman bust (after successful Primus IPO).

These DPCs are now either shelved or in run-off, but I got interested if Goldman is trying to revive them, exactly for the reasons you mention. DPC would be off Goldman's balance sheet and regulated as an insurance company, i.e. would be able to attain higher leverage.

Goldman Sachs: Thoughts on the Developing Stolen Trade Secrets Scandal

Hopefully, we will be hearing more on how this story develops...

Securitization Accounting Rules Changing, But Interagency Action Necessary

also, to add to the earlier comment. IMO, the shadow banking system is single most important subject that needs to be tackled today, since it accounts for more than 50% of all money flows in the system. Accounting is one critical part of it, and I agree with you, deserves more attention it is getting. (structured products are the major driver of the shadow system)...

Securitization Accounting Rules Changing, But Interagency Action Necessary

Mark
I believe there were two major currents that shaped the way banks account for SPs (structured products).

1. SPVs and off-balance sheet accounting you described
2. Basel 1 and 2 requirement for the SPs that were on-balance, but still required LESS reserving compared with similar rated corporate and other credit.

I believe the new FASB rules will kill #1, i.e. all all SPs will be on-balance now.

So far, I believe Bssel requirements have not been changed, but there was talk they might (and they should, since a AAA (AA, A) SP tranche has proved to be lower quality than a AAA (AA, A) corporate, while earlier the thought was because they are more diversified, they are safer)

Would be interesting to track that Basel reqs developments as well.

Why Bank Nationalization Will Never Happen

I wonder how many people yapping here on the comments board actually went out and did their DD in terms of what the books of these banks look like? Did Roubini ran the numbers himself? Please... He is to busy flying all over the world, and propping himself up on financial entertainment TV.. and the TV gnomes just love it...

Roubini's model of OVERALL losses is based on IMF model, when did IMF do a good job ever? Goldman and Citi produce loss numbers much lower than Roubini and IMF.. Maybe the reason for that they actually get all the shortcomings of FASB rules (like 157 etc), because they are in the tranches every day, unlike ivory tower economists?

There is a good reason why Geithner wants banks to run "stress tests".. Lets see what they produce first... Before screaming "nationalization"..

Also, before you jump on this "nationalization" bangwagon, look at Russia which suffocating without foreign credit.. Why you ask? Because of Putin nationalization fear... If you start nationalizing everything, do you think private money will ever want to invest? Wake up people!

Financial Stocks: Playing the Mark-to-Market Suspension

Expect to be trashed in the comments section by the folks who are glued to the financial entertainment gnomes... what are you talking about?! we all know that the financials are dead meat (they preach it to us on TV)...!!

My view: FASB 157 is the single most important reason the financial system, and the economy is down the toilet. without it, we could have handled the subprime bust..