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Derivatives & Interest Rates 19 y
I'm gleaning a pattern, most of the "profits" in large markets were being garnered by arbitrage between international market/indices. In the case of derivatives, by arbitrage bewteen financial instruments, between a stock or bond -like GM; in hedgefunds, arbitrage of interest rates...This may indicate that there is not much to make profits in the "owning" of the actual instrument or vehicle. If arbitrage is flat then the margins between the vehicle(s) are inverted or flat....Greenspan addressed this 'issue' with Congress recently...Coinkydink-now that interest rates are rising the spreads are disappearing....Imagine that! No Joke with 272 Trillion globally in these babies (can anyone fathom a trillion?)....Can FOMC actually continue to raise rates?
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COMMENT: The Devil & JP Morgan.
Dear A-Letter Reader:
Last week, JP Morgan confessed to some ugly news on trading revenue.
And you have to wonder if it could be the tip of a much bigger problem
lurking beneath the surface.
It seems the big bank made some very bad bets. ”Market making and
proprietary trading activity has been worse to date across the credit,
rates and equities businesses, and generally weaker in Europe than
elsewhere,” Jamie Dimon, JPM’s president, told a Sanford Bernstein
investment group. He ad ... read more After a double post: 19 y
wtf?
appears that your message is incomplete.
The problem is:
You forgot to enter Title of your message. Sorry, you will have to try again.
Please, press the BACK button on your browser and correct the problems!
and when I went ”back” it all had magically disappeared!
Crap! visit the page Mutual Funds 19 y
1) should one own a mutual fund 2)if so which ones are good for you? 3) Expense Ratios? 4) are individual stocks more profitable?
Five Steps to Picking the Right Fund
By Gregg Greenberg
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
6/6/2005 8:04 AM EDT
Click here for more stories by Gregg Greenberg
Choosing a mutual fund is tougher than deciding between a tall mocha and a grande decaf at the local coffee shop. Selecting the right fund demands a ton of research and a break from our insistence on immediate gratification.
With that in mind, here is a five-step checklist to help you winnow down your search and streamline the decision-making process. And remember, a good cup of coffee will get you through the morning ... read more Arbitrage of Deficits? 19 y
Is this sustainable?...US begins to feel like the Enron, think up a new angle to float unsustainable deficits? Co~inky~dink, while an oil guy is a the helm..
Another Drink? Sure. China Is Paying.
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By EDUARDO PORTER
Published: June 5, 2005
GUESS who’s paying for America’s spending binge - for the ballooning credit card bills, the scramble for homes, the country’s gaping budgetary hole? Poor countries have become the financiers of the United States, fueling one of the most extravagant consumption drives in world history.
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From 1996 to 2004, the American current account deficit - which includes the trade deficit as well as net interest and dividend payments - grew to $666 ... read more Soros $$ 2002- 19 y
A Space Odessy? George must've had a large put on US dollar futures! Arbitrage on the Dollar? Generally, his views are correct, if not premature.
The International Financial System Is Coming Apart At The Seams - George Soros
Soros Blames ’Bush Factor’ for Dollar’s Fall
Thu Jun 27, 2002
By Elif Kaban
LONDON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor George Soros on Thursday blamed President Bush ( news - web sites) and his team for the fall in the U.S. dollar and declared: ”The international financial system is coming apart at the seams.”
”I think we’re in fairly serious trouble. I do think we’re in a crisis situation,” said the Hungarian-born hedge fund king-turned-philanthropist in a speech to the London Business School on Thursday ... read more Gold: Hedge for Collapse? 19 y
Warren Buffet has a large bet against the US dollar, It would be interesting to see where Soros hedge fund is with the dollar~ When the big boys take large positions against any currency-Watch Out President Bush~all your homilies, and platitudes are worth nada...zilch, zip...zero
Believing (and Believing and Believing) in Bullion
By STEPHEN METCALF
Published: June 5, 2005
On a recent early spring morning, I made my way down to the appropriately poker-faced and austere building that houses the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In its sub-basement, 80 feet below street level, there is a vault that rests on the granite bedrock of Manhattan. ’’No man-made floor could hold the weight of all this,’’ Peter Bakstansky, a Fed spokesman, assured me. The vault holds 7,000 tons of gold. This represents the world’s largest stash of the precious metal, and it is worth about ... read more Benjamin Graham 19 y
The Motley Fool, I love the hat, and the irreverance....
2 Things I Learned From Benjamin Graham
If you’re at all committed to value investing, you need to get to know Benjamin Graham. Warren Buffett’s mentor pioneered the idea of buying stocks on sale, and his books have provided dozens of lessons for Fools over the years. Tim Beyers shares two that have changed his investment life.
By Tim Beyers (TMF Mile High)
May 31, 2005
Have you ever heard a story that so profoundly affected you that it changed your entire point of view? I’m sure you have. There are all sorts of tall tales of investing: Of fortunes won and lost, of Rule Breakers an ... read more Housing Prices increase 25% 19 y
Is it the top- Is it a bubble, if FOMC continues to raise rates (as they have committed to) where will that leave the housing market? Have Americans paid off credit card debt + financed a vacation, maybe bought a new car with their equity~what happens when rates increase along with housing costs?
Bonds News
UPDATE 1-US home prices climb 12.5 pct from year ago--OFHEO
Wed Jun 1, 2005 11:09 AM ET
(Adds details, paragraphs 4-9)
WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - Average U.S. home prices in the first quarter climbed 12.5 percent from a year earlier, pushed higher by low mortgage rates, income growth and speculation in some markets, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said on Wednesday.
Home values appreciated 2.21 percent during the first quarter from the fourth quarter of 2004, or at an annual rate of 8.82 percent.
”The House Price Index shows the rise in house p ... read more EU, not so unified? 19 y
And So It Is-we ARE NOT helpless we can change any circumstance, but we may need to get involved-separate ourselves from our big screen TV, we have more pacifiers than a 3 month old baby-Europe is activated, and the EU is not as unified as some hoped!
COMMENT: Desperate Democracy.
Dear A-Letter Reader:
Before France and the Netherlands rejected a new European Union
constitution this week, something extraordinary happened, at least in
the recent American experience: thousands of voters held hundreds of
debates in town halls and coffeehouses, on street corners and in schools.
Masses of people obviously were upset, aroused, unhappy or all three.
And they did something about it.
In both nations large numbers turned out to vote. In France, where the
191 page, 448-article treaty went down 55% to 45%, 70% of France’s
registered 4 ... read more Stock Transfer 19 y
More on the commonality of Power and self dealing
Plaintiff Asks Court to Rescind Greenberg’s Transfer of A.I.G. Stock to Wife
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By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
Published: May 27, 2005
Jim Petro, the Ohio attorney general and lead plaintiff in a securities class action against the American International Group, yesterday asked the judge overseeing the matter to order Maurice R. Greenberg to rescind his recent transfer of 41.4 million A.I.G. shares to his wife, Corinne Greenberg.
The March 11 transfer of shares, worth more than $2.6 billion at the time, was fraudulent, Mr. Petro said in his complaint, which also asks the court to a ... read more Spitzer sues AIG 19 y
Spitzer is prosecuting Geenberg
Spitzer Sues AIG, Greenberg, Smith
The suit cites e-mails and other evidence showing that the insurer’s former chairman and CEO was personally involved in negotiating some of American International Group’s fraudulent transactions, according to Spitzer.
Stephen Taub, CFO.com
May 27, 2005
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and New York State Insurance Superintendent Howard Mills have filed a civil lawsuit against American International Group Inc., former chairman Maurice Greenberg, and former chief financial officer Howard I. Smith. Spitzer and Mills accuse them of manip ... read more 412(i) Plans 19 y
The IRS was taking a good hard look at this top heavy funded Plan. If you are in the 45-60 age range and have some make-up retirement savings money, are self employed or own a business...and you need to save-this plan incorporates Life Insurance and annuities for a guaranteed benefit-but allows large favorable make-up fundings for the business owner.
412(i)s Back in the Game
IRS guidance clears up confusion on fair market value
BY ELIZABETH FESTA
Interested in 412(i)s as a reliable, stable plan for your clients? Officials in the 412(i) industry say it’s safe to go back into the water now that the IRS has issued new guidance on calculating the fair market value of 412(i) plans.
Regulatory scrutiny of these defined benefit plans, which are funded with guaranteed life or annuity insurance contracts, has been subsiding because new IRS guidance is in place to fix some trouble spots in the plans. The popularity of 412(i) pl ... read more Health Savings Accounts 19 y
Health Savings Accounts, are tax deductible, self-directed health insurance accounts. For the self employed, or the sole proprietor-they are affordable (or more affordable)and have tax deductions, credits, and choice. See the congressional statement @ http://www.hsainsider.com/FEHBP.pdf
May 26, 2005 01:26 PM US Eastern Timezone
Second Edition of HSA Road Rules Released; More than 30,000 Copies of First Edition Downloaded
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2005--Today the second edition of HSA Road Rules for Consumers, Employers, Providers, Insurers, and Trustees was released to the general public. This free guide is provided by HSA Insider as a service to Americans who are seeking comprehensive, objective advice about their health care choices.
HSA Road Rules condenses the guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department into plain English - clearly highlighti ... read more Enron 19 y
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a great movie! If you'd like to get a flavor of egomaniacs, and those of such self dealing that they cannot identify that losing 100 Million, while still keeping 20 Million is not exactly like losing 400k and having $1200 left, go see it. Executives with so little in the way of fiduciary responsibility, so disconnected to the reality of their workers for the sake of their shareholders- or more correctly the largest insider shareholders ....It is a mystery, and a crime.
Enron Workers: Check Is in the Pipeline
’’The settlement at this point would save great expense and would give the plaintiffs hard cash, a bird in the hand,’’ the judge reportedly wrote.
Stephen Taub, CFO.com
May 27, 2005
A federal judge approved a settlement that will use two Enron Corp. insurance policies to put about $69 million into the hands of former Enron employees who lost their pension funds, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Since the deal covers more than 20,000 current and former employees, the average check will amount to only about $3,500 per person. The paper ... read more China Affects You 19 y
Many of the economists and "money" writers for the various media have not connected all the dots on the international competition for resources. Mr Stein, in my opinion, has it right-how in the world can we run our country's financial policy-without considering the next group of superpowers-to-be!
Everybody’s Business
Mr. Chairman, You Can’t Control China. So Just Relax.
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By BEN STEIN
Published: May 22, 2005
To: Alan Greenspan
Chairman, Federal Reserve Board
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Greenspan:
You have always been a great friend to the little Stein family. You invited us to your viewing of the Fourth of July fireworks for many years. You spoke warmly and kindly of my father on his 80th birthday and after his death. My father, an economist like you, often said that you were the best Fed chairman ever. And I am sad that yo ... read more Warren Buffett 19 y
Warren Buffett does Not believe in splitting shares in his pools of funds. He Does believe in owning whole companies-not positions or blocks of companies, and He believes in sitting on the boards of the companies he owns. Mostly he knows or has met the management of the companies he owns. He's made some errors-the airline industry sent him for a tailspin. He is well respected. If he he buying electric utilities in the west-More deregulation? The last try at deregulation of the electric grids and their supplies were manipulated by Enron traders to the tune of 60 Billion. I wonder why FERC never invetigated and set aright the crippling economic devastation that Enron, Duke and others did to the California small businesses and general economy?
Buffett Buys PacifiCorp for $5.1 Billion
Warren Buffett readies to close a deal on his second electric power company.
Stephen Taub, CFO.com
May 24, 2005
Warren Buffett, the quintessential value investor, is energizing his holdings. His MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. agreed to shell out $5.1 billion to buy PacifiCorp from ScottishPower. PacifiCorp operates in six Western states, including California, Oregon, and Washington.
The deal’s total value is roughly $9.4 billion, which includes $4.3 billion in net debt and preferred stock. The merger will create an energy holding compa ... read more Identity Theft Petition 19 y
Here is a random e-mail on yesterday's topic- Identity Theft-e-mail synchronicity :-}
Dear Joan,
As identity theft scandals mount, it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before virtually everyone will fall victim to this insidious form of fraud. Sign here: http://www.care2.com/go/z/24146
That’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9.9 million Americans are victimized by identity theft every year. That’s 19 new ID theft victims every minute!
Nearly every week we hear about new security breaches at companies like ChoicePoint, Lexis-Nexis, Bank of America and numerous universities, which have put millions of Americans’ per ... read more |