Originally written by John Bunch on October 10, 2009 2:18 AM Some questions I would love to ask a Democrat: 3. Obama gave up on the Eastern Europe missile defense shield (unilaterally calling the Czech premier in the middle of the night to tell him about it). What did he get from Russia in return ? Anything (!) ? 4. Was it wise to add a 35 % import duty on Chinese tires ? Who benefits from that ? .

I'm not affiliated with Democrats nor Republicans, but I can attempt to answer.(3) and (4).

(3) It very much pleases Jacek of TC no less, resulting in a greatly reduced barrage of wordy counterpunches. It may have set the stage for SALT III, not to mention less worries in Moscow about where to site the missiles targetting Poland and Cz as well as how not to be seen domestically to be bowing to US affront at the doorstep. In short, more peace.

(4) Making peace with the grassroot voters by distributing a few candies here and there.

Originally written by Shiong-Fong Lew on October 9, 2009 10:12 PM In short, more peace.

How disgusting! Time to wake up and smell the coffee of the real world, Shiong-Fong!

Jacek

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/us/11burial.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=number%20of%20unclaimed%20bodies%20increases&st=cse (via Harper's Weekly Review)

Coroners and medical examiners across the [US] are reporting spikes in the number of unclaimed bodies ... “It’s not that we’re not finding families, but that the families are having a harder time coming up with funds to cover burial or cremation costs.” ...

“IF you really want to know why the financial system nearly collapsed in the fall of 2008, I can tell you in one simple sentence.”

The statement came from a man sitting three or four stools away from me in a sparsely populated Midtown bar, where I was waiting for a friend. “But I have to buy you a drink to hear it?” I asked.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I can buy my own drinks. My 401(k) is intact.

"http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14trillin.html?em

Originally written by Jacek K. on October 14, 2009 10:30 PM   "http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14trillin.html?em  when you started reading about these geniuses from M.I.T. and Caltech who instead of going to graduate school in physics went to Wall Street to calculate arbitrage odds.... ... who was running the firms they worked for? Our guys! The lower third of the class! Guys who didn’t have the foggiest notion of what a credit default swap was....

  

So, the top third of the class calculates arbitrage odds and the bottom third manages the Wall Street firms. Which category staffs the supervisory authorities, and what if the top third turns to politics?

Taming the wild with Sarah Palin.Brainier than merely hunting for food?

Originally written by Shiong-Fong Lew on October 14, 2009 10:01 PM Originally written by Jacek K. on October 14, 2009 10:30 PM  "http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14trillin.html?em when you started reading about these geniuses from M.I.T. and Caltech who instead of going to graduate school in physics went to Wall Street to calculate arbitrage odds.... ... who was running the firms they worked for? Our guys! The lower third of the class! Guys who didn’t have the foggiest notion of what a credit default swap was....

And why did Dow Jones pass 10,000? Because it's time for the harvest. (No, not for you and me )

Perhaps the most compelling reason of all for investors to fret is that private equity firms are selling shares in companies they control to the public. ...

To buy low (down you win): To buy when idiots like you and I are selling

To sell high (up you win): To sell when idiots like you and me are buying

If that's true, the next bubble is already in the works: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/10/burn-it-down-and-salt-earth

The Wall Street Journal reports that the good times are rolling again:

Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their employees about $140 billion this year — a record high that shows compensation is rebounding despite regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street's pay culture.

....Total compensation and benefits at the publicly traded firms analyzed by the Journal are on track to increase 20% from last year's $117 billion — and to top 2007's $130 billion payout. This year, employees at the companies will earn an estimated $143,400 on average, up almost $2,000 from 2007 levels.

 

I sort of feel like I've run out of things to say about this.  There's an insanity here that's almost beyond analysis.  Wall Street can spark an economic slowdown that misses destroying the planet and causing a second Great Depression only by a hair's breadth — said hair being an 11th hour emergency infusion of trillions of taxpayer dollars — and then turn around and use those trillions to return to bubble levels of profitability within a year.  And they can do it even though the rest of the economy is still suffering through the worst recession since World War II.  It's mind boggling.

http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14678300&fsrc=nwl

Take Citigroup. During the latest quarter the firm’s common shareholders suffered a loss of $3.2 billion. Some of that reflected accounting quirks: a generous interpretation of “one-offs” would suggest a small underlying profit had in fact been made, but even then the bank still only generated an annualised return on equity of 2% for its shareholders. At Bank of America (BofA) common shareholders suffered a loss of $2.2 billion, and even adjusting for one-offs they still made a loss. Yet the bank paid out a combined $13.7 billion in compensation during the same quarter. Taken together, on an annualised basis, employees received the equivalent of 27% of the core equity in the firm, whereas shareholders got a return of zero.

Originally written by Jacek K. on October 16, 2009 12:49 PM There's an insanity here that's almost beyond analysis.  Wall Street can spark an economic slowdown that misses destroying the planet and causing a second Great Depression only by a hair's breadth — said hair being an 11th hour emergency infusion of trillions of taxpayer dollars — and then turn around and use those trillions to return to bubble levels of profitability within a year.  And they can do it even though the rest of the economy is still suffering through the worst recession since World War II.  It's mind boggling.

You've said it better than I can. I feel a sort of 'oh...so...what's new?' a terrible form of lazy do-I-want-to know-complacency every time I read about a new money wizard and his/her financial finagling. So if you've made more than $20 million in charitable donations it's always okay to cheat and therefore a valid excuse for obtaining leniency in the courts? WHAT!

For those of you with an ounce of mind still capable of being boggled...

Wall Street wake-up call: Hedge fund boss, 5 others charged in $25M-plus insider trading case

By Larry Neumeister, Ap

October 16th, 2009

Billionaire among 6 nabbed in inside trading case

NEW YORK — One of America’s wealthiest men was among six hedge fund managers and corporate executives arrested Friday in a hedge fund insider trading case that authorities say generated more than $25 million in illegal profits and was a wake-up call for Wall Street.

Raj Rajaratnam, a portfolio manager for Galleon Group, a hedge fund with up to $7 billion in assets under management, was accused of conspiring with others to use insider information to trade securities in several publicly traded companies, including Google Inc.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton set bail at $100 million to be secured by $20 million in collateral despite a request by prosecutors to deny bail. He also ordered Rajaratnam, who has both U.S. and Sri Lankan citizenship, to stay within 110 miles of New York City. The judge gave prosecutors until shortly after 6 p.m. to consider appealing his bail ruling.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told a news conference it was the largest hedge fund case ever prosecuted and marked the first use of court-authorized wiretaps to capture conversations by suspects in an insider trading case.

He said the case should cause financial professionals considering insider trades in the future to wonder whether law enforcement is listening.

“Greed is not good,” Bharara said. “This case should be a wake-up call for Wall Street.”

Joseph Demarest Jr., the head of the New York FBI office, said it was clear that “the 20 million dollars in illicit profits come at the expense of the average public investor.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which brought separate civil charges, said the scheme generated more than $25 million in illegal profits.

Robert Khuzami, director of enforcement at the SEC, said the charges show Rajaratnam’s “secret of success was not genius trading strategies.”

“He is not the master of the universe. He is a master of the Rolodex,” Khuzami said.

Galleon Group LLP said in a statement it was shocked to learn of Rajaratnam’s arrest at his apartment. “We had no knowledge of the investigation before it was made public and we intend to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities,” the statement said.

The firm added that Galleon “continues to operate and is highly liquid.”

Rajaratnam, 52, was ranked No. 559 by Forbes magazine this year among the world’s wealthiest billionaires, with a $1.3 billion net worth.

According to the Federal Election Commission, he is a generous contributor to Democratic candidates and causes. The FEC said he made over $87,000 in contributions to President Barack Obama’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and various campaigns on behalf of Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez in the past five years. The Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, said he has given a total of $118,000 since 2004 — all but one contribution, for $5,000, to Democrats.

The Associated Press has learned that even before his arrest, Rajaratnam was under scrutiny for helping bankroll Sri Lankan militants notorious for suicide bombings.

Papers filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn allege that Rajaratnam worked closely with a phony charity that channeled funds to the Tamil Tiger terrorist organization. Those papers refer to him only as “Individual B.” But U.S. law enforcement and government officials familiar with the case have confirmed that the individual is Rajaratnam.

At an initial court appearance in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Klein sought detention for Rajaratnam, saying there was “a grave concern about flight risk” given Rajaratnam’s wealth and his frequent travels around the world.

His lawyer, Jim Walden, called his client a “citizen of the world,” who has made more than $20 million in charitable donations … "

http://blog.taragana.com/law/2009/10/16/wall-street-wake-up-call-hedge-fund-boss-5-others-charged-in-25m-plus-insider-trading-case-14561/

via http://www.business.dk/article/20091017/borsnyt/91017006/ (Danish)

Insiderskandale ryster Wall Street