This is the Remix: Classic Wall Street Quotations for 2010
by ilene - October 6th, 2010 2:45 pm
Very funny, don’t miss these… I know, I know, can’t seem to get off Joshua’s site. – Ilene
This is the Remix: Classic Wall Street Quotations for 2010
Courtesy of Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker
Soros, Buffett, Templeton, Livermore, Rothschild – This is the remix. I’ve updated their classic quotations for the modern investment world. Vote for your favorites below…Enjoy!
“We simply attempt to be greedy when others are fearful and to make others fearful when we do not have enough long positions on our sheets.” - Warren Buffett![[George-Soros_Dr-Evil.jpg]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_azimCSzqNnc/Sj5vBSv9ZEI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/eugRvIpOdXk/s1600/George-Soros_Dr-Evil.jpg)
“Capital goes to where it can escape taxation and be used to pay employees in sacks of rice." -Walter Wriston
“Stock market bubbles don’t grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in the creation and marketing of ETFs.” - George Soros
“It takes 150 years to build an investment bank and only five minutes to convince you to sell me preferred stock in it at a 10% interest rate.” - Warren Buffett
"The four most dangerous words in investing are ‘It’s the Lightning Round!’". - Sir John Templeton…
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DiggHugh Hendry Is So Intimidating, Nobody Will Publicly Disagree With Him Anymore
by ilene - July 20th, 2010 3:15 am
Hugh Hendry Is So Intimidating, Nobody Will Publicly Disagree With Him Anymore
Courtesy of Joe Weisenthal at Clusterstock
It’s well known that uber-bearish hedge fund manager Hugh Hendry is a gifted, silver-tongued orator who can make mince meat out of his debating rivals.
Apparently nobody wants to disagree with him publicly, or even privately anymore.
The Eclictica manager is profiled in tomorrow’s NYT about how he’s a brilliant contrarian, though he doesn’t come off as THAT contrarian. For example, he’s bearish on China and Obama.
This part is amusing, however:
Mr. Hendry’s outspokenness has won him both fans and detractors.
Marc Faber, the money manager known as Doctor Doom for his bearish views, calls Mr. Hendry “a deep thinker.”
“He has strong views and expresses them, not to get publicity but because he has a great understanding of the markets,” Mr. Faber says.
Some London investors are less charitable. Two declined to comment on Mr. Hendry, saying they did not want to “get into a fight” with him.
So… we know that some in London don’t like him, but two won’t comment because they don’t want a fight. Guess that means no more Hendry debates.
See also:
Hugh Hendry: Soros Is A Socialist, The Euro Is Doomed And Everyone’s Shorting The Wrong Continent
Hugh Hendry Busts Out Tolstoy, TS Eliot, And Buchan To Win An Argument At Hedge Fund Conference
Hugh Hendry’s Slams Economist Jeffrey Sachs: I Would Recommend You Stop Going Skiing And Panic
Leadership To Bits In New Must-Read Essay
by ilene - July 8th, 2010 6:45 pm
Leadership To Bits In New Must-Read Essay
Courtesy of Joe Weisenthal at Clusterstock
Before you leave the office! Do check out George Soros’ just-released essay in the New York Review of Books on the crisis and the euro. Even if you disagree with his argument — which is basically that Germany has been to blame at every time — he does bring original insights to the table regarding recent history.
Why has Germany been to blame? Here’s the core.
Germany now wants to treat the Maastricht Treaty as the scripture that has to be obeyed without any modifications. This is not understandable, because it is in conflict with the incremental method by which the European Union was built. Something has gone fundamentally wrong in Germany’s attitude toward the European Union.
He goes on, citing Germany’s budget cutting, and the inevitable deflationary spiral that will occur when everyone is doing austerity at the same time.
And he notes that European monetary policy is essentially a sprocket wrench that only goes in one direction. Due to German anti-inflation paranoia, the ECB only is prepared to fight inflation. Deflation will never be considered an enemy.
Here’s Soros at his most poetic:
To be sure, Germany cannot be blamed for wanting a strong currency and a balanced budget. But it can be blamed for imposing its predilection on other countries that have different needs and preferences—like Procrustes, who forced other people to lie in his bed and stretched them or cut off their legs to make them fit. The Procrustes bed being inflicted on the eurozone is called deflation.
THE FULL GEORGE SOROS SPEECH
by ilene - June 23rd, 2010 11:01 pm
THE FULL GEORGE SOROS SPEECH
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
This is a must see in my opinion. Superb comments by George Soros in Berlin today. He covers the continuing global credit crisis in great detail:
Source: Bloomberg TV
George Soros: Financial Crisis Has “Only Entered Act II”
by ilene - June 11th, 2010 11:48 am
George Soros: Financial Crisis Has "Only Entered Act II"
Courtesy of TraderMark
Love or hate his politics, there is no doubt George Soros is one of the brightest investment minds of the past few generations. Hence when you have Soros on one side saying we have only begun the 2nd stage of the financial crisis, and on the other hand you have "Unicorns and Butterflies" Bernanke telling us all is well (kumbaya!) [and coming off one of the worst economic forecasting records the past half decade you could put together], you can guess which side one might be better off listening to.
“The collapse of the financial system as we know it is real, and the crisis is far from over,” Mr. Soros said at a conference in Vienna. “Indeed, we have just entered Act II of the drama.”
NYTimes DealBook has a full transcript of the speech Soros gave at the Institute of International Finance in Vienna here. Remember, you can choose to accept the red pill or the blue pill; if you choose the blue pill Ben Bernanke has solved all your ills… if you choose the red, please read on for some excerpts.
- Soros, 79, said the current situation in the world economy is “eerily” reminiscent of the 1930s with governments under pressure to narrow their budget deficits at a time when the economic recovery is weak.
…
SOROS: DESTROY THE BANKING OLIGOPOLY
by ilene - April 14th, 2010 11:51 pm
SOROS: DESTROY THE BANKING OLIGOPOLY
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
Famed investor George Soros is calling for a break-up of the banking oligopoly in the United States. His recent comments were made in reference to the big four U.S. banks that have come to dominate the banking sector. CitiGroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo now dominate the overwhelming majority of the U.S. bank market.
As regular readers know, I believe this oligopoly is part of the problem and that Ben Bernanke has likely increased the potential risks in the U.S. economy by further consolidating the sector. Perhaps most important, however, is the risks these four banks (and all banks for that matter) are allowed to take. Soros is in favor of the Volcker Rule which would segregate deposits from a bank’s risk taking operations such as hedge funds and prop trading. This appears like a no-brainer after what we just experienced, but unfortunately, with consolidated banking came consolidated lobbyists and that’s a recipe for even further power over Congress. The likelihood of the Volcker Rule passing is close to nothing at this point.
Soros has made a career out of being right. I am guessing he’ll be right again about the U.S.
Read the full story at BusinessWeek.
Picture credit: Jr. Deputy Accountant
Former Fed Gov. Poole Blasts Fed’s Favoritism; Soros Bought More Gold, Says Pound Devaluation is Option; New York Faces $1 Billion Shortage in June
by ilene - April 10th, 2010 2:48 pm
Former Fed Gov. Poole Blasts Fed’s Favoritism; Soros Bought More Gold, Says Pound Devaluation is Option; New York Faces $1 Billion Shortage in June
Courtesy of Mish
In a candid attack on his former colleagues, Poole Says Fed Has ‘Tilted Playing Field’
“The Fed did not provide assistance to all on an equal basis but tilted the playing field,” Poole said in remarks prepared for a lecture at the University of Delaware, where he is a scholar in residence. “Why should the Fed have had a program to buy commercial paper from large corporations and no program to help small businesses starved for funds?”
The Fed’s program to purchase $1.25 trillion in mortgage- backed securities issued by government-sponsored enterprises probably contributed to the demise of the market for non- government mortgage-backed securities and will “complicate monetary policy in the years ahead,” Poole said.
“Much more research is necessary to determine whether the Fed made the right choices; clearly, I have my doubts,” said Poole, 72. He was president of the St. Louis Fed from 1998 until retiring from the post in March 2008, the month that Bear Stearns collapsed.
Poole expressed concern about “an appalling lack of economic literacy in Congress” and said that neither the House nor Senate versions of legislation to overhaul financial regulation address the most important shortcomings.
Poole is correct about the Fed’s favoritism and the Fed buying mortgages. It is very doubtful the Fed helped housing much, but at some point the Fed has to get rid of that $1.25 trillion in mortgages. That will pressure mortgage rates.
Why did the Fed even purchase the last half-trillion? By then, the Fed was already discussing an exit strategy. It made no sense.
Certainly Congress does consist of economic illiterates, but the same thing can be said about the Fed. Pray tell what did Bernanke or Greenspan get right?
New York Faces $1 Billion Cash Shortage in June
In a scene playing out in nearly all states in varying degrees New York Faces $1 Billion Cash Shortage in June.
New York state faces a $1 billion cash shortage in June, budget director Robert Megna told reporters today.
The state is considering all options to deal with the shortage, including borrowing, Megna said. “We are significantly underfunded in the first week of June,” Megna said.
Soros Bought More Gold, Says Pound Devaluation Is Option…
Hedge Fund Slams Rick Bookstaber For Comments On The Gold Bubble
by ilene - March 11th, 2010 1:59 pm
Hedge Fund Slams Rick Bookstaber For Comments On The Gold Bubble
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Courtesy of Gus Lubin at Clusterstock/Business Insider
QB Partners fits the description of hedge funds that Rick Bookstaber accused of pumping the gold bubble and — even worse — of fueling the bubble with publicity.
The New York fund leapt to the defense of gold by sending an email to Business Insider with a message for Bookstaber.
Attached was the point-by-point rebuttal they gave to Nouriel Roubini in December when he had the nerve to diss gold.
Here are the highlights of QBAMCO’s Message To The Gold Haters >
See Also:
Rick Bookstaber: Hedge Funds Are Pumping The Gold Bubble And Luring Investors Off A Cliff
See also this chart (below) via Jesse’s Americain Cafe, and the comment by bidwhacker at Clusterstock
The economic cycle is definitely not the right framework for determining when to be in gold. Gold bull and bear markets can extend across economic upturns and downturns.
Absent an "economic meltdown" as you call it, the best tool for determining when the gold price will advance (at least since Nixon broke the last vestiges of the gold standard) is real interest rates:
Gold bull markets happen in an environment of negative real interest rates…This is the closest thing to an one-variable indicator for the gold market. But as you point out, it only good over longer periods of time and not a perfect correlation. The way I like to look at it is, when you have negative real interest rates, the odds are strongly with you that gold prices will go up.
Rick Bookstaber: Hedge Funds Are Pumping The Gold Bubble And Luring Investors Off A Cliff
by ilene - March 9th, 2010 4:13 pm
Rick Bookstaber: Hedge Funds Are Pumping The Gold Bubble And Luring Investors Off A Cliff
Courtesy of Gus Lubin at Clusterstock/Business Insider
The SEC’s Rick Bookstaber can hardly watch as sheep-like investors chase the gold bubble straight off a cliff.
Although his employer doesn’t give market advice, the SEC’s senior policy adviser shows his personal frustration in a post on Roubini Global Economics. First, he drops this great line about how people don’t even pretend that gold isn’t a bubble:
Even if a guy is just after sex, he at least has the decency to act like there is some substance behind his interest.
Second, Bookstaber thinks hedge funds managers like John Paulson have a pump and dump scheme on gold.
RGE:
Given that “hedge fund” and “highly secretive” are usually said in the same breath, don’t you get suspicious when so many of the top managers are so vocally out there about their gold investments? And when their positions are structured in a way that make them open to view? Paulson and Soros have huge positions in gold ETFs. We know that, because if you buy ETFs, they show up in your 13-F filing. Granted, with an equity investment you can’t help putting that information out into the market, but with an asset there are plenty of ways to take the position without signaling it.
That they are taking a highly visible route to their positions suggests the game that is being played is one of leading the herd. The 13-F reports positions with a big lag, so no one will notice if they quietly slip out the side door while the party is still hopping. And how about when the view is backed up by none other than Goldman Sachs? Will they let everyone know when they think it has gone too far before they get out. Or before they go short? Maybe they already have.
You Could Now Be Arrested, In America, Just For Mentioning Europe’s Problems Over Dinner
by ilene - March 3rd, 2010 1:42 am
You Could Now Be Arrested, In America, Just For Mentioning Europe’s Problems Over Dinner
Courtesy of Vincent Fernando at Clusterstock/Business Insider
You know a company/country/continent is in trouble when authorities start cracking down on short bets against it.
That’s why it’s so disturbing how much heat European currency and sovereign debt speculators are getting these days.
Even the U.S. has climbed aboard the bandwagon now.
Reports of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into Soros Fund Management, SAC, and Greenlight Capital short positions against the euro broke last week.
Yet now the speculator clamp down is evolving into something completely terrifying. Apparently, it could now be considered collusion if you simply share economic opinions over dinner:
The Journal article disclosed that the big euro bets were emerging amid gatherings including an "idea dinner" involving a number of hedge funds including SAC, Greenlight and Soros, where a trader argued that the euro is likely to fall to "parity," or equal to, against the dollar on an exchange basis. The euro currently trades at $1.3609. One of the questions investigators are likely to examine is whether such information-sharing constitutes collusion, the people say.
…
At one such gathering, a dinner on Feb. 8 at a Manhattan restaurant, an SAC portfolio manager said he believed the euro could fall to a level equal to that of the dollar and urged other traders to "short," or bet against, the euro as his firm had, according to people at the dinner. The size of the bets against the euro is unclear.
In a research note issued to hundreds of hedge-fund clients shortly after the dinner, the research boutique that hosted the event summed up the SAC manager’s argument without mentioning his name. [But attributing it to an unnamed third party source, 'a presenter', which is standard practice]
One of the most dangerous misconceptions used to restrict economic freedoms is that opinions have more weight than fundamentals. Should we arrest people for threatening ‘economic stability’ if they argue against a particular stimulus bill or government and then collectively vote against it?
Because that’s all euro-shorts are doing. Whoever thinks that euro speculators are pushing the euro to unfairly low levels has an opportunity to vote against them any day of the week in the currency markets. So let’s not forget that a truly viable currency can carry the weight of open criticism, just like a strong nation or value-system can. Else traders better brush up on…
German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Chinese
Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
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coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site
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