So this past Sunday the husband went out to his parents to pick up our Christmas decorations and tree stand. We are not big on having a tree up the entire season, one week is good for us so it was not untoward to put it up on the 21st. The husband was also going out to his parents to drop off Christmas gifts. HE was pretty hung over from a Christmas party the night before. He called me when he was in the crawl space and asked if I was sure our stuff was there. I said yes. He looked for a little over a half hour then went upstairs to go to the bathroom. As he walked out of it he noticed his parents had a live tree this year and guess what? Yep, they were using our tree stand and decorations. I opined since we are leaving Christmas Day to go snowboarding for a week we should just skip the tree this year.
I was not paying a lot of attention to the markets this week since it was a two day work week for me.
Tuesday night I picked up the boys at their grandfather's house. The weather was not bad but apparently my former father-in-law doesn't believe in salting his driveway. As I pulled in and was hitting the brakes the truck kept sliding, I barely missed rear-ending the ex' car. I took the boys into the city to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. The entire way there my oldest (he's 11) kept saying who cares, I don't want to do this, it's only a tree, etc. Once we turned the corner on 5ht at Saks the first words out of his mouth were "Oh my God!" He was mightily impressed by the tree and that reaction made all the bitching earlier worth it.
Christmas Eve the husband worked and I hung out with my boys. We got up and I made them breakfast then we opened gifts. They loved what they got. Then we showered up and went to the movies. We saw The Tale of Desparyeaux. It was a good flick but as we were leaving my oldest said he liked it but he likes comedies better and not movies that try to teach you a lesson.
We drove to my brother's house in central Jersey and spent a few hours there with him, my sister-in-law, their twins and my parents. I then dropped the boys off at their mom's with Christmas cookies and fudge from their grandmother. The ex asked if they were my mom's chocolate chips cookies because she really misses them. I said no but she can make them and send some to which she responded she didn't need them because she would eat them all.
The husband and I then had dinner with ST and PJ at a great little restaurant in Rocky Hill. We drove home and went right to bed.
We woke up to find we apparently had been good enough this year to make Santa's list. We had a nice breakfast and opened gifts, finished packing and we are off to Utah to meet up with TK for a week of snowboarding. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to anyone who reads this. I'll catch ya on the other side in 2009.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
It's better to PIK then be PIKed
The company Christmas party Wednesday night was actually very fun. As the CIO said we rolled back the rugs, had music, food, wine and good friends. A few of us went across the street before hand and had hot toddies- we had to explain to the bartendress how to make them though. Afterwards I and one of the other traders who shares the same surname as me went across the street to a different bar for one more that turned into about six more just because. I got home, went right into the boys room and slept on one of the twin beds there. Thursday morning- hell all Thursday was not fun. At least I made it to the desk only about a hour late whereas the COO did not get in to the office until about 10:45. The CIO did not even make it in to the office.
The big story Thursday was what CSFB did to their executives for their bonus. They are taking all the toxic shit they collateralized and putting it into a partner asset pool. The bonuses will be paid out in from that crap as it matures and/or defaults. Oh, by the way it's also levered 7:1. There is also a clawback- that is if the executives leave before it pays out, any cash they did get will have to be paid back. That my friends is called PIK. Before Mr. Barrett asks me PIK stands for Pay In Kind. When someone asks for cash back, or redeems, you are allowed to deliver to them securities that at the time have a market value equivalent to the cash they asked to be remitted. It is a possibility in many financial ventures particularly hedge funds. For the record the hedge fund I worked at did it to all the scummy European fund of funds. The best part about that was we gave them all the gains and all the illiquid crap.
Thursday night when I got home I took a nap as the husband had drinks with a broker and got his haircut. We met for dinner at our local favorite, came home and went to bed at 9:30.
This morning it was cold and overcast in preparation for the storm that was coming our way. It started snowing around 10 AM. At one point I could not see the Hudson River, New Jersey or the building next to me. I was debating leaving work early because I had to drive down to central Jersey to pick up the boys but decided against it. By the time the markets closed it was not nearly as bad weatherwise. The drive still took me two and a half hours to get there and one and a half to get back.
So it looks like everyone but the ECB will go the Q.E. way. The BOJ cut rates to 10 bps. Since the Fed is targeting a range of zero to 25 bps apparently BOJ did not want the yen to lose its crown of the carry trade. If the USD is not the new carry trade it will be soon.
Tomorrow we get the Christmas tree. I think Sunday I will take the boys into the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center.
The big story Thursday was what CSFB did to their executives for their bonus. They are taking all the toxic shit they collateralized and putting it into a partner asset pool. The bonuses will be paid out in from that crap as it matures and/or defaults. Oh, by the way it's also levered 7:1. There is also a clawback- that is if the executives leave before it pays out, any cash they did get will have to be paid back. That my friends is called PIK. Before Mr. Barrett asks me PIK stands for Pay In Kind. When someone asks for cash back, or redeems, you are allowed to deliver to them securities that at the time have a market value equivalent to the cash they asked to be remitted. It is a possibility in many financial ventures particularly hedge funds. For the record the hedge fund I worked at did it to all the scummy European fund of funds. The best part about that was we gave them all the gains and all the illiquid crap.
Thursday night when I got home I took a nap as the husband had drinks with a broker and got his haircut. We met for dinner at our local favorite, came home and went to bed at 9:30.
This morning it was cold and overcast in preparation for the storm that was coming our way. It started snowing around 10 AM. At one point I could not see the Hudson River, New Jersey or the building next to me. I was debating leaving work early because I had to drive down to central Jersey to pick up the boys but decided against it. By the time the markets closed it was not nearly as bad weatherwise. The drive still took me two and a half hours to get there and one and a half to get back.
So it looks like everyone but the ECB will go the Q.E. way. The BOJ cut rates to 10 bps. Since the Fed is targeting a range of zero to 25 bps apparently BOJ did not want the yen to lose its crown of the carry trade. If the USD is not the new carry trade it will be soon.
Tomorrow we get the Christmas tree. I think Sunday I will take the boys into the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Matthew McConaughey is a big tease but I think he wants me...
Welcome to a ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy because Mr. Barrett complains I use too many acronyms) world and the fun and exciting world of quantitative easing! So the Fed decision came out late which is unusual in and of itself. Everyone expected a cut of 50 bps in the target rate. A funny thing happened though and I have to think the reason it was late getting announced was they sat there saying are we really ready to do this? We are Japan and will be having our own lost decade sadly. That is not to say there will not be up years in the market but we will be grinding lower and my guess is the article I read on BBERG last week that said we will bottom out somewhere on SPX 400 is correct. If this does not work the only thing left for the government to do will be to start buying houses directly and becoming the largest landlord in the nation. That will put a bottom in prices for sure but at a particularly nasty price for generations to pay.
I did not quite understand why the SPX rallied so much. Apparently many have yet to realize that all equities are are a perpetual call on a possible future income stream. After talking to some smart people I would have to guess the place to be is in corporates- ideally investment grade- because in a ZIRP world the central bank is trying to disincent investors from being risk averse. The auction today was priced at 0.000%- hello? They are flooding the system with cash and trying to get people to invest it in yes risky but ideally profitable ventures. So I would say junk first but I keep thinking about what my friend the bond guy said that junk will not be a viable investment class in say 5 years as defaults will rise dramatically. So the next thing would be investment grade corporates and then last the perpetual calls- I mean equities. By the way I was told junk is currently pricing in something like a 30% default rate. That is almost unheard of unless you go back to the 1903s. Makes you wonder right?
Looking back at some of my earlier posts I'd have to say I've been subconsciously worried about the risk of a war on a larger scale than the two we are currently engaged in in Iraq and Afghanistan. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to the kid next to me and asked him ok if we are in a depression like the '30s what really ended that? He gave the usual response The New Deal. I disagreed and said really it was the outbreak of WWII. Today the economist from MER said his biggest concern and the largest risk facing the markets in 2009 is rising geopolitical tensions leading to war. I was chatting with a PM about that and he agreed and said the only problem is that we no longer have the industrial base to wage a global war. Roughly 70% of our economy is service based. My response was well I guess we'll have a lot of people drafted to make up for the lack of the industrial base.
Spoke to both of my old partners about all the FofFs who got totally taken by Made-Off. They agree with me that it is a good come-uppance for them after busting our balls and grudgingly giving us money. The only thing I did not know is that one of the partners fraternity brothers who was instrumental in getting us funding went to the unit of MassMutual who had $3.3 billion out of their $5.1 billion in Made-Off. He is out of a job I have to imagine.
The other thing about the whole Made-Off scandal is there is absolutely no way the guy pulled it off himself. I have to guess that it was a family affair and when it came crashing down the old man said he'd take the fall and the blame for everything. I understand that as a father wanting to protect your children so I cant fault him for that instinct. But what I don't get is that if you still had roughly $200 million left why wouldn't you make a run for it? This was not a very well thought scheme. Hell, if I was in his shoes I'd have taken say $50 million, gotten a good plastic surgeon, changed my fingerprints and gone to Brazil or some other South American country and spent the rest of my life in the company of high class rent boys with lots of beer and a personal trainer.
I was supposed to have drinks with JS tonight but his workload is crazy and apparently his boss told him no vacation between now and the end of the year. So we rescheduled for the new year. It worked out well as I finished Christmas shopping and had the estimable intention of finally getting the Christmas cards done. I got home walked and fed the kids, hit the gym and ordered dinner as the husband was out for business drinks. He finally got home after I had put the dinner in the fridge and had a protein shake as I am not a big fan of eating dinner after 9. He was giddy and definitely buzzed even tough he said he only had three drinks- his usual line for the situation, lol. I was not upset as I know tomorrow night the shoe will most likely be on the other foot as it is my company's Christmas party and I will use the line I only had three drinks.
the Childrens Broadcasting News Corporation has been running these ads for Dolce & Gabbana cologne with Matthew McConaughey. He is seriously hot and it is a real distraction. I would be willing to fill in for Lance any time Matthew if you ever read this...
I did not quite understand why the SPX rallied so much. Apparently many have yet to realize that all equities are are a perpetual call on a possible future income stream. After talking to some smart people I would have to guess the place to be is in corporates- ideally investment grade- because in a ZIRP world the central bank is trying to disincent investors from being risk averse. The auction today was priced at 0.000%- hello? They are flooding the system with cash and trying to get people to invest it in yes risky but ideally profitable ventures. So I would say junk first but I keep thinking about what my friend the bond guy said that junk will not be a viable investment class in say 5 years as defaults will rise dramatically. So the next thing would be investment grade corporates and then last the perpetual calls- I mean equities. By the way I was told junk is currently pricing in something like a 30% default rate. That is almost unheard of unless you go back to the 1903s. Makes you wonder right?
Looking back at some of my earlier posts I'd have to say I've been subconsciously worried about the risk of a war on a larger scale than the two we are currently engaged in in Iraq and Afghanistan. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to the kid next to me and asked him ok if we are in a depression like the '30s what really ended that? He gave the usual response The New Deal. I disagreed and said really it was the outbreak of WWII. Today the economist from MER said his biggest concern and the largest risk facing the markets in 2009 is rising geopolitical tensions leading to war. I was chatting with a PM about that and he agreed and said the only problem is that we no longer have the industrial base to wage a global war. Roughly 70% of our economy is service based. My response was well I guess we'll have a lot of people drafted to make up for the lack of the industrial base.
Spoke to both of my old partners about all the FofFs who got totally taken by Made-Off. They agree with me that it is a good come-uppance for them after busting our balls and grudgingly giving us money. The only thing I did not know is that one of the partners fraternity brothers who was instrumental in getting us funding went to the unit of MassMutual who had $3.3 billion out of their $5.1 billion in Made-Off. He is out of a job I have to imagine.
The other thing about the whole Made-Off scandal is there is absolutely no way the guy pulled it off himself. I have to guess that it was a family affair and when it came crashing down the old man said he'd take the fall and the blame for everything. I understand that as a father wanting to protect your children so I cant fault him for that instinct. But what I don't get is that if you still had roughly $200 million left why wouldn't you make a run for it? This was not a very well thought scheme. Hell, if I was in his shoes I'd have taken say $50 million, gotten a good plastic surgeon, changed my fingerprints and gone to Brazil or some other South American country and spent the rest of my life in the company of high class rent boys with lots of beer and a personal trainer.
I was supposed to have drinks with JS tonight but his workload is crazy and apparently his boss told him no vacation between now and the end of the year. So we rescheduled for the new year. It worked out well as I finished Christmas shopping and had the estimable intention of finally getting the Christmas cards done. I got home walked and fed the kids, hit the gym and ordered dinner as the husband was out for business drinks. He finally got home after I had put the dinner in the fridge and had a protein shake as I am not a big fan of eating dinner after 9. He was giddy and definitely buzzed even tough he said he only had three drinks- his usual line for the situation, lol. I was not upset as I know tomorrow night the shoe will most likely be on the other foot as it is my company's Christmas party and I will use the line I only had three drinks.
the Childrens Broadcasting News Corporation has been running these ads for Dolce & Gabbana cologne with Matthew McConaughey. He is seriously hot and it is a real distraction. I would be willing to fill in for Lance any time Matthew if you ever read this...
Monday, December 15, 2008
I hate fund of funds
There were none of the usual hotties on the bus this morning.
I am really kind of enjoying the whole Made-Off scandal mainly because of many of the investors involved. Not the individual investors- I truly feel sorry for them. I am somewhat gleeful that a lot of European fund of funds were in there. Gotta love their due dilligence. There are many on the list that were investors in the hedge fund I worked at for five years and they were a bunch of pricks who put us through the wringer before they would invest. We actually had a very well known accounting firm who's reputation was built upon them specializing in hedge funds. We had one of the two major law firms for outside counsel who were known for their hedge fund practice. We had a major i-bank prime broker who provided all pricing for all securities. They still treated us like we were trying to perpetrate a fraud on them.
I came to learn that all European FofFs were solely performance chasers and not investors at all. No better proof is there than the fact that they invested in Made-Off solely because he had steady up returns no matter what. They must have changed their due diligence process. They also must never have heard of serial correlation and what it implies- that would be a strong possibility of fraud. They ignored all these red flags solely because they were chasing performance. I love the irony of the situation for them but truly do feel bad for the retired carpet salesman and his wife who invested their entire savings with Made-Off.
JW sent me a link to a really great former blog. I say former because sadly this brilliant mind who writes much better than I and on many of the same topics but much more in depth has signed off. He has taken a new job in The City.
Went to the gym tonight and have to say there was some serious quality hotness there. It made the work out interesting and I actually shared the incline with this really hot guy who had teddy bear brown eye- he was dreamy. He was also actually nice guy who gets gym etiquette. He asked if I needed a spot on my turns and told me he needed a lift off on his turn and how many reps he was going for so I knew when to be ready. He also stripped the plates. It's nice to know not everyone at the gym is uncouth.
I am really kind of enjoying the whole Made-Off scandal mainly because of many of the investors involved. Not the individual investors- I truly feel sorry for them. I am somewhat gleeful that a lot of European fund of funds were in there. Gotta love their due dilligence. There are many on the list that were investors in the hedge fund I worked at for five years and they were a bunch of pricks who put us through the wringer before they would invest. We actually had a very well known accounting firm who's reputation was built upon them specializing in hedge funds. We had one of the two major law firms for outside counsel who were known for their hedge fund practice. We had a major i-bank prime broker who provided all pricing for all securities. They still treated us like we were trying to perpetrate a fraud on them.
I came to learn that all European FofFs were solely performance chasers and not investors at all. No better proof is there than the fact that they invested in Made-Off solely because he had steady up returns no matter what. They must have changed their due diligence process. They also must never have heard of serial correlation and what it implies- that would be a strong possibility of fraud. They ignored all these red flags solely because they were chasing performance. I love the irony of the situation for them but truly do feel bad for the retired carpet salesman and his wife who invested their entire savings with Made-Off.
JW sent me a link to a really great former blog. I say former because sadly this brilliant mind who writes much better than I and on many of the same topics but much more in depth has signed off. He has taken a new job in The City.
Went to the gym tonight and have to say there was some serious quality hotness there. It made the work out interesting and I actually shared the incline with this really hot guy who had teddy bear brown eye- he was dreamy. He was also actually nice guy who gets gym etiquette. He asked if I needed a spot on my turns and told me he needed a lift off on his turn and how many reps he was going for so I knew when to be ready. He also stripped the plates. It's nice to know not everyone at the gym is uncouth.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
No pictures this year
I would have to say the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still was not that bad. It really wasn't a remake, more a re-imagining. It was a good movie for Keanu because he only had 20 lines at most to speak and all of them sounded the same. The lead from Mad Men was in it as well in a bit part though. Gort was way cooler but no one got to say the immemorial phrase Klatuu barada nikto.
Friday night we went to Ragnar's Christmas party. We had a fun time, drank some gluck and hung out with JW and JD.
We had dinner in the city last night with MP. It was nice and relaxing. We got home at a reasonable hour and actually went to bed.
Today we got paint chips for the second bathroom. I thought we were done with all the painting but the husband has decided otherwise. We were going to go see the new Punisher flick but took a nap instead and then ran out to visit my brother his wife and sons. The twins are doing great. One looks just like my brother and is huge- he has a Buddha belly. The other is cute and crawling. Once both of them get mobile my sister-in-law is going to have her hands full.
We stopped at TGT too. Normally we send out photo Christmas cards but just never got around to doing a picture this year so we're sending out regular ones. I also picked up the movie Never Back Down- mainly because of the two hotties in it that seem to be shirtless most of the time.
Friday night we went to Ragnar's Christmas party. We had a fun time, drank some gluck and hung out with JW and JD.
We had dinner in the city last night with MP. It was nice and relaxing. We got home at a reasonable hour and actually went to bed.
Today we got paint chips for the second bathroom. I thought we were done with all the painting but the husband has decided otherwise. We were going to go see the new Punisher flick but took a nap instead and then ran out to visit my brother his wife and sons. The twins are doing great. One looks just like my brother and is huge- he has a Buddha belly. The other is cute and crawling. Once both of them get mobile my sister-in-law is going to have her hands full.
We stopped at TGT too. Normally we send out photo Christmas cards but just never got around to doing a picture this year so we're sending out regular ones. I also picked up the movie Never Back Down- mainly because of the two hotties in it that seem to be shirtless most of the time.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Klaatu barado nikto
The husband had his company "Holiday" party last night. As he so succinctly put it there would have to be Christians present for it to be a Christmas party. I, my boss, several co-workers and former co-workers met up with an old friend who is in the business for drinks after work at a nice bar in Hells Kitchen right around the corner from the office. This guy is a character in the best sense and I found out he and the boss both attended the same college. I left at 7 and the boss texted me around 8, still drinking with his fellow alum.
When the husband got home we watched the original The Day The Earth Stood Still. The husband had never seen it so I told him it would be a good primer for seeing the remake this weekend with Keanu. The actor who portrayed Klaatu was actually pretty damn handsome.
Heard from JP yesterday,was good to catch up with him even though it was thru email. He is off to the hub of the universe this weekend for work, then back out west and then off to FLA for a half marathon which I commended him for as any run longer than eight miles would not fall into the category of fun and/or enjoyment for me.
Caught an earlier than usual bus this morning as most of the news and emails I was reading made me think getting in a bit early would be prudent. Damn there were a lot of hot guys on the early bus.
B. MadeOff was a ponzi scheme...how am I not all that surprised? I have been in my line of work for almost twenty years. That firm has always perplexed me wondering how they actually made any money. They always tried to get whatever firm I was working for to do business with them but couldn't as something always felt not quite right. Well now I know how they made money: the old fashioned way- stealing it! The owner lived up to his surname and made off with quite a bit of dough.
So munis seem to be the next ground zero in the ongoing financial morass we are in. I really don't understand why the government doesn't just shut down the CDS market as tha unregulated wild west seems to be where most of the trouble started and can't be stopped as it is a complete cluster fuck trying to untangle the counter-parties. Shut it down and then get every ones house in order and then re-open it (if there is still a demand for such a product) under strict regulation and supervision.
I really want a BDK Alligator Lopper for Christmas. I don't need one but I saw an ad for it n t.v and it is really cool.
When the husband got home we watched the original The Day The Earth Stood Still. The husband had never seen it so I told him it would be a good primer for seeing the remake this weekend with Keanu. The actor who portrayed Klaatu was actually pretty damn handsome.
Heard from JP yesterday,was good to catch up with him even though it was thru email. He is off to the hub of the universe this weekend for work, then back out west and then off to FLA for a half marathon which I commended him for as any run longer than eight miles would not fall into the category of fun and/or enjoyment for me.
Caught an earlier than usual bus this morning as most of the news and emails I was reading made me think getting in a bit early would be prudent. Damn there were a lot of hot guys on the early bus.
B. MadeOff was a ponzi scheme...how am I not all that surprised? I have been in my line of work for almost twenty years. That firm has always perplexed me wondering how they actually made any money. They always tried to get whatever firm I was working for to do business with them but couldn't as something always felt not quite right. Well now I know how they made money: the old fashioned way- stealing it! The owner lived up to his surname and made off with quite a bit of dough.
So munis seem to be the next ground zero in the ongoing financial morass we are in. I really don't understand why the government doesn't just shut down the CDS market as tha unregulated wild west seems to be where most of the trouble started and can't be stopped as it is a complete cluster fuck trying to untangle the counter-parties. Shut it down and then get every ones house in order and then re-open it (if there is still a demand for such a product) under strict regulation and supervision.
I really want a BDK Alligator Lopper for Christmas. I don't need one but I saw an ad for it n t.v and it is really cool.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Change of plans this weekend
So my oldest called and asked if he could stay at his mom's house this weekend. His best friend's parents are having a Christmas party and they figured it was the perfect time to have a sleep over. I told him he had to talk with his mom first because she may have made plans already. So he spoke with her and it actually works out well. Monday is her birthday and her family is coming down Sunday to celebrate. She was going to ask me to have them back by noon Sunday anyways. So they will be with their mom this weekend. I will then pick them up Tuesday evening after work on the 23rd and they will spend Christmas Eve with me.
I can now go to Ragnar's Christmas party Friday evening with the husband. We are also planning on sleeping in late again. He wants to see the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves and I want to see Punisher War Zone so we'll be doing matinees both days it looks like.
I saw the hot married guy from the old apartment this morning on the bus. He is still a great looking guy. Tonight after work we went to the gym in the building and there was a really hot guy who lives in our building there too. I have chatted with him before in the elevator. He was doing a charity boxing event that is run and sponsored by a trade rag from my business. After the fight I ran into him again and found out he lost a split decision. The husband was staring at him the entire time.
JP is still out west for now but this weekend he is of to the hub of the universe for work for ten says I think then back out west and then back home here in Hoboken in the new year.
I can now go to Ragnar's Christmas party Friday evening with the husband. We are also planning on sleeping in late again. He wants to see the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves and I want to see Punisher War Zone so we'll be doing matinees both days it looks like.
I saw the hot married guy from the old apartment this morning on the bus. He is still a great looking guy. Tonight after work we went to the gym in the building and there was a really hot guy who lives in our building there too. I have chatted with him before in the elevator. He was doing a charity boxing event that is run and sponsored by a trade rag from my business. After the fight I ran into him again and found out he lost a split decision. The husband was staring at him the entire time.
JP is still out west for now but this weekend he is of to the hub of the universe for work for ten says I think then back out west and then back home here in Hoboken in the new year.
Woo-hoo- I weigh less than Oprah...but I'm still not a strong black woman
So we finally saw our hot neighbor again Monday night. He is back from wherever he was and he had a woman with him. We both got all catty saying he could do better than her and she couldn't possibly fulfil his needs the way a man could, lol.
I got a text yesterday morning from RK; he got let go from my old employer. He was pretty senior as he started there a year after me and has been there the entire time surviving 3 mergers. It goes to show that no one on the Street is safe at this point in time and I don't think my side of the Street will be done with cuts until the end of Q1. The husband told me he heard his old employer was announcing more cuts by the end of this week.
I also read that the former CEO of BSC said the Wall Street model is dead now that his firm and LEH are gone and GS and MS turned into banks. I would have to disagree. It reminds me of Reagan's comment concerning the Democratic party and to paraphrase, Wall Street didn't leace them, they left Wall Street. I imagine in the next decade we will see new investment banks created and started to fulfill what BSC, GS, LEH and MS used to do. Along those lines I read where two senior SSG guys left GS. Gee I wonder what they are thinking of doing?
I read yesterday that Oprah weighs 200 pounds. It was all over YHOO. Seriously, that falls into the category about President-Elect Obama and his smoking habit- who gives a shit!!!?? We have much more important things to worry about.
So President-Elect Obama's old seat in the Senate from Illinois was put up for sale on eBay by the governor. Well not really but he might as well have done that after reading some of his tape recorded comments from the indictment. BP, the kid who used to work with me and I'd classify as a staunch Republican, and I were discussing if P-E Obama gets mired in this and I said I doubt it very much, he is too smart for that and after the Rezko incident I have to believe the Harvey Keitel type cleaners went through his closet and straightened it out. If he does we may witness an Electoral College fiasco. Remember, we vote for Electors not candidates. If I recall my American Political Systems course from freshman year correctly the person with the next most electoral votes would become President. That would be none other than Senator McCain.
Last night we had dinner with Ragnar and his bf Umberto. I was psyched because we had Indian for dinner. Indian wreaks havoc with the husband's innards so we don't have it all that often. We then went back to Hoboken and went to the local gays in the village night. We had not been there in about three months so it was good to go and catch up with some friends in town. On the ferry ride home the husband asked me why Jay Leno was all over CNBC. I said I had no idea and don't care as I am not a fan of his.
There was one piece of data out yesterday that turned my head and got me worried. The 1M T-bill auction was done and is yielding 0.005%- that is truly stunning. Basically investors are willing to get paid nothing by the government to lend them money! Why wouldn't you just hold cash under your mattress? Are there no animal spirits left? IT also illustrates the huge dichotomy between the credit markets and equity markets that is still out there. It will have to be rationalized at some point and my guess is equities will come down in line with credit as we all know credit guys are smarter.
A Dean & DeLucca opened up this week in my building. I know the first week of a new restaurant is always a horror show but they are still 0 for 2 as of now. I went in there Monday to get lunch. They were so disorganized and unprepared. I walked out after waiting 19 minutes, went across the street and saw a large number of people who had the same idea. Yesterday I stopped in for my afternoon caffeine fix. I got to the front of the line and asked for a large iced coffee. Sorry no iced coffee (even though it is on the menu) and maybe they'll have iced coffee today...
I got a text yesterday morning from RK; he got let go from my old employer. He was pretty senior as he started there a year after me and has been there the entire time surviving 3 mergers. It goes to show that no one on the Street is safe at this point in time and I don't think my side of the Street will be done with cuts until the end of Q1. The husband told me he heard his old employer was announcing more cuts by the end of this week.
I also read that the former CEO of BSC said the Wall Street model is dead now that his firm and LEH are gone and GS and MS turned into banks. I would have to disagree. It reminds me of Reagan's comment concerning the Democratic party and to paraphrase, Wall Street didn't leace them, they left Wall Street. I imagine in the next decade we will see new investment banks created and started to fulfill what BSC, GS, LEH and MS used to do. Along those lines I read where two senior SSG guys left GS. Gee I wonder what they are thinking of doing?
I read yesterday that Oprah weighs 200 pounds. It was all over YHOO. Seriously, that falls into the category about President-Elect Obama and his smoking habit- who gives a shit!!!?? We have much more important things to worry about.
So President-Elect Obama's old seat in the Senate from Illinois was put up for sale on eBay by the governor. Well not really but he might as well have done that after reading some of his tape recorded comments from the indictment. BP, the kid who used to work with me and I'd classify as a staunch Republican, and I were discussing if P-E Obama gets mired in this and I said I doubt it very much, he is too smart for that and after the Rezko incident I have to believe the Harvey Keitel type cleaners went through his closet and straightened it out. If he does we may witness an Electoral College fiasco. Remember, we vote for Electors not candidates. If I recall my American Political Systems course from freshman year correctly the person with the next most electoral votes would become President. That would be none other than Senator McCain.
Last night we had dinner with Ragnar and his bf Umberto. I was psyched because we had Indian for dinner. Indian wreaks havoc with the husband's innards so we don't have it all that often. We then went back to Hoboken and went to the local gays in the village night. We had not been there in about three months so it was good to go and catch up with some friends in town. On the ferry ride home the husband asked me why Jay Leno was all over CNBC. I said I had no idea and don't care as I am not a fan of his.
There was one piece of data out yesterday that turned my head and got me worried. The 1M T-bill auction was done and is yielding 0.005%- that is truly stunning. Basically investors are willing to get paid nothing by the government to lend them money! Why wouldn't you just hold cash under your mattress? Are there no animal spirits left? IT also illustrates the huge dichotomy between the credit markets and equity markets that is still out there. It will have to be rationalized at some point and my guess is equities will come down in line with credit as we all know credit guys are smarter.
A Dean & DeLucca opened up this week in my building. I know the first week of a new restaurant is always a horror show but they are still 0 for 2 as of now. I went in there Monday to get lunch. They were so disorganized and unprepared. I walked out after waiting 19 minutes, went across the street and saw a large number of people who had the same idea. Yesterday I stopped in for my afternoon caffeine fix. I got to the front of the line and asked for a large iced coffee. Sorry no iced coffee (even though it is on the menu) and maybe they'll have iced coffee today...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Finally a relaxing weekend
The Christmas party we went to Saturday night in north Jersey's suburbs was a lot of fun. The hostess looked great and their new home is pretty amazing especially the huge flat screen mounted over the fireplace in their family room. The only thing I didn't really like was how the living room was a dead end room- you know what I mean, only one way in and it didn't flow into any other room. The husband said that is how all the newer homes are but it just doesn't make sense to me.
There were some very interesting guests. One in particular was this Ukrainian woman. We tagged her pretty quickly because she was wearing these amazingly tight pants that were all covered in black spangles and these boots with easily 5 inch heels. The boots also had red soles which the husband said was the signature of Christian La Boutain- no clue if I spelt it right. We were in the garage chatting with her and her husband- who happened to be this uber-WASP wearing Campbell tartan slacks, a whale belt and the Brooks Brothers gold button blazer- as the husband and she were two of the smokers and I was having a dip. We carried the conversation into the kitchen where she stated she had a personal question to ask the husband. She prefaced it with you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. He looked at me like what the hell is she about to ask. Her question was "Where'd you get your sweater?" I started laughing. The hostess was also wearing the red soled shoes.
We slept in late again Sunday morning. It was really nice not to have to get up and run around and do anything. We had a very lazy Sunday morning for once.
Sunday afternoon we showered up and went into the city for a very early dinner with TK. We are planning on going to Utah with him for a snowboarding trip on Christmas Day but the snow reports are not looking so good so we started talking about making back up plans. We then went to the Toys For Tots party at Chelsea Piers. There were tons of hotties but that is too be expected when there 2500 homos who live in New York City all in one place. We had fun and I saw some old friends. I got to meet KennethInThe212 and I was a total geek. I believe my words were I read your blog everyday and I miss Sunday Worship. I also met his boyfriend Michael. He was off to work. I saw JS too and we have been trying to get together for a drink and he introduced me to KennethInThe212. They are best friends.
After the party at we went to Park and met up with DS and his partner JK for dinner with a group. We walked there and it was freakin' cold and the wind was whipping down the avenue. We were only staying for a drink. Met some of the husband's old neighbors and they were a nice couple.
Ok, seriously, don't we as a country have way more to worry about than whether or not President-Elect Obama smokes cigarettes? I also read how the left is becoming pissed off with President-Elect Obama's choices for the Cabinet. Funny how once a party wins power they start to turn on each other. I have no problem with President-Elect Obama picking the best people in his opinion regardless of their political opinions.
There were some very interesting guests. One in particular was this Ukrainian woman. We tagged her pretty quickly because she was wearing these amazingly tight pants that were all covered in black spangles and these boots with easily 5 inch heels. The boots also had red soles which the husband said was the signature of Christian La Boutain- no clue if I spelt it right. We were in the garage chatting with her and her husband- who happened to be this uber-WASP wearing Campbell tartan slacks, a whale belt and the Brooks Brothers gold button blazer- as the husband and she were two of the smokers and I was having a dip. We carried the conversation into the kitchen where she stated she had a personal question to ask the husband. She prefaced it with you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. He looked at me like what the hell is she about to ask. Her question was "Where'd you get your sweater?" I started laughing. The hostess was also wearing the red soled shoes.
We slept in late again Sunday morning. It was really nice not to have to get up and run around and do anything. We had a very lazy Sunday morning for once.
Sunday afternoon we showered up and went into the city for a very early dinner with TK. We are planning on going to Utah with him for a snowboarding trip on Christmas Day but the snow reports are not looking so good so we started talking about making back up plans. We then went to the Toys For Tots party at Chelsea Piers. There were tons of hotties but that is too be expected when there 2500 homos who live in New York City all in one place. We had fun and I saw some old friends. I got to meet KennethInThe212 and I was a total geek. I believe my words were I read your blog everyday and I miss Sunday Worship. I also met his boyfriend Michael. He was off to work. I saw JS too and we have been trying to get together for a drink and he introduced me to KennethInThe212. They are best friends.
After the party at we went to Park and met up with DS and his partner JK for dinner with a group. We walked there and it was freakin' cold and the wind was whipping down the avenue. We were only staying for a drink. Met some of the husband's old neighbors and they were a nice couple.
Ok, seriously, don't we as a country have way more to worry about than whether or not President-Elect Obama smokes cigarettes? I also read how the left is becoming pissed off with President-Elect Obama's choices for the Cabinet. Funny how once a party wins power they start to turn on each other. I have no problem with President-Elect Obama picking the best people in his opinion regardless of their political opinions.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
I am confused about etiquette
We saw Quantum of Solace last night with DR and PF. The movie was really good but a bit long. The husband fell asleep in the theater. The only disappointing part was Daniel Craig was shirtless only once and you don't get to see him in a Speedo like Casino Royale. I actually like the new Bond much better- there is no cheesy kitsch to it at all; it's a kick ass action/spy picture.
Today we slept in pretty late- 9:30. We then cleaned up the apartment and went to a new place for brunch. It was very nice and is only one block from our apartment. The owners own another restaurant in town the was one block from our old apartment and we frequented that a often.
Tonight we are going to a Christmas party in the northern Jersey suburbs. The hosts are a couple we have known for a few years. The husband I met through my old job and got to be friends outside of work with him. His wife is from upstate too and she is fabulous. We attended their party last year and they came to our reception and house warming.
Tomorrow we are going to the Toys For Tots party for all the homos in the city. It is at Chelsea Piers and I have been to it once before I met the husband. It was a fun time. We are going to grab some dinner before hand with TK.
I guess I need to relearn some etiquette. We hosted the house warming and now we are getting thank you notes from some of our guests. I don't get that at all. I did not know you were bound to write a thank you note to the host of a party. We did receive some gifts and we wrote thank you notes to the people who brought them. I was discussing etiquette earlier this week with Mr. Barrett and thought I knew what I was talking about apparently not.
Today we slept in pretty late- 9:30. We then cleaned up the apartment and went to a new place for brunch. It was very nice and is only one block from our apartment. The owners own another restaurant in town the was one block from our old apartment and we frequented that a often.
Tonight we are going to a Christmas party in the northern Jersey suburbs. The hosts are a couple we have known for a few years. The husband I met through my old job and got to be friends outside of work with him. His wife is from upstate too and she is fabulous. We attended their party last year and they came to our reception and house warming.
Tomorrow we are going to the Toys For Tots party for all the homos in the city. It is at Chelsea Piers and I have been to it once before I met the husband. It was a fun time. We are going to grab some dinner before hand with TK.
I guess I need to relearn some etiquette. We hosted the house warming and now we are getting thank you notes from some of our guests. I don't get that at all. I did not know you were bound to write a thank you note to the host of a party. We did receive some gifts and we wrote thank you notes to the people who brought them. I was discussing etiquette earlier this week with Mr. Barrett and thought I knew what I was talking about apparently not.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I really want a slow week
So the other day the ex' mother had her second round of chemotherapy. I sent a text in the afternoon asking how it went. I did not get a response. I didn't know how to take that- good news or bad news. I called her today to ask and apparently she was just really busy and saw my text but did not have a chance to respond. It went well and she thanked me for asking; quite a change for her to thank me for anything. I must admit I do it only because I am concerned what will happen with the boys because their maternal grandmother is a large part of their daily lives.
We had the husband's book club over last night. I acted as the hired help- cooked, served and made sure the wine glasses were full. I tried to write this post last night after I finished cleaning but said to hell with it and am now writing it at my desk before the markets open.
Tonight we have MP coming over for dinner and just to catch up. Tomorrow night we are going to see Quantum of Solace because one can never get enough of Daniel Craig especially when he is shirtless. Saturday night we have a Christmas party to go to in the northern suburbs of Jersey. Sunday we are going to Toys for Boys in the city. It seems like we have been going full speed for the past three months.
The tape seems to be muddling a long and putting in a long base/bottom. Everyone seems to think you can't pick the bottom but as RK told me it is easy- it's the hot shirtless guy dancing with his hands way above his head, lol.
I am getting concerned about the Middle East as the Jerusalem Post has an article saying the IDF is planning on bombing Iran's nuclear facilities with or with our help/coordination. That could make for an interesting Christmas...
Saw the cute guy from the third floor at the bus stop this morning. Not sure what his story is.
I have been wondering that is we are in a second depression and all the articles saying the New Deal really did nothing but prolong it and maybe it was WWII that actually caused the end of it are we setting up for another large-scale, global type conflict?
My oldest is maybe maturing as when I talk to him at night now and I ask how his day at school was he tells me and then actually asks how my day at work was. I was stunned the first time and told him it really makes me happy that he is showing interest.
We had the husband's book club over last night. I acted as the hired help- cooked, served and made sure the wine glasses were full. I tried to write this post last night after I finished cleaning but said to hell with it and am now writing it at my desk before the markets open.
Tonight we have MP coming over for dinner and just to catch up. Tomorrow night we are going to see Quantum of Solace because one can never get enough of Daniel Craig especially when he is shirtless. Saturday night we have a Christmas party to go to in the northern suburbs of Jersey. Sunday we are going to Toys for Boys in the city. It seems like we have been going full speed for the past three months.
The tape seems to be muddling a long and putting in a long base/bottom. Everyone seems to think you can't pick the bottom but as RK told me it is easy- it's the hot shirtless guy dancing with his hands way above his head, lol.
I am getting concerned about the Middle East as the Jerusalem Post has an article saying the IDF is planning on bombing Iran's nuclear facilities with or with our help/coordination. That could make for an interesting Christmas...
Saw the cute guy from the third floor at the bus stop this morning. Not sure what his story is.
I have been wondering that is we are in a second depression and all the articles saying the New Deal really did nothing but prolong it and maybe it was WWII that actually caused the end of it are we setting up for another large-scale, global type conflict?
My oldest is maybe maturing as when I talk to him at night now and I ask how his day at school was he tells me and then actually asks how my day at work was. I was stunned the first time and told him it really makes me happy that he is showing interest.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
We may have to start watching Legend of The Seeker
When we were up at mom and dad's we were surfing the channels and came across a show with a hot shirtless muscly guy using a sword being instructed by a wizard. The guy was stunning. I saw the title of the show was The Legend of The Seeker. So I googled it today. I never read any of the books it is based on by Terry Goodkind. Craig Horner- of course he is an Aussie- is the star.
Speaking of surfing through the channels there are certain movies I will always watch if they are on: ANY Matrix movie, ANY Star Wars movie, ANY Indiana Jones movie, ANY LOTR movie, Caddyshack, ANY Scream, Gorillas In The Mist (college memories) and White Chicks are a few. The bathroom scene in White Chicks has often made me consider letting out a big sigh as I am standing at the urinal at work and seeing what the reaction is- that is until yesterday when I was in there and someone was in the stall grunting and huffing and puffing while pinching out a loaf. I thought the guy was gonna die in there. I was washing my hands when he came out- out of shape, older IT guy; go figure...
This morning at the bus stop there was a cute pocket sized guy. I have seen him at the gym before but he looked good all cleaned up and ready for work. Had a WSJ with him so he probably works in my line of business.
We have not seen our hot neighbor in quite some time but there is another hot married neighbor to ogle occasionally in the elevator.
Everyone keeps talking about how Treasuries are the next bubble. I have been thinking for a while though that maybe what is really going on is that equities as an investment class have been the bubble for the past 25 years. Historically bonds dominated all thoughts of the investment business from the dawn of time. They are just much more bottom-line: When am I getting paid back and what will the vig be? That is all they care about. When it comes down to it equities are really just glorified call options; you as the owner may have a claim on some possible future cash flow after the debts are paid. Somewhat sobering and depressing though for an equity trader but what can ya do?
Speaking of surfing through the channels there are certain movies I will always watch if they are on: ANY Matrix movie, ANY Star Wars movie, ANY Indiana Jones movie, ANY LOTR movie, Caddyshack, ANY Scream, Gorillas In The Mist (college memories) and White Chicks are a few. The bathroom scene in White Chicks has often made me consider letting out a big sigh as I am standing at the urinal at work and seeing what the reaction is- that is until yesterday when I was in there and someone was in the stall grunting and huffing and puffing while pinching out a loaf. I thought the guy was gonna die in there. I was washing my hands when he came out- out of shape, older IT guy; go figure...
This morning at the bus stop there was a cute pocket sized guy. I have seen him at the gym before but he looked good all cleaned up and ready for work. Had a WSJ with him so he probably works in my line of business.
We have not seen our hot neighbor in quite some time but there is another hot married neighbor to ogle occasionally in the elevator.
Everyone keeps talking about how Treasuries are the next bubble. I have been thinking for a while though that maybe what is really going on is that equities as an investment class have been the bubble for the past 25 years. Historically bonds dominated all thoughts of the investment business from the dawn of time. They are just much more bottom-line: When am I getting paid back and what will the vig be? That is all they care about. When it comes down to it equities are really just glorified call options; you as the owner may have a claim on some possible future cash flow after the debts are paid. Somewhat sobering and depressing though for an equity trader but what can ya do?
Monday, December 1, 2008
Almost time to get back into the shallow end of the pool
Don't have a lot to write about tonight so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
I was chatting with DS on IM today about the holiday weekend and the ride home. He came up with the line I should use from now on about the boys when people ask me about them. From now on I will be saying "I have children from a previous orientation."
I noticed the NBER officially announced that we entered into a recession in December of 2007. That makes me think we are getting close the finale of this debacle we have been going through in the financial markets. The boss agrees with me but thinks there will be a lot more reoragnizational filings, aka bankruptcies.
I think our President-Elect naming HRC as his Secretary of State is a brilliant move but also think-the cynic in m showing- that he did it to prevent her from challenging him in 2012.
I was chatting with DS on IM today about the holiday weekend and the ride home. He came up with the line I should use from now on about the boys when people ask me about them. From now on I will be saying "I have children from a previous orientation."
I noticed the NBER officially announced that we entered into a recession in December of 2007. That makes me think we are getting close the finale of this debacle we have been going through in the financial markets. The boss agrees with me but thinks there will be a lot more reoragnizational filings, aka bankruptcies.
I think our President-Elect naming HRC as his Secretary of State is a brilliant move but also think-the cynic in m showing- that he did it to prevent her from challenging him in 2012.
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