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Here Come da Feds: New Trick to Manipulate Market

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 6th, 2013 7:20 AM |

I recently received a message from friends in the market apprising me of the newest “trick” being used by those who like to move/manipulate markets. What are the wizards up to?

Let’s get the inside scoop on what is really going on within our equity markets from our Sense on Cents Hall of Famers Joe Saluzzi and Sal Arnuk at Themis Trading. They recently sent out the following:

From Themis Trading: A new phenomenon is sweeping the equity market. It’s called the Fake Tweet Mini Flash Crash. Read the rest »


“Life’s Lessons by Byron Wien”

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 5th, 2013 8:42 AM |

Let’s take a break from our daily navigation of the economic landscape and transition to a far larger and more important path, that is, the path designated as “life.”

There is no other pursuit I derive greater personal enjoyment from than the mentoring of young professionals. I think back to the multitude of people in my life who gave of their time and wisdom to help me along the way as I navigated my own career. I would not trade those relationships for anything.

In similar fashion, I treasure the relationships I am developing with current young professionals as they begin and continue to navigate their own career paths.

To that end, I welcome sharing a memo that recently crossed my desk from one of Wall Street’s most highly respected investors, Byron Wein.  Read the rest »


What Is “Too Big To Regulate?”

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 4th, 2013 8:38 AM |

Going on three years since the passage of the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Reform legislation, aside from a few politicians and perhaps the head of the Federal Reserve nobody  — and I mean nobody — believes that our major financial institutions are anything but “too big to fail.”

We have also learned that “too big to fail” has also come to encompass “too big to regulate” and “too big to prosecute” as well.

How is it that the banks have become “too big to regulate?” Let’s navigate and review a bite-sized script from the Wall Street Journal that highlights this point.  Read the rest »


Stan Druckenmiller Talks ‘Sense on Cents’

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 1st, 2013 11:17 AM |

I truly enjoy listening to and learning from people who are not ‘talking their position,’ trying to sell me something, and truly ‘know their stuff.’

I had just such an enjoyable and insightful experience this morning in watching a Bloomberg interview with noted investor Stanley Druckenmiller.

All the talk today is about the sequester. Sequester?  — Shmeckester!!

Not that the sequester is not important, but it pales in comparison to the truly major issues of the day. Let’s navigate and learn from the newest inductee into the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame, Stanley Druckenmiller, as he provides a healthy serving of ‘sense on cents’ on a host of critically important topics. He sounds the siren on THE single most important financial issue facing our nation. I assure you that you will not be disappointed. Read the rest »


Jack Lew, Treasury Secretary: Is He Qualified?

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 28th, 2013 9:13 AM |

Jack Lew was confirmed yesterday to be the next Secretary of Treasury.

I am not impressed.

I questioned Lew’s qualifications early on when inquiring as to Who Should/Will Be The Next Treasury Secretary? Nothing I have seen or heard since has given me any greater degree of confidence in this appointment. If anything, I am less impressed now than before. Why so? Well, what exactly are the duties and functions of the US Treasury? From the US Treasury site, we learn the Secretary is charged with the following:

Read the rest »


ARS UPDATE: Cries for Help Go Unanswered

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 27th, 2013 8:21 AM |

February 14, 2008: The auction-rate securities market freezes, and tens of thousands of our fellow citizens’ lives are forever changed as that simple American virtue of “trust” goes out the window never to return.

I have long described the ARS market as Wall Street’s greatest scam. Five years out, the pain of this fraud continues and ARS investors’ cries for help go unanswered.

What happened to our country? I will tell you what happened. Our government and regulators are ineffectual at best and corrupt at worst. You do not think so? Let’s navigate.  Read the rest »


Mensack v Morgan Stanley, FINRA

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 26th, 2013 5:43 AM |

What do you think you would do if in the process of appealing a case, you were informed that the court stenographer had “somehow” lost (deleted or destroyed, perhaps??) 8 hours of testimony? Do you think you might be a little pissed off?

Just a little?

Mind you, what if the 8 hours of “lost” testimony were not just any 8 hours. That is, they were not the first 8 hours. They were not the last 8 hours. What if they were 8 hours of selected intermittent testimony including key points when the plaintiff alleges the defendant perjured himself?

Must be a banana republic and kangaroo court for such a gross injustice to have transpired, right?  Read the rest »


UBS, FINRA, and Naked Short Selling: “Duration, Scope and Volume of The Trading Created a Potential for Harm to The Integrity of The Market.”

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 25th, 2013 9:27 AM |

Last summer I tagged Wall Street’s industry funded police at FINRA as being little more than meter maids. With a recent review of FINRA’s largest fine imposed in its history, I now realize that I have actually done a serious disservice to those diligent and hard working meter maids patrolling our cities and towns. How so?

Let’s navigate and look more deeply into FINRA’s $12 million fine imposed on those paragons of virtue who ran Union Bank of Switzerland’s equity operations.

What did UBS do to deserve FINRA’s “largest” fine?  Read the rest »


CFO Survey: A Time of Extraordinary Risk

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 22nd, 2013 6:53 AM |

Who might that be flashing the warning signals about our markets and our economy?

I am always predisposed to look for risk on the horizon so that we can all navigate accordingly, but the quote referenced in the title of this commentary comes not from me but from professors at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

What prompts them to make such a statement? Only a survey of over a thousand global CFOs that projects economic activity a quarter ahead of most other surveys. Now that is the type of material we like as opposed to the “look in the rear view mirror” provided by many outlets.

Let’s navigate . . .

Chief Financial Officers See More Downside Risk in the Stock Market than Upside Read the rest »


Alchian: In Defense of Property Rights and Liberty

Posted by Larry Doyle on February 21st, 2013 9:46 AM |

Oratorical and literary giants have spoken and written at length on what has made our nation great. People could literally spend a lifetime studying the works of these individuals.

Yesterday while traveling on the train I read a simple yet compelling case for what I believe lies at the very foundation of our nation’s greatness.

Why do I think of the 272 word Gettysburg Address as I read a 192 word passage written by the recently deceased economist Armen A. Alchian.

The Wall Street Journal highlights Alchian’s timeless wisdom:   Read the rest »


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Larry Doyle

Larry Doyle A Wall Street veteran's views and instincts on the markets, economy, and all things financial.







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