Archive for January, 2010
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 6th, 2010 12:06 PM |
The New Year brings us the traditional economic and market outlooks from Wall Street firms. High five to a loyal Sense on Cents reader for sharing this recap collated by Birinyi Associates. (Click on image to access full report)
>> LD’s SUMMARY
The overall average calls across the economic and market landscape are as follows:
GDP: +3.1% increase
S&P 500 close at year end 2010: 1222, a 9.6% increase
S&P 500 earnings: $76/share
Oil: $80/barrel, effectively flat on the year
Dollar/Euro: 1.45, effectively flat on the year
The overall outlook does project that analysts believe better opportunities for growth lie outside the United States.
With all due respect to the analysts making these calls, there are no major market calls and especially outliers in this report. Why? Analysts know they have more downside in being bold and wrong. Additionally, the analysts are ultimately a public face for Wall Street salespeople trying to collect assets and sell products. What environment characteristics are most conducive for those pursuits? Low volatility with positive bias and trend. What have the analysts provided? Exactly that.
Wall Street is truly an oligopoly. Group think and coordinated — if not collusive — pricing and projections are simply how the game is played.
LD
Tags: birinyi associates 2010 outlook, birinyi associates 2010 outlook gold oil dollar s&p 500 earnings, birinyi associates 2010 s&p 500 outlook 2010, birinyi associates gdp outlook 2010, birinyi associates wall street outlook 2010 a, economic outlook 2010, market outlook 2010
Posted in General, markets, Wall Street | 2 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 6th, 2010 7:56 AM |
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Chris Dodd is the embodiment of what is wrong with American politics.
Why?
The incestuous relationship between Wall Street and Washington took time and willing participants. Career politicians willing to sell their soul at the expense of the American taxpayer are critical for this incest to truly develop. Enter Chris Dodd.
Who was one of Freddie and Fannie’s big money recipients? Chris Dodd.
Who received a sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo? Chris Dodd.
Who received huge campaign dough from the Wall Street mob? Chris Dodd.
Now that Dodd’s flow of money from his incestuous partners at Freddie, Fannie, and other large financial outlets has stopped, he knows the gig is up. As the residents of Connecticut were preparing to fire him, he now pulls the classic, “You can’t fire me because I just quit.” No surprise. Quitters never win.
America may have been forced to bail out Wall Street, but they certainly have no interest in bailing out Chris Dodd.
Dodd will stand in front of the microphone, shed a tear or two, talk about his lifelong efforts of working for the people of Connecticut and America. He will have his fellow career politicians and partners in incest sing his praises. America will collectively vomit. (more…)
Tags: Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Franklin Raines, Chris dodd and Leland Brendsel, Chris Dodd and Mary Schapiro, Chris Dodd career, Chris Dodd Democrat from CT, Chris Dodd incest with Wall Street, Chris Dodd legacy, Chris Dodd quits, Chris Dodd quitter, Chris dodd relationship with Angelo Mozilo, Chris dodd relationship with Freddie Fannie, Chris Dodd relationship with Wall Street, Chris Dodd retires, Chris Dodd will not seek reelection, why is Chris Dodd quitting, why is Chris Dodd retiring
Posted in Christopher Dodd, General | 15 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 5th, 2010 4:39 PM |
If you wonder why America is broke, look no further than the individual who wanted to roll the dice on sub-prime lending, that is the Democrat from The People’s Republic of Massachusetts, Barney Frank. In an interview this morning on CNBC, Frank as much admits that maybe sub-prime lending should have been more regulated. Wow! What balls!
America doesn’t need legislators who operate by looking in the rear view mirror. With the sole exception of Frank’s remark in support of auditing the Fed, he offers platitudes that can only be compared to a social misfit. In fact, as I watched this clip, I constantly envisioned Barney collecting tickets and serving soda at a local theatre . . . said with all due respect to ticket takers and soda jerks.
For Barney Frank to effectively absolve himself of the massive and corrupt bankrupting of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is a sin. For America not to hold him accountable is a greater sin.
This clip runs 18 minutes. WARNING: Barf bags highly recommended!
LD
Tags: Barney Frank, Barney Frank interview on CNBC January 5 2010, Barney Frank on auditing the Fed, Barney Frank on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, CNBC interview with Barney Frank January 5 2010, I want to roll the dice, People's Republic of Massachusetts
Posted in Barney Frank, General | 8 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 5th, 2010 2:36 PM |
Theodore J. Forstmann, IMG Chairman and CEO
Ted Forstmann is a Wall Street legend.
Those on Wall Street know Ted for his dealmaking prowess. His deal to purchase IMG (International Management Group) in 2004 positioned him atop this sports, entertainment, and media enterprise. Forstmann is a world renowned philanthropist. What more can we learn about this entrepreneur? From the IMG website:
Ted Forstmann is Chairman and CEO of IMG and the senior founding partner of the pre-eminent leveraged buyout firm, Forstmann Little & Co.
Since acquiring IMG in 2004, Mr. Forstmann has established a world-class management team at IMG and leads the company’s growth by expanding its global footprint, acquiring new businesses and talent that complement its breadth of services, creating and owning content, and streamlining the organization and its cost structure. He has transitioned IMG from a company known primarily for its sports businesses to one that is now taking advantage of the strong synergies between sports, entertainment and media. (more…)
Tags: capitalism, Charlie Gasparino, Charlie Gasparino conversation with Ted Forstmann, CNBC Charlie Gasparino, Forstmann Little and Company, Forstmann Little's deals, free market capitalism, greed on Wall Street, IMG, IMG's Ted Forstmann, lack of principles on Wall Street, principle on Wall Street, principles, profit over principle, pursuit of profit over principle, senior management on Wall Street, Ted Forstmann, The Sellout by Charlie Gasparino, Wall Street never had any principle quote by Ted Forstmann, what does IMG do, what is IMG
Posted in General | No Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 5th, 2010 11:11 AM |
Life will get increasingly expensive in America 2010.
Just because the calendar changed does not mean the smoke and mirrors disguising massive losses in banks, insurance companies, and federal and municipal operations have undergone some massive purging. If anything, the policies and programs developed in 2009 have likely only exacerbated the losses across a wide cross section of our economic landscape.
Our federal deficit obviously dwarfs all public and private deficits combined. That said, the obfuscation in other financial corners of our economic landscape are egregious. This obfuscation is often accomplished via an accounting practice known as smoothing. While this practice is not necessarily an indication of improper – if not illegal – financial chicanery, very often the two go hand in hand. Which financial institutions most seriously violated generally accepted accounting practices via smoothing? Hello Freddie. Hello Fannie. And we will pay.
Where else will American taxpayers pay? Public pensions. How much will the smoothie cost at the public pension Dairy Queen? How does $2 trillion sound, or a full four to five times the currently projected cost? (more…)
Tags: accounting in public pensions, accounting practices for public pensions, Boston Provident, cooking the books, cuts in municipal services, finances at states, financial accounting practices at Freddie and Fannie, Financial times U.s. Public Pensions Face $2 Trillion Deficit, increased taxes, layoffs in municipal services, mark-to-market accounting vs smoothing, municipal budget deficit, municipal default chances, municipal pension deficits, New Jersey investment council, obfuscation, Orin Kramer chairman of new jersey pension fund o, pension obligation estimate by Orin Kramer, pension obligations, public pension deficits, ramifications of public pension shortfall, smooth accounting, smoothing in accounting, smoothing out earnings, state finances, understating pension obligations and requirements, who is Orin Kramer
Posted in General, pension obligations | 5 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 5th, 2010 8:40 AM |
Judge Jed Rakoff
The economic landscape of 2009 remains littered with amazing stories and tales yet to be told. Sense on Cents would hope that all these stories generate a full dose of truth, transparency, and integrity.
To eliminate the hypocrisy presented by the financial industry, America needs more arbiters like Judge Jed Rakoff. Let’s review recent developments in the merger of then failing Merrill Lynch with Bank of America.
Were the multiple billions in bonus payments accelerated to Merrill Lynch executives in late 2008 anything short of a total misappropriation of taxpayer funds at large and Bank of America shareholder funds specifically? Did BofA executives conveniently look the other way as Merrill “robbed the bank?” This point of debate is the central premise of the current court proceeding being heard by Judge Jed Rakoff.
BofA very conveniently did not include details of the Merrill bonus payments in pre-merger disclosure materials. What is BofA’s argument for that oversight? Yesterday, BofA attorneys made the case that its shareholders should have been aware of these bonus payments from media reports. Interesting. The media becomes the punching bag for not properly reporting, and now BofA attorneys use the media as a punching bag for reporting. Is this a joke or what?
How did Judge Jed Rakoff respond to such a ‘reach’ defense? (more…)
Tags: BofAs proxy statement on Merrill merger, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, did Merrill Lynch rob the bank, Judge Jed Rakoff, Law.com Rakoff rejects BofAs Media Reports defense se, Merrill Lynch bonus payments, Merrill Lynch merger with Bank of America, Merrill Lynch pre-merger disclosure materials, Paul weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Stanford Law School professor Joseph Grundfest, the American Lawyer Andrew Longstreth, truth transparency integrity
Posted in Bank of America, General, Jed Rakoff, Merrill LYnch | 2 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 2:55 PM |
Have you ever wondered why the market often times makes a very early move one way or the other then just seems to sit all day? Take today, for instance. The market moved solidly higher on the open, but has sat at up 160 points all day. Why? Let’s look at a 5 minute graph of today’s price movement for the Dow Jones Industrial Average:
The market has traded in a 10 to 15 point range for the better part of the last 4 hours. Why isn’t it moving? A lack of overall trading volume and accompanying conviction on the part of many investors. With fewer market participants involved, volatility diminishes, and the market sits.
Is this good, bad, right, wrong? It’s none of the above. This is merely the market.
All other things being equal, it is healthier for a market to trade up and down on heavier volume as that indicates a stronger conviction and develops a stronger foundation. One may agree or disagree with the price action of a market. That said, a market will do whatever it may want. That is, “the market is the market.”
LD
Tags: DJIA January 4 2009, lack of conviction in the market, lack of market movement, lack of market volatility, lack of trading volume in the market, market breadth and depth, market paralysis, market price action, price graph of market movement January 4 2009, trading volume
Posted in General, markets | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 12:04 PM |
Will the change in the calendar bring about change in the prospects for real financial regulatory reform? Will Wall Street and Washington recycle the streamers and party hats used for New Year’s Eve celebrations and declare that the market is up so all is well? If the general media allows the charlatans in Washington and their consorts on Wall Street to frame the regulatory reform debate, America should expect little to no change on this front. In the process, a tremendous opportunity will have been squandered and real risks for our collective future will remain.
The haggling over regulatory turf continues again with Ben Bernanke’s declaration yesterday that our housing crisis resulted not from excessively easy monetary policy but rather lax regulatory oversight of mortgage lending. Whose domain is that to regulate? Oh right, that is the charge of the Federal Reserve. The joke on the American public continues, given that Bernanke is not called on the carpet for that sort of grandstanding. (more…)
Tags: 2010, Ben Bernanke, Ben Bernanke comments January 3, Bernanke comments january 3 2010, Bernanke on lax oversight, Charlatans in Washington, Eliot Spitzer, Eliot Spitzer in The New Republic, end Finra, financial regulation, financial regulatory reform 2010, regulating financial markets, risks, self-regulation on Wall Street, Wall Street regulation, Walll Street SRO FINRA
Posted in FINRA, General, regulation | 1 Comment »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 9:47 AM |
For those who missed last evening’s No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Hall of Fame and Shame Induction, I am compelled to provide a recap and listing of all those honored or dishonored — depending on one’s perspective. What was the measuring stick to make these assessments? Very simply, the pursuit and promotion of truth, transparency and integrity as we navigate the economic landscape.
Some names you will immediately recognize, others you may not. Additional information about these individuals can be found via the search window (located above the right sidebar) at Sense on Cents. The names appear in no specific order of priority or importance. With no further adieu . . .
Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame Inductees
1. Bernie Madoff
2. Nicholas Cosmo: ran financial scam at Agape World
3. Tim Geithner: tax cheat amongst other things
4. Larry Summers: arrogant, condescending, and sleep deprived
5. Auction-Rate Securities dealers and managers, especially Oppenheimer Holdings, E-Trade, Schwab, Pimco, Van-Kampen, Blackrock
6. The Wall Street Journal
7. George Soros
8. Chris Dodd (D-CT): reasons too numerous to mention
9. The Board of FINRA
10. Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel: former CEOs of Fannie and Freddie
11. Wall Street management, especially Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs
12. Frank Dipascali: a special place in hell for Madoff’s CFO
13. Rahm Emanuel
14. Jimmy Cayne: CEO of Bear Stearns
15. Dick Fuld: CEO of Lehman Bros.
16. Congress collectively
17. Barney Frank (D-MA): reasons too numerous to mention, but start with “I want to roll the dice…”
18. Bank Stress Tests: a total sham
19. Allen Stanford
20. Steven Rattner: car czar
21. Bruce Malkenhorst: receiving a 500k pension from Vernon, CA
22. Barack Obama: just another politician (more…)
Tags: Acorn, Allen Stanford, Andrew Madoff, Angelo Haligiannis Ponzi scheme, Arianna Huffington, auction rate securites dealers, Bank Stress Tests, Barack Obama, Barney Frank, Ben Nelson, Bernie Madoff, Board of FINRA, Bob Rodriguez of FPA, Bruce Malkenhorst, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Carmen Reinhart, cash for clunkers, Charles Bowsher, Charlie Doyle, Chris Cox, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, Clifford S. Asness, Cohmad Securities, Colonel Elton Johnson Jr., Congress, Daniel Hannan, Dennis Kucinich, Dick Fuld, Edward Liddy, Elizabeth Warren, Erin Arvedlund, financial media, financial regulatory reform, Frank DiPascali, Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel, George Soros, Goldman Sachs, Harvey Pitt, Helen Davis Chaitman, Helmut Kiener, Howard Kastel, incest between Wall Street and Washington, Jeff Gundlach, Jeffrey Picower, Jimmy Cayne, Joe Saluzzi, Joe the Plumber, John Edwards Mark Sanford Rod Blagoevich, John Mauldin, john wooden, Jonathan Cuneo, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judge Lawrence McKenna, Kenneth Rogoff, Larry Johnson, Larry Summers, Laurie Goodman of Amherst Securities, Lew Rockwell, Lloyd Blankfein CEO of Goldman Sachs, Madoff family, Mark Madoff, Marta Mossburg, Martin Feldstein, Mary Landrieu, Mary Schapiro, media in America, Mike Duggan of Domus, Nicholas Cosmo of Agape World, Oppenheimer Holdings E-Trade Schwab Pimco Van-Kampen Blackrock, Paul Keating, Paul Volcker, Pete Peterson Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, Peter King, Peter Madoff, Peter Weinberg, Phil Trupp, PPIP, Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group, Rham Emanuel, Richard Greenfield, Richard Ketchum, Robert Benmosche, Robert Jaffe, Robert reich, Robert Rubin, Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, Ruth Madoff, Sean D'Arcy, SEC, Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Fame Hall of, Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame, Shana Madoff, Shelia Bair, Sin-Ming Shaw, SIPC, Sonny and Marcia Cohn, Steven Rattner, Susan Antilla of Bloomberg, Taylor Bean Whitaker, Tea parties, Thaddeus McCotter, The Wall Street Journal, Themis Trading, Thomas Hoenig, Tiger Woods, Tim Geithner tax cheat, Tom Lauria, truth transparency and integrity, Wall street management, Walter Noel, William K. Black
Posted in General, Sense on Cents | 31 Comments »
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 2nd, 2010 5:08 PM |
UPDATE: This episode of NQR’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle has concluded. You can listen to a recording of the episode in its entirety by clicking the play button on the audio player provided below. Once the audio begins, you can advance or rewind to any portion of the episode by clicking at any point along the play bar.
2009 was a year unlike any other in our recent history.
The developments in Washington, on Wall Street, and around the world were enormous in scope, dynamic in development, but yet unresolved in outcome. Who stood out? Which individuals deserve real praise? Who deserves real scorn? Who talked the talk? Who walked the walk? Who are our real statesmen? Who are phonies and fakers?
This Sunday evening, No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle looks forward to reviewing 2009 and inducting those people, policies, and programs rightfully deserving of entrance into the Sense on Cents Hall of Fame and Hall of Shame. For our newer readers and listeners, the show runs from 8-9pm ET and can be listened to LIVE via the BlogTalkRadio website.
I would never pretend to think that I can properly cover all of the prospective nominees, so please do not hesitate to submit thoughts and ideas for this show. While we will assuredly have a few laughs, the main point of the show tomorrow evening will be to give a voice and send a message that America is both listening more intently and acting more aggressively in forming our future.
I look forward to your participation in the show. Listen in, join the chat room, or call in at (347) 677-0792 with your questions and thoughts. Thanks in advance.
LD
Posted in General | 7 Comments »
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Will 2010 Bring Real Financial Regulatory Reform?
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 12:04 PM |
Will the change in the calendar bring about change in the prospects for real financial regulatory reform? Will Wall Street and Washington recycle the streamers and party hats used for New Year’s Eve celebrations and declare that the market is up so all is well? If the general media allows the charlatans in Washington and their consorts on Wall Street to frame the regulatory reform debate, America should expect little to no change on this front. In the process, a tremendous opportunity will have been squandered and real risks for our collective future will remain.
The haggling over regulatory turf continues again with Ben Bernanke’s declaration yesterday that our housing crisis resulted not from excessively easy monetary policy but rather lax regulatory oversight of mortgage lending. Whose domain is that to regulate? Oh right, that is the charge of the Federal Reserve. The joke on the American public continues, given that Bernanke is not called on the carpet for that sort of grandstanding. (more…)
Tags: 2010, Ben Bernanke, Ben Bernanke comments January 3, Bernanke comments january 3 2010, Bernanke on lax oversight, Charlatans in Washington, Eliot Spitzer, Eliot Spitzer in The New Republic, end Finra, financial regulation, financial regulatory reform 2010, regulating financial markets, risks, self-regulation on Wall Street, Wall Street regulation, Walll Street SRO FINRA
Posted in FINRA, General, regulation | 1 Comment »