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ALM hit Blackstone fund
Bloomberg account from earlier this year on Blackstone closing GSO Special Situations Fund…An acknowledgement by one of the largest credit funds that asset and liability matching is critical for distressed debt investing…
How too much liquidity is distorting oil prices
The U.S. E&P business is in a classic vicious cycle… Too much capital markets liquidity allows E&P companies to continue drilling… Which in turn keeps a lid of prices… Some companies are losing money on every barrel, and trying to make it up on volume… Bradley Olson of the Wall Street Journal has the story: […]
‘Reverse reasoning’ can cloud our judgement
Excellent essay by Jeffrey Kluger at Time Magazine on Reverse Reasoning… One event following another does not mean causation… Relevant to both investing and politics…
Taper takes aim at MBS
With a fall Fed taper looking likely, worth revisiting this Bloomberg piece on the MBS Whale: The coming unwind of the Fed $1.75 trillion MBS portfolio… Time to watch MBS spread contraction reverse… The effect will not be linear…
Posted in Financial News, Uncategorized
Reinsurance deal still looks sweet for Buffett
With AIG ponying up it’s $10 billion sweetener last week, it’s worth looking back at the original terms of the its reinsurance deal with Berkshire Hathaway … The liabilities took like a $34 billion vertical slice of AIG’s P&C risk… BH gets $10 billion to invest… AIG pays the first $25 billion of claims… BH […]
Landline co. struggles
It’s very tough to manage a declining business… Frontier is experiencing this, having consolidated much of the landline telephone world using leverage… Drew FitzGerald of the Wall Street Journal has the story: This Telecom Bet Big on Landlines…And Lost
Keep an eye on the 10-year
Remember Guggenheim CIO Scott Minerd in Bloomberg: 3% on UST 10 year would be the turning point for end of bond bull market…”Might” have recession in 2019 or 2020… Guggenheim has access to whatever economic information is available on a global basis… The interview shows how difficult it is, even for them, to call the […]
Greenwich housing looking soft
Bloomberg take on Houses in Greenwich, Connecticut: Discounts are starting to be taken in the high end… One of many bellwethers of high-net-worth liquidity and sentiment…
Sage of Omaha squares off against Elliott
A fascinating bankruptcy battle is likely to unfold in Energy Future Holdings… The crown jewel is the 80% stake in Oncor, the Texas utility… Warren Buffett wants to buy; he rarely raises his bids… Paul Singer holds the blocking position; he rarely gives up… The Texas PUC is the Kingmaker… The Wall Street Journal has […]
When I was added to the ‘world’s largest Rolodex’