great – read this – Synthetic CDO’s, Spanish 21 and Sports Betting – by Kid Dynamite – As expected, my last post, “Fiduciary Duty and the Victim Mindset” sparked a lot of discussion. … I had the epiphany this morning that the proper analogy with these CDO’s lies in sports betting. I left the following comment (edited slightly here) on another blog this morning: … – Kid Dynamite’s World
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worth reading – Five Notes on the Current Market Situation – David Merkel – … We are in an ugly situation where most investors do not grasp the gravity of the troubles we are in. … – The Aleph Blog
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Treasuries Set for Worst Year Since 1978 as U.S. Steps Up Sales – By Theresa Barraclough – Bloomberg – Treasuries headed for the worst year since at least 1978 as the U.S. stepped up debt sales to help spur growth in an economy recovering from its deepest recession in six decades. – BusinessWeek
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Treasury wraps up record year of debt sales – By MIN ZENG – In 2009, the Treasury sold more than $2.1 trillion in bonds and notes, a record and more than the amount in the previous two years combined. – Wall Street Journal
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YEAR IN REVIEW – The most memorable financial stories of 2009 – No reality show could top the drama of the economy and markets – has list of 7 – LA Times Business
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Kyle Bass Betting Big On A Collapse Of The Japanese Bond Market – Joe Weisenthal – One of the oldest, most popular bets — that the Japanese government would collapse under the weight of its debt — has a fresh round of adherents who believe that this time it’s going to work out. Among them: Hayman Capital manager Kyle Bass, who made a fortune shorting subprime. He tells the Journal a Japanese bond market collapse is merely a matter of when, not if. – Money Game @ Business Insider
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Commercial Real Estate: Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Invest – David Fessler – apparently Tepper at Appaloosa is buying – Seeking Alpha
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Higher interest rates are not a big concern – Scott Grannis – Calafia Beach
Pundit
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Princeton Economist and Computer Scientists Show that Derivatives Are Inherently Vulnerable to Fraud – … Now, Princeton University economists and computer scientists have demonstrated that financial derivatives are also inherently vulnerable to fraudulent pricing. PhysOrg summarizes Princeton’s findings … – Washingtons Blog