La vita è un crinografo

"Meanwhile, investors are increasingly executing their own exit strategies, buying risky assets and..."

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:05:42 +0100

“Meanwhile, investors are increasingly executing their own exit strategies, buying risky assets and gold. While policymakers apply sedatives, they are opting for amphetamines.”

- FT.com / Lex / Macroeconomics & markets - Stimulus exit strategies

"The deal’s collapse marks the second failure by GM in less than two months to sell a lossmaking..."

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:33:47 +0100

“The deal’s collapse marks the second failure by GM in less than two months to sell a lossmaking brand to outside investors. In October Penske Automotive Group, US dealership chain, abandoned a deal to acquire its Saturn brand because of doubts aboutsecuring a long-term supply of vehicles.”

- FT.com / Companies / Automobiles - Koenigsegg talks to buy Saab abandoned

"The Bank said that, because it was fearful that the disclosure would have damaging consequences if..."

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:31:47 +0100

“The Bank said that, because it was fearful that the disclosure would have damaging consequences if revealed last year, it withheld the information from the financial disclosure in its 2009 annual report.”

- FT.com / Companies / Banks - Bank of England bailed out RBS and HBOS

"CDS volumes for Italy, which has one of the highest debt burdens of the developed economies, are now..."

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:55:37 +0100

“CDS volumes for Italy, which has one of the highest debt burdens of the developed economies, are now the highest for an individual country, according to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.”

- FT.com / Capital Markets - Bets rise on rich country bond defaults

CDS and sovereign debt via www.ft.com

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:52:00 +0100

CDS and sovereign debt

via www.ft.com

"This has been a revival in the bottom, rather than the top, line. According to Morgan Stanley,..."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:50:00 +0100

“

This has been a revival in the bottom, rather than the top, line. According to Morgan Stanley, non-financial stocks in the S&P 500 beat third-quarter earnings growth estimates by an average nine percentage points. But the companies’ sales fell around a point shy of forecasts. A similar pattern was seen in Europe.

Either they are correct in assessing that the economy is still fragile, in which case corporate profits will ultimately disappoint. Or they are underestimating the strength of the recovery, in which case inflationary pressures will start to emerge (and bond yields will rise sharply). Markets will have a tricky time navigating between this Scylla and Charybdis in 2010.

”

- Buttonwood: Something’s gotta give | The Economist

"HEDGE-FUND and private-equity managers earn a lot of money, more than most people think justified by..."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:39:00 +0100

“HEDGE-FUND and private-equity managers earn a lot of money, more than most people think justified by their contribution to society. Of course, the same could be said of rappers and sports stars.”

- Fund managers’ pay: A defective directive | The Economist

"White House officials say the US fiscal situation had no impact on Obama’s interactions in Beijing,..."

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:09:17 +0100

“White House officials say the US fiscal situation had no impact on Obama’s interactions in Beijing, even though some observers presented his trip as that of a debtor visiting his banker. “He pulled no punches,” said Mike Froman, a senior national security adviser.”

- FT.com / US & Canada - Obama warns on US public debt pile

"China has 98 per cent of REE production, leading the late Deng Xiaoping to remark that “the Middle..."

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:26:32 +0100

“

China has 98 per cent of REE production, leading the late Deng Xiaoping to remark that “the Middle East has oil, but China has rare earths

The world need not assume that China will press its monopoly economically or militarily, but remaining oblivious to the possibility is foolish, no matter how obscure or hard to pronounce these substances are. As Woody Allen once said: “Paranoia is knowing all the facts.”

”

- FT.com / Lex / Energy, utilities & mining - Rare earth elements

"Legions of investors like to operate “ex-Japan”. But Tokyo’s struggle with deflation should not be..."

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:23:37 +0100

“Legions of investors like to operate “ex-Japan”. But Tokyo’s struggle with deflation should not be brushed aside. The root of its troubles, after all, may have been the decision two decades ago to buy stability at the cost of public finances, transferring the leverage on absurdly overvalued real estate from the banks to the government. Ring any bells?”

- FT.com / Lex / Macroeconomics & markets - Japan, deflating

"What is the definition of optimism? A Japanese equity fund manager ironing five shirts on a Sunday..."

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:19:00 +0100

“

What is the definition of optimism? A Japanese equity fund manager ironing five shirts on a Sunday evening. No other market has the capacity to disappoint – or threaten jobs – quite like it.

Equities around the world have soared on the understanding that, should economies stay sluggish, governments will not raise interest rates. If growth picks up, meanwhile, the conclusion stays the same: buy stocks. That dumb but effective strategy has worked everywhere except in Japan – the only developed market in negative territory in the year to date.

”

- FT.com / Lex / Macroeconomics & markets - Japan, deflating

"Tradizione non è solo un altro termine per quell’inerzia particolarmente religiosa, ipocrita,..."

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:31:58 +0100

“Tradizione non è solo un altro termine per quell’inerzia particolarmente religiosa, ipocrita, non pensante, che spinge tante persone a estremi a cui forse non sarebbero arrivate se si fossero fermate sul serio a riflettere, a soppesare, a esaminare?”

- Shalom Auslander - Il lamento del prepuzio

FT.com / Columnists / Martin Wolf - Grim truths Obama should have told Hu

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:45:49 +0100

FT.com / Columnists / Martin Wolf - Grim truths Obama should have told Hu

"The bank said the current crisis displays “compelling similarities” with Japan during..."

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:43:27 +0100

“The bank said the current crisis displays “compelling similarities” with Japan during its Lost Decade (or two), with a big difference: Japan was able to stay afloat by exporting into a robust global economy and by letting the yen fall. It is not possible for half the world to pursue this strategy at the same time.”

- Société Générale tells clients how to prepare for ‘global collapse’ - Telegraph

"Qui non si tratta di una “ossessione sessuale come riflesso della paura della morte”..."

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:15:59 +0100

“Qui non si tratta di una “ossessione sessuale come riflesso della paura della morte” alla Philip Roth. Qui non si tratta del mio essere fisico che anela a un’illuminazione più alta. Nella mia degenerazione non c’è nessun messaggio esistenziale superiore. Questo non è il Teatro di Sabbath, è il Privé di Shalom.”

- Shalom Auslander - Il lamento del prepuzio

"I miei insegnanti mi hanno detto che per un ebreo è peccato punibile dall’alto con la morte..."

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:09:53 +0100

“I miei insegnanti mi hanno detto che per un ebreo è peccato punibile dall’alto con la morte mettere in imbarazzo il popolo ebraico, come temo facciano queste storie. Ma inspiro profondamente e mi ricordo che Aaron Spelling se la passa alla grande, e se non costituisce motivo di imbarazzo per il popolo ebraico lui, allora non so proprio chi lo sia.”

- Shalom Auslander - Il lamento del prepuzio

"L’amour vous donnait des ailes pour vous scier les jambes, ça ne valait donc pas trop le coup...."

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:11:48 +0100

“L’amour vous donnait des ailes pour vous scier les jambes, ça ne valait donc pas trop le coup. Beaucoup moins le coup qu’un Cric hydraulique 10 tonnes par example. En gros avec l’amour, si vous n’aimez pas quelqu’un, il restait, et si vous aimez quelqu’un, il s’en allait. Un système simple, sans surprise, qui engendrait immanquablement un grand ennui ou une catastrophe. Tout cela pour vingt jours d’émerveillement, non, ça ne valait pas le coup.”

- Fred Vargas - L’homme à l’envers (più concisa ed efficace, si muore)

"The sloppy result, sparked a rise in Treasury yields, led by the current 30-year bond, which jumped..."

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:17:36 +0100

“The sloppy result, sparked a rise in Treasury yields, led by the current 30-year bond, which jumped to 4.48 per cent from 4.442 per cent in post auction trade”

- FT.com / FT’s rolling global market overview - Gold retreats from new high as stocks pause for breath

"Online innovation can destroy markets without winning business (Amen)"

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:08:19 +0100

“Online innovation can destroy markets without winning business (Amen)”

- FT.com / Lex / Technology, media & telecoms - Skype

US unemployment - via media.ft.com

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:03:27 +0100

US unemployment - via media.ft.com