MF Global © fintagNews comments:While Europe fights its way out of a paper bag, MF Global has gone bust in spectacular style.This is a brilliant dissection of the man at the helm from William D. Cohan. Best thing I have read in a long time (bloomberg)From fintag’s perspective we thought you should read this Business Continuity statement from MF Global’s website. Funniest thing we read all year…http://www.mfglobal.co.uk/business-continuity/business-continuityMF Global is committed to ensuring that a current and effective global Business Continuity Management (BCM) program is...
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Paternoster Square © fintagNews comments:All those smug political smiles and hollow rhetoric has gone by the wayside.The Greeks are a historic nation with pride and obstinacy. Having being humiliated by the EU as its debt was slashed by 50%, they know this is not a free lunch and the Greeks will have to pay in other ways so they want a referendum.As we have predicted all year, the Euro will split into two by the end of this year. Greece is the catalyst but it will be Italy that causes the split. The Greek people want control of their own destiny; not to be ruled by the French and the...
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Corzine © fintagNews comments:EDF MF Man Global or whatever its called these days always lived by the seat of its pants.Actually that is not true. It has been around for 200 years and survived financial disasters and wars. In the last 10 years, the brokerage arm was always thought of as a bit wide and despite a few hiccups and fines was able to spin out of the other MAN entity without huge DD alarm bells ringing. I have known brokers who worked there and some of the stories are hilarious.So along came one of god’s men, a Goldman Sacher. Boy did he mess it up. From what we can tell he...
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50% off Greece © fintagNews comments:So the banks have voluntarily agreed to take a 50% haircut. This means no credit default event and no payoffs. Oh dear.But what does this mean?Now the dust is settling and the EU deal is nothing but more of the same, Greece has got away with wiping off 50% of its debt. Again the Greeks have got something for nothing and the likes of Ireland who have been bailed out and are being good and cutting their costs are looking at those bad boys in Greece and wondering what they did wrong?The EU is keen there was no Greek default. It would be bad for the Euro. So...
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Flag © archbishop-cranmer.News comments:Hurrah! The EU has a solution.Well not really. So they are to increase the Euro-TARP fund, force banks and the ECB to take haircuts on Greek debt and increase Tier 1 capital requirements.Sounds like a plan (similar to last weeks in fact). What is happening in front of our eyes is the “Save France at all costs” plan. With BNP and SocGen heavily exposed to Greece (oops and Italy but that is for next weeks Euro meeting), they will be forced down the rights issue route (unless they can dump their toxic crap onto the ECB) and we don’t want...
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Spain pain © fintagNews comments:Spain. Ireland with better weather.Take this quote from a Bloomberg story:“If there were to be a proper mark to market of real estate assets, every Spanish domestic bank would need additional capital,” Daragh Quinn, Nomura Holdings Inc. in Madrid.Of course this doesn’t include Santander…Today’s shorts:Fintag rant in 2010 – Where did all the toxic assets go? (fintag)Spain pain (washingtonpost)Today’s longs:Gossip:Santander to replace its red hot dog shit logo following protests.Read
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Bankers’ brothel © fintagNews comments:All this QE. Ever wonder what happens to it?Well the Fed and Bank of England just love their banks and when they are feeling a bit under the weather, Bernie and Mervyn like nothing more than handing them free cash. What we mean here is they get some nice clean unencumbered cash to replace their worthless assets. More balance sheet means what they would have written off can be taken out and put in the bonus pool.It is happening again in the UK. Right in front of our eyes.Now I am as capitalistic as the next right minded individual and this...
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Mitt Romney © fintagNews comments:Us Brits love an underdog and it looks like the USA is going to come out on top.We have had a habit of spotting the losers for a number of years (Bear Stearns, Greece, Obama) but sometimes out of the blue you get smacked (AIG, Madoff, MF Global).Picking a winner is much more difficult. Over the next 5 years, the world tussle will be the USA, Chindia and Germanoluxberg. The land of the Euro is being beaten up and rightly so. It is shocking watching underdog countries punch above their weight before being found out in spectacular style. Germany is Europe and...
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Young versus old © fintagNews comments:The Euro is collapsing. What a surprise.As you know we are the crystal ball gurus and have been predicting the death of the euro for quite a while. 2011 has been a year of change and 2012 will herald even more change.Take this video I took yesterday showing a surreal 1984 scenario of undercover hoodie police men handling a defenceless student protester. Students are the people who will look after us when we are old. The way things are going, Students will soon be shooting anyone with a pension.Onto the “real world” and the fintag plan of a...
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Up up and away © fintagNews comments:There is debt and there is debt.The media love telling us how indebted countries are. But this is all relative. Liabilities are only one side of a balance sheet. Assets are the other.The IMF (and CRAs) have tried to find ways of publishing proper balance sheets of countries but this is very difficult to do. Debt expressed as an amount is pointless. Debt expressed as a percentage is also pointless if there are assets to match (unless you are MF Global of course where nobody including PWC has a clue).CDSs, ratings and bond spreads (to risk free rates) are...
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