Seems to me that any news story about job force reduction that fails to look at executive pay is essentially manipulation.
Executives want credit, expressed in the form of compensation specifically, for company performance, but somehow evade consequences for the poor performance of their companies, as a matter of routine.
So some finance professor in Charlotte is indulging the cult of the executive by telling us how 'pissed' our hero is. Hmmm, and? so? Isn't this mess his fault?
I've been banking with BofA for 25 years. They offer shoddy services, and high fees. Now major parts of their business are doing badly, and the CEO is 'pissed'. So what. Who is going to blame now, whose lives is he going to ruin for his shoddy management?
as i look at your "yikes" label, it reminds me of a suggestion i had. you should have a list of labels residing somewhere on the page, otherwise if the posts on the front page don't have it, there's no way to use them.
"Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers, underwriting, and managing his risk," said Plath, the university professor. "He just doesn't like the securitization and servicing sides of the business.""
Now that it's not making money, he doesn't. I'm sure he liked it fine six months ago, and to hell with getting to know the customers.
What an a'hole. He's the guy who should be going - instead, it's 3000 poor schmekels who are out on their asses. Way to step up and take responsibility Ken.
"When the elephants dance, the blades of grass get trampled."
OT
This is a good read from Nourial Robini. Most of it him giving himself a That a Boy pat on the back. Still worth reading the whole article.
Myth: Decoupling; Busted, for Now
Asia ex Japan Strategy Markus Rosgen, Elaine Chu, Chris W Leung
October 24, 2007
Growing consensus that Asia can decouple. We find no supportive
evidence - Correlations between Asian export growth & US/ G3 non-oil
have risen 2.1x over the last 20 years to 0.7. The same series using
intra-regional exports has shown a six-fold jump to 0.6.
Asian ROE's fell more in the 2001 downturn than in the three prior US
recessions - The 2001 downturn did not lead to a recession, yet ROE in
Asia ex fell by 280 bps vs. an average of 150 bps in the prior three
recessions. Hardest hit in the post-1990 recessions: tech, other
financials, materials &industrials. ROEs actually rose for the
utilities, telecoms and banks.
A common misconception: North Asia is more US growth sensitive -We
have found that India, Korea and Taiwan have elasticities of less than 1
to US GDP growth, whilst ASEAN ranges from 1.3 to 1.7. Yet investors are
overweight ASEAN on the belief that they are buying domestic
consumption.
Domestic consumption-to-GDP ratios have fallen in Asia; export ratios
have risen - The ratio of consumption to GDP has fallen over the last
five years to 59%. At the same time, the contribution of net exports to
GDP growth is higher today than in the last 15 years. Nor have Asian
consumers ever behaved counter-cyclically.
Stock market correlations stand at 30-year highs - Never over last 30
years have market correlations been negative nor been as high as now,
between Asia & the USA & Europe. Correlation coeff of 0.6 and above
doesn't make for decoupling.
So much for decoupling. And the anti-decoupling arguments made by Citi for Asia hold even more strongly for Europe, Latin America and other emerging market economies.
Ha - just noticed the timing of this puppy. I hope the SEC is watching in light of today's activities!
Rumour hit this am, heavy trading. CNBC gets coverage late in the day saying the roumor was bogus and then this flies after closing. It smells!
AIG may take $9.8 bln subprime hit, analyst says
American International Group's losses estimated to be big, but manageable
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:58 PM ET Oct 25, 2007
[mp]"Conjure, on the advice of counsel, never speaks with anyone directly. He uses intermediaries like me."
Yer a fine intermediary mp. Please tell CB how relieved I am he's not ranting about hyperinflation tonight, sending out the Freikorp to assassinate Karl Deutsch and Rosa Luxembourg and channeling the Beer Hall Putsch
I know thats what I'd be doing tonight if I took vodka baths.
Something funny and very important happened between the Lehman q3 conference call and the MBI q3 call today.
In September, Lehman said all their marks were kosher, and the analysts nodded their heads in synchronized agreement.
Today, MBI, for two hours, said all their marks were kosher, and the analysts practically had to excuse themselves to run back to the office and downgrade the stock.
Opacity went from being a positive to a negative in the space of a month. This applies to Marks, SIV superfunds, phone calls from Bob Rubin, and rate-cut tip-off lunches with Hank Paulsen.
What if the reason that we have not seen a consumer spending pullback is because the consumer both cannot pull back and/or is not aware that they need to stop piling on debt? Living paycheck to paycheck may be blinding them to what's going on.
I know Roubini's "I told ya so's" are a bit hard to take, but aren't you guys sick of nobody in your offices congratulating you on how right you were when you warned them about the impending housing disaster?
Hell, I think the guy deserves bragging rights... not everyone can be as grascious as CR.
"Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers,"
Read this as "Ken see that hard core assignee liability is coming. Knowing customers ability to pay is going to be required and using brokers doesn't work as "cut outs" anymore."
For gosh' sake take it easy on Ken Lewis,he has been real busy executivising and giving interviews and doing Important Guy stuff...expecting him to know what was going on at BofA is unrealistic.But do not worry,the corporal or staff sergeant who commited these errors in judgement will be suitably chastised.And ole ken will accept the responsibility.Not the blame mind you, but the responsibility.he should also consider suing whoever made these errors in judgement for the intentional infliction of suffering and whatchamacallit and damaging his rep.
ajw- "I'm beginning to lose faith after the "inexplicable" surges at 2:30 everyday."
Do not lose faith. That's quants and their computers, not sentiment.
mp | 10.25.07 - 8:06 pm
It's like in the last couple of days the shorts are sick of the quants freeriding and start covering earlier, giving a little room just before close to have another move down.
The IBs @ BofA certainly live the good life(or did.) A decimation may be the best thing for them; warehouse lending in this landscape is a waste of resources for the forseeable future.
[Misean]"BofA loves Pumpkinhead"
Misean, please tell us why Countrywide Securities Corp. is still one of the 19 Primary Dealers with the Fed Open Market Desk.
Yrs,
Ken should resign. His comments to the press damage the franchise more then P&L loss. What client is going to want to hire BOA for an Investment Banking mandate now? Good luck recruiting top talents in the future with this kind of management backing.
I think the Cover Curse works when a specific person or company is featured on the cover of BusinessWeek, and when a category of finance is featured on Time. If you switch those around, the curse does not activate.
The yacht buying curse only activates when it is christened with a name that alludes to a trading strategy.
"Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers, underwriting, and managing his risk," said Plath, the university professor.
That must be why he cleaned out one of the best Risk Management areas in Commercial (read: non-IB) banking about 18 months ago.
Who wants to bet this guy will never make it to full professor??
Tony Plath, an associate professor of finance at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Now I've met incompetent prof's in my life, but this one will stand out til the 12th of never.
Alert: If you're a parent and have a kid enrolled at UNC Charlotte, in the B School, this is your heads up to arrange for a transfer asap.
If the Dean of that B School is not livid and his Finance Dept colleagues haven't scheduled a competency hearing, they too deserve to walk the unemployment plank.
Wanna know why US biz is tanking? Wanna know why the brain trust at UNC Charlotte couldn't comprehend the decimation of the fabric and garment industries?
Look no further than Plath et al,
"Don't underestimate the depth of Lewis' disappointment in earnings. This guy is pissed."
How can anyone fault Jim Rogers when this passes for academic rigor?
The US is now holding its first "Going Out of Business Sale". Whadda bunch of idiots.
BTW, Kenny Lewis couldn't take action 3 months ago? 2? 1? Nah, he needed to bleed the pig so he can claim more salary. BofA leadership snookers the shareholders, and the rest of America, and this guy gets $47 million. What BS.
What if the reason that we have not seen a consumer spending pullback is because the consumer both cannot pull back and/or is not aware that they need to stop piling on debt? Living paycheck to paycheck may be blinding them to what's going on.
So may the effects of cable TV "news" be blinding them.
Recall that some 70% of Americans favored invading Iraq.
We exhibit many virtues in America, yet one of them isn't awareness.
Wasn't Bank of America the one that was giving out credit cards to illegals a while back? At what point do the lenders realize that giving money to: crooks, people who won't pay it back, people who can't pay it back, etc. is a bad idea? Unreal!
Oh, well - I hope folks enjoy the "liquidation sale" of the US.
Well, I could be first, but I won't.
too late.
Typo. r should be e. nobody likes being a servicee
Seems to me that any news story about job force reduction that fails to look at executive pay is essentially manipulation.
Executives want credit, expressed in the form of compensation specifically, for company performance, but somehow evade consequences for the poor performance of their companies, as a matter of routine.
So some finance professor in Charlotte is indulging the cult of the executive by telling us how 'pissed' our hero is. Hmmm, and? so? Isn't this mess his fault?
I've been banking with BofA for 25 years. They offer shoddy services, and high fees. Now major parts of their business are doing badly, and the CEO is 'pissed'. So what. Who is going to blame now, whose lives is he going to ruin for his shoddy management?
Asked in previous thread, but On Topic here...
Will this affect Countrywide?
as i look at your "yikes" label, it reminds me of a suggestion i had. you should have a list of labels residing somewhere on the page, otherwise if the posts on the front page don't have it, there's no way to use them.
"Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers, underwriting, and managing his risk," said Plath, the university professor. "He just doesn't like the securitization and servicing sides of the business.""
Now that it's not making money, he doesn't. I'm sure he liked it fine six months ago, and to hell with getting to know the customers.
What an a'hole. He's the guy who should be going - instead, it's 3000 poor schmekels who are out on their asses. Way to step up and take responsibility Ken.
"When the elephants dance, the blades of grass get trampled."
Does BOA's mortgage business now resemble CFC's, is it complementary, or are they heading off in totally different directions?
Thanks in advance.
sunshine pumpers say BofA will buy CFC--"it's the perfect fit!"
ha! poor day traders
So, Ken has finally discovered his brains and he's pissed. That's nice. Where were his brains when he was sold this line of crap?
that CEO prick was just on the cover of Forbes next the the juicy caption "He wants your wallet"
Well, Ken, guess what? I want your wallet, too! And I might just come and get it...
Who reads Forbes anymore, aside from Curlydan?
I thought Malcom Forbes died of AIDS.
I've been banking with BofA for 25 years.
why?
Malcolm Forbes died of something, but Son of Malcolm Forbes is still dispensing his own brand of wisdom and sage advice.
more billion $ hits. >>
AIG may take $9.8 bln subprime mortgage hit, analyst estimates - MarketWatch
AIG may take $9.8 bln subprime hit, analyst says
American International Group's losses estimated to be big, but manageable
Conjure Bag and I firmly believe that being pictured on the cover of Forbes or Business Week is a kiss of death, just like yacht buying.
Anyway, Conjure is afraid of water. He only swims in vodka.
[mp]"kiss of death, just like yacht buying"
So, how does Conjure Bag get anything at the Fed Discount Window without a boat loan in his hands?
OT
This is a good read from Nourial Robini. Most of it him giving himself a That a Boy pat on the back. Still worth reading the whole article.
Myth: Decoupling; Busted, for Now
Asia ex Japan Strategy Markus Rosgen, Elaine Chu, Chris W Leung
October 24, 2007
evidence - Correlations between Asian export growth & US/ G3 non-oil
have risen 2.1x over the last 20 years to 0.7. The same series using
intra-regional exports has shown a six-fold jump to 0.6.
recessions - The 2001 downturn did not lead to a recession, yet ROE in
Asia ex fell by 280 bps vs. an average of 150 bps in the prior three
recessions. Hardest hit in the post-1990 recessions: tech, other
financials, materials &industrials. ROEs actually rose for the
utilities, telecoms and banks.
have found that India, Korea and Taiwan have elasticities of less than 1
to US GDP growth, whilst ASEAN ranges from 1.3 to 1.7. Yet investors are
overweight ASEAN on the belief that they are buying domestic
consumption.
have risen - The ratio of consumption to GDP has fallen over the last
five years to 59%. At the same time, the contribution of net exports to
GDP growth is higher today than in the last 15 years. Nor have Asian
consumers ever behaved counter-cyclically.
years have market correlations been negative nor been as high as now,
between Asia & the USA & Europe. Correlation coeff of 0.6 and above
doesn't make for decoupling.
So much for decoupling. And the anti-decoupling arguments made by Citi for Asia hold even more strongly for Europe, Latin America and other emerging market economies.
RGE - Nouriel Roubini's Global EconoMonitor
Does anyone recall that Charlotte was one of the few real estate markets holding up? Wont be long now...
REBear this was dismissed late today as a fabrication.
There is no credit issues stop making up rumours. Benny says everything is fine.
psychodave- "So, how does Conjure Bag get anything at the Fed Discount Window without a boat loan in his hands?"
Conjure said, "Tell psychodave I am proud to say that I have never used the discount window."
Sorry, psychodave, Conjure, on the advice of counsel, never speaks with anyone directly. He uses intermediaries like me.
Ha - just noticed the timing of this puppy. I hope the SEC is watching in light of today's activities!
Rumour hit this am, heavy trading. CNBC gets coverage late in the day saying the roumor was bogus and then this flies after closing. It smells!
AIG may take $9.8 bln subprime hit, analyst says
American International Group's losses estimated to be big, but manageable
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:58 PM ET Oct 25, 2007
[mp]"Conjure, on the advice of counsel, never speaks with anyone directly. He uses intermediaries like me."
Yer a fine intermediary mp. Please tell CB how relieved I am he's not ranting about hyperinflation tonight, sending out the Freikorp to assassinate Karl Deutsch and Rosa Luxembourg and channeling the Beer Hall Putsch
I know thats what I'd be doing tonight if I took vodka baths.
Hah, psychodave! Conjure arrived at that one a few moments too late, and watched as they tossed her off the bridge and into the river.
Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers,
Do you think he really likes getting to know customers?
I have called BofA customer service several times, and I am pretty sure Ken was never the person I spoke to.
underwriting, and managing his risk,"
Shouldn't he be worried about managing Bank of America's risk?
Something funny and very important happened between the Lehman q3 conference call and the MBI q3 call today.
In September, Lehman said all their marks were kosher, and the analysts nodded their heads in synchronized agreement.
Today, MBI, for two hours, said all their marks were kosher, and the analysts practically had to excuse themselves to run back to the office and downgrade the stock.
Opacity went from being a positive to a negative in the space of a month. This applies to Marks, SIV superfunds, phone calls from Bob Rubin, and rate-cut tip-off lunches with Hank Paulsen.
The tide has turned.
What if the reason that we have not seen a consumer spending pullback is because the consumer both cannot pull back and/or is not aware that they need to stop piling on debt? Living paycheck to paycheck may be blinding them to what's going on.
David Pearson- "The tide has turned."
Indeed.
I know Roubini's "I told ya so's" are a bit hard to take, but aren't you guys sick of nobody in your offices congratulating you on how right you were when you warned them about the impending housing disaster?
Hell, I think the guy deserves bragging rights... not everyone can be as grascious as CR.
But I bet everyone on here can spell gracious.
(Jeeze how embarassing, see what happens when you bypass preveiw, I mean preview.
David Pearson - I certainly hope sentiment has turned, but I'm beginning to lose faith after the "inexplicable" surges at 2:30 everyday.
"Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers,"
Read this as "Ken see that hard core assignee liability is coming. Knowing customers ability to pay is going to be required and using brokers doesn't work as "cut outs" anymore."
ajw- "I'm beginning to lose faith after the "inexplicable" surges at 2:30 everyday."
Do not lose faith. That's quants and their computers, not sentiment.
For gosh' sake take it easy on Ken Lewis,he has been real busy executivising and giving interviews and doing Important Guy stuff...expecting him to know what was going on at BofA is unrealistic.But do not worry,the corporal or staff sergeant who commited these errors in judgement will be suitably chastised.And ole ken will accept the responsibility.Not the blame mind you, but the responsibility.he should also consider suing whoever made these errors in judgement for the intentional infliction of suffering and whatchamacallit and damaging his rep.
SP500 off one tenth of one percent. A real disaster on the stockmarket. LOL.
Waiting for the market to go down is like waiting for the Chinese to stop buying our paper.
ajw- "I'm beginning to lose faith after the "inexplicable" surges at 2:30 everyday."
Do not lose faith. That's quants and their computers, not sentiment.
mp | 10.25.07 - 8:06 pm
It's like in the last couple of days the shorts are sick of the quants freeriding and start covering earlier, giving a little room just before close to have another move down.
The IBs @ BofA certainly live the good life(or did.) A decimation may be the best thing for them; warehouse lending in this landscape is a waste of resources for the forseeable future.
In the email to the 3000 recently unemployed, Kenny-boy plagiarized Homer Simpson.
"Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. "
Cheers,
Doh!
Texan Ron Paul Addresses Banking Hearing on Moral Hazard
YouTube
- Broadcast Yourself.
Waiting for the market to go down is like waiting for the Chinese to stop buying our paper.
The Chinese are still buying our paper ?
http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
Does this mean BofA is having 2nd thoughts about their investment in CFC?
David Pearson,
I have been thinking the same thing the last few days. Seems like bad news is finally being treated as bad news (at least to an extent)!
And as you say, there's a growing distrust of the risks that are being minimalized by "the authorities".
Does this mean BofA is having 2nd thoughts about their investment in CFC?
Mike in Long Island
Why no. BofA loves Pumpkinhead...All is good.
YouTube -
Cheers,
Meanwhile, at Countrywide...
[Misean]"BofA loves Pumpkinhead"
Misean, please tell us why Countrywide Securities Corp. is still one of the 19 Primary Dealers with the Fed Open Market Desk.
Yrs,
Misean, please tell us why Countrywide Securities Corp. is still one of the 19 Primary Dealers with the Fed Open Market Desk.
Yrs,
psychodave
Haven't seen the data. My guess would be that they're offering mark to model sludge for caish to keep the blob going.
Cheers,
Ken should resign. His comments to the press damage the franchise more then P&L loss. What client is going to want to hire BOA for an Investment Banking mandate now? Good luck recruiting top talents in the future with this kind of management backing.
mp & CB...
I think the Cover Curse works when a specific person or company is featured on the cover of BusinessWeek, and when a category of finance is featured on Time. If you switch those around, the curse does not activate.
The yacht buying curse only activates when it is christened with a name that alludes to a trading strategy.
so if the chinese have stopped buying our paper, then the deflation must be imminent per the long bonds.
odd how the premise that china is keeping our long rates down all by themselves is being challenged in this low yield environment.
especially when one considers that there is probably default risk in the treasury market now.
i kid, i kid
"Ken says he likes the retail business, he likes getting to know customers, underwriting, and managing his risk," said Plath, the university professor.
That must be why he cleaned out one of the best Risk Management areas in Commercial (read: non-IB) banking about 18 months ago.
Who wants to bet this guy will never make it to full professor??
Tony Plath, an associate professor of finance at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Now I've met incompetent prof's in my life, but this one will stand out til the 12th of never.
Alert: If you're a parent and have a kid enrolled at UNC Charlotte, in the B School, this is your heads up to arrange for a transfer asap.
If the Dean of that B School is not livid and his Finance Dept colleagues haven't scheduled a competency hearing, they too deserve to walk the unemployment plank.
Wanna know why US biz is tanking? Wanna know why the brain trust at UNC Charlotte couldn't comprehend the decimation of the fabric and garment industries?
Look no further than Plath et al,
"Don't underestimate the depth of Lewis' disappointment in earnings. This guy is pissed."
How can anyone fault Jim Rogers when this passes for academic rigor?
The US is now holding its first "Going Out of Business Sale". Whadda bunch of idiots.
BTW, Kenny Lewis couldn't take action 3 months ago? 2? 1? Nah, he needed to bleed the pig so he can claim more salary. BofA leadership snookers the shareholders, and the rest of America, and this guy gets $47 million. What BS.
Love the "Yikes" tag, Tanta. Anyway, it was my exclamation.
JJL asks:
What if the reason that we have not seen a consumer spending pullback is because the consumer both cannot pull back and/or is not aware that they need to stop piling on debt? Living paycheck to paycheck may be blinding them to what's going on.
So may the effects of cable TV "news" be blinding them.
Recall that some 70% of Americans favored invading Iraq.
We exhibit many virtues in America, yet one of them isn't awareness.
Wasn't Bank of America the one that was giving out credit cards to illegals a while back? At what point do the lenders realize that giving money to: crooks, people who won't pay it back, people who can't pay it back, etc. is a bad idea? Unreal!
Oh, well - I hope folks enjoy the "liquidation sale" of the US.
they never had good rates...it's about time they stepped out. I hope they dont go after the brokers now...and step up on retail!
Ken - Remember your quote "No Excuses"
What - DNM
How - DNM
Time for right fit or out.