Description: During the buildup to the financial crisis, major rating agencies Moody’s Corp. and Standard & Poor’s Inc. were understaffed, didn’t have enough data about the mortgage securities they were rating and were pressured by each other and investment bankers to issue overly rosy ratings, a lawmaker said Friday. Source: Marketwatch.com  Date: 04/23/2010 Link:… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Industry Analysis
SEC Risks Harm With High-Frequency Trading Curbs, CME CEO Says
Description: Regulators would harm U.S. equities trading if they toughened restrictions on computer-driven strategies that have largely replaced human market makers, CME Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue said. Source: Bloomberg.com  Date: 04/24/2010 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aVkTbg7q8Lwo Questions for discussion: Do you agree with the concerns expressed by Donohue? Can this type of activity be… Read more »
Goldman charged with fraud over Paulson CDO trade Shares of investment bank drop 13% on news of SEC lawsuit
Description: The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and one of its vice presidents with defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts about a financial product related to subprime mortgages. Source: Marketwatch.com  Date: 04/016/2010 Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-charged-with-fraud-over-paulson-cdo-trade-2010-04-16?pagenumber=1 Questions for discussion: Are there any explanations that can mitigate the damage… Read more »
Abacus Allowed Goldman to Shuffle Mortgage Risk Like Beads
Description:Â From July 2004 through April 2007, as credit markets boomed, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. created 23 financial transactions called Abacus, the word for a relatively crude counting tool involving the shuffling of beads. Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the bank for securities fraud in what would be the penultimate offering in the… Read more »
Dow 12,000 next? Or new record 14,165? Commentary: Wall Street’s happy talkers making fools of 95 million investors (again)
Description: Yes, we hit 11,000. Propaganda. Yes, we’ll quietly sneak past 11,722 (Dow’s 2000 peak). Yes, we’ll happily climb to 14,164 (Dow’s 2007 peak). Maybe. But you’re being conned: Even a new record of 14,165 barely equals CPI inflation the past 10 years. Get it? Wall Street’s lost more than 20% of your money the… Read more »
Top tech companies 5 years from now
Description: Now that 2010’s Fortune 500 list is out, Techmate debates which companies are likely to rise or fall on the list in 2015. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: 04/16/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/04/16/tm_fortune_500_5yrs.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Do you agree with the analysis presented? Which other companies do you think offer good chance for capiatl growth?
Whitney: Housing set to fall again
Description: Bank analyst Meredith Whitney predicts more foreclosures are on the way and the housing market will not rebound smoothly. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report  Date: 04/08/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2010/04/08/f_sl_meredith_whitney_housing.fortune/ Questions for discussion: Do you agree with the predictions made by bank analyst Meredith Whitney? What investing strategy would make sense if she is right?… Read more »
A futures exchange for Hollywood
Description: Armchair investors may soon be able to bet real money on how films perform at the box office. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report  Date: 04/02/2010 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/04/02/n_hollywood_futures.cnnmoney/ Questions for discussion: How is this market similar to a conventional futures market such as one for gold? What risk is at play for investors? How… Read more »
How Men’s Overconfidence Hurts Them as Investors
Description: MEN and women invest differently, a growing body of research has found. And in at least one important respect, women may be better at it. Source: NYTimes.com Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/business/14mark.html?ref=business Questions for discussion: How are men and women investors different from each other? What lessons are there that each gender can learn from… Read more »
Apax, Private-Equity Firms Say Retail LBOs Return With Recovery
Description: Private-equity firms looking to buy retail and consumer companies said they’re now able to finance deals and pay reasonable prices after the credit crisis and global recession triggered a buyout slump. Source: Bloomberg.com Date: 03/12/2010 Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a1CarvonDlcU&pos=15 Questions for discussion: Does this news bode well for the economy? What has changed in this industry… Read more »
