Most Impressive Sovereign Funding Official 2009 Award Went To Spyros Papanicolaou ( Greece )

You cannot make this up......Very hard to hide a big deal of SCHADENFREUDE when you keep in mind that the awards were determined by a poll of bankers and borrowers .... On the other side it´s too bad that exact these same so called "sophisticated" investors ( not speculators! ) got once again bailed out for their ( ongoing ) very poor judgement.....The following quote from John "Anti Spin" Hussman "Prostituting the fiscal stability of an entire nation for the benefit of bondholders who made bad loans ?"( Hussman is really "upset"..... ) & this must see clip :-)! are unfortunately spot on... Go and read the entire link !

Kein Aprilscherz......Wenn man bedenkt das dieser Preis in einer Abstimmung von Bänkern und Investoren vegeben worden ist kann man sich eine gewisse Portion SCHADENFREUDE einfach nicht verkneifen...... Gleichzeitig wird die Wut darüber, das genau diese Investoren ( nicht Spekulanten! ) trotz Ihres offensichtlich zum wiederholten Male vernebeltem Urteilsvermögen erneut über immer größer werdende Bailouts rausgehauen werden, tagtäglich größer ......Leider handelt es sich beim nachfolgenden Zitat von John "Anti Spin" Hussman "Prostituting the fiscal stability of an entire nation for the benefit of bondholders who made bad loans?" ( Wer den ansonsten sehr besonnenen Hussman kennt kann erahnen das hier einer ziemlich "aufgebracht" ist ...) sowie diesem wunderbar humoristischen Clip :-)! um eine treffende Bestandsaufnahme und um keine Übertreibung......Empfehlen allen den kompletten Link zu lesen !


WSJ

Beware the lessons of history—especially when they involve Greece. The winner of Euroweek's 2010 award for most impressive sovereign funding official richly deserved it: Robert Stheeman, head of the U.K. Debt Management Office, steered through a whopping £185 billion ($268 billion) of gilt sales in the last fiscal year.

But Mr. Stheeman might not want to look too closely at the award's history: Last year's winner was one Spyros Papanicolaou, the former head of Greece's Public Debt Management Agency.

Rough times for GILTS & the POUND ahead.....

Sieht ganz so aus als wenn es für GILTS und das britische Pfund demnächst ruppig werden könnte......

No Kidding..... S&P Is Acting Responsible & Threatens To Blow Up Fed´s CRE Bailout Stunt Via TALF

Pobably the most underreported news from yesterday... The timing of the move ( a tsunami is not an overstatement ) makes it even more remarkable..... To put this in context lets remember that last week the Fed has continued with the "war on taxpayers" and has decided to bail out large parts of the commercial real estate complex ( see Fed Bends Over Backward For CMSA, Will Feed Inflation Capacitor With More Toxic Garbage via Zero Hedge ). The only precondition was....

Kaum zu fassen das gerade die Ratingagentur S&P verantwortungsvoll ( wenn auch einige Quartale zu spät ) reagiert und das Offensichtliche ausspricht. Praktisch alle in den letzten Jahren vergebenen Kredite die durch gewerblich genutzte Immobilien abgedeckt sind drohen analog dem privaten Wohnungsmarkt zu implodieren. Das besondere ist der Zeitpunkt der Ankündigung..... In der letzten Woche hat die Fed in der gewohnt verantwortungslosen Art und Weise beschlossen einen Großteil der gewerblichen Immofinanzierung mit Steuergeldern zu einem Bailout zu verhelfen der aufgrund der schieren Größe des Sektors leicht & locker die 100 Mrd $ übersteigen könnte ( siehe Fed Bends Over Backward For CMSA, Will Feed Inflation Capacitor With More Toxic Garbage via Zero Hedge ). Wenn man nun noch den heutigen Treasury Crash hinzunimmt dürfte das nachfolgende Bild nicht wirklich übertrieben sein........ :-)

An "AAA" rating.....

Die einzige Voraussetzung zur Teilnahme an der Party war ein AAA geratetes Papier....

Current Ratings: As of the TALF loan closing date, the CMBS must have a credit rating in the highest long-term investment-grade rating category from at least two TALF CMBS-eligible rating agencies

Should be no surprise to see that the Fed is deperate to get this kind of crappy collateral with exploding delinquencies onto their balance sheet......Just in time........ Make sure you see more "encouraging" CRE charts via Realpoint / Zero Hedge. Interesting to see that Realpoint is also a "TALF CMBS-eligible rating agency". Judging from their charts & comments it is unlikely that they will "help" the Fed...... Add todays Treasury Crashand i think the picture from Bernanke is even more spot on....... :-)

Inzwischen sollte es keinen mehr überraschen das die Fed eine der am schnellsten implodierenden Anlageklassen auf Teufel komm raus in Ihre Bilanz holen möchte..... Wie dramatisch schnell sich die Lage im gewerblichen Bereich verschlechtert verdeutlichen diese Charts via Realpoint zeigen. Diese Charts sind umso aussagekräftiger wenn man bedenkt das Realpoint ebenfalls zum ausgewählten Kreis der 5 Ratingagenturen gehört denen es erlaubt ist die CMBS zu raten. Nach allem was ich bisher von denen gelesen habe dürften die Kopfschmerzen der Fed eher noch zunehmen.........

bigger/größer

S&P To Downgrade Most Of 2005-2008 CMBS Classes, Derails TALF For CMBS

It is likely that the proposed changes, which represent a significant change to the criteria for rating high investment-grade classes, will prompt a considerable amount of downgrades in recently issued (2005-2008 vintage) CMBS.

Classes up through the most senior tranches of outstanding deals (so-called "A4s," "dupers," or "super-duper seniors") are likely to be affected. Our preliminary findings indicate that approximately 25%, 60%, and 90% of the most senior tranches (by count) within the 2005, 2006, and 2007 vintages, respectively, may be downgraded

Once more i have to quote Tyler ( the man who needs obvioulsly no sleep ) from Zero Hedge.....

Einmal mehr muß ich Tyler ( der Mann braucht anscheinend keinen Schlaf ) von Zero Hedge....

"And all this just days after the government had finally drafted what it hoped was the last and final version of its TALF term sheet. Lets rewind: in the May 19th version of TALF, in order the be eligible, CMBS "must not have a rating below the highest investment-grade rating category from any TALF CMBS-Eligibile Rating Agency." Throw in a downgrade of 90% of the 2007 vintage and it's time to go back to the drawing board.....

Basically, the impending downgrade would make Super Duper CMBS ineligible for TALF

It is a safe bet that the Fed will come back as soon as a week from today and announce TALF 364.7, in which the requirement for a current AAA rating is eliminated altogether.

In fact, as I speculated (jokingly), anything rated Default or higher will soon be perfectly eligible collateral for taxpayer funding. Because that's just how good a fiduciary of taxpayer money the Federal Reserve is."

> I think he is right..... Another stunt could be that the other agencies ( TALF CMBS-eligible rating agencies are DBRS, Inc., Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, Realpoint LLC and Standard & Poor’s ) with Realpoint the exception ( see earlier link ) are as "helpful" as always and won´t issue any downgrade until the TALF is working and the most toxic stuff is already on the Fed´s balance sheet......

> Nach meinen Erfahrungswerten was die Fed angeht dürfte Tyler recht haben..... Eine weitere Möglichkeit wäre allerdings auch das die anderen zugelassenen Ratingagenturen(TALF CMBS-eligible rating agencies are DBRS, Inc., Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, Realpoint LLC and Standard & Poor’s ) wie bisher beide Augen verschliessen und mit Ihren Downgrades "hilfreich" warten bis TALF implementiert und die "giftigsten" Papiere bereits in der Fedbilanz gelandet sind..... Möchte Realpoint ( siehe vorherigen Link ) von meiner Kritik ausdrücklich ausschließen

What happens if an ABS that was eligible for TALF financing is downgraded by an NRSRO?

Nothing happens to existing TALF loans secured by that ABS. However, the ABS may not be used as collateral for any new TALF loans until it regains its status as eligible collateral.

I highly recommend the blog Zero Hedge ( soon on my blogroll ). Here is much more from Tyler on the CMBS topic. UPDATE: Report: $75 billion of CMBS Market Capitalization Lost in Two Days

Ihr merkt schon das ich den Blog Zero Hedge für extrem lesenswert halte ( findet sich demnächst sicher auch auf meiner Blogroll wieder ). Empfehle zudem die gesammelten Werke von Tyler zu diesem Thema. UPDATE: Report: $75 billion of CMBS Market Capitalization Lost in Two Days

Banana Republik Watch "Korea Edition"

Oh boy....... At least they have still a few people left in Korea paying attention to analysts at all....... Sooner or later they will realize that they very often provide the best value as an contrary indicator ( see Wall Street Finest ) .......

Leider kein Witz...... Immerhin gibt in Korea anscheinend noch einige die überhaupt einen Pfifferling auf das Urteil von sogenannten Analysten setzen....... Ich nutze Sie seit Jahren nur noch als Kontraindikator bzw. zur wenn ich mal wieder was aus den Rubriken Satire & Science Fiction lesen möchte....... Spare mir so das Abo der "Titanic"...... :-).... Hier ein paar Beispiele ( siehe Wall Street Finest )......

South Korea to investigate foreign brokerages (FT) South Korean’s broking regulator is to

investigate all “sell” recommendations by foreign brokerages

made in the last three months in the wake of a fall of nearly 40 per cent in the benchmark Kospi index this year.

The Korean Securities Dealers Association said on Wednesday it had asked 19 foreign brokerages, including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, to submit all “sell” reports on Korean shares issued between September and November.

“The public consensus is that foreign research reports are having a negative impact on stock prices

,” the KSDA said. “The public see some problems about their fairness so we want to review the reports.”

The association said it expected to receive the “sell” reports by the end of this week, and would review “whether their reports are fair or whether their sell calls were based on proper reasons.”

However,

the association is not asking for research reports from local brokerages, which rarely issue “sell” recommendations

The KSDA conducted a similar probe into both domestic and foreign brokerages two years ago.

The investigation follows growing complaints by local companies against foreign research reports recommending “sell” on their shares.

In October, the FSS warned JP Morgan about a research report recommending that investors sell Hana Financial Group shares, saying that the recommendation was based on “too conservative” non-performing loans ratio.

JP Morgan later terminated coverage of Hana, saying that it cannot have access to necessary information critical to its research. JP Morgan declined to comment on the case.

In September, Goldman Sachs issued a “sell” report on Kookmin Bank, the country’s biggest commercial lender. Kookmin immediately replaced Goldman Sachs with Merrill Lynch as its adviser for selling treasury shares.

Foreign brokerages in Korea have long been plagued by suspicions that “sell” calls are linked to short-selling activities. Financial regulators have undertaken a separate investigation into short-selling but the results have yet to be announced.

Foreign brokers dispute these claims. “It is nonsense. We have strict standards against such practices. We have a strong firewall between research and investment departments,” said a senior official at a foreign brokerage. “We wonder if the probe is really to protect investors.”

The investigation has sparked strong resistance among foreign brokerages, whose reports are increasingly influential in the local stock market.

“We are completely flabbergasted by this move. Analysts independently issue their opinion for institutional investors, based on their research and insight into the companies. It is totally up to our clients and investors whether or not to take the view,” another foreign brokerage said.

Mad Cow Disease "Solarworld Edition"......

Wow. I´m not kidding and have double-checked the date ( no it´s not "Fools Day".... ) & the companies website ( no english link available yet UPDATE: See text from the report further down .......). Solarworld, one of the largest solar companies with one of the strongest balance sheets wants to take over all German facilities from Opel ( GM’s Opel May Need EU1.8 Billion Guarantee ) that is on the brink of going under when GM won´t get the bailout. The US equivilant would be that First Solar (FSLR) wants to take over Ford........They want to waste their € 250 mio in cash and their € 750 mio in credit lines (conditional to a guarantee from Germany). On top of this they are demanding a compensation from GM for the 40.000 workers totalling € 1 billion .....Goal is to create the first "green automobilcompany in Europe".......

Either the prospects for solar in general must be disastrous, hackers have entered the site or the CEO is heavily on drugs...... Wonder why the stock is only down 15 percent.... If you want to know more about the "Mad Company" visit Solarworld

Entweder die Seite ist von Hackern geentert worden, die Aussichten für die Solarbranche sind unterirdisch oder der CEO ist übelst auf DROGE......... Es grenzt an ein Wunder das die Aktie nur 15% nachgibt...... Schon erstaunlich wie man mit einer einzigen Meldung die bisher doch recht ansehliche Reputation die über Jahre hinweg erarbeitet worden ist zerschmettern kann.....

Solarworld Reconstruction to Green Automotive Group

SolarWorld AG is planning to submit an offer to the US car maker GeneralMotors (GM) to take over the four German factories and the Rüsselsheimdevelopment center of Adam Opel GmbH. To this end SolarWorld AG can makeavailable cash funds amounting to 250 million EUR and bank credit linesworth 750 million EUR under the proviso that the federal governmentprovides a guarantee.

The SolarWorld Group which has so far beenexclusively involved in solar power technology would subsequently develop Opel into the first 'green' European automotive group. A core prerequisitefor the submission of the offer is the complete separation of Opel from theGM Group and a compensation payment of 40,000 EUR per German job (totaling1 billion EUR).

At the four German Opel locations it is the idea of SolarWorld AG tocontinue the sustainable further development of the current successfulmodel ranges and, additionally, to produce a new generation of vehicleswith energy-efficient, low-emission drives in the future.

Solarworld Umbau zum grünen Automobilkonzern

Die SolarWorld AG plant dem US-amerikanischen Automobilkonzern General
Motors (GM) das Angebot zu unterbreiten, die vier deutschen Werke und das
Entwicklungszentrum in Rüsselsheim der Adam Opel GmbH zu übernehmen.

Dafür kann die SolarWorld AG Opel Barmittel in Höhe von 250 Mio. Euro und Banklinien von 750 Mio. Euro vorbehaltlich einer Bundesbürgschaft bereitstellen. Der bisher ausschließlich in der Solartechnologie aktive Konzern würde damit Opel zum ersten 'grünen' europäischen Autokonzern weiterentwickeln. Kernvoraussetzung für die Abgabe des Angebotes zur Übernahme ist die komplette Trennung aus dem GM-Konzern und eine Kompensationszahlung von 40.000 Euro pro deutschem Arbeitsplatz (insgesamt 1 Mrd. Euro).

An den vier deutschen Opel-Standorten soll nach Vorstellung der SolarWorld AG künftig neben der nachhaltigen Weiterentwicklung der erfolgreichen Baureihen eine neue Fahrzeuggeneration mit energieeffizienten und emissionsarmen Antrieben produziert werden. Das europäische Entwicklungszentrum in Rüsselsheim arbeitet bereits an Lösungen für
zukunftsfähige Elektrofahrzeuge wie dem 'Volt'. Mit dem Umbau der Produktpalette würde der traditionsreiche deutsche Autobauer künftig insbesondere Elektro- und Hybridfahrzeuge und Typen neuester Technologie wie extended-range Elektrofahrzeuge anbieten, die Elektro- und Verbrennungsmotor hocheffizient kombinieren.

> I´m still not sure which photo is showing the CEO....... :-)

> Bin mir immer noch nicht sicher auf welchem Bild der CEO abgebildet ist... :-)

No Kidding.... Dubai May Need Help To Repay Debt....

I have wondered about Dubai early on in 2007 ( see Dubai / Borrow To Build.....? ) what fundamentals are behind the boom in Dubai. It really looks like lots of the megalomaniac projects that have been anounced and are already under construction will face some serious "headwinds"........ In fairness it has to be mentioned that in 2007 only 7 percent of GDP was oilrelated and lots of the giant projects and investments are an attempt to transfrom the economy... It seems that the pace in recent years was too fast and it feels like an attempt to ramp things up with a crowbar...... SEE UPDATE AT THE END OF THE POST

Ich habe mich bereits in meinen bescheidenen Anfängen als Blogger im Anfang 2007 in Dubai / Borrow To Build.....? gewundert was genau in Dubai abgeht. Es sieht in der Tat so aus als wenn ein guter Teil der größnwahnsinnigen Projekte die angekündigt und die sich fast immer auch schon im Bau befinden in nächster Zeit in erhebliche Probleme laufen könnten...... Müßte lügen wenn ich nicht ein gewisses Maß an Schadenfreude verspüren würde...... Fairerwaise muß man erwähnen das Dubai nur noch 7% des BSP dem Öl zu verdanken hat und die gigantischen Projekte ein Versuch sind die Wirtschaft radikal zu transformieren..... Leider sieht es so aus als wenn hier das Tempo in den letzten Jahren doch erheblich zu hoch gewesen ist und das ganze evtl., doch einem Versuch mit der Brechstange gleicht....... BITTE DAS UPDATE AM ENDE DES POSTINGS BEACHTEN

Dubai May Need Help From Abu Dhabi to Repay Debts

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai may depend on support from neighboring Abu Dhabi and the federal government of the United Arab Emirates to help pay for a surge in borrowing, Moody's Investors Service Inc. said.

Government-controlled companies owe at least $47 billion in total, more than Dubai's gross domestic product, according to Moody's data based on economic statistics from 2006.

``We believe that leverage raised primarily through state- owned corporations will continue to grow faster than GDP for at least the next five years, during which time the Emirate's susceptibility toward execution, financing and geopolitical risks will be at its most pronounced,'' Philip Lotter, Dubai- based senior vice president at Moody's, said in a report today.

Dubai has borrowed to fund real estate projects including Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower, and to buy stakes in Deutsche Bank AG, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Standard Chartered Plc, as it seeks to reduce dependence on its dwindling oil reserves.

Abu Dhabi, by contrast, owns more than 90 percent of the U.A.E.'s oil reserves and nearly 8 percent of the world's total. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, its sovereign wealth fund, has assets of between $250 billion and $875 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Dubai controls its economy through state-owned companies that dominate each major industry. Dubai Holding LLC, which groups assets belonging to Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, owns hotel chain Jumeirah Group and Dubai International Capital, which unsuccessfully bid for Liverpool Football Club earlier this year.

Default Swaps
The cost of insuring Dubai Holding's bonds has increased nearly four-fold since May, according to traders of credit default swaps. Contracts protecting Dubai Holding Commercial Operations medium-term notes for four years traded at 679.3 basis points on Oct. 10, up from 172.99 at the beginning of May, CMA Datavision prices show.

Dubai World, a state-owned holding company, acquired almost 10 percent of Kirk Kerkorian's MGM Mirage last year for about $5.1 billion. MGM shares have since tumbled to $16.80 from $84 when the deal was agreed.

> The folling quote is from my post Deutsche Bank Is Doubling Down In Vegas.....

> Der nachfolgende Kommentar stammt aus meinem Post Deutsche Bank Is Doubling Down In Vegas.....

Deutsche will have to raise its bet with another $1 billion investment in the development, at the same time local operator Boyd Gaming has shelved a $5 billion project on the Strip. That looks like a risky double-down for a bank already exposed to MGM Mirage's cash-strapped $11 billion CityCenter project nearby.

> I´m not sure if they are already on the hook but when even Dubai World is late in raising as much as $3.5 billion for their $11.2 billion CityCenter project in Las Vegas it is not a very good sign.....MGM,Dubai Fall Behind on $3.5 Billion Loan for Las Vegas Plan . Watch the folling clip and it is no wonder why they are falling behind..... (clip was deleted.... I wonder why....)

> Ich bin mir nicht sicher ob die Deutsche Bank hier schon im "Feuer" steht. Wenn aber selbst Dubai als Hauptinvestor momentan Probleme hat Kredite zu bekommen ist dies sicher kein gutes Zeichen..... MGM,Dubai Fall Behind on $3.5 Billion Loan for Las Vegas Plan . Schaut Euch den Clip an und es ist wenig verwunderlich warum es Finanzierungsprobleme gibt....... Der Clip ist inzwischen gelöscht worden.... Leicht auszumalen warum.....

Deutsche Bank shares have fallen nearly 70 percent since Dubai government-owned DIFC Investments bought a 2.2 percent stake for about $1.8 billion in May 2007.

``In most countries there are identifiable delineations between the public and private sectors,'' Tristan Cooper, Moody's Middle East sovereign analyst, said in the statement. ``In Dubai, however, the state corporatist model plus the fact that the ruler and his closest relatives form the core of the government, make it difficult to draw such distinctions.''

`Implicit' Support
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the two-largest emirates in the seven-member U.A.E.

While Dubai's economic model ``has proved successful to date, cumulative liabilities are currently rising faster than investments are able to generate returns, which increases Dubai's medium term susceptibility to execution risks and necessitates a clear understanding of wider implicit federal support when rating key government-backed corporations,'' Lotter said

UPDATE

Dubai World Has No Problem Borrowing, Chairman Says Bloomberg

``We don't have any problem raising money,'' Dubai World Chairman Sultan Bin Sulayem said in a telephone interview in Dubai today.

``Why would we announce a big tower if we can't afford to pay for it?''

> I´ve heard other people saying similar things way too often during the paste few years....

> Den Satz habe ich in den letzten Jahren schon einige Male gehört.......

Dubai's state companies have lost at least $6 billion on their five biggest public investments in the past two years, led by Dubai World's stake in casino operator MGM Mirage. Losses on undisclosed investments may be $30 billion, said Luis Costa, emerging-markets debt strategist at Commerzbank AG in London.

``About 80 percent of Dubai World is non-transparent, so it's a very tough game,'' said Costa. ``Deals such as the world's tallest tower may now need more capital injection from the state or may even fail.''

Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has borrowed to replace Dubai's dwindling revenue from oil with earnings from tourism, finance and real estate. State-owned carrier Emirates has increased its fleet to the largest in the Middle East and has the most orders worldwide for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, as the government seeks to double tourists per year to 15 million by 2015.

Casino
Dubai World owns DP World Ltd., the third-largest international port operator, Istithmar World, a private equity firm that acquired Barney's New York Inc. last year, and Nakheel PJSC, builder of the manmade palm-shaped islands in the Persian Gulf. The developer is also building the Nakheel Tower, which will surpass the Burj Dubai, currently the world's tallest at 707 meters.

> I´ll bet that this Skyscraper ( see Nakheel Tower / Wikipedia ) won´t be build.... In hindsight Dubai should be grateful that the location had to be changed and the construction hasn´t started yet......

> Ich lehne mich mal aus dem Fenster und behaupte das dieser Turm zu Babel ( siehe Nakheel Tower / Wikipedia ) niemals gebaut werden wird... Im Nachinnein kann Dubai froh sein das sich durch einen veränderten Bauplatz die Konstruktion verzögert hat und der Bau noch nicht begonnen hat.....

Costs are rising on contracts to protect against a default by Dubai Holding LLC, which groups assets belonging to Sheikh Mohammed, including the Jumeirah Group hotel chain. Credit- default swaps rose almost four-fold in the past six months to 684 basis points, the highest in at least four years.

Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Co.'s 10-year bonds due 2017 fell 0.8 percent today, lifting the yield to a record 13.2 percent, Bloomberg data show.

``We are a very solid company and well diversified,'' bin Sulayem said. The notion of Dubai corporations having to rely on Abu Dhabi for funding ``is news to me,'' he said.

2nd. UPDATE

Dubai debt puts emirate at risk in slowdown FT

In a report obtained by the Financial Times, the ratings agency says Dubai would lack the financial muscle to cover its debt in the event of a systemic shock, such as a real estate collapse, making it reliant on Abu Dhabi to bail it out.

Publicly recorded debt levels have reached 103 per cent of 2006 GDP, the latest available figure, without including the leverage assumed by aggressive investment companies such as Istithmar and Dubai International Capital.

"33 Great Ways To Save Money" .... UK Yellow Press On CPI / Credit Crunch

No Kidding! The piece from the SUN ( yellow press ) in the UK is no satire ! Things must be really ugly ....... I´m not sure if this is qualifying for a contrary indicator / cover story indicator ( like this one ) regarding the inflation debate but when you read the follwoing advice in relation with mayonnaise i assume we are nearer the CPI top than most peolple think.... On the other hand i´m very very confident that the same is not true for the credit crunch in the UK !

Kein Witz! Diese Geschichte in der SUN ( britische Gegenstück zur Bildzeitung ) ist in keiner Weise satirisch oder ironisch gemeint. Scheint momentan nicht nur wegen der verpaßten EM ziemlich ungemütlich zu sein.... :-) Ich bin mir nicht sicher ob diese Berichterstattung bereits ausreicht um als Kontraindikator ( siehe dieses Beispiel herzuhalten. Bei Betrachtung des nachfolgenden Vorschlages könnte man alledrings zu dem Schluß kommen das die Konsumentenpreisinflation demnächst Ihren Höhepunkt gesehen hat...... Für den gerade erst angefangegen Credit Crunch in UK gilt das allerdings auf keinen Fall. Hier hat der Spaß sicher gerade erst begonnen......

21. Mayonnaise is a fine hair conditioner, adding shine.

Give hairdressers the brush off if you want blonde highlights — just brush lemon juice into your barnet and let it dry in the sun.

I think it´s difficult for the BOE & other central banks to claim that are still in control over "inflation expectations" ( see Real Cost of Living Index (RCLI) is rising at 9.5 per cent. via Barry Ritholtz ) ........Disclosure : I´m with Mish´s definition on Inflation ( see Inflation: What the heck is it? )

Der ständige Hinweis das die Notenbänker immer noch Kontrolle über die Inflationserwartungen haben klingt allerding von Tat zu tag lächerlicher ( siehe auch Real Cost of Living Index (RCLI) is rising at 9.5 per cent. via Barry Ritholtz ) ..... Hinweis : Bekanntermaßen sehe ich die Definition von Inflation wie Mish ( siehe Inflation: What the heck is it? )

The SUN THE credit crunch is biting but you can ease the squeeze if you take a few simple steps.

Here Sun cheapskate TIM SPANTON shares his expertise, with 33 great ways to save money now that prices are rising at 3.3 per cent, the highest rate for more than ten years.

But be warned – there are some tips here even miserly Ebenezer Scrooge might be ashamed of taking up.

Remember, if you’re feeling the pinch, laughter is the best medicine – and it’s FREE.

1. Use banana skins to clean your shoes. The inside of the skins contains potassium, a key ingredient in commercial polishes.

Finish off with a soft cloth. Oils in the banana will even enrich the leather in your shoes and help them last longer.

2. Collect old slivers of soap and squeeze them together to make a new bar.

3. Never buy the first round in a pub. If you go drinking once a week and always get to the bar first you will end up buying dozens more rounds more a year than a person who always buys the fourth round.

This is because drinking sessions often end after an odd number of rounds. .....

8. Buy postage stamps in bulk, before the prices go up, which we all know they will. .....

14. Mix milk with equal amounts of water to go on your breakfast cereal. You will soon get used to it. The slight difference in taste is very small and soon won’t be detected at all.

15. Watch telly in bed in the dark. You’ll save on heating and lighting costs and if there’s a sexy show on, you might even get a bonus cuddle from your partner.

18. Get off a stop early if you commute by bus or Tube to save cash. ....

24. Buy Christmas presents in the sales after the holidays and keep for a year.

27. Shower instead of bathing. To save even more, shower with a friend.

>If you don´t believe me that this is not an ironic piece from the SUNn click the link and read the entire link... There are lots of suggestions that do make sense and are less "exotic".

> Wer mir nicht glaubt das dieser "Ratgeber" ernst gemeint ist sollte zur Kontrolle den kompletten Link lesen .... Dort finden sich in der Tat etliche Hinweise die hilfreich und weniger "skuril" sind.

CDO Watch: Ratings Shopping

Oh boy, unfortunately no late "Fools Day Joke"....... "Dead CDO´s Walking"......Got Gold ?

Selbstverständlich kein verspäteter Arpilscherz, sondern nur der ganz normale Wahnsinn......Warum nicht gleich so.... Einfach das nicht genehme Rating kurz vorm Downgrade eliminieren und die Welt ist wieder in Ordnung..... Bin mir sicher das dieser Trend an Fahrt gewinnen wird......


CDO watch: ratings shopping FT Alphaville !!

Several CDOs are going into liquidation on Tuesday - a sign, perhaps, that senior noteholders are losing their nerve amid more signs of deterioration in MBS fundamentals, as reported by the rating agencies this week.
But something slightly more interesting is happening with a CDO called Palladium II. As filed today with the Irish Stock Exchange:

REQUEST FOR NOTEHOLDER CONSENT26 May 2008 Omega Capital Investments II p.l.c.…Notice is hereby given that it is proposed to request that Fitch Ratings Limited withdraws the rating which it has assigned to each class of the Notes so that the Notes will be rated solely by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The reason? Surely something to do with this announcement, issued on Friday:

Fitch Ratings-London-23 May 2008: Fitch Ratings has today placed Omega Capital Investment II Plc’s Palladium CDO II (Palladium II) secured floating- and fixed-rate notes due in December 2014 on Rating Watch Negative (RWN), as listed below. The RWN actions reflect Fitch’s view on the credit risk of the rated notes following the release of its new Corporate CDO rating criteria.

Fitch goes on to detail the likely downgrades to the various tranches of Palladium, with the triple-A seniors looking to be cut five notches to single A, and the subordinate tranches moving to BBB.

The reason then, that Palladium’s managers, Omega Capital Investments (BNP Paribas), are so keen to get the Fitch ratings removed before the downgrades occur, is because downgrades would trigger a default.

As FT Alphaville reported on Friday (from Total Securitisation), rating downgrades have been the primary cause of CDO defaults in almost all cases so far.

Palladium II, it appears, isn’t the only CDO withdrawing Fitch ratings. There’s also Taberna (Fitch ratings withdrawn Friday).

Ratings shopping in action? Certainly a clear sign that the market incentivises looser rating standards. Unwelcome downgrades mean you lose your business.

Pure Comedy Again From Wall Street Finest "Wachovia Offers Deep Deep Value"

You just cannot make this up..... I assume the the value on Wachovia after today's blockbuster news including a net loss, slashing the dividend, massive dillution etc is even getting deeper......I´ll bet that news like fail to change the view from "Wall Street Finest" that ranked Wachovia at number 6 pointing to the dividend yield of 9.5 percent and the low pe...... For more details see Wachovia presentation

Es wird Zeit für eine neue Folge aus dem Tolllhaus mit dem Titel "Was machen Wall Street Finest eigentlich beruflich ?........ Evtl. waren Förtsch, Prior und co doch nicht so übel........ Mal gucken ob sich die Sicht der Dinge nach der heutigen Granatenmeldung von Wachovia geändert hat. Dort werden so nebensächliche Dinge wie eine massive Kapitalerhöhung die den Wert erheblich verwässern wird, eine drastische Kürzung der Dividende, ein Nettoverlust usw angekündigt. Denke die Dividendenrendite von 9,5% ( siehe Nr. 6) sowie das angepriesenen niedrige KGV dürfte wohl zukünftig nicht mehr zum "Deep Value Play" von diesem selbsternannten Experten gehören..... Für noch genauere Infos siehe Wachovia Präsentation

WSJ

Wachovia Corp. said it will raise $7 billion in capital through stock sales and cut its dividend by 41%, a consequence of its ill-timed move into becoming a major mortgage player, as it posted a first-quarter net loss caused by $2 billion in "market-disruption" losses and sinking credit quality.

The infusion represents Wachovia's second dip into the capital trough this year. In January and early February, Wachovia pocketed a total of $8.3 billion in capital by issuing preferred stock and other securities to investors

Credit-loss provision were increased to $2.83 billion from $177 million as net charge-offs soared to 0.66% of average net loans from 0.15%. Nonperforming assets, those loans near default, ballooned to 1.70% of loans from 0.42%. Net interest margin, the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits, dropped to 2.92% from 3.06%.

Citi, UBS & co: deep, deep value FT Alphaville
Not for the faint-hearted. Lehman is making the case for shifting away from growth stocks and towards value. Which means financials.

Just as Meredith Whitney gets going on her latest round of predicting outsize writedowns....

The result is a very European-heavy, financials-heavy list of names. Here’s their top 20:

Carolina dreamin'Commentary: Wachovia ignored the risks in Golden West deal

Wachovia Corp.'s struggles today can be traced back to a single, mistaken deal: the purchase of Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006. Two years ago, the Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia agreed to $24.2 billion for Golden West, an Oakland, Calif.-based savings and loan run by Herb and Marion Sandler, the legendary husband-and-wife banking team that took over the S&L in 1963 and built GW into one of California's biggest lenders

Unfortunately, Golden West was a business built on adjustable-rate mortgages. Even though analysts questioned Wachovia's chief financial officer, Tom Wurtz, about the prudence of adding exposure to that market, he brushed it off.

"It's a very complicated process to put in place all of the discipline and process that they have to get the in-house appraisers, get them trained and to create the working knowledge by the broker community that they been able to achieve through a long-standing period of training with those brokers and delivering on their commitment," Wurtz said in a conference call announcing the deal. "And so from that standpoint there is extraordinary value in their mortgage operations."

Ouch!

No Kidding....Mortgage trouble for the mortgage bankers association

You just cannot make this up..... Better than most of April Fools jokes i have heard this year.... SCHADENFREUDE !

Das kann man sich wirklich nicht besser ausdenken... Das stellt selbst die besten Aprilscherze die ich dieses Jahr gehört habe in den Schatten.....Ich hoffe das die Lobbygruppe der US Hypothekenbänker noch richtig lange auf der "Ruine" sitzen bleibt. Die Saat für zukünftig jahrelangen Leerstand hat nicht zuletzt die MBA selber in einer unsäglichen Art und Weise selber gesät. Selten war die Schadenfreude so angebracht wie in diesem speziellen Fall.


Mortgage trouble for the mortgage bankers association FT Alphaville !

A year ago the Mortgage Bankers Association - the lobbying group representing US mortgage lenders - started scouting around for new headquarters.

It found 1331 L St, Washington: “state of the art” office with a “superb” location near Franklin Park and Thomas Circle.

… [with] more than 170,000 square feet of space–approximately 65,000 square feet of which MBA will initially occupy–on 10 above-grade levels, including retail on the first floor.

The office even has its own fancy website, which you can view here.

…a crystalline glass tower element dominates the front corner, complete with crown, and is offset by a reveal, which connects to French limestone at the retail level. The white mullion and glass facades allow for an abundance of natural light and panoramic skyline views of the city.

Unfortunately, though, as the Washington Post reports, things haven’t quite worked out for the Mortgage Bankers Association. It’s having trouble with its mortgage:

The lobbying group is about to sign the final papers to buy the 12-story building on L Street NW for about $100 million. Like many of the companies it represents, the organization is facing a triple whammy of woes: Its financing costs are up, its income is down, and the leasing market is slow, leaving it, so far, without a single tenant.

The association is faced with a deposit 10 per cent higher than it had previously thought, with greatly increased interest charges to boot. “We’re looking at cutting expenses across the board” the MBA’s communications VP told the WaPo.

Some irony, of course, that all of this has been caused by the reckless lending orchestrated by the mortgage lenders the MBA represents and has stridently defended.

On the off chance that you are actually interested in leasing any Washington office space from the MBA (N.B. “the stunning entrance lobby exudes quiet elegance and warmth”), you can contact them here.

No Kidding....Cramer Sees A Housing Shortages 12 Month From Now.....

This one is too outrageous to pass.... Every time you think Cramer has hit a new low ( see label for numerous examples ) he comes out with another piece of ( lets put it mildly) garbage...........It should be no surprise that he made his comments at the end of last week when especially the homebuilders have recovered some of massive losses ( largely due to short covering ). For a realistic picture see the charts via Calculated Risk on how stock market driven this guy is....... After the slump over the past 2 days i assume he is already revising his forecast..... And the woman from bubblevision is calling him "character of integrety"....... They really should switch to the Comedy Channel... Here we go Cramer Video .

Das ist einfach zu unverschämt um das durchgehen zu lassen.... Immer wenn man denkt das einer der bekanntesten US Börsenkommentatoren sein Tief bereits erreciht hat ( siehe Label für zahlreiche tragisch-komische Beispiele) wird eine neue Sichtweise aus dem Hut gezaubert die man wen man höflich ist als bodenlose Fechheit titulieren muß.....Es sollte nicht überraschen das seine Aussagen Ende der letzten Woche gemacht worden sind als insbesonders der Homebuilderindex massiv an Wert gewonnen hat ( in erster Linie getrieben durch Shorteindeckungen) . Für ein realistisches Bild genügt ein Blick auf die Charts von Calculated Risk . Ebenfalls wenig verwunderlich das die Moderatorin ihn als "integeren Charakter bezeichnet".... Die wäre auf dem Comedy Channel wirklich besser untergebracht.....Hier ist da gute Stück Cramer Video ....