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May 27 上海风情上海风情的流行是蓄谋已久的,这是我开头要说的一段话。
这一切都是有预兆的。1995年张爱玲在美国逝世引发了迟到半个世纪的“张爱玲热”,并持续至今。张爱玲是少有的大部分作品致力于描写旧上海风情的作家,多少华人心目中的上海是张爱玲笔下的上海,从那时起,人们对旧上海的关注从黑帮争斗转向浮现在灯红酒绿下男男女女的俗世情怀,所以,张爱玲火了。而传统意义上以描写抢滩占码头为主的旧上海题材影视剧一时备受冷落,销声匿迹,直到《花样年华》的出现——事实上,《花样年华》是上海风情的香港传奇。在张爱玲的笔下也经常如此,故事的发生地是在香港,出没其间的却是一群上海人,无时无处不在洋溢着旧上海的风情。与上海同为殖民大都会的香港很长一段时间是在模仿上海的——没想到这股热潮一发不可收拾。一个充满欲望的城市,纠缠在各种各样欲望中的世俗的男女,他们贪求、挣扎、痛苦、迷失,为谋生,更为谋爱,但他们微小的举动迅速被滚滚向前的时代洪流淹没,之后的<<2046>>,<<姨妈的后现代生活>>,再到最近的<<明明>>,都在无声的背景里述说著老上海的故事。在这一点上旧上海与今天的都市惊人相似,这种相似孕育了世纪之交上海风情的流行。
在女明星的眼里,大都认为自己最美的一面只有以旧上海为背景才能最极致的展现出来,在她们身上,一样的上海,风情是不一样的。
张曼玉的上海不是百乐门嘈杂的歌舞,而是长巷深处少妇一声无端的喟叹。
巩俐的上海是十里洋场一片靡绚的灯光和鬓影。 梅艳芳的上海是一朵黑色的菊花。不知是焦枯了,还是正徐徐开放。 陈冲的上海是一技未开足就折下的玫瑰,却有着过分的肉感。 叶玉卿的上海是一团白色的草纸,一截白色的肚皮。 周迅的上海是眼中晶莹的哀伤,照不亮心中的黑暗.却足以作为信物送给情郎。 赵薇的上海是莽撞与轻信,华丽与清寒,单纯与放荡…… 她们摇摆着腰肢和眼神,穿过我们梦想中的上海或阴蓝或潮红底色的画面款款走来。 这是明星眼中的上海,也是上海眼中的明星。 只有以上海为背景明星才觉得自己更像明星。这个奇怪的时代。 说到这一点必须先解释什么是上海风情?上海风情是闲情逸致、小资情调、寻愁觅恨等等一系列同类词语的总称。在一个没有相当数量中产阶级的社会是容纳不了上海风情的流行的。上海风情的真正大面积流行是1995年以后的事。从那时候起,咖啡屋、西餐厅、酒吧突然增多,衣橱里有了专门的晚礼服,哪怕在寒冷的北方,夜生活也越来越受到重视……
我对旧上海风情的理解:乱世,快乐而不自信,迷恋于无端,片刻的愉悦,在物质和肉欲的满足中享受最切实的人生,灵魂却总是凛流在别处……
这也正是当代国内“中产阶级”内心的真实写照,一种强烈的不安全感,政治资源的无力,得过且过的浮华。
消失的里弄刚到上海的时候,还在对“弄”这个词所困惑,对于新一代的移民来说这个词的含义也许并不是那么明显的,看过些许书籍,才知道在过去很多的时间里,上海人熟悉的是里弄,也就是现在所称呼的时兴的社区。
“五户为邻,五邻为弄”,弄,则是小巷子,据说18世纪末已经出现在上海,里弄的大量建造则是在19世纪六七十年代以后的事。那时的上海,华人洋人杂居的局面开始不久,人口增长很快,普通市民要求房价低些再低些,当时的房地产商则为了最大商业利益,两相结合,占地不大而容量可观的转木结构老式石库门里弄应运而生。
高楼之下,大街两旁,便是里弄,寻找老上海风情最理想的就是这里,百姓聚居的地方,普通人的喜怒哀乐,一个城市百年的故事,都融化在这些普通的建筑中,而现代与历史的交汇在一个叫做“新天地”的地方有了体现,它在都市生活中构筑了一个寄留情趣的空间,一个伫步养心的地方。其实新天地的格调非常现代、时尚。这些改造后的石库门房子,已将原先的一户户隔墙全部打通,在视角上,呈现出宽敞、明亮的空间,里面既有装饰繁琐的欧式壁炉、现代布艺沙发等西式配置,又有线条简练的明式八仙桌、藤面的方凳等东方什物,墙上,挂着现代油画,地上,摆着立式老唱机,门外是风情万种的石库门弄堂,门内是精致细腻的现代生活。就这样,两种不同的生活从容而平和的相处,显得优雅而脱俗,似乎深藏难以说尽的禅意。
环顾四周,看着那些被修整过的石库门,眼波流转之际,心神也不禁驰骋,光影切换之际,让我不可遏至的想像老上海时代的男子女子,如何身穿长袍和旗袍,优雅地走在历史的街道里,喧嚣的都市中,心境犹如墙角飞檐,安静高远。
May 25 消失的投资银行
2005年夏,在已经有很多预兆的情况下,所罗门美邦这个名字从投资银行界消失了;严格地说,是从“传统的”投资银行界消失了。如果你仅仅把投资银行定义为证券承销、交易和经纪,那么所罗门美邦的确消失了,取而代之的是一个名叫“花旗全球投资银行”的机构。这个转换过程没有引起多大注意,消失的只是三个荣耀的姓氏:所罗门、史密斯和巴尔尼(后两者被中国人合称为“美邦”),出现的则是一个不带任何上流社会色彩的完全平民化的名字——准确的说,是平淡无奇的名字。 A name in the historyDillon, Read & Co. was a prominent American investment bank from the 1920s into the 1960s. It was purchased by Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC) in 1997 and merged with London investment bank S.G. Warburg & Co. to become Warburg Dillon Read. The merged entity in turn became part of UBS AG when the latter firm bought SBC. The Dillon Read name was dropped by 2000 but recently re-emerged in the name of a UBS division, Dillon Read Capital Management. However, in May, 2007, UBS announced it was shuttering the unit in the wake of huge losses resulting from sub-prime mortgages.
believe it or not, you are part of the history,May 3, 2007 - a memorable date May 22 打分数 - 黄立行几十年来,三大信用评级机构一直在联手评判在国际资本市场融资的各类机构的财务状况,其中包括政府、多边组织,尤其是企业。
这些金融权威及一些规模较小的同行发布的评级报告,影响着发债机构的融资成本,而且经常被各种规章制度奉为标准,决定着保险公司、养老金计划和共同基金可以购买的证券种类。评级可以轻而易举地造就或毁灭某类证券。一次降低评级,甚至可以导致一国陷入衰退,或导致企业破产。
但是,标准普尔(Standard & Poor's)、穆迪投资服务公司(Moody's Investor Service)和惠誉评级(Fitch Ratings)这三大评级机构是否胜任这份工作?——特别是在规模巨大、不断增长且复杂无比的结构融资市场上。
在这个市场上,投资银行将按揭贷款、汽车贷款、企业债券和其它许多类型的债券一次次地打包和再打包,然后出售给各种投资者——从养老金、保险集团,到对冲基金和银行的交易部门。一笔交易成功的关键,就是获得恰当的信用评级。
评级机构如何决定这些评级,已经成为人们越来越关心的问题,而这些机构与华尔街和伦敦金融城大型投行之间的关系也在人们的关注之列。一些人担心可能出现利益冲突,因为支付评级费用的是投资银行,而非投资者。其他人只是认为,需要评级的交易太复杂,把这些机构搞糊涂了,而且它们无力跟上银行界的创造力和资源。
圣迭戈大学法学院(University of San Diego's School of Law)教授弗兰克•帕特洛伊(Frank Partnoy)表示:“信用评级机构已经变得更加老道,但仍然落后于投资银行。”帕特洛伊曾是华尔街的银行家。
此外,随着结构融资交易的出现,一些无法理解其复杂性的投资者,较以往更加依赖评级机构的意见了。这些结构融资交易使用了衍生工具、债券和贷款等多种金融工具,非常复杂。
“保险公司更为依赖评级,我们也一样,”基金管理公司Payden & Rygel信用策略主管萨布尔•莫伊尼(Sabur Moini)表示,“对冲基金等非传统买家则远非如此。”
最近的许多失误和争论,已经动摇了人们对评级机构进行正确评级的信心。例如,穆迪和标准普尔已被迫降低数十种新发行的、以美国次级房屋贷款为担保的证券的评级,因为贷款人延期偿贷和违约问题急剧增长,比这些机构此前的预期更为严重,表明评级的假设基础或许有问题。
同时,在一次罕见的公开争论中,惠誉和另一家较小的机构向穆迪和标准普尔对一种新产品的评级方法提出质疑。该产品名为固定比例债务证券(constant proportion debt obligation),是新一代高度结构化、且有可能出现波动的衍生产品中的第一个。
3月份,穆迪也被迫非常难堪地改变立场,原因是一种新的银行评级方法遭到了分析人士和投资者的奚落。该方法将政府帮助银行脱困的可能性也纳入评级考虑内容。
在结构融资的艰难世界中,提出一个评级非常具有挑战性。例如,一个典型的按揭担保证券交易,包括重新包装价值数亿美元的几千笔按揭,而每个贷款人都有不同的信用记录。
承销这笔交易的一家投资银行,发行由这一投资组合担保的多批新证券。购买最高风险证券的投资者,将最先因为贷款人违约而遭受损失。这些债券或许根本没有评级。购买最低风险证券的投资者,最后遭受损失,意味着这些证券(通常占整笔交易的四分之三或更多)通常拥有AAA评级。
为此种工具评级需要复杂的分析和成熟精深的计算机模型,这使得评级工作变成了一项令人畏惧的任务。结果,许多投资者表示,对结构融资的评级很难独立验证。一些人还抱怨,他们很难进入评级机构与分析人士直接对话。
然而,仅在美国,已发行的结构性证券就有近9万亿美元,是美国国债市场规模的两倍多,而评级机构目前的大部分收入,也来自对这些产品的评级。例如,穆迪去年44%的收入来自结构融资交易。此种评估的费率,较相对简单的企业评级高出一倍多,这帮助穆迪将营运利润率保持在50%以上。
批评人士表示,评级机构“发行人付费”的模式中存在利益冲突的可能性,从前已经引起过争论,但这些机构在结构融资业务上对投资银行的依赖程度,使它们有重大动机友好地看待它们正在评级的产品。
向评级机构发难的监管者中,有一位是法国金融市场管理局(Autorité des Marchés Financiers)主管迈克尔•普拉达(Michel Prada)。在他位于巴黎的办公室中,这位法国主要的金融监管官员对那些机构的角色和客观性提出新的质疑。
普拉达认为,这一方面出现利益冲突的可能性,与审计公司涉足咨询业务时的情况类似。利润更高的咨询业务需要赢得并保持客户,从而威胁到审计工作的诚实性,这种冲突最终使会计师事务所安达信(Arthur Andersen)在安然(Enron)破产后也立即倒闭。他表示:“我不希望需要出现另一次安然事件,才能使所人都开始考虑评级机构的问题。”
至少,普拉达不是唯一一个对结构融资的评级怀有忧虑的官员。国际清算银行(BIS)也研究了结构性产品,据悉,这些产品过去被降低评级的速度令该行感到不安。国际清算银行总部位于巴塞尔,是“中央银行的银行”。
纽约大学斯特恩商学院(New York University's Stern business school)的经济学教授拉里•怀特(Larry White)也提到了安达信的例子。他表示,评级机构在客观性方面的声誉太重要了,绝不能沾染利益冲突,总体来讲,这样的要求很合理。
“但是,那也是安达信对我们所讲述的东西,”他表示,“你必须记住‘安达信'这个名字。”然而,怀特教授认为,总体上,这些大机构有“非常好的记录”。
评级机构本身也强调,保持其评级的可信性对它们的成功至关重要。它们表示,与其它业务一样,自己在结构融资方面也在谨慎管理,以避免利益冲突,并保持客观。
惠誉评级全球结构融资主管格洛里亚•阿维奥蒂(Gloria Aviotti)提出的证据表明,结构融资评级与企业评级在统计上具有可比性,至少是同样稳定。
她还表示,结构性产品的评级方法,是惠誉最明确且公开定义的评级方法之一。结构性产品包括抵押担保证券和债务抵押证券(CDO)。她认为,这种透明度有助于避免利益冲突,因为它让投资者有机会看到惠誉以同样方法处理所有类似的结构性产品。
穆迪高级董事总经理诺埃尔•基尔农(Noel Kirnon)补充称,“投资者有能力经常挑战我们的工作”。他表示,目前有许多工具可以帮助投资者独立评估他们面对的证券。
挽留人才,难!
然而,除了利益冲突的可能性以外,投资者还担心评级机构已经力不从心。鉴于每天的新交易堆积如山,包括Payden & Rygel的莫伊尼在内的很多人认为,评级机构需要证明自己能够应付。但他担忧,这些评级机构难以留住经验丰富的人才。
猎头公司光辉国际(Korn Ferry)资本市场业务主管理查德•斯坦(Richard Stein)表示,对投资银行而言,结构融资评级专家非常有价值。他表示:“投行向分析师提供的薪资是他们在评级机构收入的3-4倍,这并不稀奇。”
帕特洛伊教授对此表示同意:“华尔街投行很少能找到信用评级机构的高手,但一旦发现,就会招入麾下。”他表示,人才流失使评级机构难以跟上市场的变化。
一定程度上正是由于这些挑战的存在,使得法国金融市场管理局的普拉达担心,与企业或政府债券等更传统的债务评级相比,结构融资评级或许更容易遭遇迅速调降,从而可能导致投资者的资产价值大幅下降。
评级机构对这一担忧加以驳斥。经过对历史数据的分析,它们声称,结构融资评级的波动性并不比简单债券评级的波动性大。
不过,Loomis Sayles副董事长兼债券基金经理丹•法斯(Dan Fuss)部分认同Prada的担忧。他表示,在结构融资方面,投资者更容易受到低概率突发事件的影响,这些事件“会让潜在流动性撤出市场”。
换言之,他认为,与传统企业债券相比,当证券被降级时,结构性工具可能更容易受到投资者争相抛售的冲击。他表示:“即使评级相同,(这两种投资工具的价格)表现也有所不同。”
评级机构强调,对于这类证券,其评级的重点显然不在市场定价或交易流动性,而是关注违约的可能性。然而,一些投资者可能不理解这种区别,他们可能会对价格波动感到意外。法斯还指出,许多较新的结构性工具一直没有经历过严重且广泛的市场低迷时期,因此使得它们的表现难以预测。
近年来发生了一系列扰乱市场但没有导致其脱离正常轨道的事件,破坏了良性的借贷环境。然而,尽管美国次级抵押贷款领域的问题引发市场震荡,但就目前而言,那些稳定的环境因素似乎仍在持续。
“信贷环境即将发生变化”
不过,多数投资者和分析师认为,信贷环境即将发生变化,可能会变得非常严峻。评级机构已经因为次级抵押贷款领域的问题而备受攻击,不过,违约和降级的最终影响目前仍不得而知。
当这一潮流最终发生逆转、更多公司和结构交易被降级时,由于其显然缺乏先见之明,评级机构可能会受到更多批评。穆迪首席执行官雷蒙德•麦克丹尼尔(Ray McDaniel)表示:“我认为我们的评级越来越合理,但我们仍然受到批评。”
一些大型评级机构的管理人员已在寻找方法,以防范监管机构方面采取任何行动——特别是在欧洲。一位评级机构管理人员表示,“欧洲的官员经常在事情出错时‘管闲事'。”
目前很不明确的是,美国或欧洲官员是否有意改变目前宽松的监管,加大其对评级机构的监控。美国正在改进对评级机构的监管政策。他们以前不会采取这些措施。
监管机构是否采取行动,可能取决于结构融资市场此后发生事件的严重性。许多观察家赞同前穆迪分析师西尔万•雷恩斯(Sylvain Raynes)的看法。雷恩斯目前是咨询公司R&R Consulting的合伙人。
雷恩斯表示:“一些大事(负面的)即将发生。他们将把所有责任归因于某人。他们将看到的名字是惠誉、穆迪和标准普尔。”
May 14 政治任何成功的背后,最根本的决定因素,是各种利益和意志的较量与平衡,而不是通常认为的哪个人的个人才华。一个人如果不能洞悉并顺应各种意志冲撞后的前进方向,结果往往是越高的才华,换回越多的感伤。从陈良宇到最近海淀原区长周良洛,其实都是政治斗争的牺牲品,政界商界无不如是,不知最近雷锋塔的掉到是否也是如是呢,有些悲哀,从人类存在起就延续的规则慢慢在显现。 评级机构可被判赔偿投资者损失据最新发布的一份研究报告称,对于投资者在美国次级抵押贷款等风险资产支持的复杂证券上遭受的损失,信用评级机构可能承担责任。 如果评级机构确实须对此负责,那么评级机构历来坚持的理由——即它们的评级是受美国宪法言论自由条款保护的观点——可能会被推翻,从而极大改变信用评级业务的面貌。 总体而言,在投资者提起的法律诉讼中,评级机构的这一辩护理由颇为有效。但上周以初稿形式发布的上述研究报告认为,在规模巨大且不断增长的结构性金融产品市场上,评级机构与其所评级之交易的关系已变得过于密切。 该研究报告的作者称,评级机构已经偏离了它们以往作为意见提供者的角色,转而与投资银行家密切合作,帮助他们获得理想的评级,以求将产品出售给投资者。 报告的两位作者——投资研究公司Graham Fisher的咨询顾问约什•罗斯纳尔(Josh Rosner)和美国费城德雷塞尔大学(Drexel University)金融学副教授约瑟夫•梅森(Joseph Mason)称:“在传统评级程序中,企业很难在证券发行前改变其风险特性;但结构性金融产品领域则不同,在该领域中,评级机构在设计交易结构过程中通常扮演了颇为活跃的角色。” 全球三大评级机构——穆迪(Moody's)、惠誉(Fitch)和标准普尔(Standard & Poor's)昨日迅速对此予以否认,称它们的作用仅限于发布评级意见,投资银行可以利用它们公开发布的评级标准来设计交易结构。 目前,投资者尚未在任何诉讼中尝试以此为理由。 过去,对于投资者提起的诉讼,评级机构都以它们的观点受《美国宪法第一修正案》(First Amendment to the US Constitution)保护为由进行回应。这些诉讼包括加利福尼亚州橙县(Orange County)市政债券违约案和安然(Enron)破产后提起的诉讼等。 April 12 鸡尾点评之- 长岛冰茶 LONG ISLAND ICED TEA 材料 :
“若然道别是下一句 第一次喝它是在一个不那么寂寞的拉丁酒吧,和熟悉的一群朋友。而第一次听到长岛冰茶这个名,是杨千嬅的《可惜我是水瓶座》。 杨千嬅,大笑姑婆,一向让人觉得是大方开朗的女子,也能将这首悲情的歌演绎得这么到位. 其实很多时候,心里还是放不下,所以,夜半无人时,一杯Long Island Tea,又开始一心一意思念远方的她。 人品历史回顾之3月31号突然想起来为什么人品值在4月1号会暴跌,因为3月31号人品瞬间爆发见到了从德国回来的上帝Aptor,然后去Zapata玩居然AA了,所有人品都在那一刻耗尽 4月1日人品值走势降到历史新低周日的人品大盘震荡走弱,猛然降到谷底, 先是物是人非,室友搬走,一片狼籍,尔后莫名和某人吵了一架,罢了罢了,结果刚说要上上网,一开机笔记本硬盘又挂掉了。。。。。。不知世上是否有人品权证安慰一下我的脆弱心灵 March 31 Subprime lender ResMAE files for bankruptcyResMAE said it plans to sell most of its assets to Swiss bank Credit Suisse for $19 million as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, according to the Monday filing. ResMAE is the latest subprime lenders to descend into crisis. Mortgage Lenders Network USA had to be bailed out by Lehman Brothers earlier this year, while rival Ownit Mortgage Solutions filed for bankruptcy in late December. New Century Financial shares have lost almost half their value this year. The lender said last week that it found errors in the way it accounted for subprime mortgages. Banking giant HSBC Holdings disclosed problems in its subprime business last week too. ResMAE was started in late 2001 by Jack Mayesh, Edward Resendez and William Komperda, who had sold Long Beach Financial, another subprime lender they founded, to Washington Mutual in 1999. ResMAE grew quickly to become a top 20 subprime lender in the U.S. However, by early 2005, loan originations began to wane, knocking ResMAE's profitability. By cutting costs and lifting the interest rates it charged on loans, the company said it was able to make a small profit last year "despite the industry collapsing around it." But then Merrill Lynch, which had become the largest buyer of ResMAE's loans, asked the company to repurchase more than $300 million worth of loans. That "enormous" repurchase request, which ResMAE disputes, triggered a liquidity crisis and forced the company to put itself up for sale. The repurchase demands "crippled ResMAE's operations by requiring the company to post enormous reserves, which dramatically reduced its capital and operating liquidity," the company said in its filing. March 30 次级抵押贷款市场各方将应召开会获得次级抵押贷款的往往是那些信用纪录不佳、以正常标准无法获得抵押贷款的人。随着近年来美国住房市场的日趋火爆,次级抵押贷款变得非常受欢迎。有一个数据可以清楚地说明这一点,根据美国联邦储备委员会(Federal Reserve)提供的数据,2005年次级抵押贷款占抵押贷款市场总量的比例已从1994年的5%跃升至20%。 随着这类贷款的日渐风行,贷款发放机构大为放宽了借贷标准。根据调研公司First American Loan Performance的报告,在2001年所有的次级抵押贷款中,有25%发放给了那些只提供了很少量收入证明或根本没有提供任何收入证明的借款人。而到了2006年,这个比例就已升至45%。 今年,大约有12家次级抵押贷款发放机构已经倒闭,与此同时,这类高成本贷款的止赎率也出现了大幅飙升。 美国联邦政府银行监管机构将召集华尔街公司及其他涉足抵押贷款市场的公司开会,会议将讨论的问题是,投资者对次级抵押贷款的旺盛需求是否是导致过度放贷及引发该市场中出现某些问题的原因。 美国联邦存款保险公司(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)董事长希拉•贝尔(Sheila Bair)表示,定于4月16日召开的此次会议将评估华尔街在放松信贷准入及降低担保标准这两个问题上的影响。批评人士指出,正是这两大因素导致了某些高风险高成本住房贷款的止赎率出现直线上升。 March 26 半身不遂中周末去苏州骑马,由于是新手,虽然最后学会了推浪,压浪还可以扬鞭让马狂奔,但是3个小时的马背生涯还是让我在这周残废了,脖子肌肉,背部肌肉,臀部肌肉,小腿肌肉都酸的要死,每次坐下的时候就要忍受痛苦,真想唱吴克群的《残废》 March 20 Lehman sees more subprime woesLehman Brothers said Wednesday that turmoil in the subprime mortgage business is likely to persist but that could open up some opportunities for the firm.
"[The subprime mortgage business in the U.S.] will continue to face headwinds in the near term," Lehman CFO Chris O'Meara told analysts during a conference call. But Lehman is seeing the return of pricing power and "we expect to see various opportunities from the market dislocation," he said. The exposure investment banks have to the subprime market has come into focus as some of the nation's largest subprime mortgage lenders have fallen to the brink of bankruptcy amid a sharp rise in defaults among borrowers. Shares of Lehman (down $2.72 to $69.28, Charts) fell 4 percent in midday trading amid a broad market selloff triggered by ongoing troubles in the subprime mortgage market. Wall Street firms have their hands in all segments of the subprime market, where lenders make home loans to borrowers with weak credit. Wall Street banks not only provide financing to mortgage lenders, but also buy these loans, repackage them and sell them as securities to big investors like mutual funds and hedge funds. Analysts consider Lehman to be one of the Wall Street firms with the most exposure to these risky home loans. Lehman is "not immune" to problems in the U.S. subprime sector, which hurt its "securitizing" business during the latest quarter, but it has actively hedged its positions to lower its overall risk, O'Meara said. Revenue from the subprime mortgage business remains small, he also pointed out. Over the past six quarters, U.S. subprime mortgage origination, securitization and trading accounted for less than 3 percent of the company's revenue. Additionally, Lehman's experience in the subprime sector could help it benefit from turmoil in the market, O'Meara said. Such opportunities could range from buying portfolios of assets to helping clients rearrange their portfolios and picking up talent, he said. He also said that the subprime challenges appear to be fairly contained for now, echoing the view Goldman Sachs CFO David Viniar offered a day earlier. Goldman Sachs, which is believed to have a smaller exposure to subprime compared to other Wall Street firms, said it is keeping an eye on prices, but downplayed the idea that it plans to delve deeper into subprime. "We look at opportunities in all sectors if the price is right and if we think the point in the cycle is appropriate," a Goldman Sachs spokesman said Wednesday. "But we are not aggressively pursuing the subprime sector," he added. So far, subprime woes don't appear to be hurting the bottom line for Wall Street banks. Lehman posted record quarterly results on Wednesday. The investment brokerage said net income rose 6 percent to $1.15 billion, or $1.96 a share, for its fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 28. Revenue jumped 13 percent to $5 billion. Goldman Sachs (Charts), which kicked off earnings season for Wall Street on Tuesday, also posted record quarterly results. Bear Stearns (Charts) is next on tap with earnings due on Thursday. But economists worry problems in subprime will eventually spread to other parts of the mortgage market, creating a credit crunch that could slow the housing recovery and hurt the broader economy. Wall Street firms could take a hit from such a fallout, not just because they have exposure to subprime loans but because their overall business would be impacted by a downturn in the economy. March 19 The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt最近国产电影出了不少好片,落叶归根,三峡好人,爱情呼叫转移都很好,姨妈的后现代生活也非常好,尤其在被无数肥腻腻的“视觉大餐”败尽了胃口之后,张杨,贾樟柯,许鞍华们送上的诚恳、内捻和人文精神显得及时而珍贵。
Barclays Bank Makes Inquiry on Takeover of ABN AmroLONDON, March 19 — Barclays, one of Britain’s largest banks, has made an informal takeover approach for ABN Amro Holding, the largest bank in the Netherlands, which is under pressure from hedge funds to consider a merger or asset sales to bolster its lagging share price. A takeover of ABN by Barclays would be the largest crossborder merger ever in the European banking industry, and would create a combined company with market value of more than £80 billion, or $155 billion, with businesses in the United States and Africa, as well as Europe. Such a merger would help Barclays compete with larger rivals like HSBC Holding and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, but two people who confirmed that the inquiry had been made said that the contact between the two European banks was at a preliminary stage and that there was no certainty that Barclays would make a formal offer. The people declined to be identified, citing confidentiality agreements. Among other banks that analysts have said might be interested in all or parts of ABN are the Royal Bank of Scotland, ING Group of the Netherlands and Banco Santander, Spain’s largest bank. Barclays stated an interest in playing a role in any takeover battle involving ABN, one of the people said. ABN Amro, based in Amsterdam, came under pressure from shareholders earlier this year for failing to revive its share price, which has lagged behind those of other banks for years. Shares in ABN, which has its roots in a trading company set up by King Willem I in 1824, have barely budged since Rijkman W. J. Groenink took over as chief executive in May 2000. Analysts have said that the bank’s strategy is lacking focus and that at least three unsuccessful efforts to take over European rivals over the last eight years have weighed heavily on investors’ trust in Mr. Groenink. The Children’s Investment Fund and Tosca, two hedge funds that hold shares in ABN, called on Mr. Groenink last month to explore the options to sell, merge or spin off some of the bank’s assets, which they claimed were not meeting their full potential. Both hold stakes of about 1 percent in ABN. The Children’s Investment Fund is known for exerting pressure on management at companies it has invested in. In 2005, the fund successfully pushed for the ouster of two top executives at Deutsche Börse, the company that runs the Frankfurt stock exchange. Neil Moorhouse, a spokesman at ABN, declined to comment on an approach, as did a spokesman at Barclays. ABN, which owns LaSalle Bank in Chicago, has been considered a takeover target by rivals for years. ABN shares gained in September on speculation that Bank of America might be interested in acquiring it. About two years ago, it also sounded out the possibility of a combination with Barclays, based in London, but nothing came of it. Previously, potential bidders balked at hurdles, including ABN’s struggling wholesale division and disagreements on where a combined bank would be based, bankers said earlier. Mr. Groenink made it clear in the past that he was unwilling to give up Amsterdam as headquarters of any merged lender. Yet, in an interview with Bloomberg News in July, he said that he would not have a serious argument to reject a takeover approach with a “very good story” and an offer worth 40 percent above the share price. Any potential bidder for ABN may be attracted by the business in the United States, which is generating the largest slice of profit, and operations in fast-growing emerging markets like Brazil. ABN has a 56 percent stake in the South African bank Absa and also owns banks in Spain, Portugal and the Middle East. ABN bought Banca Antonveneta, an Italian bank, last year but has had trouble keeping a cap on expenses from the acquisition. For Barclays, an acquisition of a bank the size of ABN Amro would place it among the leaders in the global banking industry. It would help John Varley, chief executive, to meet his goal of more than doubling the share of earnings outside the bank’s British home market, where lenders have been hit by increasing loan losses. Barclays invested heavily over the last years in its investment banking unit, hiring bankers and adding products. The investments paid off last year when earnings from the securities business helped the bank to more than offset losses from bad loans. Mr. Varley has repeatedly said that he wanted to expand Barclays organically in markets like China but has not ruled out acquisitions. He hired Frits Seegers from Citigroup last year to help lead an expansion of the bank’s retail and commercial banking units. March 06 MotivationTop Wall Street & Bank Traders Michael Hutchins ~~~~~~~~~~~~~this guy is my boss's boss's boss's boss City: New York As UBS’s global head of fixed income, rates and currencies, Hutchins is one manager who still actively trades. The expectation that he will soon retire from the bank has sparked mass speculation among Street watchers over who his replacement might be. Publicly, however, Hutchins does not appear inclined to depart. Last October, he joined the Bond Market Association’s board of directors. City: London The head of Goldman’s exotics-derivatives desk in London, Ben-Brahim made partner and was named successor to Christian Siva-Jothy and Geoff Grant, the former co-heads of Goldman’s global foreign-exchange prop-trading desk who left for hedge-fund land last year. Ben-Brahim did not take home a 2004 bonus in the same stratosphere as his 2003 check (which was rumored as high as $70 million), but he can still ably afford London rent. City: New York Running the UBS prop-trading desk (known internally as PFG) as well as the firm’s credit arbitrage group, Karl fared well last year, winning a bonus package that might have made even a hedge-fund manager envious. City: London Dubbed “Keyser Soze” by some rivals after the mysterious kingpin from The Usual Suspects, Wood, yet another big-earning UBS trader near the top of the Wall Street heap, is known for being secretive. He has also earned a reputation as one of the most aggressive and successful traders today. With just a few others alongside him, Wood runs what is viewed as one of the City’s most powerful equity-prop desks. He was recently lured out of seclusion as a result of his involvement in a legal spat concerning the Gadget Shop in the United Kingdom. Keyser Söze apparently has a sense of humor; British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G) provided the entertainment at his fortieth birthday party. City: London Goldman insiders say Bertuzzi, another energy warrior, was on fire in 2004. “He made well over $100 million in profit for the bank,” one source tells us. While oil was so hot last year that many could turn a profit just by getting up in the morning, to rank among the most profitable in Goldman’s elite crew takes an edge. City: New York Considered among the best debt traders on the buy side, Cignarella, a graduate of the University of Chicago Business School, is one of the brightest lights at GSAM, the asset-management arm of Wall Street’s most prestigious firm. City: New York As Goldman’s head of crude-oil trading, Frase had the catbird seat for the one of the biggest oil-price run-ups ever witnessed — and it appears he made good use of it. Colleagues report that his raw trading talent is as good as anyone’s. City: London A top Forex-market prop trader at Goldman, Grant took his bonus check and traded London drizzle for California sunshine, moving to Santa Barbara, California, to launch a hedge fund with fellow Goldman alum Ron Beller. The global macro fund, Peloton Partners, will be based in London, but Grant will operate from his little piece of paradise. City: New York Some rival traders have dubbed him the “King of New York Harbor” for his savvy rental of waterfront real estate — he controls a large chunk of oil-storage space, which gave the firm an edge in last year’s raging oil market. Refvik, a Norwegian, is also known to sail around the harbor in his yacht, Song of Norway. His February bonus check should allow for a significant naval upgrade. City: New York Part of the crack energy team that was practically printing money for Morgan Stanley in 2004, Shear was rewarded for his success. In March, he was appointed head of fixed income, replacing Zoe Cruz. If the energy markets weren’t excitement enough for Shear last year, his appointment lands him neatly in the midst of a major power struggle between the backers and the enemies of CEO Phil Purcell. City: New York Considered one of the best young traders on Wall Street, as well as a likely candidate to be among the next crop of Goldman pros bolting for a hedge fund, Varadhan heads up North American interest-rate products, reporting to Philippe Khuong-Huu. The numbers gene runs in the family: Varadhan’s father, Srinivasa, is an eminent mathematics professor at New York University. City: New York A cool cat, DiMaio has gone through a few lives in his career on Wall Street. The acclaimed bond trader first made headlines when he threatened to take his credit team to rival Barclays Capital, and later did an about-face after extracting a breathtaking compensation deal from CSFB. Former CSFB CEO John Mack, chagrined by the episode, later shunted DiMaio and his team over to the asset-management wing, CSAM. Now, with more than $1 billion of CSFB’s money under management, DiMaio is starting his own credit hedge fund, DA Capital. City: New York Another of the hot energy traders who made Morgan Stanley’s commodities department one of the top performers on Wall Street last year, Greenshields, a natural-gas and electricity trader, was handsomely rewarded for his performance. City: London After a successful run heading a prop-trading desk in London for J.P. Morgan, Huo moved last year to a prop-trading position for UFJ International in the City, where he continued to excel. City: New York Bear Stearns had a phenomenal year in mortgage-backed securities, and few did better than Nierenberg, the firm’s co-head of MBS trading. In 2004, Bear dominated the global MBS market, with $93 billion in issuance for a 10 percent market share, some $6 billion more than its closest rival. Nierenberg is reportedly so superstitious that he refuses to write in red ink; we suspect he used quite a bit of black throughout 2004. City: New York The head of Morgan Stanley’s commodities-trading team, Street veteran Shapiro is known for trading in the physicals as well as energy derivatives. Morgan sources say Shapiro didn’t do too badly for his own book. City: New York Appointed head of strategic risk trading for Merrill Lynch’s global debt markets in January, Wittlin made his 2004 score heading the firm’s global-rates group. While the titles sound official and stuffy, Wittlin is in fact “one of the biggest prop traders there,” one insider says. City: New York The A in Jack DiMaio’s new DA Capital, Ahmad, part of the group that jumped over to CSAM with DiMaio, has been running an internal credit hedge fund for CSFB. An accomplished fixed-income trader, he will now help run the more than $1 billion in DA Capital’s pot. City: Singapore The head of emerging-markets FX trading, Chan (whose full name is Charlie Chan Wai Kheong) paced the bank-trading scene in Asia in 2004. His trading book for CSFB created buzz; might a move to a hedge fund be in the works? City: New York French banks have a reputation for not paying as well as their American counterparts, but industry sources say BNP Paribas was hardly stingy when it came to Dusart’s bonus. The director of high-yield prop trading is said to be well worth all those euros.
City: New York Another in a long line of brilliant minds to serve Goldman masters, Khuong-Huu was brought in four years ago from J.P. Morgan, where he launched the firm’s options-arbitrage group. A world traveler, Khuong-Huu worked in Paris at Société Générale in the late ’80s, trading in the bank’s index-arbitrage business. He later moved to J.P. Morgan in Tokyo. City: New York Among the top traders at J.P. Morgan, Long last year ran high-yield and credit-derivatives trading; she was recently promoted to be deputy to Eric Rosen, the head of credit trading. Extremely bright and a trader’s trader — she can hold her own on the desk and on the town — she’s also the only female on the Trader Monthly 100. City: London Misra, head of global credit trading, has helped turn Deutsche into a credit-derivates powerhouse. His inspiration was to better integrate the unit into the bank, leading to greater innovation and more money. City: London Head of prop trading at J.P. Morgan, Nahas was lured away from CSFB along with Cyril Levy-Marchal last March. He reported to head prop honcho Yan Huo (see page 81), but when Huo left, Nahas took over. City: New York Naro surprised many when he left UBS this spring to launch a new hedge fund with SAC Capital veteran Mark Fishman. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the fund is called Sailfish Capital. City: New York While the Olympic swimming stud who shares his name took home more gold in 2004, the Phelps who works at J.P. Morgan took home more green: He’s among the top prop traders at the bank. City: New York In the past 18 months, Rosen has risen, going from head of loan trading to co-head of credit trading and then to sole head of credit trading. Many speculate he’ll climb further still. City: New York Named co-head of the newly created global credit group at UBS along with Sal Naro late last year, Ryan is the man left standing at the helm after Naro bolted to start his own hedge fund. UBS insiders say Ryan does not possess quite the trading chops of Naro, but he certainly did all right for himself in 2004. City: New York As head of credit prop-trading at J.P. Morgan, Sabath had a scorching year in 2004. This spring, he left to team up with Satellite Asset Management’s David Ford to launch a broad-based credit hedge fund. Before coming onboard at J.P. Morgan’s prop group, Sabath headed up distressed debt at Golman Sachs. City: New York It has been an interesting 18 months or so for Sherry, who was promoted in November, along with Eric Rosen, to run J.P. Morgan’s credit-trading business. Sherry did not stay especially long in his new seat, however. This past March, he bolted the firm to join Bruce Kovner’s Caxton Associates, where he’s starting a new fixed-income hedge fund. City: New York One of the most popular traders on Wall Street, Weinstein is also among the most talented. As head of global credit trading-U.S., overseeing approximately 100 traders, he still spends a good deal of time trading for the firm’s internal hedge funds and prop-trading book. A star chess player, Weinstein was also once something of a card counter. |
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