Michael Lewis’s ‘Big Short’ – Investors Foresaw Meltdown – Review – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in March 14th, 2010 | 1 comment

Published in Financial, American Housing, American Taxpayers, Billions Of Dollars, Crazy Man, Creditworthiness, Derivatives, Economists, Financial Executives, Fortune, Global Financial Crisis, Housing Bubble, Insanity, Losses, Mathematical Models, Michael Lewis, Money Machine, Recession, Trillion, Wall Street, Wall Street Firms

The global financial crisis of 2008, which economists estimate could result in several trillion dollars of losses and which has already cost American taxpayers billions of dollars in government bailouts, was triggered not by war or recession but by a crazy, man-made money machine, built on flawed mathematical models that most financial executives did not [...]

RISK Mismanagement – What Led to the Financial Meltdown – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in February 28th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Financial, Billions Of Dollars, Closer Look, Cracks, Disaster, Discrepancies, Financial Meltdown, Goldman Sachs, Led, Mismanagement, Mortgage Backed Securities, Nytimes, Risk Models, RiskManagement, Wall Street, Wall Street Firm, Warrant

Goldman Sachs’ VaR models and risk models started to show little cracks or discrepancies. They were small, but they shouldn’t have been there. Rather than ignore these discrepancies, Goldman Sachs tried to understand what was going on. When it couldn’t figure out what was going on they bailed out of mortgage-backed securities.
How then do we [...]

Alpine Jihad: Libya’s Gadhafi Declares Holy War Against Switzerland – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

Posted by Matt in February 26th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Islam, Aline Skaf, Alpine, Billions Of Dollars, Diplomats, Gadhafi, Governments, Hannibal, Holy War, Jihad, Libya, Luxury Hotel, News International, Odds, Oil Supplies, Servants, Spiegel, Spiegel Online, Swiss Banks, Swiss Police, Switzerland News

The Swiss and Libyan governments have been at odds since 2008, when Swiss police arrested Ghadafi’s son Hannibal and Hannibal’s wife, the model Aline Skaf. The couple was charged with abusing servants in a luxury hotel. They were quickly released on bail, and officials soon dropped charges, but Libya responded by withdrawing billions of dollars [...]

Think Again: Why China’s Military Is Not Yet a Threat – By Drew Thompson | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in February 23rd, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Armed Forces, Billions Of Dollars, China Military, China S Military, China Threat, Decades, Foreign Policy, Military Spending, Missile Forces, Nuclear Force, Nuclear Missile, South China Sea, Thompson, Underground Bunker, Willingness

I do not agree that China is “not a threat.” In fact, China is a threat because of its underground bunker system, nuclear missile forces and willingness to use nuclear force. Also, China’s increasing ability to interrupt American naval forces in the South China Sea is a problem.
“China’s Military Is a Growing Threat.”
Not yet. After [...]

China Finally Realizes How Badly It Bungled Tibet – Newsweek.com

Posted by Matt in January 28th, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, beijing, Billions Of Dollars, China, Loyalty, Newsweek, Tibet

China has failed, despite billions of dollars in aid, to win over Tibetan loyalty. And now Beijing is finally realizing just how badly it mishandled things.
China Finally Realizes How Badly It Bungled Tibet – Newsweek.com

‘Greatest Trade Ever’ – Economy’s Loss, John Paulson’s Gain – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in December 5th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Economy, Amp Company, Billions Of Dollars, Broadway Books, Economy, Financial Crisis, Goldmine, Hedge Fund, Housing Bubble, Investors, John Paulson, Journal Reporter, Nytimes, Small Group, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal, Zuckerman

THERE has been no shortage of books about Wall Street leaders who made billions of dollars disappear in the financial crisis. But as the Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman writes in “The Greatest Trade Ever,” (Broadway Books, 295 pages) the financial crisis was a goldmine for a small group of investors. One of them, [...]

President Bachelet of Chile Rides High as Term Ends – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in October 28th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Americas, Ambitious Program, American President, Bachelet, Billions Of Dollars, Brazil, Chile, Chile Government, Commodity Boom, Copper Sales, Economy, Financial Crisis, Global Financial Crisis, Handful, Latin American Leaders, Lula Da Silva, Money, Nytimes, Pension Reform, Pollsters, Popularity, Recession, Stunning Turnaround

Analysts and pollsters attribute her stunning turnaround to her handling of the economy during the global financial crisis and to her decision to save billions of dollars in revenues from copper sales during the last commodity boom. That aggressive saving gave the country money to spend on pension reform and Ms. Bachelet’s ambitious program of [...]

The Past Is Not Quite Past

Posted by Matt in September 29th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Geopolitical, History, Arabs, Billions Of Dollars, Bush, Dictatorship, Global Prices, Iran, Israel, KGB, Lucrative Trade, New Oil, Nuclear Power, Oil Profits, Oil States, Proper Question, Risk, Russia, Thug, Western Europeans

In other words, Iran is a win/win/win deal for a Russian dictatorship, always was and probably will be. We wonder why is Putin causing trouble, or why did Bush offend him? The only proper question is why not cause trouble without much risk if you’re an ex-KGB thug?
Trouble means lucrative trade, with rogue oil states [...]

The Iranian leadership is restraining Hizbullah | Iran news | Jerusalem Post

Posted by Matt in September 18th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Israel, Base Of Operations, Billions Of Dollars, Fight To The Death, Forward Base, Hamas, hezbollah, Hizbullah, Iran News, Jerusalem Post, Lebanese Shi, Litani River, Missile Defense System, Neighbors, Northern Border, Nuclear Facilities, Nuclear War, Reservists, rockets, S 300, Weaponry

The Iranian leadership is restraining Hezbollah until the day Israel attacks Iran.
Should Israel attack Iran then Iran will retaliate using Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas. This will be a fight to the death leading to nuclear war between Israel and its neighbors.
If Israel is going to attack Iran, then it must happen within the next couple [...]

China military threat to Taiwan rises despite détente | Reuters

Posted by Matt in August 31st, 2009 | no comment

Published in China, Aircraft Carrier, beijing, Billions Of Dollars, China And Taiwan, China Military Threat, China Taiwan, China Threat, Fighter Jets, Military Analysts, Military Power, Missiles, Reuters, Russia, Taiwan, Ties

The balance of military power between China and Taiwan is shifting towards Beijing, leaving the island few options without U.S. aid in the event of attack, a threat that has not eased despite warming ties.
China has invested billions of dollars in its military, buying from Russia, developing itself advanced fighter jets and missiles, and slimming [...]