Andrew Lahde Farewell Letter October 18, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis, random.Tags: Andrew Lahde, Goodbye, Hedgefund, Lahde Capital, letter, subprime
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“The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.”
- Andrew Lahde, Lahde Capital Management
In a shrewd letter to the public (obtained from Portfolio Magazine) Andrew Lahde lashed out at all the ‘educated’ ‘workaholics’ in the world who want to create a legacy for themselves for future generations to remember them by stating “Whats the point?” In this simple context its clear that Lahde has beaten the so-called ‘greatest’ by predicting, implementing, and exiting at the greatest of times. (more…)
Citibank ending operations in Kuwait? October 15, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: banking, Bankruptcy, Banks, Citi, Citibank, economy, global, Rumor, Sub-prime, subprime, Systemic Risk, US
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Black October? October 6, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: Bailout, Black Monday, economy, Great Depression, Junk Bond Market Collapse, subprime, UAL Corporation
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A list of some of the financial disasters which occurred in October…
“The Great Depression” (1929)
- “Black Thursday” - October 24, 1929
- “Black Monday” – October 28, 1929
- “Black Tuesday” - October 29, 1929 (12.8% decline)
The collapse continued into the next month ultimately losing 90% of its value. Prices did not regain until the mid 1950’s. (more…)
Gold: Going, going… gone September 22, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: analysis, Chart, Commodity, Gold, Gold Bullion, Outlook, Rise, subprime, XAU
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The past week was not only exciting for the stock markets it was a new adventure for Gold. Historically, investors flock to Gold in times of financial crisis’ or geopolitical instability since the metal has intrinsic value. Since the beginning of the month Gold has been extremely volatile trading in a wide range from $828 to $888. On September 17th, Gold experienced a massive increase spurred by the following events: (more…)
The $1 trillion Rescue Plan September 21, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: Bailout, Capitalism, Governments Actions, subprime, The $1 trillion Rescue Plan, The Bush Plan
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“I will tell our citizens and continue to remind them that the risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package… And that over time, we’re going to get a lot of the money back… But right now, the government needed to send a clear signal that we understood the instability can ripple throughout and affect the working people and the average family and we weren’t going to let that happen…
This is a big package because it was a big problem.”
- George W. Bush, US President
LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY
TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS
Section 1. Short Title.
This Act may be cited as ____________________.
Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Authority to Purchase.–The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.
(b) Necessary Actions.–The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;
(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;
(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and
(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.
Sec. 3. Considerations. (more…)
Lehman Brothers Fate September 14, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in rumors, sovereign funds.Tags: American International Group, banking, Citigroup, Collapse, economy, FED, John A. Thain, John Mack, Lehman Bros, Lehman Brothers, Long-term Capital Management, LTCM, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, NYC, subprime, US, Vikram S. Pandit, Washington Mutual
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Just like a scene from a movie top banking executives meet at the New York Fed to discuss Lehman Brothers fate. Exactly 10 years ago the same meeting occured to discuss Long Term Capital Managment (LTCM) a hedgefund which collapsed in 1998 and sent the market tumbling.
“I’m hoping that some big firm will want them more than the Fed wants them… The government right now, the Treasury and the Fed among others, they’re trying to work the deal with no government money, as they should.”
- Senator Richard Shelby, Senate Banking Committee
The current roster consists of the following attendees:
- Citigroup Vikram S. Pandit
- Merrill Lynch John A. Thain
- American International Group
- Washington Mutual
- Morgan Stanley John Mack
- Goldman Sachs Lloyd C. Blankfein
- JPMorgan Chase James Dimon
- Credit Suisse Brady Dougan
- Bank of New York Mellon Robert Kelly
- UBS Robert Wolf
- Barclays Bert E. Diamond
Including Henry M. Paulson, Treasury Secretary, & Timothy Geithner, New York Fed president.
George W. Bush on the economy July 24, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: economy, George Bush, Housing, President, random, subprime, Texas, US
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Henry “Hank” Paulson and Ben Bernanke have been in the news all week trying to explain the current situation in the United States. The words chosen during interviews and conferences are extremely important especially during a recession since people are anxiously awaiting your next move.
Apparently George W. Bush thought he could explain the economy in a much simpler way so that the average joe could understand the situation,
“There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk, it got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is, how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?”
- George W Bush speaking at a private event in Houston
I really hoped he would have stopped there, but no. He decides to explain the Texan housing market and continues by saying,
“We’ve got a housing issue not in Houston, evidently not in Dallas, because Laura’s over there trying to buy a house today.”
Bush’s comments were recorded on video by a cellphone and posted on YouTube. I will be sharing the link shortly.
Subprime mess reaches Europe and hits UBS April 1, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: Bankruptcy, Dollar, economy, Effects on, Europe, First Quarter, Franc, Loss, Marcel Ospel, Real Estate, Sub-prime, subprime, Swiss, UBS, Union Bank of Switzerland, Writedown
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The subprime mess has made its way into the European markets in a direct hit at the worlds largest wealth manager Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS). In a statement released minutes ago the bank stated a first quarter loss of $12.03 bl.
“I have always stated that I ultimately take responsibility for the bank’s situation… we have been able to address the firm’s most pressing problems.”
- Marcel Ospel, Chairman (would be succeeded by Peter Kurer)
UBS wrote down an additional $19 bl in US real estate and related assets this morning, causing a net loss of Swiss Francs (CHF) 12 bl (or $12.03 bl). The bank also announced it is seeking another CHF 15 bl in new capital through a rights issue. The bank is still reeling from a series of billions in bad investments last year resulting in $18.4 bl in writedowns. The issue of bankruptcy is not on the table as one of the worlds largest banks will surely be supported by its strong government.
Hedge fund returns 1000% in 2007 March 23, 2008
Posted by mylastresort in analysis.Tags: analysis, Andrew Lahde, Capital, Commercial, Credit, Ethic, Exceptional, Fund, Gain, Hedge, Hedgefund, investment, Lahde Capital, Loss, losses, Manager, Millionaire, Money, Moral, Mortgage, New Millionaires, New Money, Performance, Ranking, Real Estate, recession, Residential, Return, Slowdown, subprime
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One of the most successful hedge funds of all time earned over 1000% in one year betting against the subprime market. Andrew Lahde’s Lahde Capital, is a small California-based hedge fund which made a massive bet against the subprime market late in 2006. This bet has proved to be successful and has returned a whopping 10x for its investors.
“Our entire banking system is a complete disaster. in my opinion, nearly every major bank would be insolvent if they marked their assets to market”
- excerpt from Andrew Lahde’s letter to shareholders
Lahde’s strategy was to (more…)
