It's the economy, stupid:
Another house of cards comes tumbling down. Jenny Anderson reports on the collapse of a hedge fund managed by Mark S. Fishman who oversaw $2 billion of investments in today's New York Times:
In the meantime, the Times reports that the credit crisis is spreading beyond the subprime mortgage problem, as "home prices fall and banks tighten lending standards, people with good, or prime, credit histories are falling behind on their payments for home loans, auto loans and credit cards."
On the Microsoft/Yahoo scene, Microsoft's stock dropped $2.00 per share after Yahoo rejected Microsoft's buyout bid, causing the actual bid to be worth substantially less as the bid included an exchange of shares as part of the deal. At this point, it is unclear how either company plans to proceed in its battle with Google. Yahoo is expected to layoff 1,000 employees soon. (Read the Times article here.)
A Pause for Irony:
Across much of the northeast, America is under a falling blanket of snow, but in a few days pitchers and catchers will be disembarking at their designated spring training camps, aspiring to the delicious notion of ending their working year in October with a victory in a World Series.
One hundred years ago, the Chicago Cubs dominated baseball, winning the World Series. But they haven't won a Series since. The last time the Cubs even played in a World Series was 1945, the year World War II ended.
The team, it should be obvious to suggest, is on a quest. In a search for symmetry, its general manager (Arthur?) has sought his Lancelot in Japan. Now think about it—this team hasn't been to a World Series since America ended its war with Japan, so now it turns to Japan in order to seek a perfect solution in its quest for the holy grail of sportsdom.
If you think I'm making too much out of this, just wait until there is a series in Wriggly Field. That series will break all the records for TV viewer-ship, and if the Cubs happen to win it, the mood of the country will be more upbeat than any time since the teams' last appearance in a World Series.
The World Series, by the way, takes place only days before the election. If such a victory were to take place and Obama is the Democratic nominee, he will win the election by an astounding margin. If, however, there is a terrorist attack on Wriggly and if it is in any way successful, John McCain will have a good shot at upsetting whoever is the Democratic candidate.
By the way, if Kosuke Fukudome is Lancelot, I'm betting the Cubs rookie catcher, Soto, is Galahad.
Another house of cards comes tumbling down. Jenny Anderson reports on the collapse of a hedge fund managed by Mark S. Fishman who oversaw $2 billion of investments in today's New York Times:
“This will be the year with the highest number of hedge fund failures given the huge number of new and untested hedge funds,” said Bradley H. Alford, founder of the Atlanta-based Alpha Capital Management, an investment advisory business.…Big-name funds are suffering. David Slager and Timothy R. Barakett, who run the Atticus European Fund, lost more than 13 percent, and Lee Ainslie, who heads Maverick Capital, lost 9 percent through Jan. 25, according to SYZ & Company, which tallies hedge fund returns. (Compare that with 2007 performance when the funds returned 27.7 percent and 26.9 percent, respectively.)— (qtd. Anderson)
In the meantime, the Times reports that the credit crisis is spreading beyond the subprime mortgage problem, as "home prices fall and banks tighten lending standards, people with good, or prime, credit histories are falling behind on their payments for home loans, auto loans and credit cards."
On the Microsoft/Yahoo scene, Microsoft's stock dropped $2.00 per share after Yahoo rejected Microsoft's buyout bid, causing the actual bid to be worth substantially less as the bid included an exchange of shares as part of the deal. At this point, it is unclear how either company plans to proceed in its battle with Google. Yahoo is expected to layoff 1,000 employees soon. (Read the Times article here.)
A Pause for Irony:
Across much of the northeast, America is under a falling blanket of snow, but in a few days pitchers and catchers will be disembarking at their designated spring training camps, aspiring to the delicious notion of ending their working year in October with a victory in a World Series.
One hundred years ago, the Chicago Cubs dominated baseball, winning the World Series. But they haven't won a Series since. The last time the Cubs even played in a World Series was 1945, the year World War II ended.
The team, it should be obvious to suggest, is on a quest. In a search for symmetry, its general manager (Arthur?) has sought his Lancelot in Japan. Now think about it—this team hasn't been to a World Series since America ended its war with Japan, so now it turns to Japan in order to seek a perfect solution in its quest for the holy grail of sportsdom.
If you think I'm making too much out of this, just wait until there is a series in Wriggly Field. That series will break all the records for TV viewer-ship, and if the Cubs happen to win it, the mood of the country will be more upbeat than any time since the teams' last appearance in a World Series.
The World Series, by the way, takes place only days before the election. If such a victory were to take place and Obama is the Democratic nominee, he will win the election by an astounding margin. If, however, there is a terrorist attack on Wriggly and if it is in any way successful, John McCain will have a good shot at upsetting whoever is the Democratic candidate.
By the way, if Kosuke Fukudome is Lancelot, I'm betting the Cubs rookie catcher, Soto, is Galahad.
Labels: The Economy
posted by Jim | 12:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home