These are my links for January 7th through January 8th:

• As Goldman Thrives, Some Say an Ethos Has Faded – NYTimes.com – Even so, many Goldman employees are stunned by the public resentment directed at the bank in general and Mr. Blankfein in particular, who, after first steadfastly defending Goldman’s profits and pay, recently offered a vague apology for “mistakes” that led to the financial crisis. – LET THEM EAT CAKE!
• Countdown to January 18: Goldman’s Bonus Day « The Baseline Scenario – Goldman’s management should come to its senses and pay no bonuses of any kind to anyone; no good people would leave. Fortunately, while the executives who run Goldman are smart, they are not that smart. The bonuses they announce on January 18 and pay in early February will become the rallying point for real reform.
• Contrarian Investor Predicts Economic Crash in China – NYTimes.com – He even suspects that Beijing is cooking its books, faking, among other things, its eye-popping growth rates of more than 8 percent. – OF COURSE THEY ARE. CHINA WANTS TO MAINTAIN THE HARMONIOUS SOCIETY.
• Fed Advice to A.I.G. Scrutinized – NYTimes.com – The e-mail messages dealt with one of the most controversial aspects of A.I.G.’s bailout: that the Fed was paying the insurer’s trading partners 100 cents on the dollar for their soured investments. A.I.G. cited this fact, but the lawyer crossed the reference out. The Fed also struck a paragraph about other investments that could not be unwound. – GOLDMAN SACHS AND SOCIETE GENERAL. SCUMBAGS TO THE BONE>
• In New York Commercial Real Estate, News Is Bad (or Worse) – NYTimes.com – “We’re projecting the biggest value losses in the nation,” said Aaron Jodka, a senior real estate economist at Property and Portfolio Research, a Boston-based independent real estate research and advisory firm. He predicts that by 2011, the value of New York metropolitan area office buildings will decline by 58 percent from its late 2007 peak. It is already down 40 percent. – CONFIRMED BY THE MARKETDOCTOR OVER BEERS LAST NIGHT.
• Contrarian Investor Predicts Economic Crash in China – NYTimes.com – He even suspects that Beijing is cooking its books, faking, among other things, its eye-popping growth rates of more than 8 percent. – OF COURSE THEY ARE. CHINA WANTS TO MAINTAIN THE HARMONIOUS SOCIETY.
• Fed Advice to A.I.G. Scrutinized – NYTimes.com – The e-mail messages dealt with one of the most controversial aspects of A.I.G.’s bailout: that the Fed was paying the insurer’s trading partners 100 cents on the dollar for their soured investments. A.I.G. cited this fact, but the lawyer crossed the reference out. The Fed also struck a paragraph about other investments that could not be unwound. – GOLDMAN SACHS AND SOCIETE GENERAL. SCUMBAGS TO THE BONE>
• In New York Commercial Real Estate, News Is Bad (or Worse) – NYTimes.com – “We’re projecting the biggest value losses in the nation,” said Aaron Jodka, a senior real estate economist at Property and Portfolio Research, a Boston-based independent real estate research and advisory firm. He predicts that by 2011, the value of New York metropolitan area office buildings will decline by 58 percent from its late 2007 peak. It is already down 40 percent. – CONFIRMED BY THE MARKETDOCTOR OVER BEERS LAST NIGHT.
• Maybe You’re the Reason Your Job Is Boring – Wake yourself up by renewing your leadership agenda. Re-engage by mentally firing yourself and spending the next few weeks acting as if you just joined the company. This entails assessing the current situation anew with the help of key stakeholders. Make it a disciplined process. – LOL. YES AND CORPORATE LOYALTY IS STILL IN EFFECT. SUCKERS. CEO'S LIVE IN A WORLD DIVORCED FROM REALITY.
• SFO Magazine Article – Lately, when a stock makes an important new high, it will inch even higher until a seller finally refuses to lift for higher ground. Immediately, the sell-the-new-high program will sell much lower than you bought. The longs are trapped and squeezed out of their positions. – I'VE NOTICED THIS ON MY POSITION IN V. MUST ADAPT TO HFT AND ADJUST RISK.
• HFT Market Making Will Lead to a Crash – Computerized algorithmic market making works in any type of oscillating market, as the computer can keep flipping out of it’s longs, and covering it’s shorts. It works in a trending market, as long as there is some type of choppy trade. The problem lies, when the computer system can’t flip out of the position. Most algorithmic systems are programmed with some type of risk parameter. If this risk parameter is breached, the computer will dump it’s position and cut it’s losses. This is what may have happened in RMBS today. An algorithmic system making markets on the long side, got too long, and was unable to wiggle out of the position because of the follow-through in selling pressure. Once it was down so much in the position (the risk parameter was breached), it dumped. This simply added fuel to the fire. That is why the sudden plunge to $16 happened. – OK FINE, ITS DANGEROUS BUT HOW DO I MAKE MONEY FROM IT?
• NJ Airport Video Shows Guard Leaving Post – NYTimes.com – The video shows the guard leaving his podium for several seconds. The woman then comes from inside a secure, passengers-only area and motions to the man, who ducks under a rope. The couple embraces and walks arm-in-arm past the vacant podium. – DUMBASSES
• Jamie Gritton’s MI Backtester – This is a tool for backtesting stock screens, as defined and used by the Mechanical Investing (MI) message board at The Motley Fool. While it's quite handy (if I do say so myself), it is by no means an introduction to (or even a description of) mechanical investing. – VERY INTERESTING SITE, MUST SPEND SOME TIME HERE DIGGING ABOUT!
• Chinese Decision on Rates Seen as ‘Turning Point’ – NYTimes.com – “It is a turning point,” said Ben Simpfendorfer, an economist in the Hong Kong offices of Royal Bank of Scotland. “There is a convergence of events that will lead to higher rates.” – MAYBE
• The Way We Live Now – Walk Away From Your Mortgage! – NYTimes.com – Time was, Americans would do anything to pay their mortgage — forgo a new car or a vacation, even put a younger family member to work. But the housing collapse left 10.7 million families owing more than their homes are worth. So some of them are making a calculated decision to hang onto their money and let their homes go. Is this irresponsible? – NO, ITS SMART BUSINESS SAVVY. ITS PLAYING BY THE RULES THAT PLAY BY.
• Chinese Decision on Rates Seen as ‘Turning Point’ – NYTimes.com – “It is a turning point,” said Ben Simpfendorfer, an economist in the Hong Kong offices of Royal Bank of Scotland. “There is a convergence of events that will lead to higher rates.” – MAYBE
• The Way We Live Now – Walk Away From Your Mortgage! – NYTimes.com – Time was, Americans would do anything to pay their mortgage — forgo a new car or a vacation, even put a younger family member to work. But the housing collapse left 10.7 million families owing more than their homes are worth. So some of them are making a calculated decision to hang onto their money and let their homes go. Is this irresponsible? – NO, ITS SMART BUSINESS SAVVY. ITS PLAYING BY THE RULES THAT PLAY BY.
• Retail Stores Report Modest Gains in December – NYTimes.com – Retailing groups calculated in recent days that sales for the combined months of November and December rose 1 to 2 percent from a year ago. Industry professionals were pleased Thursday that the results were at the high end of estimates and that retailers were not forced to discount as dramatically as they did in 2008. – LAUGH, 1% ABOVE SHIT SALES IS STILL SHITTY SALES