Hope all goes well… “I see him, right there, look!” shrieked Teddy. Charlie and I pressed our faces to the window, searching for the sleigh. “Santa gives magic flying dust to his reindeer you know,” continued Teddy, proud of his insights. “Damn, that’s what I should’ve asked for,” sighed Charlie. I smiled, savoring the moment. “Santa doesn’t give magic dust to kids, we’d crash into airplanes,” explained Teddy, certai

Hope all goes well… “Three days ago would’ve said we’d start 2015 long stocks,” said the CIO, capping another year of strong outperformance with a December nosedive. “But after this 5% three-day rally, I don’t know anymore.” He’d gotten short in late Nov; a few days too early. “I covered after the employment report, at the highs.” Then watched stocks sink straight to Dec 16th. And having missed the deep dip, he’d beg

“I see some of my younger self in you,” I told Sam, hours before dawn, alone on our trading floor. “That’s what I want,” he replied, in earnest. It’s his first year-end. We’d bumped him up, he’s earned it. “Ian, Chase and Ryan said I work too hard, that I need some adventure,” he admitted, retelling his compensation conversation. You see, I avoid giving those if I can, because I hated receiving them; a year of my lif

“We’ll respond proportionately in a space, time and manner that we choose,” warned Obama, racing through his armory, searching for a weapon capable of kidnapping North Korea’s chubby kid and placing him in Angelina Jolie’s foster care. But of course, Obama’s cache is running low. Everyone’s is. Putin’s reserves continued their inexorable decline, oil extended its slide, the Ruble plunged. So Vladimir pulled out the w

“Even in the worst of times, we’re always Americans,” said John McCain, rubbing his war wounds. “We’re different, stronger, and better than those who would destroy us,” continued the Senator, rising above pathetic partisan politics, reliving his torturous pain. And he’s both right and wrong. Because we’re no different, no stronger, no better. We’re human; all the same. With one exception. You see, our painfully coura

“My wife’s girlfriends drove me absolutely crazy,” he admitted. “Dinner parties were the worst; they’d sip away, bragging about their favorite companies, their 60% gains.” They owned two stocks. Her girlfriends who believed in diversification owned three. “Then they’d ask me how much I was up?” Explaining that he was grinding out high single digits hit conversation like a wet fart. “Those were the years that humiliat

Hope all goes well… “The final 15-minutes on Thursday was crazier than October,” said Roadrunner, the market’s biggest volatility trader. “Option buyers paid any price.” The vol of vol index (what people pay for VIX options) finished at 141; a wk ago it traded 70. In Oct with the S&P 500 at 1815 it topped at 138. “Perhaps a fund or two are blowing up, or the real S&P move hasn’t happened yet.” But either way,

Hope all goes well… “Chinese A-Shares rallied 22% in 10-days,” he said, atop NYC. As we discussed investor behavior, cultural differences, psychology. Sharing ideas about the year ahead. “There’s more trading in A-Share futures than the S&P 500.” Chinese index volume exploded in recent weeks. “These guys respond instantaneously.” There are no more eager gamblers than Beijing boys. “The Topix has doubled in 2yrs,

“So why are you here, what do you want?” he asked, smiling. I’d arrived early. Having reread his many publications, armed with today’s most interesting questions, hoping he’d challenge my answers. “I want nothing,” I replied. Which was partly true; I didn’t want what most people want. “Well then tell me what your firm does, I’m curious, I only know your writing.” I explained our business, shared my ambitions. “So how

“I’m half-way to achieving our goals,” announced Abe. As Moody’s cut Japan’s credit rating to A1. Citing the difficulty in simultaneously reducing fiscal deficits while fueling growth. Which is the global economy’s first circular reference. Because you can have one or the other, but not both. Unless you devalue your currency and monetize your debt. The Yen fell another 2.4%. 10yr JGB yields fell 1bp to 0.41%. The Nik