John Dizard



Profile:


Full name: John Dizard

Area of interest: Wealth management and investing

Journals: Financial Times

Email: [mailto:johndizard@hotmail.com john.dizard@hotmail.com]

Website: FT.Com / John Dizard

Blog:

Agent: Writers' Representatives; BrightSightGroup

Networks:



Biography:
Education: Tufts and Georgetown Universities; University of Saskatchewan: Political Economy (thesis on European nonferrous metals cartel)

Career: Written for The New York Post, The New York Observer, National Review, Fortune Magazine, Institutional Investor, Fortune, Forbes, Barrons, New York Journal of Commerce. Was also London Bureau Chief of Institutional Investor, correspondent for the CBC, managing editor of Canadian Business Magazine. He has been an FT columnist since 2001

Current position/role: columnist


 * also writes/has written for:

Other roles:

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Bright Sight Radio - The World Monetary System (podcast)

TV/Radio:

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours:

Other: Brother of Stephen Dizard the former co-head of Global Distress Investing for Citigroup and established the emerging market trading operations at Lehman Brothers and Salomon Brothers



Books & Debate:


Forthcoming work: Gold Now: How to Protect Yourself from the Collapse in Stocks, Real Estate, and the Dollar, Penguin Portfolio, 2009

Current debate:

Speaking/Arrearances:

Current debate:



Financial Times:
Column remit: Wealth management: global macro investing, the political economy of currencies, energy, commodities, emerging market debt, the international and domestic credit markets, the automation of securities exchanges, and Iraqi economics and finance

Section: Wealth

Role: Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:johndizard@hotmail.com johndizard@hotmail.com]

Website: FT.com / John Dizard

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Monday in FTfm (for readers outside the Americas region) and Tuesday in Wealth page

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 850 words



Articles: 2011

 * recovery holds little hope for eurozone'' - Estonia’s rapid recovery should not give any hope to any other struggling nation. There are special reasons why it has done so well - 31st January
 * is coming – just not yet'' - Inflation will return in a dramatic way, but you should not pay too highly for inflation protection just yet. So wait before buying gold – you’re not paranoid, you’re just early - 24th January
 * the muni market headlines'' - There are problems in US state and local government management and finance. These are fixable. Complacency has given way to worry and shame. Low state debt service ratios mean there is a low probability of a default triggered by a refinancing crisis - 17th January
 * insight on a tricky year'' - John Dizard is reasonably content with how the column’s views over the past year stand up. What concerns him for this year is the inevitable regression to the mean - 10th January



Articles: 2010

 * bail-out’s unintended consequences'' - Ireland and its European friends could have avoided the unintended consequences of the bailout by injecting public money into the banking system. Or they could have recapped the banks with senior paper. But they didn’t - 18th December
 * what’s become of credit derivatives?'' - What’s happened to credit derivatives since the ‘experts’ made safe Wall Street and the City’s explosive devices? Much less than you think, but it’s about time artificial barriers to price transparency and fundamental data were removed - 13th December
 * deal sets interesting precedents'' - Iceland was supposed to be the cautionary tale for euro-area countries caught in banking and fiscal crises. But things have been working out well for Iceland, and a settlement between it and the UK and the Netherlands is expected in the next few weeks - 6th December
 * for some from political stalemate'' - Mr Market is still giving Greece the thumbs down and in the US, prepare for the return on the lobbyist, providing a level playing field for those who own bulldozers - 29th November
 * return to Greece after Irish bail-out'' - Among those preparing for Greece’s forthcoming orderly default, there is disagreement over timing, writes John Dizard, who is putting his money on the second quarter of next year - 22nd November
 * Greek debt drama would be better played sooner than later'' - Among those preparing for Greece’s forthcoming orderly default, there is disagreement over timing, writes John Dizard, who is putting his money on the second quarter of next year - 20th November
 * default system makes sense'' - Eurocrats have now run out of time. Within a month or so, the seize-up in the peripheral bond markets will lead to serious and immediate operating issues for the financial system - 15th November
 * time for some trend reversals'' - The political season just past has led to America being somewhat over-despised, now it’s time for some trend reversals, a dollar rally maybe, a decline in the gold and silver price . . . - 7th November
 * mindset misses African growth story'' - Even worldly and experienced investors in the developed world have low opinions of assets in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, writes John Dizard, but they are wrong - 1st November
 * burden-sharing bank bonds'' - A word to those still tempted by burden-sharing bank bonds after the Anglo Irish exchange offer – if you’re that hungry for yield why not instead buy shares in operating companies with high dividends - 25th October
 * is hotter than you might think'' - Iceland’s fundamentals are good and there were long-term beneficial effects of the failure of the Icelandic elite, it will soon be the hotttest investment property - 16th October
 * over shale gas decline fires up'' - A debate over how quickly shale gas wells decline is firing up – it could well turn into a big argument over our energy future given the US’s financial commitment to the industry - 11th October
 * banking opportunities open up'' - It’s a good time to become a commercial and industrial lender right now and pick up some of the good business now being thrown out the banks’ windows - 4th October
 * school battlers dig in heels'' - Education reformers’ battle to tackle the for-profit schools issue is transforming into trench warfare as both sides mobilise troops - 27th September
 * hanging on actuarial stats'' - Actuarial comments over pension underfunding is grabbing speculators’ attention. But how best to use the information for seasonal stock speculation is tricky - 20th September
 * leave Anglo Irish bonds in a bog'' - The Irish state’s ultimate losses on Anglo Irish could amount to €5,600 for every man, woman and child, which is why an EC veto on bond-holder bail-outs would be a blessing - 13th September
 * huge houses consume fortunes'' - Cheap housing, like cheap oil, or cheap food, is good. Huge houses don’t preserve fortunes, they consume them - 6th September
 * rollercoaster may be worth the ride'' - Argentine GDP warrants combine all kinds of danger but John Dizzard says these derivatives are an interesting speculation which are possibly under-priced compared with other risks - 23rd August
 * sellers and liberal reformers unite'' - The with-profit education companies’ controversy has brought investors and reformers together - 9th August
 * recovery defies economists and academics'' - The troubled euro members have too much debt to do similar internal devaluations - 2nd August
 * need of luck on the risky frontier'' - Like the value investors I’m bullish on frontier markets such as Kazakhstan, but straight equity risk rather than complicated fixed income risk is a better bet - 26th July
 * shale gas fairytale continues'' - The PowerPoint wielding shale gas marketers have done a great job, but if the economics were so good why do the operators need to raise so much outside money - 19th July
 * plans mega bail-out for next crisis'' -There is a new set of mega-bail-out plans being put together in preparation for the next international financial crisis, so choose your investments carefully and consider the potential avalanche of money that might crush you - 12th July
 * no secret: Greece is restructuring debt'' - You don’t need to be a secret agent to find out that Greece has started to restructure its state debts - 6th July
 * plant dousing faster than expected'' - There will be a more rapid retirement of coal-fired generation plant over the next five years than the market anticipates, and a more rapid rise in natural gas prices and imports - 28th June
 * banks may test contagion theory'' - And if a particularly loathed Irish bank were to be allowed to default on its subordinated debt, the creditworthiness of the Republic might even be enhanced. John Dizard issues a warning to holders of the bonds - 20th June
 * bondholder haircuts would help'' - If, or when, any euro area countries need to effect a systematic restructuring of their banking systems, the model would be the relatively well handled Nordic banking crisis. Shareholders in all countries were eliminated or diluted - 14th June
 * real vultures vs the eurozone'' - Real vultures knew their naked short on Greece was vulnerable before chancellor Merkel violated the game laws by shooting at them. They sold their CDS hedges to the usual hapless bank bureaucrats months ago - 7th June
 * plan B needs decision on bonds'' - The current stabilisation plan for Greece is unlikely to survive long after the details of the European facility are agreed. So how deep a cut in real value will need to be imposed on holders of Greek bonds - 1st June
 * schools facing cuts'' - The for-profit post-secondary US school sector will be one of the first in line for cuts given that such a high percentage of revenues comes from government and margins are so impressive - 24th May
 * crisis averted – for now'' - If the restructurers are right, Greece will not want the ‘Nordic solution’ of austerity measures while continuing to borrow money at high interest rates and instead in less than 18 months Greece will choose to follow Argentina’s example and restructure its massive debt - 17th May
 * Greek restructuring to avoid euro tragedy'' - The Greeks need only look south of Europe for precedent on state debt rescheduling, and once in place the eurocrats can stop panicking and deal with other distressed nations - 10th May
 * for Greece to restructure its debt'' - Emerging market distressed bond players believe Greece will restructure its official debt, and they say the Brady Plan should form the framework for any exchange offer - 4th May
 * to realising value in Kazakhstan'' - In the case of the Kazakhstan economy, there actually is that rare event: a timetable for post-bubble paper - 26th April
 * for the coming correction'' - The strength of economic recovery is being understimated and interest rates will rise sooner than expected - 24th April
 * Mr Bond: Sell your Treasuries'' - The market for US Treasuries seems unlikely to be rescued in the nick of time. So John Dizard’s advice, in plain English, is: sell the T bond - 12th April
 * ills and the policy tribe’s placebo'' - On the face of it, Estonia’s success in imposing austerity measures can be held up as an example to put the Greeks to shame, but with a little decisiveness and fewer eurocrats the Greeks could yet surprise - 5th April
 * are for losers – you decide'' - The bounceback in commodities and stock prices look promising, but John Dizard has to concede there are compelling arguments in favour of deflation and the value of owning Treasuries - 30th March
 * sleight of hand over shale gas costs'' - The true costs of producing gas from shale rock are higher than we’re led to believe, so why is industry drilling as much as it is when prices are as low as they are - 22nd March
 * market looking tarnished'' - Demand for copper appears to be rising, at least cancelled warrants would suggest so, or would they? John Dizard hears a snort of disbelief among the market knowledgeable - 15th March
 * true cost of shale gas production'' - Shale gas is not magic. Production costs are high, and probably underestimated, at the risk of being considered heretical - 8th March
 * real sign of structural reforms'' - The “Stuy Town” default in New York City illustrates what little has been done to fix the mortgage backed securities (CMBS) markets - 1st March
 * 3P be a rare win for bipartisanship?'' - The clean air amendments bill, known as 3P, would score a rare win for bipartisanship and revive a highly effective market in emission credits - 22nd February
 * speculating on the euro future'' - Speculators have a problem if they take positions on the euro future – those who make the key decisions would like it if the specs were to lose all their money - 15th February
 * offer won’t help Greek woes'' - Brussels’ proposed monitoring of the Greek is unlikely to help. The best it can do is limit the economic and political damage by adopting the lowest possible profile - 7th February
 * takes right route to euro entry'' - Estonia has defied the odds and has not only made it through a bleak economic winter, but is starting to grow again - 1st February
 * dissidents are an example to all'' - The On2 dissidents’ challenge to Google’s proposed takeover has shown how small shareholders can effectively defend their own interests - 25th January
 * to reform US for profit schools'' - The for-profit school business in the US is going to be forced by the Obama administration to show value for money and that will prove beneficial - 18th January
 * good calls and bad ones in 2009'' - John Dizard measures how useful his weekly column might have been for investors over the past year - 4th January



Articles: 2009

 * default in a developed country is unthinkable – or is it?'' - what would be the practical effects on a euro area issuer of a default on its sovereign debt - 21st December
 * US debt offers a pay off'' - Any distressed debt investor has made mistakes. But, since bonds, unlike equity, have a maturity date, you don’t need to wait for another optimist to come along and buy you out - 14th December
 * and selling castles in the sand'' - The interesting question here is not who would want to sell the Nakheel/Dubai World paper, but who would want to buy it - 7th December
 * to Google’s On2 takeover'' - Controversy is brewing over Google’s proposed takeover of On2 and the alignment (or not) of management and shareholder interests - 30th November
 * must ask about shale gas cost'' - Doubt over the true potential of shale gas production has filtered through to some of the institutional investors in energy companies - 23rd November
 * brewing copper kettle mania?'' - By mid-last week copper was up by 116% from the beginning of the year, but how much of the demand is real - 16th November
 * gold is certain to move higher'' - It’s not central bank gold purchases that are the key support for the metal, but the prospect of more controls on international flow of capital from the likes of Brazil - 9th November
 * gas numbers may not add up'' - Enormous reserves of shale gas have been found. But how much can be produced economically, and how quickly - 2nd November
 * real reasons for the decline in bank lending'' - The policy people and regulatory agencies can’t have it both ways – less risky institutions mean tighter lending standards - 26th October
 * invisible cost of avoiding defaults'' - By never taking economically justified writedowns, the US economy will be jellied into low growth and lost opportunities - 19th October
 * we will pay for ongoing bank losses'' - In the end, the public will pay for new bank losses, not through taxation, but through usury - 12th October
 * will make customers pay'' - In the end, the public will pay for new bank losses, not through taxation, but through usury - 9th october
 * theories can’t take the shine off gold'' - The goldbugs’ resolute disbelief in the value of official currencies is influencing mainstream market opinion - 10th October
 * jet chartering is set to soar'' - There have been ups and downs in the bizjet industry before, but this cycle is different - 5th October
 * of shareholder voting begins'' - In the US the consensus is moving against incumbent management – with the government’s encouragement - 28th September
 * beyond the shipping forewarnings'' - The Baltic Dry Index does not provide a perfect crystal ball, so instead of worrying about its recent decline presaging a new disaster, look further ahead - 21st September
 * time being called on gold’s bull run?'' - John Dizard examines the arguments of the gold bulls, bears and superbears and speculates on whether the the current bull market is about to end - 14th September
 * the destructive e-discovery boom'' - The malign effects of e-discovery are that less attention will be paid to innovation and development, and more to risk aversion - 5th September
 * and black states move towards carbon deal'' - A major barrier to a carbon cap-and-trade market in the US now appears permeable. It has not been well recognised by the environmental activists and their Congressional allies that they will have a hard time attracting capital to carbon cap and trade if the existing air-pollutant markets, for “acid rain” chemicals, are on the verge of having their value wiped out - 24th August
 * way to be a heartless oil hoarder'' - John Dizard takes a wry look at the US regulators’ plans to restrict long-only commodities investing - 10th August
 * the Baltic states keep the euro peg?'' - European relative value trades have been around for a long time. While the advent of the euro a decade ago took much of the margin out of the business, exchange rate risk could be coming back to the continent - 4th August
 * speculators really affect commodity prices?'' - The CFTC looks likely to to impose stricter position limits on those investing directly in exchange traded commodities futures, but swaps dealers need not fret - 27th July
 * spending outlook may not be as bad as painted'' - We are in a recovery for consumption, and for investment in productivity goods, but the upturn has been obscured by inefficient data models - 20th July
 * interesting arbitrage in the property sector'' - Thanks to the near-catastrophic illiquidity of the debt markets, an interesting arbitrage has opened up in property - 13th July
 * lots bring big rewards to Christie’s'' - While the trench warfare between Sotheby’s and Christie’s will continue, Christie’s strategy seems well adapted for the present environment - 6th July
 * Korea, the submerging market bet'' - why, although this would seem an odd time to be an optimist about the future of DPRK paper, I like North Korean debt - 29th June
 * take the right path on credit default swaps'' - The CDS market does not lead to fixed income capital being mobilised for real-economy purposes. We took a wrong turn. Let’s not continue down this path - 22nd June
 * to profit from in the credit default swap'' - When you properly control the risks, and price the products correctly, it can be seen that there is just no damn point or real profit to the market in credit default swaps - 13th June
 * must pull up its Sox and Nox'' - How can industrialists and traders commit capital to a future carbon cap and trade system if a similar system has been allowed to collapse through inaction - 8th June
 * defaulter is a threat to the nation'' - John Dizard examines the implications of a default on a bond issued by a Russian company called FLC, the leasing subsidiary of OAO United Aircraft - 1st June
 * credit speculators are back ...'' - Thanks to Team USA, the risk of CDS trades turning into a money trap is no longer seen to be a problem - 25th May
 * of interest between lenders and special servicers'' - The different tranches in securitisations have always divergent interests, but those were concealed in a rising market. Things are different now - 18th May
 * road to a ‘good GM’ filing'' - GM bondholders need – not just the law – but a big cheque book on their side, and the money isn’t there - 11th May
 * for gold – just not now'' - It is effectively impossible for gold to replace the dollar, so for now it would be wise to be an outright seller of gold - 4th May
 * news to be had from demographics'' - Demographic information can be far more reliable as a future predictor than company accounts - 27th April
 * headache could linger'' - The GM task force seems to believe the bondholders and other creditors can be easily rolled over. I don’t think so - 20th April
 * can afford the next recovery plan?'' - If the cash the FDIC uses really is a loan from the Treasury, its repayment would hinder those banks’ recovery, so it becomes an equity cash contribution from taxpayers - 13th April
 * rest assured, inflation will return'' - When inflation comes, it will come in higher than expected and persist for longer than expected, so buy gold in the summer - 6th April
 * high stake bets for some crazy punters'' - Speculation on Russian Finance Leasing Company paper now will lead to a pay-off or total loss in June - 30th March
 * to avoid another AIGFP-style blow-up'' - The CDS market should have a wooden stake hammered through it and the mark-to-market rule should be modified - 23rd March
 * and the inflation/deflation effect'' - There are still some very interesting speculative opportunities available from the linkers, particularly in the US market - 16th March
 * nature of lending to Eastern Europe'' - The complexity and scale of cross-border finance in central and eastern Europe is putting Iceland’s mess in the shade - 9th March
 * easy ways to spot the investment con'' - There are some basic questions you should be asking of any investment manager to avoid being conned. Sadly, getting the answers requires work on your part - 2nd March
 * from the redistribution of risk'' - If the US State is giving to the rich with the Talf, the US states are going to be taking away with a tax on the Very Rich, but what about the new entrepreneurs who won’t come in the future - 23rd February
 * inside story is there is no story'' - In the past, there were Wall Streeters of both parties with sufficient weight and creditability to identify problems and put together solutions. Not now - 17th February 2009
 * few good bets for the battle hardened'' - Volatility looks set to continue but a few tradable investment themes are emerging through the haze of battle - 9th February 2009
 * I don’t like the shiny crowds around gold - Gold is one of the most treacherous trading markets there is, so stay out of the deep end. Average in. Don’t buy in a panic - 1st February 2009
 * Bet against a sovereign government if you dare - You can bet against the weaker European governments until it really matters – then you will probably lose in an unexpected way - 25th January 2009
 * over climate change on the horizon'' - Any new market based emissions controls had better have more certainty than the flawed Cair with its unintended consequences - 19th January
 * unfortunately, we got it so right'' - An annual review of the accuracy and usefulness of this commentary shows John Dizard got a number of things right, apart from policymakers’ mistakes - 12th January
 * theory of black money revenge'' - Less than savoury investors are among the victims of the alleged Madoff Ponzi scheme - 5th January



Articles: 2008

 * Democratise the credit markets for fast relief - Stability could be offered by having fewer overleveraged institutions and having large numbers of real money investors, watching their own money - 21st December 2008
 * A sound case for mark-to-market moderation - When the US bail-out bill was passed in mid-October, there was some hope among bankers who were being marked-to-market to death that they might get some relief from the accountants’ relentless shredding of their balance sheets - 15th December 2008
 * the CDS market out of its misery'' - “Effectively, there isn’t any CDS market now.” - 8th December 2008
 * to get back to market values'' - The ultimate solution is likely to come from the democratisation of risk valuation - 1st December 2008
 * need to revisit DIP lending'' - Banks need to recreate their work-out groups and re-enter debtor in possession lending - 24th November 2008
 * Tips yields point to deflation'' - The disappearance of dealer and arbitrageur capital is continuing to have wide-ranging consequences - 18th November 2008
 * Life stirs again in Muni bond market - The tax advantages of US municipal bonds, along with the Obama team’s spending policies, give them support that other vehicles lack - 9th November 2008
 * Policy tribes need to show restraint - The policy people won’t consider, let alone disclose or discuss, the second order risks of what has been done so far – they still need to tread carefully - 2nd November 2008
 * Firefighters better save shipping next - It was not necessary to sacrifice the worldwide flow of goods and credit to make an example of Lehman – shipping better be the next fire they put out - 26th October 2008
 * Now it is the turn of the emerging banks - There just isn’t enough money in the emerging market world to save everyone, and unlike richer countries they don’t have virtually unlimited swap lines - 21st October 2008
 * What enemies of short selling missed - Instead of looking for new sacrificial goats to replace the short sellers, the policy tribe should concentrate on solving the abandonment of Libor - 12th October 2008
 * Bail-out plan was puny in its level of planning - This column has been pushing the issuance of Fed or Federally sponsored preferred stock, and that has become the conventional wisdom - 5th October 2008
 * Big fixes for big market collapses - The government- sponsored recaps will be larger, and the structures more varied, than you have heard so far - 28th September 2008
 * Solution to be found in the history books - It’s been done before. In 1932 the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was set up. It gave loans to corporations ... it allowed lending to re-start - 21st September 2008
 * US Treasury moves fail to help recovery - Hank Paulson and his team have shown weakness. They have fired their ‘bazooka’ with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actions, and we’re still in trouble - 14th September 2008
 * Virtual banking leads to virtual work-outs - Hedge fund and private equity partnerships are winding up as the owners of defaulted debt, but the outlook is not as gloomy as some say - 7th September 2008
 * A measured view of GSE preferreds - In the now overcrowded world of investing in distressed securities, the standard strategy is to pick the “pivot” issue - 31st August 2008
 * State injection for Fannie and Freddie will offset pain - Most of the time, the path to survival in financial bureaucracies is through company-party-line on-message bullishness. That's particularly true in the US, where pessimism about the future is not just bad business, but unpatriotic - 26th August 2008
 * A misguided game of SOx and NOx - It is usually a mistake to bet against the ability of the Washington lobbyists to find a way to fix a problem that will cost a powerful industry a lot of money. Usually, but not always - 18th August 2008
 * Monoline firms may be sick, but they are not dead - Even with the little setbacks we’ve had in the last week or so, I still believe we are in the first phase of an equity bull market. We haven’t really had one in a while; not since March of 2000, in truth - 3rd August 2008
 * A costly cap on the cap-and-trade - For all the time and money spent on climate change seminars, green-themed corporate graphics, and oil company adverts with loving depictions of windmills and meadows, few seem to have taken notice of a US Court of Appeals’ July 11 drive-by slaughter of the Clean Air Interstate Rule - 27th July 2008
 * US gains from nuclear competition - A company that had a US monopoly on producing the electric utilities’ fuel of the future, USEC, is facing a brownout that could turn pretty black - 20th July 2008
 * Desperate times call for desperate measures - I have what Wall Street calls a Strong Buy recommendation: buy the senior debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - 13th July 2008
 * Finding some sure things to bet on - La Perse peut lever et entretenir un assez grand nombres de troupes; mais dans ses armies il y a des hommes et point de soldats - 6th July 2008
 * Betting on the possibility of breaking up the eurozone - A cloud no larger than a betting slip - but one that could be joined by some rather larger, darker, formations - has moved - 1st July 2008
 * Playing with eurozone futures - A cloud no larger than a betting slip has moved over European monetary union, which could be joined by some rather larger - 29th June 2008
 *  Politicians' oil argument is flawed - When I wrote last month about the US politicians' attacks on oil and grain speculators, I assumed the issue would dry up - 24th June 2008
 * Banks carelessly ‘cross the streams’ - Dr Egon Spengler: There’s something very important I forgot to tell you. Dr Peter Venkman: What? Dr Egon Spengler: Don’t cross the streams. Dr Peter Venkman: Why? Dr Egon Spengler: It would be bad. Dr Peter Venkman: I’m fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, “bad”? - 15th June 2008
 * Get used to underwriting big lenders - A long, long time ago, say two years or so, my speculator friends would complain about the "over-arbed" world they lived in - 8th June 2008
 * A free lunch available for the few - For most people in the financial world, the first wave of the credit crisis was like a theme park ride or summer blockbuster - 1st June 2008
 * Commodity speculators in line of fire - As is well known, speculators are clearly responsible for high commodities prices. All of them are using the high profits - 25th May 2008
 * Avoiding financing a big black hole - There seems to be a misconception going around about the purpose of housing finance rescue legislation in Washington - 8th May 2008
 * Countrywide deal is far from shot - It's too early for pheasant shooting in the Washington area, but for those politicians with a sporting disposition, it's Angelo Mozilo season - 11th May 2008
 * Wrong time to enter vulture business - At about this stage of a US economic cycle - that is, past the beginning of a growth decline and just entering the first bear market rally – you see a large number of new recruits to the vulture business - 4th May 2008
 * Advice for the scapegoat Citigroup - Financial crises and panics are, perversely, entertaining. Officials and bank directors get to jet hither and yon for last-minute rescues, journalists get big headlines and the attention they believe they deserve, people's voices rise in pitch. For once the business world is like the biggest ride in an expensive theme park - 27th April 2008
 * Jerry-built structure will have to go - Credit market people and their regulators have been so preoccupied with defusing the more visible unexploded bombs in Wall Street that the more serious long-term structural problems have been put off for later attention - 20th April 2008
 * Fed plan spoilt by banking hypocrisy - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Matthew 23:27 - 13th April 2008
 * Shoving illiquid assets in the drawer - There is a reason why there has never been a comic book superhero based on an accountant. The notion that the accountants and their officials, waving around rules such as FAS 157, would be the ones in charge of the world was always a questionable one - 6th April 2008
 * Guaranteed or not to unlock markets - American financial officials are getting increasingly annoyed at the sneers of their European counterparts - 30th March 2008
 * Raising equity is top of to-do list - With the whipsawing of the markets last week, it has begun to dawn on market people and officialdom that we are not in a - 24th March 2008
 * Haven't we been here before? - The institutional memory of governments and the financial industry now has the lifespan of a fruit fly - 17th March 2008
 * Bank boards need urgent instructions - "We must face the facts. For too long we have been living on bunk." So said Ben "Sell 'em" Smith, American speculator, 1929 - 10th March 2008
 * Value exists between the factions - The credit world is aligning itself into political factions, divided over the right approach to untangling the present mess - 3rd March 2008
 * Mark-to-market requirements turn into Doomsday machine - [Discussing the Doomsday machine]President Merkin Muffley: How is it possible for this thing to be triggered automatically - 25th March 2008
 * When price does not mean value - If hedge and proprietary fund managers were to continue to follow the strategies and risk management disciplines they laid - 18th February 2008
 * Surviving a downgrade plague - The disappearance of much of the speculative capital that had been committed to the "credit space" has led to ionospheric yields in the US municipal bond markets - 11th February 2008
 * Not just price of platinum to blow - Right at the moment when we really didn't need another gasket to blow in the economic-financial engine, one has - 4th February 2008
 * On-balance sheet world returning - At the beginning of the year I floated a deliberately heretical thought: that it would be impossible to adequately - 28th January 2008
 * Time to assess the long and short of a turbulent year - While this column (and the rest of the Financial Times) is not an investment advisory service, I like to do a once-over, year-end review of how the ideas floated here worked out - 21st January 2008
 * Time to see if established credit agencies make the grade - This is the time of year when incentive compensation is calculated and distributed. Or would have been distributed, I should in the case of loss-making trading desks and hedge funds - 14th January 2008
 * Gold is a bright prospect for the bold - Peter Palmedo, a portfolio manager based in Sun Valley, Idaho, has something even better than a flagship fund that profited mightily from the rise in gold: the right to say “I told you so.” - 11th January 2008
 * Revisit the reviled concept of supervisory goodwill - The big question for the investment world during the next several months is whether the credit markets can be rebooted with the tools Wall Street and the central banks have devised so far - 7th January 2008

