Category: It’s Probably Nothing

It’s Probably Nothing

Doing the job that Americans won’t do;

IDF forces struck a number of Syrian military and security targets connected to the blast that injured four Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, the IDF Spokesman said early on Wednesday.
The targets, which included military headquarters, artillery batteries and a training base belonging to the Syrian military, “enabled and aided in the carrying out of [Tuesday’s] terror attacks,” the statement read. “The IDF retains the right to act in any way and at any time it sees fit to protect the citizens of Israel.”

Premier Selinger, call your office.

In Manitoba, a couple of byelections spell doom for the ruling NDP.

Liberal candidate Floyd Buhler, a municipal employee, finished second in Arthur-Virden, taking about 17 per cent of the vote with most polls reporting tonight. Compare that to the 2011 general election, when the Liberals won less than four per cent of the vote in the southwest Manitoba riding.
In Morris, the party, represented by university student Jeremy Barber, upped its vote to 11 per cent from 6.6 per cent, finishing third.

It’s one thing for the PC’s to take rural seats; and something else for a defunct left-leaning party to quadruple and double its share of the vote. Yes, they were byelections, and not necessarily representative, still….
Via, NWC.

It’s Probably Nothing

Via email,

Good morning Kate-
I don’t think you’re going to see this anywhere else, so here goes….
With no excess margin left in any trader’s account nowadays, the littlest foreign exchange hiccup is blowing up every hedge fund’s and Wall street prop desk’s most favorite trade, the emerging market swap. Lend the Jap 10 year note, and borrow the Thai 10 year note, at the same time, as an example, and pocket the difference in yield., in a corporate margin account, using borrowed US Treasury bills pledge to borrowed Japanese Yen to finance the larger swap trade. Because of the unidicted status of Jon Corzine, any “smart” trader will leave no uninvested cash at any brokerage account, knowing that the brokerage firm may use it for its own purposes with little or no recourse. And certainly no access to your cash, for months on end. The margin call comes in when the borrowed security’s value falls, in this case a Thai 10yr, compounded with a currency move (Thai Baht) against the borrower, who borrowed in Japanese Yen, which also moves against the borrower, and you have a multicase of margin call, which forces the sale of the whole thing. And actual, realized losses.
Hedge funds will be closed today because of these bets. And the banks? Oh, Jack Lew will be “forced” to bail out some of them out. (see def. “reliable donor class”)
Going to get very messy into next week.

Discuss.

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