Mortgage Brokers Gone Wild
I knew a few mortgage brokers in the western U.S. who made a ton of money in 2003-'05. They were living large and buying big houses. They were basically dealing a drug . It was party time for the paper pushers...
It was 2004, and the U.S. real estate market was on fire. Down in Southern California, a hub for lenders specializing in loans to people with weak, or subprime, credit, Afghani's pals were making a fortune pushing risky mortgages on homebuyers. After tagging along with a buddy on a company trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, Afghani quit Target, headed south and began hustling loans at Costa Mesa-based Secured Funding Corp.
``I had never seen so much money thrown around in one weekend,'' Afghani, 27, says of the Cabo getaway. ``It was crazy. All these kids, literally 18 to 26, were loaded -- the best clothes, the cars, the girls, everything.'' Soon Afghani, who'd made $58,000 a year managing a Target distribution center, was pulling down $120,000.
This story is worth checking out...Bloomberg
Animal Planet
The world is an ugly place. And we are not talking about pollution in the Yangtze River....
Laurie David and Sheryl Crow took no prisoners on their recent tour of America. Shades of Zeppelin’s ‘77 Tour...this was an all out assault on the senses.
I will let the girls give their side of the story from an altercation Saturday night…
We asked Mr. Rove if he would consider taking a fresh look at the science of global warming. Much to our dismay, he immediately got combative. And it went downhill from there.
We reminded the senior White House advisor that the US leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country.
Tempers were flaring all around. And then Sheryl crossed the line. Oops.
In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, “Don’t touch me.” How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unfazed, Sheryl abruptly responded, “You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.” Karl then quipped, “I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.” To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, “We are the American people.”
But if you think that takes the cake go read footnoted.org’s round up on Schering-Plough’s security budget. Protecting its executives from PETA activists costs big bucks...CEO Fred Hassan dropped a cool 300k the past two years protecting himself from “threats of personal harm from animal rights activists”.
This is all getting a bit crazy. I am not sure who the good guys are any longer. Watching my screen flicker seems to be the path of least resistance.
And for those of you who dare take the other side of my trades?
See you in hell
Karl Rove Gets Thrown Under the Stop Global Warming Bus
The Huffington Post
New threats From PETA?
footnoted.org
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The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Preying on Wall Street(ers)
Dangerous animals stalk all corners of Wall Street. Tiger Cubs come to mind, and although Chase Coleman might be hitting the ball out of the park, not all Tiger Cubs are quite so fearsome.
The latest big hunt on the Street involves a cougar.
Will Katie Couric’s pursuit of 33-year old sometime hedge fund analyst Brooks Perlin turn into a bigger train wreck than her ratings on the CBS Evening News?
Brooks certainly knows how to score. Much like Tim Barakett, Perlin made it to the National Championship’s in his chosen collegiate sport.
But all similarities end there. Barakett went on to found Atticus Capital, while Perlin’s trysts with with hedge funds Pequot Capital, Keel Capital and Grange Park ended prematurely. The latter two funds have recently been shuttered; hopefully Perlin’s performance for Couric is better than it was with for the hedgies. But to be fair the semiconductor’s, Perlin’s forte, have been tricky to trade the past few years.
And while Perlin might score points with Katie...he could not score when it counted:
Williams falls in national tennis consolation action
May 17, 1995
Kalamazoo, MI--For the second straight day, Williams suffered a 4-3 loss in action at the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships.
In the deciding match, Williams’ Keith Tonkin and Brooks Perlin failed to convert on seven match points and ultimately fell by a 9-7 count. Williams College
If Brooks current gig with a “green” building products company does not pan out perhaps someone on the Street can give him another shot as an analyst. He has a keen eye, after all:
Couric has often been spotted getting out of her limousine and heading to Perlin’s East Side apartment near Sutton Place, where a female resident complained that he “checks out every girl that walks by.” An ex-girlfriend of Perlin also backs up the claim, saying, “That’s totally accurate, he has a wandering eye.” New York Post
Atta boy, Brooks. Make her pay for dinner too..or at least go Dutch.
Rate the Trophy Wives
While we will be counting the days until Trader Monthly hits the newstands with its Top 100 issue, the latest issue of New York Magazine is chock full of hedge fund coverage that should keep everyone occupied until earnings season starts up in earnest.
Are you looking for insights on investment methodology and process? Then move along...we are today here to compare the wives of wealthy and talented hedge fund managers. We have always favored style over substance, and these women seem to favor the latter, at least in the superficial world of StockJockey's.
Lets take a look...
Known Soldier
I was looking forward to Railbird writing another piece for the site. He has some great stories...he spoke regularly with a sitting Federal Reserve Chairman when he worked for the Fed.
This story is not one I envisioned and is a tough one to tell.
A close friend of his recently lost a son.
Jimmy Regan turned down a job offer from UBS in 2004 to enlist in the United States Army.
He skipped Officer Candidate School to join the Rangers and subsequently graduated first in his class of 400.
These are Railbird’s words.
This is the story of a hero
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Jimmy Regan was a kid who had it all----
Street Addiction
Do you know the difference between the 4-toed sloth and the 3-toed sloth?
The 4-toed sloth has an opposable thumb. So do most animals on Wall Street.
But very few sloths own Blackberry’s. Although Gadget Girl loves her Pearl…
That said - let’s not forget the Pearl. We were loathe to make the change from our blackberry 7280 because it was a workhorse. But we took the plunge and are so glad we did. After taking the Pearl from the box and plugging it into our laptop it transferred thousands of messages, contacts and calendar entries and set up 3 different email accounts in less than 10 minutes. It also takes little time to get used to the new keyboard. Now we are sorry we didn’t buy it the day it came out.
What a breeze compared with the Samsung Blackjack...we spent the better part of an afternoon enabling one for a friend and it was a total nightmare. Papa don’t preach but I will...Pearl in a landslide. 2/7/2007
