A Thank You to Our Readers
Several Wall Street Conferences are on our schedule this week. Which means of course, we will be the recipients of a time honored wall street tradition, the conference satchel tchotchke.
tchotchke-A small, decorative item or souvenir, usually of no particular value.
These free goodies, which are typically emblazoned with the logo of the sponsoring investment bank, do in fact sport retail values equal to approximately 4.50 copies of Barron’s, and are highly coveted by the big money crowd. Portfolio managers and analysts often squeal with delight upon being presented with tchotchke’s at the registration table. Unseemly behavior no doubt, but all too common. It would seem overpaid, egotistical wall streeters love freebie’s more than main streeters.
The bags, which are theoretically used to tote annual reports and sell-side research, are usually emptied quickly of such useless garbage and surreptitiously filled with the candy and soda that are given away gratis to money managers in attendance. The contraband is then carted off the premises and consumed.
Based on this behavior we would guess that over 50% of buysiders have prior convictions for shoplifting.
Since we will likely be on the receiving end of such sell-side largesse, we thought we would take the opportunity to cull our closets of detritus and enrich a lucky reader at the same time.
And thus the first UTC Tchotchke Sweepstakes, which hopefully will turn out better than the sweepstakes run by Reader’s Digest (RDA-NYSE) some years back.
Snipers Take Aim at the Devil
In what seems like a replay of the sector’s bloodletting circa 1992-93, healthcare stocks are trading down and to the right…
Here is one professionals take...a smart cookie who has made a career out of handicapping hairy situations…
Implications of Democrats coming to power
Timing of potential impact: We believe that any potential healthcare legislation sponsored by the Democrats won’t go into effect until 2010 or later. Congress will likely concentrate on the Iraq war at the onset and any healthcare legislation would likely be vetoed by Bush regardless, therefore we would expect that Democrats wouldn’t attempt any major legislation until there was a Democratic Administration. If a Democratic President took office in 2009, any legislation that was passed that year could only take effect in 2010 or later.
Although any effects from potentially damaging effects from Democratic legislation are far away, the market obviously prices in risk way in advance. The market is likely reacting to the potential for a Democratic President and Democratic Congress in ’08 due to the strength that the Democrats displayed in the midterms.
Dinosaur Calls it a Day
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that veteran Goldman Sachs software analyst Rick Sherlund will be transitioning coverage to fellow Goldman analyst Sarah Friar ...and moving to a hedge fund if we had to venture a guess...after all everybody is doing it:
In an interview, Mr. Sherlund said he hopes to try his hand as an investor, though he plans to continue to work at Goldman as he considers jobs on what Wall Street calls the buy side.
”I’m really focused on managing money,” he said. “As an analyst it’s terrifically rewarding but you’re very narrowly focused. I’d like to focus more broadly and have the ability to make some real stock calls.”
Mr. Sherlund, 52 years old, is considering starting his own fund but said “most likely I’ll go work with someone else to gain some experience in the money-management side.”
Mr. Sherlund’s name will always be most closely associated with Microsoft, a company he started covering when it when public in 1986. Year after year, Mr. Sherlund doggedly studied the latest technologies and re-organizations as Microsoft moved from start-up to Grand Dame of software. Over the years, he also covered the many up-and-comers—from Netscape Communications to Google Inc.—that have pressured Microsoft and he has outlasted many of the managers that guided Microsoft, including a string of chief financial officers. (WSJ)
Sherlund, 52 years old, has been covering software for...get this..100 quarters…
With half of Wall Street turrets staffed by people who were still in diapers when Microsoft went public, Sherlund’s career as an analyst is notable.
Welcome to the buyside Rick...but fair warning...we will soon be trying to pick your pockets.
Public Service? No Thank You…
CNBC is reporting that Chelsea Clinton has left McKinsey Consulting to take a position with Avenue Capital Group, a NYC-based hedge fund partially owned by Morgan Stanley.
Although Chelsea was unavailable for comment, she is no doubt thrilled to increase her compensation while working fewer hours, and we would anticipate her becoming active in events sponsored by the Robin Hood Foundation, given her family’s experience in stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
Although Chelsea has no prior experience in the financial services industry, investors in Avenue Capital are probably hoping that her mother’s cattle-trading acumen rubbed off on her.
