Models for a Greek Sovereign Default
I am on a plane - long-haul over the Pacific - and someone asked me to spell out what I thought would happen with a Greek sovereign default. As this is drafted on a plane it is designed to outline extreme views (you know the ones after two glasses...
Some comments on the UBS Rogue Trader
There has been lots said about the rogue trader at UBS. The best gag was that the name for a trader who makes money breaching risk limits is "managing director". Matt Taibbi argued that rogue traders were what banks hired when they hired "risk tak...
Welcome to day-traders anonymous (French Bank edition)
At Bronte we talk a lot about French banks. But we have not owned any of the majors since Greece started looking shaky. We used to own Credit Agricole SA - indeed when we started Bronte it was one of our largest positions. But their exposure to Em...
Weekend edition: The naming of hedge funds
At Bronte we are in process of opening a Cayman Islands vehicle which will - we hope - eventually become the master fund.* There may be several feeders. We spent half an hour batting around names for the funds - then realized the solution is crowd-sour...
Electronic fax? Really. Doing the time-warp with J2Global.com
Efax is yesterday. You know the fax machine you have out there in the cloud where you receive a fax (with a dedicated line) and they send you the fax via email. And you send the fax via email - you post it to your electronic fax provider and they fax i...
Repost: My old notes on Northern Rock
This is a post I made fairly early in the history of the blog - and a post I think should have got more attention. (The original post had no comments and nobody much link to it.) I re-read it today (because it came up in conversation). I am kind of pro...
Risk management and sounding crazy
In early June Carson Block and his firm Muddy Waters research published a report which made outrageous sounding allegations against Sino Forest - then a highly respected Canadian listed Chinese forestry company that had borrowed well over $2 billion to...
The retail price of solar panels
I just googled "Trina Solar". Here is the Google results page (from Sydney, Australia).
Note the second advert which gives retail prices. AUD1.40 per watt for monocrystalline, $1.30 per watt for polycyrstalline. German modules.
The blended price fro...
Weekend edition: Hempton vs the Hurricane in a blow-off launch of "The Business"
The cooler Mr Hempton and the Nick Hempton band are launching their second CD "The Business" in New York on Saturday Night.
Smalls Jazz Club
183 W10th Street @7th Ave
New York, NY
7.30 - 10pmNot only is Nick better looking than me but he blows almos...
Bank of America: some comment on the Buffett deal
Warren Buffett got a sweetheart deal.
The deep discount on Warren Buffett's investment proves Bank of America was desperate.
All lines I have heard this morning. And I think they are mostly wrong.
Clearly the deal involves dilution - about 7 percent a...
Bank of America: time everyone took a long cold shower and sobered up
Forward: this was printed about four hours before Berkshire Hathaway took a $5 billion stake in Bank of America under sweetheart terms. Firstly Buffett got better terms than me - it helps being known as the world's greatest investor. Second, the rapid ...
Trina Solar conference call notes
Bronte Capital is both long and short Trina Solar. If Trina Solar shares wind up at $50 we make out like bandits.
If Trina Solar goes rapidly to $2 we also make out like bandits.
We don't like sideways: a share price of $12.50 - $18 is uncomfortable ...
