The off topic thread #2

[jd2010]

Nobody is talking about my Bulls taking game one though.

Jimmy G is legit.

Picked it as part of an upset multi. Unfortunately I also have OKC as part of it!

 

[Jatz]

I would love to knock Boston out. One of my dickhead mates is a Boston supporter and he keeps carrying on about how they'll kill us.

I also prefer to see Harden get MVP. Nothing against Westbrook but I feel like Houston having the better season gets him over the line.

 

[Loonerty]

Royal Blood have announced a side show in Sydney

 

[Jatz]

Watched The Big Short for the first time on the weekend.

Completely baffled how the big banks allowed that all to happen. Thought it was a great flick with superb acting but the actual content was very good (if not sad) as well.

 

[glenferry23]

Watched The Big Short for the first time on the weekend.

Completely baffled how the big banks allowed that all to happen. Thought it was a great flick with superb acting but the actual content was very good (if not sad) as well.

Fantastic movie, the narration in it makes it very easy to follow despite how complex it is under the surface. The acting was from the top drawer, particularly Bale.

Actually dealt with Scion very briefly in my time at GS. Very well run firm but had no idea at how it would end up. I
remember word leaking about how Burry wanted to create a credit default swap market. He was mocked. The premiums if I recall correctly were approx $80m per annum.

CDOs were all the rage by the time I had left. It was a very nasty and greedy time, many were to blame. Banks, rating agencies etc.

 

[Jatz]

Fantastic movie, the narration in it makes it very easy to follow despite how complex it is under the surface. The acting was from the top drawer, particularly Bale.

Actually dealt with Scion very briefly in my time at GS. Very well run firm but had no idea at how it would end up. I
remember word leaking about how Burry wanted to create a credit default swap market. He was mocked. The premiums if I recall correctly were approx $80m per annum.

CDOs were all the rage by the time I had left. It was a very nasty and greedy time, many were to blame. Banks, rating agencies etc.

Yeah thought Bale did really well, Steve Carell was outstanding as well I thought. Played that role so well.

Oh wow, had no idea you were that close to it. Were you at GS when Burry wanted to create the swap market? I can't remember the exact number for the premiums but I'd say you were about right. Was so interesting to watch him go against the investor's wishes - they certainly should have been thankful in the end!

Agree on the many to blame. They all would have had a hand in it. I actually think that's a massive part of the reason why almost no one was prosecuted - where would you even begin with a prosecution on that scale?

Brad Pitt's character left the most lasting impact on me - when the two young blokes were laughing and dancing around (RE the AA ratings deal they'd put together) and he reminded them that if they were right, unemployment would go through the roof, people would lose houses etc. Thought that was so valid and apt.

 

[glenferry23]

Yeah thought Bale did really well, Steve Carell was outstanding as well I thought. Played that role so well.

Oh wow, had no idea you were that close to it. Were you at GS when Burry wanted to create the swap market? I can't remember the exact number for the premiums but I'd say you were about right. Was so interesting to watch him go against the investor's wishes - they certainly should have been thankful in the end!

Agree on the many to blame. They all would have had a hand in it. I actually think that's a massive part of the reason why almost no one was prosecuted - where would you even begin with a prosecution on that scale?

Brad Pitt's character left the most lasting impact on me - when the two young blokes were laughing and dancing around (RE the AA ratings deal they'd put together) and he reminded them that if they were right, unemployment would go through the roof, people would lose houses etc. Thought that was so valid and apt.

Yes Carrell was great too, didn't know he had that serious side to him.

I was there yes, but not directly involved. I was about ten floors down from those guys, that was more so the insurance team. I was on the trading floor. The bank was enourmous then, thousands of us employed in that building.

But word spread as to what's going on. Something so unique like that is hard to contain. The head of that insurance team would have achieved an incentive of around $4m that year off the back of the Scion deal alone, we roughly calculated it based on the numbers.

And yes I recall the stat being something like 40,000 for every 1 percentage point increase in unemployment. That's the side that no one really wants to think about when there's money to be made.

 

[Loonerty]

Who played you in the movie, glenferry23?

 

[Latro]

Who played you in the movie, glenferry23?

Hank Azaria.

 

[glenferry23]

Who played you in the movie, glenferry23?

Bruce Wayne

 

[jd2010]

Anyone seen Inside Job on Netflix?

 

[Jatz]

Yes Carrell was great too, didn't know he had that serious side to him.

I was there yes, but not directly involved. I was about ten floors down from those guys, that was more so the insurance team. I was on the trading floor. The bank was enourmous then, thousands of us employed in that building.

But word spread as to what's going on. Something so unique like that is hard to contain. The head of that insurance team would have achieved an incentive of around $4m that year off the back of the Scion deal alone, we roughly calculated it based on the numbers.

And yes I recall the stat being something like 40,000 for every 1 percentage point increase in unemployment. That's the side that no one really wants to think about when there's money to be made.

That's so interesting! Did you learn much from the movie that you didn't know already?

 

[glenferry23]

That's so interesting! Did you learn much from the movie that you didn't know already?

Most definitely yes. Been in banking basically my entire career so thought I knew it all, but still plenty to learn from that film.

The refusal of S&P to downgrade the rating for example is one of those myths that I didn't entirely believe at the time.

I knew there was pressure from the government and the banks themselves to hide some key stats in the data they provided, but in the wash up S&P were just as culpable. It's true though, the big boys like GS, Merril etc would've just gone to Moody's and got what they wanted.

If this kind of thing interests you, there's another very good related film called Margin Call. Set around the time the GFC commenced, loosely based on how GS was one of the first firms to dump their mortgage backed securities.

By that stage I was with JPM in Hong Kong, but knew all about what was happening over on Wall Street. A crazy time. It's well worth a watch, similar to The Big Short in that it has a cracking ensemble cast.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Most definitely yes. Been in banking basically my entire career so thought I knew it all, but still plenty to learn from that film.

The refusal of S&P to downgrade the rating for example is one of those myths that I didn't entirely believe at the time.

I knew there was pressure from the government and the banks themselves to hide some key stats in the data they provided, but in the wash up S&P were just as culpable. It's true though, the big boys like GS, Merril etc would've just gone to Moody's and got what they wanted.

If this kind of thing interests you, there's another very good related film called Margin Call. Set around the time the GFC commenced, loosely based on how GS was one of the first firms to dump their mortgage backed securities.

By that stage I was with JPM in Hong Kong, but knew all about what was happening over on Wall Street. A crazy time. It's well worth a watch, similar to The Big Short in that it has a cracking ensemble cast.

'You can either be the smartest or be the first'. From Margin Call. Very, very true.

The ratings agencies shouldn't be listed entities and shoulder most of the blame imo. Have you read Harry Markopolous' book on catching Bernie Madoff?

A lot of very concerning stuff regarding the structure and attitudes of the worlds largest regulators.

 

[glenferry23]

'You can either be the smartest or be the first'. From Margin Call. Very, very true.

The ratings agencies shouldn't be listed entities and shoulder most of the blame imo. Have you read Harry Markopolous' book on catching Bernie Madoff?

A lot of very concerning stuff regarding the structure and attitudes of the worlds largest regulators.

Yes a very apt quote. You only got one chance to be the first before the market caught on, which I guess is why GS only needed $7-8b from TARP whilst Citi needed closer to $50b. Crazy money.

Never read that book but know many who have. I might watch Margin Call again later after all of this talk about it haha.

 

[RPCB]

I bought a MacBook Air today. Yesterday my old Laptop's Power Outlet became faulty and the darn thing kept tripping one of the circuit breaker switches whenever it was turned on trying to charge my laptop. That was a problem because I couldn't download the latest episode of 24 Legacy so I thought long and hard for about an hour and decided a MacBook Air purchase was in order.

Yep, I am crazy enough to spend $1849 so I can download TV show episodes three times a week.


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[SM]

So I popped the question and the missus decided she was happy to put up with me for a while!

 

[Loonerty]

So I popped the question and the missus decided she was happy to put up with me for a while!

That's fantastic! Congrats!

Tell me, was the response immediate?

 

[SM]

That's fantastic! Congrats!

Tell me, was the response immediate?

I had assembled such a delicious lunch that she couldn't resist having a bite before responding.

 

[Loonerty]

I had assembled such a delicious lunch that she couldn't resist having a bite before responding.

Weird. Was she being polite and just not talking while eating or did she take a new bite?

 

[SM]

Weird. Was she being polite and just not talking while eating or did she take a new bite?

Nah she swallowed her mouthful and responded.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Nah she swallowed her mouthful and responded.

i bet she did

 

[Sozabarus]

i bet she did

No wonder he wanted to tie her down. She sounds like a keeper alright.

 

[RPCB]

And the breakup will play out something like this




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[Sozabarus]

SM I apologise for turning your great news in to a sexual innuendo about your future wife.

I was going to leave it alone but when bojan went there I felt obliged to join him.

Congratulations and best wishes. YNWA.