Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!!
TishTrek answers some important questions in a discussion on LinkedIn started by Alan Liss on LinkedIn:
Alan asks: "Did S&P downgrade America's AAA rating because of "Tea Party Terrorists" or because both parties in Congress are incapable of making the difficult cuts in spending?"
"S&P… said the bi-partisan agreement reached this week to find $2.1 trillion in budget savings “fell short” of what was necessary to tame the nation’s debt over time and predicted that leaders would have no luck achieving more savings later on. I say let’s blame the only group that actually took a principled stand to stop the insane spending - The Tea Party! I know all of our defenders of the Obama administration will. Can anybody finally say “Balanced Budget Amendment”?"
"U.S. Loses AAA Credit Rating as S&P Downgrades on Concerns Over Debt..." @ bloomberg.com: "The U.S. had its AAA credit rating downgraded for the first time by Standard & Poor’s on concern spending cuts agreed on by lawmakers to raise the nation’s borrowing limit won’t be enough to reduce record deficits."
In TishTrek's professional opinion, the U.S. has a big umbrella problem and it applies to all political parties and every institution in Washington DC - the search for high caliber talent failed so there aren't enough leaders who can multi-task within a 60-mile radius of Capitol Hill, but let's focus on the S&P downgrade...
Make no mistake, the downgrade from AAA to AA+ was the result of more factors than we can count. I don't understand all the people out there looking at these challenges through the paradym of a single issue, talking point, or vitriolic label.
Targeting the Tea Party, the Obama Administration & Spending Cuts in volatile silos won't solve the 'other' root causes which - in a big way - contibuted to the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. The U.S. is $14 trillion in debt and tracking to a $22 trillion debt burden as a result of last week's Debt Ceiling Deal. USA TODAY SURVEY on August 3rd, 2011 read as follows: "Here's one you can take to the BANK!" 8/4/11 quote from writer Susan Page: "The hard-won, last-minute agreement to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit gets low ratings from Americans, who by more than 2-1 predict it will make the nation's fragile economy worse rather than better."
Few were surprised by the downgrade BECAUSE Americans and S&P are not just myopically focused on the Debt Ceiling! We see spending as one tangible risk that is within our reach to mitigate at a time in our nation's history when we are deeply worried about business factors & trends that are mostly out of our nation's control, which - COMBINED WITH OUT-OF-CONTROL SPENDING equates to an alarming systemic risk that 'could' threaten our economic stability for more than a decade. The list includes, but is not limited to:
1) Alarmingly weak GDP growth, (i.e. Contrary to what many 'experts' are suggesting, I have to say you can't add 100 new jobs to my brother's restaurant and think additional customers will show up Friday night because the system doesn't work like that. We need more repeat customers to DEMAND our dining services FIRST; then we get to add additional employees to meet the demand ; 2) U.S. smoke-&-mirror job numbers that don't add up or reflect reality worry everybody (these #'s which are 'revised' way too often to be believed (per CNBC) & include ONLY the # of citizens who apply for benefits for the first time AND exclude the # of unemployed who stopped getting benefits; those who stopped looking for jobs or who are grossly under-employed with no end in sight; 3) No one is counting the millions of unemployed & undocumented citizens who are suffering & out of work & don't qualify for unemployment because they never had the chance to pay into the system, (Analysts are trying to project what it will cost the Federal & State Gov'ts to fund housing, food, education & medical needs so this population can survive throughout this economic downturn) ; 4) News reports & competitive intelligence confirm that 2011 corporate cost-containment initiatives will continue to include tens of thousands of rolling layoffs in the U.S. between today and December 31st as companies work tirelessly to meet their year-end revenue goals in an R-o-E / R-o-I challenged environment; 5) New anti-biz regulations rolled out in the U.S. this year by the Environmental Protection Agency, National Labor Relations Bd, etc have stopped regional industries & other corporate activities in their tracks across the U.S. without the U.S. Congress having an opinion or vote on such matters (Whether you agree with the EPA or NLRB policy is not the issue during a rating assessment. Analysts have to project the adverse impact of these numbers on the economy as this trend and other policies important to the Obama Admin continue); 6) it is reported that the U.S. just surpassed Japan to become the highest 'corporate tax hustler' on the planet, (i.e. - Meaning businesses large & small must plan for a higher tax burden if their business stay on U.S. soil. If they move large business/functional areas or U.S.-centric parts of their businesses out of the U.S. to escape such burden it will have a financial impact on the U.S. economy). 7) Goldman Sachs, HSBC, & others just announced that there is now a hyper-focus inside their companies on emerging markets... HSBC is exiting much of it retail biz in the U.S. (Last wk, it sold 195 bank branches to First Niagara in Upstate New York; its in-process right now of selling its credit card biz to CapitalOne, etc), so Chartered Financial Analysts & other experts are assessing these business trends & decisions and they're forecasting what will be the financial impact of companies rapidly exiting certain U.S. industries & communities; they also have to project where the increased corp tax revenue & jobs will come from if too many of the traditional companies who always executed business & created jobs in the U.S. begin what some worry could become the 'Largest Funded Emerging Market Initiative' in corporate history as companies flee the U.S. to gain market share abroad in an effort to meet business & revenue goals in environments with less taxes and government regulation, (i.e. WHERE companies plan to grow their business over the next three years is a critical data point for the U.S. economy); 8) Then there's the Fed & the Treasury Head: The Fed-led 'paper-over-it' approach, the smoke & mirrors of QE2, bail-this-&-that-out, and TARP didn't accomplish the most important stated goals. Hundreds of billions of dollars were spent for short-lived gains & some want us to keep the print shop open - (The questions Americans & countries all over the world have is who's focused on the value of the dollar?); It's actually been reported that the 'paper-over-it approach' inspired a couple of foreign powers (Russia & China) to 'chat' recently about eliminating the 'declining dollar' as the world's reserve currency, (Don't laugh or call me a crack-pot! I know most think that would be impossible? BUT... if they're chatting about this topic somewhere in the world, we have to be focused on it. Americans (and the whole world for that matter) didn't think Lehman Brothers, AIG and Bear Stearns would go out-of-business in 5 minutes either, so now we know all risks within our reach must be researched, mitigated & eliminated. AND reducing the Debt of the United States falls under that mandatory & critical category.
Finally - I have to say this: FOR 10 YEARS, an army of PhD mathematicians & CFA economists were paid by Wall Street firms to assign contrived 'Triple A' ratings to the Mortgage/Subprime/CDO clandestine bundles as these risky & toxic bets were sold to unsuspecting investors & institutions worldwide, (Go back and research the analysis; take it a step futher - check out how one analyst involved in this mess approached valuations for other asset classes and compare it to what he/she did in the Mortgage/Subprime market. My gosh - you'll cry!). The massive & collusive lack of integrity, objectivity and the failure to execute the responsibilities of their profession wrecked our economy. Where were we and the leaders inside Washington DC & inside these multinational corporations, and inside foreign governments when all of this was planned & executed? How come one lone analyst in Oppenheimer - Meredith Whitney - was the only one with the management courage to warn the world about these toxic bets that were about to send shock waves across the world?! (Everyone should note that people in power viciously attacked Ms. Whitney personally and savaged her spot-on opinions the same way they are attacking S&P now).
Let's hope Standard & Poors is trying to transcend that era of horrific transgressions. Let's also hope all Americans can skip 'talking points' and the attack on 'worried messengers' to focus on solutions. Right now, the U.S. can certainly use help from any 'expert' & 'thinker' who was raised to operate with integrity!
Respectfully submitted,
TishTrek
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Economic Intelligence Group: Opinions-R-Us!
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
I answered a couple of interesting questions that my contact Lucas asked on the 'Economics Intelligence Group' Site on LinkedIn today. I love being part of this group because so many members ask inspiring & throught-provoking questions and people really take the time to offer thoughtful, researched responses!
1) AUM - The term means'Assets-Under-Management' (Increase financial value of the happy repeat customers who are already being serviced by your financial institutions). Create new products, services & market offerings so you can manage customer financial transactions areas outside of investment already under your care. Morgan Stanley created a new Private Bank (Charter approved- July 2010) in a race to offer Commercial Banking & Lending services to the clients already being serviced by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's 18,900 Financial Advisors. New biz model: FA in front seat still driving the car to his/her repeat customer; but now a NEW Private Banker is in the backseat of the same car offering the types of financial solutions that will expand the financial relationship, (i.e. FA has managed a client's investment portfolio for 20 years; Morgan Stanley is betting it has earned the right to now manage the commercial cash management & card services transactions for this client's $500MM commercial business which is currently handled by Bank of America or Wachovia).
2) Why is the wrong talent often left in tact to drive business goals off cliff? Power; politics; corporate relationships; 'clandestine biz agendas' that are in the best interest of a few without regard for the overall mission or goals of a company or the world economy, (i.e. Joseph Cassano the head of AIG Financial Products moved himself & some 'special' employees reporting directly to him out of their offices in Greenwich, CT to the UK so they could more easily execute the iron-clad counterparty contracts (their financial partners get paid 100% on the dollar when the risky bets go south) & employment contracts (each executive is guaranteed millions in bonus payouts even after the deals fail because 'Contract Law' prevails) - all signed BEFORE they started executing their clandestine transactions which contributed to the mortgage/subprime/CDO/Counterparty disaster & ruined AIG (- i.e. I've been recruiting these guys for 24 years: if leaders don't operate with 'leader behaviors,' the risk you CANNOT mitigate is incalculable); finally - myopic thinking often gets in the way of making changes in talent or org structures that would be important for the success of a business.
People want to retain power, status, position as organizations flourish, change, expand, become more profitable, BUT... rapid expansion in corp responsibilities often requires new talent that 'will' scale FAST. Talent that has been there; done it; delivered it; delivered it again in other companies & that owned the accountability for the business benefits realized have the unique perspective to look @ new challenges through the window & paradym of former successes &/or failures.
In my experience, lots of 'competitive advantage' is born when leveraging those kinds of experiences. i.e. Cisco Systems in mid-90's: WHEN an office in a region exceeded $65MM in revenues, the region would be split in half immediately; a new office would open; a new sales manager & sales team would be hired; we'd transfer some # of people in split; & replace the regional mgr who never managed revenues > $65MM. FOCUS on revenue goals drove decisions. If the best sales exec was given too big of a region to manage and it hurt time-to-close stats, revenues would be missed - which was not an option.
Also people who are great operating in a biz silo where they have executed with excellence and with comfort for years do not always have the skills that can scale to 'enterprise-wide' initiatives. That's reality I've lived in every company. People can retain important roles in the org, but they'd be leveraging their skills differently. Internal employees & external candidates shouldn't be elevated to the top job without a thorough and objective assessment that determines they're a 'leader' & that they have the skills to deliver on the mission & goals of the organization.
Best regards,
TishTrek
I answered a couple of interesting questions that my contact Lucas asked on the 'Economics Intelligence Group' Site on LinkedIn today. I love being part of this group because so many members ask inspiring & throught-provoking questions and people really take the time to offer thoughtful, researched responses!
1) AUM - The term means'Assets-Under-Management' (Increase financial value of the happy repeat customers who are already being serviced by your financial institutions). Create new products, services & market offerings so you can manage customer financial transactions areas outside of investment already under your care. Morgan Stanley created a new Private Bank (Charter approved- July 2010) in a race to offer Commercial Banking & Lending services to the clients already being serviced by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's 18,900 Financial Advisors. New biz model: FA in front seat still driving the car to his/her repeat customer; but now a NEW Private Banker is in the backseat of the same car offering the types of financial solutions that will expand the financial relationship, (i.e. FA has managed a client's investment portfolio for 20 years; Morgan Stanley is betting it has earned the right to now manage the commercial cash management & card services transactions for this client's $500MM commercial business which is currently handled by Bank of America or Wachovia).
2) Why is the wrong talent often left in tact to drive business goals off cliff? Power; politics; corporate relationships; 'clandestine biz agendas' that are in the best interest of a few without regard for the overall mission or goals of a company or the world economy, (i.e. Joseph Cassano the head of AIG Financial Products moved himself & some 'special' employees reporting directly to him out of their offices in Greenwich, CT to the UK so they could more easily execute the iron-clad counterparty contracts (their financial partners get paid 100% on the dollar when the risky bets go south) & employment contracts (each executive is guaranteed millions in bonus payouts even after the deals fail because 'Contract Law' prevails) - all signed BEFORE they started executing their clandestine transactions which contributed to the mortgage/subprime/CDO/Counterparty disaster & ruined AIG (- i.e. I've been recruiting these guys for 24 years: if leaders don't operate with 'leader behaviors,' the risk you CANNOT mitigate is incalculable); finally - myopic thinking often gets in the way of making changes in talent or org structures that would be important for the success of a business.
People want to retain power, status, position as organizations flourish, change, expand, become more profitable, BUT... rapid expansion in corp responsibilities often requires new talent that 'will' scale FAST. Talent that has been there; done it; delivered it; delivered it again in other companies & that owned the accountability for the business benefits realized have the unique perspective to look @ new challenges through the window & paradym of former successes &/or failures.
In my experience, lots of 'competitive advantage' is born when leveraging those kinds of experiences. i.e. Cisco Systems in mid-90's: WHEN an office in a region exceeded $65MM in revenues, the region would be split in half immediately; a new office would open; a new sales manager & sales team would be hired; we'd transfer some # of people in split; & replace the regional mgr who never managed revenues > $65MM. FOCUS on revenue goals drove decisions. If the best sales exec was given too big of a region to manage and it hurt time-to-close stats, revenues would be missed - which was not an option.
Also people who are great operating in a biz silo where they have executed with excellence and with comfort for years do not always have the skills that can scale to 'enterprise-wide' initiatives. That's reality I've lived in every company. People can retain important roles in the org, but they'd be leveraging their skills differently. Internal employees & external candidates shouldn't be elevated to the top job without a thorough and objective assessment that determines they're a 'leader' & that they have the skills to deliver on the mission & goals of the organization.
Best regards,
TishTrek
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Political Economy & Economic Life: The Blurred Lines that Matter
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
I commented on "Global Economic Downturn: A Crisis of Political Economy" as a 'pending' member of the Economist Group on LinkedIn today:
This week is our Crisis of Political Economy - Part II:
A 20+ year corporate strategy executed by Wall Street firms was to make sure their executives (past & present) had a systemic presence & financial decision authority in every facet of the U.S. government, (See partial list below***). This agenda damaged the U.S. economy & rocked world markets to their core because the success of this mission completely merged the relationship, the lines & the issues of political order and economic life in the United States.
Most taxpayers going about their daily business were blinded by 'talking points' & they bought into 'scripted explanations' that willfully omitted important facts intended for non-economist voters. During clandestine times - like this - it is always a goal "not to quite tell the full story," (Economist Group member Matthijs R. Koot referenced this universal theme in his EIU comment today as well).
Wall St execs (especially Goldman Sachs...) brilliantly & intentionally leveraged the power of the U.S. government, the World Bank, the EU, Regional Banking Commissions, etc, etc to bolster self-interests and the interests of their high net worth customers & institutions, (Traditional lobbying had almost become passe' in 2000 because it is time-consuming & the desired outcomes could not be controlled or guaranteed in the evolving era of electronic trading & high-end transactional services, so banking leaders figured out that being a Washington DC powerbroker & insider was 'the' solution to create the legislative competitive advantage their businesses needed ASAP!).
To achieve all the goals tied to Wall Street's economic self interest during the systemic & intentional mortgage/subprime/CDO/Counterparty events, it required unprecedented & massive assistance from the U.S. governement and it demanded the exclusion of the interests of taxpayers & society as a whole, (These people planned & executed the mortgage-backed agenda before, during and for 8 years following 9/11). OMG.
In the end, they collected awesome commissions, created iron clad counterparty & employment contracts, moved & invested the inflated profits to hedge funds, stock loan, equity research, outsourcing, info technology contracting, retained search et al LLCs owned by affluent corporate friends, former colleagues in their socio-economic league &/or relatives. It was sad & simply terrible to watch people dismantle the companies that the 'Greatest Generation' had handed to their children to help propel America forward.
At the same time, they put all their risky bets, as well as the debts and failures of their Wall Street companies and their counterparties on the backs of U.S. taxpayers, their children and grandkids. They destroyed some of the greatest global companies on the planet, wreaked havoc on the world economy, robbed the financial security of innocent unsuspecting citizens at home & abroad, left millions of hard working people without jobs, left non-profits with unemployed & financially strapped donors, and the list goes on...
When electing politicians, hiring executives, and/or during confirmation hearings of gov't officials, look for leaders who understand that a balance between political order and economic life is key when the health, welfare, and financial security of people the world over is @ stake. Everyone who did this to the world economy knew they were doing it, but unfortunately they were not raised to 'care.'
***(Treasury Secretary, Chairman of the Fed Reserve, State Government, Banking Committees, etc. - (Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Paul Volcker, Paul Paulson, Jon Corzine, & giants of Wall Street et al).
If you don't know our collective history; then history is destined to repeat itself again & again & again... That's why we're here.
Best regards,
TishTrek
I commented on "Global Economic Downturn: A Crisis of Political Economy" as a 'pending' member of the Economist Group on LinkedIn today:
This week is our Crisis of Political Economy - Part II:
A 20+ year corporate strategy executed by Wall Street firms was to make sure their executives (past & present) had a systemic presence & financial decision authority in every facet of the U.S. government, (See partial list below***). This agenda damaged the U.S. economy & rocked world markets to their core because the success of this mission completely merged the relationship, the lines & the issues of political order and economic life in the United States.
Most taxpayers going about their daily business were blinded by 'talking points' & they bought into 'scripted explanations' that willfully omitted important facts intended for non-economist voters. During clandestine times - like this - it is always a goal "not to quite tell the full story," (Economist Group member Matthijs R. Koot referenced this universal theme in his EIU comment today as well).
Wall St execs (especially Goldman Sachs...) brilliantly & intentionally leveraged the power of the U.S. government, the World Bank, the EU, Regional Banking Commissions, etc, etc to bolster self-interests and the interests of their high net worth customers & institutions, (Traditional lobbying had almost become passe' in 2000 because it is time-consuming & the desired outcomes could not be controlled or guaranteed in the evolving era of electronic trading & high-end transactional services, so banking leaders figured out that being a Washington DC powerbroker & insider was 'the' solution to create the legislative competitive advantage their businesses needed ASAP!).
To achieve all the goals tied to Wall Street's economic self interest during the systemic & intentional mortgage/subprime/CDO/Counterparty events, it required unprecedented & massive assistance from the U.S. governement and it demanded the exclusion of the interests of taxpayers & society as a whole, (These people planned & executed the mortgage-backed agenda before, during and for 8 years following 9/11). OMG.
In the end, they collected awesome commissions, created iron clad counterparty & employment contracts, moved & invested the inflated profits to hedge funds, stock loan, equity research, outsourcing, info technology contracting, retained search et al LLCs owned by affluent corporate friends, former colleagues in their socio-economic league &/or relatives. It was sad & simply terrible to watch people dismantle the companies that the 'Greatest Generation' had handed to their children to help propel America forward.
At the same time, they put all their risky bets, as well as the debts and failures of their Wall Street companies and their counterparties on the backs of U.S. taxpayers, their children and grandkids. They destroyed some of the greatest global companies on the planet, wreaked havoc on the world economy, robbed the financial security of innocent unsuspecting citizens at home & abroad, left millions of hard working people without jobs, left non-profits with unemployed & financially strapped donors, and the list goes on...
When electing politicians, hiring executives, and/or during confirmation hearings of gov't officials, look for leaders who understand that a balance between political order and economic life is key when the health, welfare, and financial security of people the world over is @ stake. Everyone who did this to the world economy knew they were doing it, but unfortunately they were not raised to 'care.'
***(Treasury Secretary, Chairman of the Fed Reserve, State Government, Banking Committees, etc. - (Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Paul Volcker, Paul Paulson, Jon Corzine, & giants of Wall Street et al).
If you don't know our collective history; then history is destined to repeat itself again & again & again... That's why we're here.
Best regards,
TishTrek
Sunday, August 7, 2011
John Chambers, CFA, @ S&P = Gold Standard Integrity!
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
As I've explained in previous posts, hiring high caliber talent is the key to competitive advantage. I've enjoyed the privilege of helping multinational corporations reach their goals one new hire at a time for over 20 years. During that time, I've been directly responsible for sourcing, identifying, recruiting and hiring literally hundreds of Financial Engineers/ Analysts who assess & forecast credit and operational risk as part of their responsibility to the investors and institutions they are accountable to.
This weekend as a result of the downgrade of U.S. credit to double-A+ from Triple A, we are watching an unprecedented & massive attack on Standard & Poors and S&P executive John Chambers who is being called, "the Wall Street bean counter who trashed America's global credit reputation," under headlines that scream, "Downgrade 'doer' was no biz wiz." Who do these writers think they're kidding?
I wrote the following letter to the editor to The New York Post this morning because their vicious attack on Mr. Chambers left me wondering why their reporters didn't research what a 'Chartered Financial Analyst' is or what it takes to become one.
People who want to intelligently argue the merits of the downgrade with facts that can counter S&P's arguments for downgrading U.S. credit should come forward and make their case. Obnoxious verbal tirades directed at Standard & Poors and vicious personal attacks directed @ S&P's in-house messenger John Chambers - do nothing to promote solutions and only serve to divert energy and time away from solving these critical issues of our time.
HELP WANTED: Leaders who can assess S&P's long-overdue & strong message, as well as the spending, debt, and credit issues that put our nation in this position in the first place.
-TishTrek
----- Original Message -----
From: Tish Ferguson
To: letters@nypost.com
Cc: jcrudele@nypost.com
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 9:50 AM
Subject: John Chambers @ S&P: Gold Standard Integrity vs 100 PhDs
Dear Editor,
Inside rating agencies, teams of PhD professionals execute risk assessments, not one man. S&P's John Chambers is a Chartered Financial Analyst, (CFA), which is considered a gold standard credential in the field of investment analysis, so kudos to him for having the 'management courage' and guts to call the U.S. credit situation exactly as he sees it.
As a CFA, Mr. Chambers is trained to operate with 'business integrity' - which includes the 'ethics' that went missing for ten years as financial engineers/ analysts were pressured to create the bogus algorithms & rating formulas which hid the systemic risks of the mortgage/subprime/CDO disaster.
Respectfully submitted,
Tish Ferguson
2404 Maria Place
Pt. Pleasant, NJ 08742
732-259-2780 - Cell
I Google 'Chartered Financial Analyst' to get my hands on some content that could counter the arguments of ignorant talking heads who are operating without a clue...
• Many high caliber/ best-in-class Financial Engineers make it their business to become Chartered Financial Analysts. A focus on the CFA Certification curriculum - which I’ve included below - supports the fact that these positions can easily be grouped across businesses because they are part of a job category which demands objectivity and qualifies for international professional designation by a Certified professional organization recognized worldwide.
• The focus on ETHICS, Quantitative Analysis, Economics, Accounting, Security Analysis and Portfolio Management in this profession is universal in scope and literally applies to all industries from financial services to pharmaceutical, (and all asset classes). The calculations and financial models executed by a Financial Engineer in any unit requires a valuation,(***see definition below), the process of estimating the potential market value of a financial asset or liability. The valuation is data that is relied on to forecast whether the incorporation of a financial instrument into a portfolio will benefit the stakeholders the Financial Engineer is accountable to.
• The work of a Financial Engineer helps drive business decisions on issues like asset allocation, portfolio risk and performance, etc. All these benefits are the direct result of the Financial Engineer integrating independent market data, transparent financial and risk reports, complex data and financial models and proprietary valuations for any company that is trying to estimate the potential market value of a financial asset or liability.
***In finance, valuation is the process of estimating the potential market value of a financial asset or liability. Valuations can be done on assets (for example, investments in marketable securities such as stocks, options, business enterprises, or intangible assets such as patents and trademarks) or on liabilities (e.g., Bonds issued by a company). Valuations are required in many contexts including investment analysis, capital budgeting, merger and acquisition transactions, financial reporting, taxable events to determine the proper tax liability, and in litigation.
"CFA Certification actually strengthens the objectivity of an organization & bolsters credibility." - Tish
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is an international professional designation offered by the CFA Institute (formerly known as AIMR) to financial analysts who complete a series of three examinations. In order to become a CFA Charterholder candidates must pass all three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor's degree (or equivalent, as assessed by the CFA institute) and have 48 months of work experience in an investment decision-making position. CFA charterholders are also obligated to adhere to a very strict Code of ETHICS and STANDARDS governing their professional conduct.
The curriculum includes:
• Ethical and Professional Standards
• Quantitative Methods (such as the time value of money, and statistical inference)
• Economics
• Financial Reporting and Analysis
• Corporate Finance
• Analysis of Investments (stocks, bonds, derivatives, venture capital, real estate, etc.)
• Portfolio Management and Analysis (asset allocation, portfolio risk, performance measurement, etc.)
Study materials for the CFA Exams are available from numerous learning providers (http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/resources/guidelinesparticipants.html) including Elan Guides (www.elanguides.com), Kaplan Schweser (www.schweser.com), and Stalla Review (www.stalla.com).
ETHICS
The ethics section is primarily concerned with compliance and reporting rules when managing an investor's money or when issuing research reports. Some rules pertain more generally to professional behavior (such as prohibitions against plagiarism); others specifically relate to the proper use of the designation for charterholders and candidates. All of these rules are delineated in the 'Code and Standards'.
Quantitative analysis
The curriculum is dominated by statistics; other topics such as the time value of money are also addressed. The topics are fairly broad, covering standard topics such as hypothesis testing, regression analysis and time series analysis, as well as portfolio related topics. (Some quantitative topics are covered in other sections, for example, calculating depreciation of assets is a part of financial statement analysis (accounting), and determining currency arbitrage is a part of international economics.)
Economics
Both micro- and macroeconomics are covered, including international economics (mainly related to currency conversions and how they are affected by international interest rates and inflation). By Level III, the focus is on applying economic analysis to portfolio management and asset allocation.
Accounting
Accounting is heavily tested at Levels I and II, but is not a significant part of Level III. The Curriculum includes financial statement analysis and corporate finance.
Security analysis
The curriculum includes coverage of global markets, as well as analysis of the various asset types: equity (stocks), fixed income (bonds), derivatives (futures, forwards, options and swaps), and alternative investments (Real Estate, Private Equity, Hedge Funds and Commodities). The first levels of the test require familiarity with these instruments; the focus of Level II is valuation; Level III studies incorporation of these instruments into portfolios.
Portfolio management
This section increases in importance with each of the three levels - it integrates and draws from the other topics, including ethics. It includes Modern portfolio theory (efficient frontier, Capital asset pricing model, etc); investment practice (defining the investment policy, resultant asset allocation, order execution); and measurement of investment performance.
THE CODE OF ETHICS
Members of CFA Institute (including charterholders and candidates for the CFA designation) must:
• Act with integrity, competence, diligence, respect, and in an ethical manner with the public, clients, prospective clients, employers, employees, colleagues in the investment profession, and other participants in the global capital markets.
• Place the integrity of the investment profession and the interests of clients above their own personal interests.
• Use reasonable care and exercise independent professional judgment when conducting investment analysis, making investment recommendations, taking investment actions, and engaging in other professional activities.
• Practice and encourage others to practice in a professional and ethical manner that will reflect credit on ourselves and the profession.
• Promote the integrity of, and uphold the rules governing, capital markets.
• Maintain and improve their professional competence and strive to maintain and improve the competence of other investment professionals
TishTrek's Candidate Assessment of John Chambers: He is a Columbia University scholar & graduate with CFA Certification who has a long standing history as a key decision-maker and leader in Financial Services. Mr. Chambers is a high caliber talent who is looking at the nation's credit challenges through the window and paradym of all the challenges he has succeeded and/or failied at during his career.
He lives the kind of leader behaviors that matter most in work and life, which has been a topic of THE JOB BLOG many times. Mr. Chambers operates with business intergrity, high standards, values and ethics. He possesses the 'management courage' and the guts to do what's right even when his conclusion or solution is wholly unpopular. The fact that his commitment to objectivity - enhanced through teamwork and collaboration - can't be interrupted for personal profit or swayed by external henchmen means his actions can be trusted.
If there had been more leaders like Mr. Chambers in the trenches of Banking and Wall Street from 2000 to 2011, the mortgage/subprime/CDO plot that destroyed our economy and jobs could never have played out. I know this to be the case because many of my employment candidates got caught in the terrible cross-fire of dishonest actions focused only on short-term stints for personal profit.
When executives fail to live the tenets of leader behaviors, bailouts for the brands they willingly destroyed have to end.
Hope this is helpful. - TishTrek
As I've explained in previous posts, hiring high caliber talent is the key to competitive advantage. I've enjoyed the privilege of helping multinational corporations reach their goals one new hire at a time for over 20 years. During that time, I've been directly responsible for sourcing, identifying, recruiting and hiring literally hundreds of Financial Engineers/ Analysts who assess & forecast credit and operational risk as part of their responsibility to the investors and institutions they are accountable to.
This weekend as a result of the downgrade of U.S. credit to double-A+ from Triple A, we are watching an unprecedented & massive attack on Standard & Poors and S&P executive John Chambers who is being called, "the Wall Street bean counter who trashed America's global credit reputation," under headlines that scream, "Downgrade 'doer' was no biz wiz." Who do these writers think they're kidding?
I wrote the following letter to the editor to The New York Post this morning because their vicious attack on Mr. Chambers left me wondering why their reporters didn't research what a 'Chartered Financial Analyst' is or what it takes to become one.
People who want to intelligently argue the merits of the downgrade with facts that can counter S&P's arguments for downgrading U.S. credit should come forward and make their case. Obnoxious verbal tirades directed at Standard & Poors and vicious personal attacks directed @ S&P's in-house messenger John Chambers - do nothing to promote solutions and only serve to divert energy and time away from solving these critical issues of our time.
HELP WANTED: Leaders who can assess S&P's long-overdue & strong message, as well as the spending, debt, and credit issues that put our nation in this position in the first place.
-TishTrek
----- Original Message -----
From: Tish Ferguson
To: letters@nypost.com
Cc: jcrudele@nypost.com
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2011 9:50 AM
Subject: John Chambers @ S&P: Gold Standard Integrity vs 100 PhDs
Dear Editor,
Inside rating agencies, teams of PhD professionals execute risk assessments, not one man. S&P's John Chambers is a Chartered Financial Analyst, (CFA), which is considered a gold standard credential in the field of investment analysis, so kudos to him for having the 'management courage' and guts to call the U.S. credit situation exactly as he sees it.
As a CFA, Mr. Chambers is trained to operate with 'business integrity' - which includes the 'ethics' that went missing for ten years as financial engineers/ analysts were pressured to create the bogus algorithms & rating formulas which hid the systemic risks of the mortgage/subprime/CDO disaster.
Respectfully submitted,
Tish Ferguson
2404 Maria Place
Pt. Pleasant, NJ 08742
732-259-2780 - Cell
I Google 'Chartered Financial Analyst' to get my hands on some content that could counter the arguments of ignorant talking heads who are operating without a clue...
• Many high caliber/ best-in-class Financial Engineers make it their business to become Chartered Financial Analysts. A focus on the CFA Certification curriculum - which I’ve included below - supports the fact that these positions can easily be grouped across businesses because they are part of a job category which demands objectivity and qualifies for international professional designation by a Certified professional organization recognized worldwide.
• The focus on ETHICS, Quantitative Analysis, Economics, Accounting, Security Analysis and Portfolio Management in this profession is universal in scope and literally applies to all industries from financial services to pharmaceutical, (and all asset classes). The calculations and financial models executed by a Financial Engineer in any unit requires a valuation,(***see definition below), the process of estimating the potential market value of a financial asset or liability. The valuation is data that is relied on to forecast whether the incorporation of a financial instrument into a portfolio will benefit the stakeholders the Financial Engineer is accountable to.
• The work of a Financial Engineer helps drive business decisions on issues like asset allocation, portfolio risk and performance, etc. All these benefits are the direct result of the Financial Engineer integrating independent market data, transparent financial and risk reports, complex data and financial models and proprietary valuations for any company that is trying to estimate the potential market value of a financial asset or liability.
***In finance, valuation is the process of estimating the potential market value of a financial asset or liability. Valuations can be done on assets (for example, investments in marketable securities such as stocks, options, business enterprises, or intangible assets such as patents and trademarks) or on liabilities (e.g., Bonds issued by a company). Valuations are required in many contexts including investment analysis, capital budgeting, merger and acquisition transactions, financial reporting, taxable events to determine the proper tax liability, and in litigation.
"CFA Certification actually strengthens the objectivity of an organization & bolsters credibility." - Tish
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is an international professional designation offered by the CFA Institute (formerly known as AIMR) to financial analysts who complete a series of three examinations. In order to become a CFA Charterholder candidates must pass all three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor's degree (or equivalent, as assessed by the CFA institute) and have 48 months of work experience in an investment decision-making position. CFA charterholders are also obligated to adhere to a very strict Code of ETHICS and STANDARDS governing their professional conduct.
The curriculum includes:
• Ethical and Professional Standards
• Quantitative Methods (such as the time value of money, and statistical inference)
• Economics
• Financial Reporting and Analysis
• Corporate Finance
• Analysis of Investments (stocks, bonds, derivatives, venture capital, real estate, etc.)
• Portfolio Management and Analysis (asset allocation, portfolio risk, performance measurement, etc.)
Study materials for the CFA Exams are available from numerous learning providers (http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/resources/guidelinesparticipants.html) including Elan Guides (www.elanguides.com), Kaplan Schweser (www.schweser.com), and Stalla Review (www.stalla.com).
ETHICS
The ethics section is primarily concerned with compliance and reporting rules when managing an investor's money or when issuing research reports. Some rules pertain more generally to professional behavior (such as prohibitions against plagiarism); others specifically relate to the proper use of the designation for charterholders and candidates. All of these rules are delineated in the 'Code and Standards'.
Quantitative analysis
The curriculum is dominated by statistics; other topics such as the time value of money are also addressed. The topics are fairly broad, covering standard topics such as hypothesis testing, regression analysis and time series analysis, as well as portfolio related topics. (Some quantitative topics are covered in other sections, for example, calculating depreciation of assets is a part of financial statement analysis (accounting), and determining currency arbitrage is a part of international economics.)
Economics
Both micro- and macroeconomics are covered, including international economics (mainly related to currency conversions and how they are affected by international interest rates and inflation). By Level III, the focus is on applying economic analysis to portfolio management and asset allocation.
Accounting
Accounting is heavily tested at Levels I and II, but is not a significant part of Level III. The Curriculum includes financial statement analysis and corporate finance.
Security analysis
The curriculum includes coverage of global markets, as well as analysis of the various asset types: equity (stocks), fixed income (bonds), derivatives (futures, forwards, options and swaps), and alternative investments (Real Estate, Private Equity, Hedge Funds and Commodities). The first levels of the test require familiarity with these instruments; the focus of Level II is valuation; Level III studies incorporation of these instruments into portfolios.
Portfolio management
This section increases in importance with each of the three levels - it integrates and draws from the other topics, including ethics. It includes Modern portfolio theory (efficient frontier, Capital asset pricing model, etc); investment practice (defining the investment policy, resultant asset allocation, order execution); and measurement of investment performance.
THE CODE OF ETHICS
Members of CFA Institute (including charterholders and candidates for the CFA designation) must:
• Act with integrity, competence, diligence, respect, and in an ethical manner with the public, clients, prospective clients, employers, employees, colleagues in the investment profession, and other participants in the global capital markets.
• Place the integrity of the investment profession and the interests of clients above their own personal interests.
• Use reasonable care and exercise independent professional judgment when conducting investment analysis, making investment recommendations, taking investment actions, and engaging in other professional activities.
• Practice and encourage others to practice in a professional and ethical manner that will reflect credit on ourselves and the profession.
• Promote the integrity of, and uphold the rules governing, capital markets.
• Maintain and improve their professional competence and strive to maintain and improve the competence of other investment professionals
TishTrek's Candidate Assessment of John Chambers: He is a Columbia University scholar & graduate with CFA Certification who has a long standing history as a key decision-maker and leader in Financial Services. Mr. Chambers is a high caliber talent who is looking at the nation's credit challenges through the window and paradym of all the challenges he has succeeded and/or failied at during his career.
He lives the kind of leader behaviors that matter most in work and life, which has been a topic of THE JOB BLOG many times. Mr. Chambers operates with business intergrity, high standards, values and ethics. He possesses the 'management courage' and the guts to do what's right even when his conclusion or solution is wholly unpopular. The fact that his commitment to objectivity - enhanced through teamwork and collaboration - can't be interrupted for personal profit or swayed by external henchmen means his actions can be trusted.
If there had been more leaders like Mr. Chambers in the trenches of Banking and Wall Street from 2000 to 2011, the mortgage/subprime/CDO plot that destroyed our economy and jobs could never have played out. I know this to be the case because many of my employment candidates got caught in the terrible cross-fire of dishonest actions focused only on short-term stints for personal profit.
When executives fail to live the tenets of leader behaviors, bailouts for the brands they willingly destroyed have to end.
Hope this is helpful. - TishTrek
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Focus on 'WOW' not the DOW!
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
Finally, some real jobs to talk about!!! HOORAY!!
Ignore the 512.76 point drop in the Dow today! Stay positive! Join me...
Focus on WOW not the DOW! An awesome 5 year old start-up tech company is getting a ton of attention from the top Technology Executives and Venture Capital Groups of our time!
Why continue counting other people's money when you can create something tangible inside the future of an evolving industry?
If you're tops in getting your foot in doors and/or have exceeded quotas selling on-line services, medical devices, office supplies, copy machines, whatever, pls reach out to Tish509@comcast.net.
It's a WOW MOMENT complete with 100+ open positions!
Yes - Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
Best regards,
TishTrek
Finally, some real jobs to talk about!!! HOORAY!!
Ignore the 512.76 point drop in the Dow today! Stay positive! Join me...
Focus on WOW not the DOW! An awesome 5 year old start-up tech company is getting a ton of attention from the top Technology Executives and Venture Capital Groups of our time!
Why continue counting other people's money when you can create something tangible inside the future of an evolving industry?
If you're tops in getting your foot in doors and/or have exceeded quotas selling on-line services, medical devices, office supplies, copy machines, whatever, pls reach out to Tish509@comcast.net.
It's a WOW MOMENT complete with 100+ open positions!
Yes - Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
Best regards,
TishTrek
JOB #s & Those Who Couldn't Count!
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
Don't count or read the JOB NUMBERS! THEY ARE NEVER CORRECT!
Is the government giving us revised job numbers or fake ones or are they moving the real recalculated ones from last month back on the books this month so they can re-calibrate all the 2011 incorrect numbers by the end of Q3?
You know if you can't count, it's highly unlikely that you can fix any economy.
I wonder what our friends @ CNBC think? Calling Larry Kudlow!! HELP!
Thursday August 4th Post: "Jobs Report Could Crush Markets" finance.yahoo.com · via Todd M. Schoenberger
"NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A lackluster reading on the government s monthly jobs report Friday could deal another blow to already weakening global markets...."
Best regards,
TishTrek
Don't count or read the JOB NUMBERS! THEY ARE NEVER CORRECT!
Is the government giving us revised job numbers or fake ones or are they moving the real recalculated ones from last month back on the books this month so they can re-calibrate all the 2011 incorrect numbers by the end of Q3?
You know if you can't count, it's highly unlikely that you can fix any economy.
I wonder what our friends @ CNBC think? Calling Larry Kudlow!! HELP!
Thursday August 4th Post: "Jobs Report Could Crush Markets" finance.yahoo.com · via Todd M. Schoenberger
"NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A lackluster reading on the government s monthly jobs report Friday could deal another blow to already weakening global markets...."
Best regards,
TishTrek
Royal Bank of Scotland: Have You Got Talent?
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
My high school history teacher, the revered and much loved Mr. Oxenford @ Pt. Pleasant Beach High School in New Jersey taught me the following: "If you don't study & assess history, history will be destined to repeat itself..."
Who among us is interested in a REPEAT of the Economic Disaster we are all trying to survive as I write? The answer should be: NO ONE, (okay some of you out there actually benefit out there when the rest of the world is down, but you are the exception!)
24 yrs of recruiting for multinational corporations has taught me that acquiring high caliber talent in business & government is the only 'competitive advantage' that will stop the current economic bloodbath.
The incredible Royal Bank of Scotland WILL rebound if it can just hire NEW decision-makers who live leader bahaviors and the tenets of credit risk, risk management and operational risk.
In-house talent that could scale to the challenges of our time was the only single solution that might have stopped the disastrous aquisition of ABN Amro from being assessed incorrectly and transacted. Go RBS!
LinkedIn Activity Update: "RBS to shed 2,000 investment bank jobs - FT.com ft.com · via John Reynolds
Royal Bank of Scotland plans to shed as many as 2,000 employees from its investment banking arm as it completes the integration of ABN Amro, the disastrous Dutch acquisition that pushed RBS to the brink of collapse."
Best regards,
TishTrek
732-259-2780 - Cell
My high school history teacher, the revered and much loved Mr. Oxenford @ Pt. Pleasant Beach High School in New Jersey taught me the following: "If you don't study & assess history, history will be destined to repeat itself..."
Who among us is interested in a REPEAT of the Economic Disaster we are all trying to survive as I write? The answer should be: NO ONE, (okay some of you out there actually benefit out there when the rest of the world is down, but you are the exception!)
24 yrs of recruiting for multinational corporations has taught me that acquiring high caliber talent in business & government is the only 'competitive advantage' that will stop the current economic bloodbath.
The incredible Royal Bank of Scotland WILL rebound if it can just hire NEW decision-makers who live leader bahaviors and the tenets of credit risk, risk management and operational risk.
In-house talent that could scale to the challenges of our time was the only single solution that might have stopped the disastrous aquisition of ABN Amro from being assessed incorrectly and transacted. Go RBS!
LinkedIn Activity Update: "RBS to shed 2,000 investment bank jobs - FT.com ft.com · via John Reynolds
Royal Bank of Scotland plans to shed as many as 2,000 employees from its investment banking arm as it completes the integration of ABN Amro, the disastrous Dutch acquisition that pushed RBS to the brink of collapse."
Best regards,
TishTrek
732-259-2780 - Cell
Killing You & Your Job 'Softly' @ Goldman Sachs!
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
Great news from Goldman Sachs! Julie Steinberg @ http://www.fins.com/Finance reported in her on-line article, "At Goldman, You're Fired Gently" that Goldman's laid off associates are getting a three month GRACE PERIOD to clean out their cubes and offices!
That's excellent! - a little respect for those who didn't execute the steps that ruined our economy is in order. Being nice to laid off employees is the least Goldman can do after their giant taxpayer bailout and all those counterparty contracts forced AIG to pay 100% on the dollar for Goldman's intentional risky bets/losses during the subprime/CDO crisis that GS executives helped create.
This return to a 'gentle shove' is right in line with how Goldman elbowed business integrity out the door while 'gently shoving' its way to the Fed's Lending window to borrow an additional $30 billion without Congress's, the public's, or even shareholders' knowledge. They do it because they can.
This was shared on LinkedIn on August 3rd: Goldman Sachs Gives Fired Employees a Gentle Shove Out the Door. The firm gives employees a grace period in which... www.fins.com/Finance
Best regards,
TishTrek
Great news from Goldman Sachs! Julie Steinberg @ http://www.fins.com/Finance reported in her on-line article, "At Goldman, You're Fired Gently" that Goldman's laid off associates are getting a three month GRACE PERIOD to clean out their cubes and offices!
That's excellent! - a little respect for those who didn't execute the steps that ruined our economy is in order. Being nice to laid off employees is the least Goldman can do after their giant taxpayer bailout and all those counterparty contracts forced AIG to pay 100% on the dollar for Goldman's intentional risky bets/losses during the subprime/CDO crisis that GS executives helped create.
This return to a 'gentle shove' is right in line with how Goldman elbowed business integrity out the door while 'gently shoving' its way to the Fed's Lending window to borrow an additional $30 billion without Congress's, the public's, or even shareholders' knowledge. They do it because they can.
This was shared on LinkedIn on August 3rd: Goldman Sachs Gives Fired Employees a Gentle Shove Out the Door. The firm gives employees a grace period in which... www.fins.com/Finance
Best regards,
TishTrek
2-1: Debt Ceiling Deal Worse for ALL
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
Mom - The children of the Greatest Generation trashed the country their parents left them, (See below). Some think you're lucky because you're not here to see it. Miss you...
USA TODAY SURVEY, August 3rd, 2011 - Here's one you can take to the BANK! 8/4/11 quote from writer Susan Page: "The hard-won, last-minute agreement to raise the debt ceidling and cut the deficit gets low ratings from Americans, who by more than 2-1 predict it will make the nation's fragile economy worse rather than better."
I agree. The Debt Deal & Dodd-Frank Legislation will not eliminate long-term challenges for investors, corporations or the country in general. Whichever dueling economist we want to listen to, we can count on this: US companies have already prepared for a possible downgrade of the nation's credit rating; they've been preparing for weaker growth and have already been executing action plans tied to that expectation; many are looking abroad in emerging markets for growth where there's market share to gain AND where regulatory & corp taxes rates don't put "a deleterious drag on capital formation" & profits, (as reported by Goldman Sachs, HSBC (just this week - 30K job cuts and a move to emerging markets...), JPMC, the list goes on...)
This blog post was inspired by this: DealBook: Is Dodd-Frank Overdue or Overkill? Senate Hears Dueling... dealbook.nytimes.com · via John Reynolds on LinkedIn
Joseph E. Stiglitz, the Nobel-winning economist, contends Dodd-Frank does not go far enough. Eugene A. Ludwig, a former top financial regulator, warns of “a deleterious drag on capital formation."
Best regards,
TishTrek
Mom - The children of the Greatest Generation trashed the country their parents left them, (See below). Some think you're lucky because you're not here to see it. Miss you...
USA TODAY SURVEY, August 3rd, 2011 - Here's one you can take to the BANK! 8/4/11 quote from writer Susan Page: "The hard-won, last-minute agreement to raise the debt ceidling and cut the deficit gets low ratings from Americans, who by more than 2-1 predict it will make the nation's fragile economy worse rather than better."
I agree. The Debt Deal & Dodd-Frank Legislation will not eliminate long-term challenges for investors, corporations or the country in general. Whichever dueling economist we want to listen to, we can count on this: US companies have already prepared for a possible downgrade of the nation's credit rating; they've been preparing for weaker growth and have already been executing action plans tied to that expectation; many are looking abroad in emerging markets for growth where there's market share to gain AND where regulatory & corp taxes rates don't put "a deleterious drag on capital formation" & profits, (as reported by Goldman Sachs, HSBC (just this week - 30K job cuts and a move to emerging markets...), JPMC, the list goes on...)
This blog post was inspired by this: DealBook: Is Dodd-Frank Overdue or Overkill? Senate Hears Dueling... dealbook.nytimes.com · via John Reynolds on LinkedIn
Joseph E. Stiglitz, the Nobel-winning economist, contends Dodd-Frank does not go far enough. Eugene A. Ludwig, a former top financial regulator, warns of “a deleterious drag on capital formation."
Best regards,
TishTrek
Politics Before Profits: BofA & Lehman
Welcome to TishTrek - THE JOB BLOG!
Mom - Look what they've done to my great company and my job:
At the height of 2008 Credit Crisis, Bank of America was forced to become 'The Rescue Plan' for Countrywide Mortgage leaving CEO Angelo Mozilo laughing while tanning.
Gov't officials used the crisis as an opportunity to eliminate another Citi & Goldman competitor, the same way they selectively decided not to bail out the Lehman Family's legacy to America - Lehman Brothers.
A clueless Congress made Ken Lewis a villian while the men who did this to our country hid in the Treasury Dept & the Fed, (Summers, Rubin, Geithner). Pres Clinton now admits that Summers gave him really bad advice regarding the risk of derivatives on our markets & the economy. You think?
Best regards,
TishTrek
Mom - Look what they've done to my great company and my job:
At the height of 2008 Credit Crisis, Bank of America was forced to become 'The Rescue Plan' for Countrywide Mortgage leaving CEO Angelo Mozilo laughing while tanning.
Gov't officials used the crisis as an opportunity to eliminate another Citi & Goldman competitor, the same way they selectively decided not to bail out the Lehman Family's legacy to America - Lehman Brothers.
A clueless Congress made Ken Lewis a villian while the men who did this to our country hid in the Treasury Dept & the Fed, (Summers, Rubin, Geithner). Pres Clinton now admits that Summers gave him really bad advice regarding the risk of derivatives on our markets & the economy. You think?
Best regards,
TishTrek
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