Suicides on Wall Street

[gcy]

Facing Losses, German Billionaire Takes Own Life

Cautionary story of fund manager's suicide

French Madoff investor lost his, family's funds

I wonder if there are more going to be suicides as investors finally figure out how much they have lost.

 

[theeedude]

If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
You start getting emo over money, you are gonna lose even more of it.

 

[LegendKiller]

The german guy is interesting. A shorter who got squeezed by that beautifully righteous bitch-slap that Porsche laid onto short sellers re: Volkswagen. Too bad we can't do that in the US, I think people would be more prudent in picking which companies they short and how much they short them by.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
The german guy is interesting. A shorter who got squeezed by that beautifully righteous bitch-slap that Porsche laid onto short sellers re: Volkswagen. Too bad we can't do that in the US, I think people would be more prudent in picking which companies they short and how much they short them by.

Interesting, you have any more details about this?

 

[SAWYER]

*awaits dmcowen to come in with glee*

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
The german guy is interesting. A shorter who got squeezed by that beautifully righteous bitch-slap that Porsche laid onto short sellers re: Volkswagen. Too bad we can't do that in the US, I think people would be more prudent in picking which companies they short and how much they short them by.

Interesting, you have any more details about this?

link

Squeezy money

How Porsche fleeced hedge funds and roiled the world?s financial markets

GREAT cornering and eye-popping acceleration make Porsche?s cars popular among thrill-seeking bankers and hedge-fund managers. Now its clients are discovering that the carmaker itself has an unexpected talent for cornering markets. In a few tumultuous days it is thought to have made a cool ?6 billion-12 billion ($7.5 billion-15 billion) on the share price of Volkswagen (VW)?a coup that has roiled the world?s financial markets.

Porsche?s gambit was as old as finance itself. For about three years it had been steadily increasing its stake in VW, a much larger yet less profitable carmaker with which it shares a little production. Its buying had driven up the price of VW?s shares to above the level at which it would make any economic sense for Porsche to buy VW. Seeing this, hedge funds sold shares in VW that they did not own. One strategy was a bet that VW?s share price would fall. Some also bought shares in Porsche, in a wager that shares of both would converge.

The risks of short selling should have been apparent to the brightest hedge-fund managers in Mayfair and Greenwich because of widespread suspicion that Porsche, a dab hand in currency-derivatives markets, was also mucking about with options on VW stock. Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley warned clients on October 8th of the danger of playing ?billionaire?s poker? by betting against Porsche. Max Warburton of Alliance Bernstein said Porsche could make billions by squeezing short-sellers of VW?s shares.

At the time Porsche dismissed these musings as a ?fairy-tale?. But on October 26th it executed a handbrake turn, saying that it owned nearly 43% of VW?s shares outright and had derivative contracts on nearly 32% more. That meant it had tied up almost all of the freely available shares (the rest are held by the state government and index funds). Hedge funds quickly did the maths, concluding that they could be caught in an ?infinite squeeze? in which they were forced to buy shares at any price.

Their frenzied buying sent VW?s share price soaring (see chart). After languishing below ?200 last year, it jumped to more than ?1,005 at one point on October 28th, briefly making VW the world?s most valuable company. Porsche may have made paper gains of ?30 billion-40 billion in what one analyst described as ?one of the most brilliantly conceived wealth transfers ever.? Porsche says it never intended to make money on derivatives and only bought them to protect its planned purchases of VW stock. On October 29th it said that it would settle up to 5% of its VW options, freeing up a similar portion of stock and sending the price down again.

Hedge funds that take bad bets may garner little sympathy, but the VW saga does more than punish a few ?locusts?. On October 28th shares in Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale wobbled on worries (denied by all) that they might also be exposed to VW. If the losses are big enough to cause the failure of even a few hedge funds, that would spell more pain for the battered banking system. Other casualties include buyers of passive funds that track the German market who will end up with a disproportionate stake in VW within their portfolios. With VW?s share price falling again, those who sell now will lock in a loss.

The greatest damage is to the reputation of Germany?s capital markets, where regulators are now belatedly investigating what went on. Allowing acquirers to build large secret stakes in bid targets does nothing for confidence. Even Porsche may come to rue its coup. ?They may struggle to sell 911s to hedge-fund managers for years and years to come,? says one investor.

 

[badnewcastle]

Originally posted by: senseamp
You start getting emo over money, you are gonna lose even more of it.

This is so true! :beer:

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
The german guy is interesting. A shorter who got squeezed by that beautifully righteous bitch-slap that Porsche laid onto short sellers re: Volkswagen. Too bad we can't do that in the US, I think people would be more prudent in picking which companies they short and how much they short them by.

Interesting, you have any more details about this?

link

*snip*

Thanks Dari

 

[fskimospy]

No it's probably not a trend. I'm trying to remember the book I read that had a section on this, but generally every time there is a financial panic news stories come out about suicides taking place on Wall St. They tend to be isolated incidents largely unrelated to the economic problems. For example, everyone knows about the Wall St. people jumping from windows after the crash in 1929, right? Largely untrue.

 

[chess9]

Ultimately, it's a bit sad, and very very stupid. When do you lose sight of important values, like family, friends, love, and the joy of being, and get so focused on money that you kill yourself over the loss of it? How can humans suffer such obvious depravity? It must be a mental illness, and if it is not, it should be.

-Robert

 

[SSSnail]

All short sellers can go straight to hell for all I care.

 

[Viper GTS]

So was the key to Porsche's little stunt that they didn't have to disclose their options? I remember seeing the CNN link when it happened but never had time to read the link during my workday & then forgot about it. This is all quite fascinating, I hope somebody got a fat bonus for pulling that off.

Viper GTS

 

[StageLeft]

That German guy, what a loser. Granted, I don't know anything about him, but so he loses some vast amount of money and at the age of 70 is still obscenely rich, yet has learned so little in life about what it means or what should motivate happiness that even with all that he offs himself? Seems like a life wasted to me. He could never satisfactorily feed the hunger of greed and he let it tear him apart.

 

[Zebo]

pfft...Should have gallows set up on wall street.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: SSSnail
All short sellers can go straight to hell for all I care.

Ideal stock market purchaser:

1) Buy low, 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

Short sellers that you hate:

1) Borrow.. 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

In the end, they are the same thing. The shorters just altered one measly step. Thus, all anger towards shorts should also be directed to people who buy low and sell high.

 

[BarneyFife]

What an asshole. It looks like he only cared about money.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: SSSnail
All short sellers can go straight to hell for all I care.

Ideal stock market purchaser:

1) Buy low, 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

Short sellers that you hate:

1) Borrow.. 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

In the end, they are the same thing. The shorters just altered one measly step. Thus, all anger towards shorts should also be directed to people who buy low and sell high.

Except for what this situation shows...they were selling short more stock than was outstanding. Or, they sell so short that they damage the company (ala, BSC and LEH) beyond repair.

People say that short-selling is the opposite of buying. That's a load of shit. The opposite of buying is NOT BUYING. That alone aids in price discovery. If short-selling were so efficient, then why are there so many stock bubbles, yet housing has had only minor bubbles until now? You can't sell a house short.

 

[SSSnail]

Shorting is like praying for someone to die so you can benefit; buy low, sell high is basic economics. You can't compare the two.

 

[chess9]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: SSSnail
All short sellers can go straight to hell for all I care.

Ideal stock market purchaser:

1) Buy low, 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

Short sellers that you hate:

1) Borrow.. 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

In the end, they are the same thing. The shorters just altered one measly step. Thus, all anger towards shorts should also be directed to people who buy low and sell high.

Except for what this situation shows...they were selling short more stock than was outstanding. Or, they sell so short that they damage the company (ala, BSC and LEH) beyond repair.

People say that short-selling is the opposite of buying. That's a load of shit. The opposite of buying is NOT BUYING. That alone aids in price discovery. If short-selling were so efficient, then why are there so many stock bubbles, yet housing has had only minor bubbles until now? You can't sell a house short.

He, he, well they call them short sales, but houses aren't really being shorted. Down here, "short" sales of homes are a dime a dozen. Banks are losing a LOT of money....

-Robert

 

[alien42]

"Real estate power broker dead of apparent suicide"

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/...ml?eref=rss_topstories

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: SSSnail
All short sellers can go straight to hell for all I care.

Ideal stock market purchaser:

1) Buy low, 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

Short sellers that you hate:

1) Borrow.. 2) Sell high, 3) Buy low, 4) Sell high, 5) Buy low, 6) Sell high, 7) Buy low, 8) 9) Sell high, 10) Buy low, 11) Sell high, 12) Buy low, 13) Sell high.

In the end, they are the same thing. The shorters just altered one measly step. Thus, all anger towards shorts should also be directed to people who buy low and sell high.

Next you can explain that inflation and deflation are flip-sides of the same coin, with equal but opposite effects. You'll be wrong about that, too.