The Awl http://www.theawl.com/ Be Less Stupid Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:20:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Is the FBI Gunning for Steve Cohen? Or Just Any Big Fish? http://www.theawl.com/2010/11/is-the-fbi-gunning-for-steve-cohen-or-just-any-big-fish http://www.theawl.com/2010/11/is-the-fbi-gunning-for-steve-cohen-or-just-any-big-fish#comments Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:20:02 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2010/11/is-the-fbi-gunning-for-steve-cohen-or-just-any-big-fish Today's FBI-investigated hedge funds: Wellington Management, Balyasny Asset Management. According to the WSJ, "The Securities and Exchange Commission has shifted its focus on insider trading toward serial offenders and intertwined rings rather than individual trades." Here's Dealbreaker's thinking: it's all about the elusive, secretive Steve Cohen. On that, no idea: but it is true the reasonably oft-maligned SEC needs to bag some big game (and also, for once, to shoot it dead).

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]]> Today's FBI-investigated hedge funds: Wellington Management, Balyasny Asset Management. According to the WSJ, "The Securities and Exchange Commission has shifted its focus on insider trading toward serial offenders and intertwined rings rather than individual trades." Here's Dealbreaker's thinking: it's all about the elusive, secretive Steve Cohen. On that, no idea: but it is true the reasonably oft-maligned SEC needs to bag some big game (and also, for once, to shoot it dead).

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/11/is-the-fbi-gunning-for-steve-cohen-or-just-any-big-fish/feed 1 Finally, The Right Witch Hunt: The SEC Goes After Moody's http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/finally-the-right-witch-hunt-the-sec-goes-after-moodys http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/finally-the-right-witch-hunt-the-sec-goes-after-moodys#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 16:10:22 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/finally-the-right-witch-hunt-the-sec-goes-after-moodys NO THE OTHER SEC, DEARHere is something that not that many people will get all heated about on the Internets but maybe should a little. (The unexcitement, at least, means there'll be no ridiculous Senate committee hearings!) The SEC has notified the rating agency Moody's that it believes that Moody's lied about how it determines credit ratings. Moody's has responded to the SEC with a big "nuh uh." Here's a vague way to say something, courtesy the Times: "Moody's said its Wall Street Analytics unit was cooperating with an S.E.C. and Department of Justice investigation into services it provided to financial institutions regarding the valuations of some of the financial instruments they held." And here, courtesy of the Journal, is a very even-handed way to put the larger situation: "The threat of an SEC case is the latest setback for Moody's, which has been criticized over its failure to properly rate billions of dollars of mortgage-related securities and other complex debt products." And also! The best part is that their CEO sold off a bunch of his own stock in the company the same day they got the notice from the SEC. Way to be, bro.

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]]> NO THE OTHER SEC, DEARHere is something that not that many people will get all heated about on the Internets but maybe should a little. (The unexcitement, at least, means there'll be no ridiculous Senate committee hearings!) The SEC has notified the rating agency Moody's that it believes that Moody's lied about how it determines credit ratings. Moody's has responded to the SEC with a big "nuh uh." Here's a vague way to say something, courtesy the Times: "Moody's said its Wall Street Analytics unit was cooperating with an S.E.C. and Department of Justice investigation into services it provided to financial institutions regarding the valuations of some of the financial instruments they held." And here, courtesy of the Journal, is a very even-handed way to put the larger situation: "The threat of an SEC case is the latest setback for Moody's, which has been criticized over its failure to properly rate billions of dollars of mortgage-related securities and other complex debt products." And also! The best part is that their CEO sold off a bunch of his own stock in the company the same day they got the notice from the SEC. Way to be, bro.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/finally-the-right-witch-hunt-the-sec-goes-after-moodys/feed 4 Those "Stupid Germans," the SEC and Michael Lewis http://www.theawl.com/2010/04/those-stupid-germans-the-sec-and-michael-lewis http://www.theawl.com/2010/04/those-stupid-germans-the-sec-and-michael-lewis#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:00:16 +0000 Choire Sicha http://www.theawl.com/2010/04/those-stupid-germans-the-sec-and-michael-lewis !!John Carney, writing today about the players in the Goldman SEC investigation, is not at all the first to reference The Big Short, Michael Lewis' book about the financial "crisis" (AKA "series of scams"), in light of the Goldman Sachs case. You know, it has been suggested that it's almost as if the SEC read The Big Short and then went out looking for more examples of the things in the book! In fact it's almost exactly like that. Who says books aren't useful?

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]]> !!John Carney, writing today about the players in the Goldman SEC investigation, is not at all the first to reference The Big Short, Michael Lewis' book about the financial "crisis" (AKA "series of scams"), in light of the Goldman Sachs case. You know, it has been suggested that it's almost as if the SEC read The Big Short and then went out looking for more examples of the things in the book! In fact it's almost exactly like that. Who says books aren't useful?

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/04/those-stupid-germans-the-sec-and-michael-lewis/feed 5 How To Make A Dorito Salad http://www.theawl.com/2009/11/how-to-make-a-dorito-salad http://www.theawl.com/2009/11/how-to-make-a-dorito-salad#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:50:56 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2009/11/how-to-make-a-dorito-salad
Skip ahead to the 1:50 mark on this video if you want to learn how to make a Dorito salad, but be warned: You will miss the brief discussion of such SEC-style haircuts as "'Bama bangs" and "the rape mullet." [Via]

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Skip ahead to the 1:50 mark on this video if you want to learn how to make a Dorito salad, but be warned: You will miss the brief discussion of such SEC-style haircuts as "'Bama bangs" and "the rape mullet." [Via]

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