Crystal Balls
Actually, ML is getting sued not for a cloudy crystal ball but rather a 'bias-conflict' in the crystal ball performance. Bias-conflict is an adjustment which must be serviced only by a qualified technician, and such a technician must be blindfolded, sequestered, and have no prejudicial leanings prior (nor subsequently) to their diddling with the adjuster knob. It would seem to me that this idea could be carried forward to include any recommendations made by any large shareholder of a trading equity, and perhaps this is where the rub is. Anyone listening to an anal for their conclusions needs serious help, but anyone that cannot read an analyst's report and pick up clues as to what others are examining needs to be restricted to US Savings Bonds, or perhaps the Lotto.
On the question about capacity swaps:
1. is there documentation somewhere on just how much $$$ is involved qrtr to qrtr on capacity swaps? I ask because this seems to be the perfect place to trim capex without revealing that capex is being trimmed. As a bonus, it would appear on the revenue side of the equation, no?
My body language interpretation of the answers to the capacity swap question lead me to believe that yes there are deals for swapping capacity which could be questioned, but no they cannot be proven nor can they be shown to be excessive. This sort of number shuffling is not uncommon, but it seems to be pronounced RIGHT NOW, and I am wondering why? Did something flag all the anals to question it now, or are they out there just trying like heck to get the prices low enough so the money moguls can take a bigger bite of these apples, cover their shorts, strongarm their positions? They did the same with the change from IRU accounting to lease accounting, the same for the Yellow adventure, etc. Is there a Reason for the present focus on capacity swaps, other than just looking for a good club to beat the telcos with?
Martin |
