Thanks, David, I'm on the east coast and far enough north to miss the action. I do feel sorry for New Orleans' citizens if those heavy rains fall.
As far as our bet goes, the pyramids may have crumbled before either DELL or IDTI doubles its value from the date of our bet. Our market can withstand the collapse of about two more hedge funds like Mr. Meriwether's Long Term Capital. I decided to refrain from investing in that one, since I didn't want to tie up the required $10M of my funds for a minimum of three years. In case anyone takes me seriously, that is a joke, David. I read where LTC, which had just $4.8B cash at the end of last year, went down with a portfolio of $85B(it had been as high as $125B) which was used as collateral to control $1.25 T(for trillion). Are there leveraged players out there or not! Messrs. Merton and Scholes, both Nobel laureates, bet wrong on relative value arbitrage and figured Treasury interest rates would move up. Leverage and liberal credit from our banks did the rest. We individuals are held to a 50% margin, but that is no assurance the market is solvent. Clean up the mess in DC, and I'll buy a Big Mac and Pepsi for you on the house. Regards, Sam |
