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Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:23:03 EDT 10 http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/magazines/fortune/captainsblog/?section=money_captainsblog http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/images/cnnmoney_logo_144x30.gif 144 30 From CNN and Money magazine, CNNMoney.com combines business news and in-depth market analysis with practical advice and answers to personal finance questions. http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/09/14/news/economy/lehman_brothers_anniversary.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/09/14/news/economy/lehman_brothers_anniversary.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog It was around 10 p.m., exactly one year ago today, and I was standing out in front of Lehman Brothers on 7th Avenue watching as the then fourth largest investment bank in the world melted down. As I took in the scene, Lehman employees carrying out boxes under the kleig lights, past the police cordons, some shouting out angrily to perplexed tourists who had no idea what was going on, it dawned on me that the world was going to change. (The last time I felt anything like that, by the way, was when I watched the World Trade Center collapse, seven years to the month earlier.) Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:22:30 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/08/10/magazines/fortune/change_comes_syria.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/08/10/magazines/fortune/change_comes_syria.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog "Is it really true that you have falafel in America," an educated, English-speaking Syrian asks me at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus. And if so, he wondered, "what do you call it there?" Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:58:58 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/08/05/magazines/fortune/jordan_success_amman.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/08/05/magazines/fortune/jordan_success_amman.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog "We live in a bad neighborhood," one of King Abdullah's top advisors is telling me. "Sometimes, no matter how hard we try or how much progress we make, political events in this part of the world overwhelm them." Actually, it's even tougher than that for Jordan. They say oil and water don't go together, but sadly here they do. Jordan happens to be severely lacking in both: it currently imports 96% of its energy needs and is the fourth-poorest country in the world in terms of water resources. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:53:53 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/08/13/magazines/fortune/beirut_lebanon_renaissance.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/08/13/magazines/fortune/beirut_lebanon_renaissance.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog I'm in the northern end of Lebanon's infamous Bekaa Valley (as in terrorists and drugs) in the city of Baalbeck about to enter its dramatic Roman ruins. Near the entrance of the site I see a large colorful tent set up, with music pouring out. I walk in, not realizing that what I've stumbled upon is a Hezbollah fundraising exhibition. But with the photos of smashed Israeli army tanks, weeping Palestinian children and triumphant jihadists that becomes apparent pretty quickly. And if that's not enough, then there's the backroom with the coffin in the center surrounded by photos of dozens of martyrs, as in suicide bombers. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:43:44 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/05/20/technology/the_end_of_blogging.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/05/20/technology/the_end_of_blogging.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog I'm not blogging as much as I used to. Part of it probably has to do with the job - it's just tough to find the time. (Despite what J.J. Cale might tell you, it's not easy to let it all hang out after midnight.) But I think a bigger reason simply might be that I have literally been Facebooking and Twittering (some say frittering) all my content away! I get a thought, I meet someone interesting, I go somewhere cool, and then snap crackle pop, I put it up. Crazy right? But more than that, what are the implications? As Joni Mitchell might say: "Well something's lost, but something's gained." Wed, 20 May 2009 11:19:49 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/02/25/news/economy/pricing.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/02/25/news/economy/pricing.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog So I met a magician the other night. For real. As in a guy who makes a living pulling rabbits out of a hat, mostly at corporate retreats and such. Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:34:22 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/01/26/news/economy/bank_failures_forecast.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2009/01/26/news/economy/bank_failures_forecast.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog How many banks will fail this year? No one knows of course, but the answer is many. So far in 2009, we've already had three, putting us on a one-per-week pace. That could mean a doubling of last year's tally of 25, and only slightly less than the total number of failures heretofore over the entire decade (57). Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:35:53 EST http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/12/12/magazines/fortune/madoff_dreier.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/12/12/magazines/fortune/madoff_dreier.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog With everything that has happened on Wall Street over the past 18 months, you'd think we had seen just about everything right? Wrong! Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:18:13 EST http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/11/06/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/11/06/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog There has been much talk of whom President-elect Barack Obama will name as his Treasury secretary. The guessing game on Wall Street and in Washington, serious stuff even before the election, has become even more intense. A job that was once a good part ceremonial - with the ultimate perk being your signature on the nation's currency - has become full-time serious. The new Treasury secretary is probably Obama's most significant appointment, and arguably the first significant decision the next president will make. Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:33:43 EST http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/09/25/magazines/fortune/serwer_buffett.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/09/25/magazines/fortune/serwer_buffett.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog HELL-OOO!!! Washington, can you hear me?!?!!! Listen, you need to call this guy in Omaha. That's right Nebraska, just west of Iowa. His name is Buffett. Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:03:35 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/09/15/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/09/15/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog The last hours, minutes really, of one the world's largest investment banks make for a pretty unusual spectacle. Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:33:19 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/08/28/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/08/28/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog WHERE ARE WE? An interesting point in time right now. The dollar has climbed while commodity prices (i.e., OIL), have fallen. The question is: Are these aberrations, small counter-moves only temporarily interrupting a much larger trend? Or are these moves a significant reversal? In the case of the dollar, I would be surprised if the dollar makes a major sustained move higher. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:47:20 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/07/11/magazines/fortune/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/07/11/magazines/fortune/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog "There ain't but one truth," said John Grady. "The truth is what happened. It ain't what come out of somebody's mouth." - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:12:17 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/06/09/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/06/09/commentary/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog On Lehman: A pretty remarkable day for them. Remarkably bad. A $2.8 billion (quarterly!) loss - its first since going public. The bank is also tapping the markets to the tune of $6 billion at lower prices than investors had hoped, creating more dilution than anticipated and driving the stock down over 10% to below $30. Also Fitch downgraded Lehman (way to be ahead of the curve!). Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:02:57 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/04/17/magazines/fortune/captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/04/17/magazines/fortune/captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog "Everybody, listen to me, And return me, my ship. I'm your captain, I'm your captain, Although I'm feeling mighty sick." -- Mark Farner American Poet B. Flint, MI 1948 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:44:32 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/03/28/magazines/fortune/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/03/28/magazines/fortune/serwer_captainsblog.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog SLICES OF LIFE: So I'm walking in midtown yesterday listening to "Lost Along the Way" by moe. on my iPod. And there lo and behold is the Bear Stearns building. It's gray and grim. There's this pervading gloom in the air. Then I hit JP Morgan's headquarters, the old Chase building and folks going in there are walkin' fast, looking down at their shoes. Not a happy time all around. Except. Except, I truck over to Fifth and suddenly, SMILES. Why everyone here one block away is all-aglow. Shopping and having a blast. What gives? Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:09:55 EDT http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/03/03/magazines/fortune/captainsblog_0303.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/03/03/magazines/fortune/captainsblog_0303.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog THE SHOW: Are we having fun yet? Me neither. My old pal Deep Blue keeps writing me about various stocks and such that might have upside, but then acknowledges it's hard to imagine much of anything working this year. Except cash, and you better hope that's real cash and not some sort of 'cash equivalent.' Still, there will be winners and losers. I'm sorry I know there will be fits and starts but I really don't see the non-dollar commodity run crashing on us. (See Buffett, Warren on the Brazilian real.) Gold is the new greenback kind of deal....Kudos to hedge fund manager Phil Goldstein who is suing the S.E.C. to lift its ban on advertising. It's just garbage that the hedgies can't do this, and garbage that they can't publically release their returns either. (We all find out, anyway.) All of this is just a holdover from when hedge funds were a tiny, exclusive slice of the financial services pie. Newsflash: they no longer are! Goldstein told the FT: "gun shops are allowed to advertise, the Massachusetts state lottery is allowed to have a website. We want to be treated like any other business." Now obviously there has to be a limit on hucksterism here, but mutual funds and broker dealers abide by those types of limits just fine. Bring on the hedgies I say!......Guess Jarrett Lillien didn't get the brass ring at Etrade. (Don Layton, formerly of JP Morgan Chase did.) How often do 'acting' heads ultimately get the job?.......Questions: Is Dell over? Is Google over? Is Facebook over before it started? See what some nasty economic weather can do to your brain! Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:44:04 EST http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/01/23/magazines/fortune/serwer_davos.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/01/23/magazines/fortune/serwer_davos.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog DAVOS: Given worldwide financial jitters, I think the sense of urgency at Davos is palpable. If there was ever a need to have an intelligent truly global debate, it is now. The issues here are pressing and real-time. Attendees from outside the U.S. are feeling penalized, and there is real concern that the U.S. doesn't have the leadership to respond properly, and that that response may become overly political given the ongoing campaign. Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:15:56 EST http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/01/11/magazines/fortune/captainsblog_108.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2008/01/11/magazines/fortune/captainsblog_108.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog MARKETS: Regarding Bank of America buying Countrywide, we are now starting to see some of the deal making/consolidation that I have been talking about recently. (Leaving aside the issue, as Roddy Boyd points out, that this may be bad money after bad!) I would expect more of these (WaMu/JP Morgan has been on the table) although instead of major deals so far, we are seeing something instead, which is the flurry of capital of infusions from overseas investors into Wall Street investment banks and broker dealers. To wit: Watch Merrill Lynch, where new CEO John Thain would like to match an announcement of a huge new multi-billion write-off with the announcement of more capital. I still think Bear Stearns may be dealt, although without question it could also scale back and live to see another day too. The other really big question on Wall Street is succession at Morgan Stanley, which also could end up happening in a deal. Really the best guy to take over from John Mack already has a job, Vikram Pandit is the CEO of Citibank. Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:57:37 EST http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2007/12/17/commentary/captainsblog_1217.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog http://money.cnn.com/rssclick/2007/12/17/commentary/captainsblog_1217.fortune/index.htm?section=money_captainsblog ON CITI AND MERRILL: Take a step back and think about the removal of Chuck Prince and Stan O'Neal and the ascension of Vikram Pandit and John Thain at Citi and Merrill respectively. Talk about tradin' in and tradin' up! No question both institutions end up with much better CEOs. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:55:09 EST