Skip to content

David's Macro Blog

Analysis and commentary on business, economics, real estate, financial markets, and other fun topics

Archive

Tag: Credit Default Swaps

Humor only works when there is truth embedded within it.  This works because while it is humorous, the truth is evident.

“You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth. Son, we live in a country with an investment gap. And that gap needs to be filled by men with money. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Middle Class Consumer? Goldman Sachs has a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lehman and you curse derivatives. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: that Lehman’s death, while tragic, probably saved the financial system. And that Goldman’s existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves pension funds. You don’t want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want us to fill that investment gap. You need us to fill that gap.

We use words like credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligation, and securitization? We use these words as the backbone of a life spent investing in something. You use ‘em as a punchline. We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to a commoner who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very credit we provide, and then questions the manner in which we provide it! We’d rather you just said thank you and paid your taxes on time. Otherwise, we suggest you get an account and start trading. Either way, we don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to!”

Source: StatsGuy – Baseline Scenario.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm

Warren Buffett calls derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction.”  Do you believe him?

Derivatives are financial instruments whose prices are derived from underlying assets.  One example would be a futures contract between a farmer and a food processor.  In this case the underlying asset is the grain harvested by the farmer and the derivative is the contract to deliver that grain at a specified price, time, and location.

This all sounds reasonable enough.  So why would Warren Buffett call derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction”?

What if a Wall Street trader could make financial bets that rewarded the trader with bonuses and the firm with earnings all without setting aside capital or assets to cover that bet?  How many of those bets would you make?  How many would you make when you get immediately rewarded for wins and little or no apparent penalty for losses in the unforeseeable future?  Finally, how many would you make when your expert with a PhD from MIT says his mathematical model shows those bets are risk free?

Now that you’ve thought about those questions, watch this video from Khan Academy regarding Credit Default Swaps (CDS).   Listen for the part about a cascading failure which starts in one location and ripples through the whole system, ultimately destroying everything that looked seemingly safe and sound.

Khan Academy – Credit Default Swaps 2

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm