My first (of many) columns for ChiBus

So my first column appeared in the GSB's student newspaper, the ChiBus. See the link. Look out for more in the coming weeks. The column will start to focus on specific articles that people should be reading, in my opinion.

Morningstar columnist compiles list of top 10 mutual fund managers

Interesting article from Morningstar listing a columnist's impression of the top 10 mutual fund managers in the industry today.

Yahoo! and Time Warner Speculation from Fortune

Fortune laid out some ideas for Yahoo! and Time Warner. Yahoo! has been under heat lately because many feel they have stuck to the status quo while Google and News Corp have made headline worthy acquisitions to try to fuel growth and improve brand.

Interesting piece from Forbes

I am not as big of a fan of Forbes as some of the other financial publications, but one article from its most recent issue was interesting to me.

It' is on Rudolph Giuliani's business ventures, which include a book, keynote speaking, and of course the aptly named consultant/advisory firm he oversees called Giuliani Partners. The article's premise is that Giuliani's new ventures (mainly Giuliani Partners) don't include the most attractive or stable clientele. The article brings into light several "sketchy" businesses that Giuliani Partners has worked with. It's a big change from the "high society" that the former NYC mayor used to spend his time with.

Lazard is featured in BW

BusinessWeek covered the venerable firm's transformation from private enterprise with overhanging issues to public company with solid growth prospects.

ISS may be for sale

Bloomberg reported earlier today that proxy adviser ISS may be for sale. As the article indicates, proxy advisers have been attracting a lot of attention given recent regulatory changes, the fallout of several companies from the tech bubble bursting, and the influence of activist investors.

"Proxy advisers soon may wield greater influence because of a New York Stock Exchange decision yesterday that restricts brokerage firms who hold shares for clients from casting votes on their behalf without specific instructions. Brokerages usually cast the votes according to what the company's management wants unless investors tell them otherwise. The new rule goes into effect Jan. 1, 2008.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is revising rules that prevent shareholders from nominating directors. Should investor groups get SEC approval to challenge management on board-member recommendations, they may turn to ISS for advice."

Financial Times starts Alphaville, a blog for financial professionals

The venerable Financial Times recently announced the advent of a blog called Alphaville, which is "a digital news and commentary service specifically aimed at finance professionals working in hedge funds, private equity and investment banking."

The blog is located at http://ftalphaville.ft.com/

It seems like a great complement to DealBook and is especially good because of its international focus.

Bloomberg not on the block

Michael Bloomberg has once again quashed speculation that Bloomberg is for sale. The private company which produces the ubiquitious terminals used by nearly everyone involved in the markets has long been rumored to be ripe for a takeover.

Former Harvard President to join hedge fund D.E. Shaw

Lawrence Summers, who resigned from the President position at Harvard earlier this year (remains a faculty member at the school, however), is joining D.E. Shaw.

The next Alexsey Vayner?

An analyst at a large investment bank is in the limelight now following the release of a video showing him and his friends party in NYC. The buzz associated with A.J. has developed quickly and has been covered by the traditional press and blogs.

DealBook interviews Aleksey Vayner

Vayner has found that 15 minutes of fame can be a horrible thing.

ETF For Private Equity

An interesting ETF is coming to the market that will invest in private equity related companies.

New TV drama on Wall Street expected

Rumors are swirling around Hollywood that that producer of Entourage is planning a sitcom with a Wall Street theme.

Coverage of CME - CBOT

The CME's $8 billion deal to acquire the CBOT has been the buzz of the day. Here are some good articles.


Transcript of call regarding deal

Bloomberg coverage

Dealscape Blog Coverage (always comprehensive) - Discusses prospects of other exchange deals/mergers as well

NYTimes DealBook

TheStreet

Morgan Stanley said to be in talks to buy into NY hedge fund

Investment bank Morgan Stanley may acquire 20% of the ownership in Avenue Capital Group, a hedge fund that invests in distressed debt globally. The investment of around $400 million would value the hedge fund at $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion. The fund itself has $10.5 billion in assets.

GSB ranked #1 in latest Businessweek rankings

The latest BusinessWeek rankings were released today and the University of Chicago GSB was ranked #1. The rankings come out every two years. Here is the press release.

Here is the BusinessWeek coverage.

A successful bottom-fisher

Nice Q&A with Tim Evnin, a portfolio manager for the U.S. Trust-advised Excelsior MidCap Value & Restructuring Fund.

Housing stocks back in favor?

JP Morgan's homebuilders analyst, Michael Rehaut, issued a bullish opinion on the homebuilders, citing expected declines in inventories. This report sent shares of homebuilders up noticeably.

Excellent coverage on PE and club deal investigation

As always The Deal's blogs has great coverage on one of the more poignant topics in the financial industry today.

The post provides a background on the "club deal" phenomenon among private equity firms and provides links to articles (including The Deal's own) that discuss the issue of price fixing and collusion among the mega PE shops.

Buyout firms say that club deal probe is due to their own success

Financial Times article: PE firm executives feel they are under the radar regarding club deals because the megafunds have been so successful lately (successful in terms of outsized returns).

Credit Default Swaps Trading on Insider Information?

Bloomberg had a nice piece on the current debate over credit default swaps and whether certain institutions are privy to LBO announcements prior to the public.

Thomas H. Lee (founder of TH Lee) to take public a $400 million hedge fund of funds

Thomas H. Lee, the founder of TH Lee, a private equity shop, now has plans to start a publicly traded $400 million hedge fund of funds. Lee left TH Lee earlier this year to move on to personal ventures.

How not to get a job in banking

What everyone seems to be buzzing about these days. Apparently it is making its way around Wall Street through e-mail forwards.

Weekend Reading and Weekend Linkfest

As always here are the most recent Weekend Reading and Weekend Linkfest articles.

Great coverage of Youtube - Google deal

TheDeal's blog had a nice post on the Google - Youtube deal. The eye-opening $1.6 billion that Google is paying for Youtube once again shows the impact that Web 2.0 has been able to have in a short period of time.

Here is the post from today's DealBook with more links.

Google, the online search behemoth, agreed yesterday to pay $1.65 billion in stock for YouTube in a deal that invited comparisons to the mind-boggling valuations that were once given to dozens of Silicon Valley companies a decade ago.

Go to Article from The New York Times

Go to Related Article from The New York Times

Go to Related Article from CNet News.com

Go to Related Article from The San Jose Mercury News

Meanwhile, a question mark still hangs over the thorny copyright questions that have been plaguing YouTube for some time.

Go to Article from CNet News.com

Go to Article from CNet News.com

Go to Article from BusinessWeek

Overview of Sell-Side Research: Rankings and State of the Industry

Bloomberg had a nice article on sell-side research firms. The article includes rankings as well as an overview of the state of the industry.

FT recounts the Dow's return to grace

The Dow has reached all time highs, after 6 years of falling, recovering, and now, seemingly prospering, although doubters are weary of the recent highs. How did we get here? From the tech bubble bursting to Enron and SOX, the Financial Times had a great article covering the transition from the hey-days of 45+ PE multiples to the more realistic markets we see today. Check it out here.

Media jumping on hedge fund blowups

Fortune "going against the grain" and saying that hedge funds are primed for a blowup. The WSJ had a cover story on hedge fund blowups this morning too. Following the herd?

The death of online gambling

It truly is amazing when you think about the fact that it has come to this. Online gambling had been all the rage for offshore companies like PartyGaming and SportingBet primarily because of the appetite among Americans to press their luck not at online casinos. The all changed yesterday when Congress signed a bill making it illegal for U.S. banks to accept money transfers or payments from gambling sites.

The stocks of online gaming sites plummeted yesterday, as many lost over half of their market value. This rarely happens to any industry in a day, according to the Financial Times, but the fact that it can occur reveals the importance of the American market on something like internet gaming. Many news sources estimate that the online gaming industry generates $12 billion in revenue, half of which comes from the U.S. Placing a multiple on that loss of $6 billion in revenue of a conservative 2.0x and we are talking a $12 billion market value deduction.

From what I understand, Congress' primary argument is that these online gaming sites, which hold U.S. money offshore, could be scams and shut down on a dime with no obligation to return money to players. This is a valid concern, but not when you consider the size of the industry and the fact that the biggest companies (PartyGaming, SportingBet) command a high percentage of the traffic. The fact that many Americans have become gambling addicts and professional online gamblers probably has not helped the situation and given its an election year, you can expect many Congressmen to make attempts to appeal to targeted voters.

Interestingly, one company that I had been following for some time, Neteller, plummeted as well. The plunge seems well deserved, given the Company's reliance on bank transfers to gaming sites. Neteller takes a percentage of the transaction size, often as much as 9% as a processing fee. A large part of their business had to have been U.S. based, given that this was one of the few options that Americans had to transfer money (many credit cards automatically restrict people from making transactions with gaming websites).

Everything seems said and done for the gambling companies, but Congress' bill still requires Bush's signature, which is expected this week.

Crazy how things can change so quickly.

Investment Managers foresee a soft landing for the US economy

Nice summary of investment managers' market impressions by SeekingAlpha.