Stacy Summary: Good morning y’all. What’s up in your part of the world?
No commercial vessel has ever successfully travelled the North-east Passage, a fabled Arctic Sea route that links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific far more directly than the usual southerly cargo route. Explorers throughout history have tried, and failed; some have died in the attempt.
But early next week the German-owned vessels, Beluga Fraternity and Beluga Foresight, are scheduled to dock in the Dutch port of Rotterdam. It is the culmination of a two-month voyage from South Korea across the perilous waters of the Arctic, where an unprecedented ice-melt has at last made the previously impassable course a viable possibility.
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Another way to veiw hedging -
It is called “Busting Out The Joint.” It works like this: The individual (or business) gets his tit caught in a wringer and needs to get protection or cash to keep afloat. He usually has to go to criminal types (loan sharks) for “help.” When he signs this pact with the devil it is only a matter of time before the inevitable occurs. If the business can’t meet its payments it goes out of business. Usually the product and assets are stripped over a period of time by these newly acquired bankers (loan sharks). Then the business is destroyed. In the end the business is torched. In Mafia parlance it is called “Busting Out The Joint.”
The hedged miners find themselves in a similar situation. Ashanti (ASL) and Cambior (CBJ) have already been “Busted Out” and for Barrick (ABX) and AngloGold (AU) it is only a matter of time. They have made a pact with the devil by getting in bed with the Mafia (Bullion Bankers). When POG really takes off these poor companies will be “Busted Out” leaving their shareholders poorer for the experience.
- Black Blade 4/18/01
I think it comes down to time = money. Considering all that goes into developing a system losses can add up quickly. The system analyst is the person controlling the design of the system. Actually programming the system is not always a quick process. In my view if the company is a good company they will document everything and for a good reasons. To cover themselves for copyright infringements and to make it easier to manage code for future versions. Legacy software is not easy to decipher and it is not uncommon to find the use of spaghetti code. With newer versions of the various languages and technologies it is becoming more efficient to develop systems and manage future developments.
Youri, Phil.
lol @ IT Programmers and management being the bane of most modern organisations. I see the same thing in education where I need functioning systems (with data integrity) to do statutory reporting — when the crap that passes for records meets the rules applied out in the real world and excuses and another lucrative project board + custom development aren’t worth anything.
From my point of view, I see managers with next to no knowledge of technical or regulatory requirements specifying systems to programmers and IT project managers with no knowledge of the business processes or the complex web of systems already in use all dependent on one another (and even less about the statutory regulations applied in the real world).
John Ralston Saul wrote some interesting stuff about rampant rationalism, as applied to business management. It all reminds me of a bureaucratic take over, through the administration and systems at the heart of an organisation — used to manipulate the organisation, marginalising those engaged in the core business, and anyone who actually deals with the outside world.
The first line of the article is so spot on:
“…when I was working with O’Connor & Associates, the head of technology (and O’Connor had a well run technology operation) said the cost of documenting software (as in having the developers write up what they did in sufficient detail so a third party could maintain the it) was an additional 20%.”
Some of the comments over on naked capitalism are priceless:
“Very often the customer cannot be bothered to write up a decent functional specification describing what the program is supposed to do. …
…you end up with one semi-retired bearded IT guy who never left the company because that idea just didn’t come up in his head who remembers what the very first program did and why it had been developed. If he can be bothered, he’ll explain the purpose of the program, but he cannot read the new object-oriented programming language.”
I should grow a beard and stop documenting any processes I’m engaged in. ;o)
Actually, I’ve stopped sharing that unless directly requested because the management deal with me on a strictly need to know basis anyway. If me and my e-mail archive leave, the existing staff don’t know much of the history of the system development — tee hee.
The China / gold link is incorrectly attributed to Tyler Durden. It’s actually a guest post by Casey Research.
In the US:
* Road repair/construction from stimulus money. Without it things would probably not change and deteriorate (see http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=201 to find reports on the state of infrastructures across the US).
* Feds give more money to the FBI to fight drugs.
* Crime and police state news.
* Falling tax revenues.
* Bank failures.
* Vacant store fronts and even more businesses in the process of closing.
* In my own observation, since employment numbers are sugar coated, the employment situation has not changed and is probably getting worse.
* Political nuttery and it’s local election time again.
“Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away ”
That’s why two vessels just completed the north-east passage. They were on skis. Or ice skates. Or something like that. Wait, I’m confused.
Another rarely mentioned benefit of global warming besides the NW passage is that it now takes 0.1 seconds less to boil water, on average.
Can you solve this puzzle?
You are riding on a beautiful white horse.
On your left side is a drop off.
On your right side are several ostriches being chased by a lion.
In front of you are four large gazelles that won’t get out of your way and you can’t seem to overtake them.
Behind you is a stampede of horses.
What must you do to get out of this highly dangerous situation?
For the answer click and drag your mouse from star to star.
* Get your drunk ass off the merry-go-round. *
@Youri … ” These Banksters only want to pay themselves ”
100% agree … where’s there’s money, there’s dirt.
Many of those IT managers were sacked after I left.
I made a bet with my wife that that bank will go BK one if they carry on.
Many of the “good” business managers resigned from the bank even before I left, saying “the tail is wagging the dog” in terms of IT controlling their business.
BTW .. I didn’t work for the IT dept. ; we were a special group outside. But via political tricks and jockeying, they managed to get us under their control .. the beginning of the end, because they wanted to destroy us to give their new ponzi system a “raison d’etre” .
… “I once met a IT manager who admitted to me that he had no profound knowledge of software at all and appearantly his boss didn’t know that and was to unknowledgable to check it out.”…
Sums it up … these guys are experts in political manipulation and managing their own pay-packages.
On that said (new) project, the business management were so desperate to get results from the perpetually failing “new” project, that just before I left, they promised the IT Manager a 500,000 GBP bonus if he (just) met his next deadline !
ROTFLMAO !
@Phil
I once met a IT manager who admitted to me that he had no profound knowledge of software at all and appearantly his boss didn’t know that and was to unknowledgable to check it out.
These Banksters only want to pay themselves that’s how they are digging their own graves. If you wonna pay shit for software you get shit software. They think everybody is stupid but them.
@Stacy
If you keep on pushing this ice melting stuff I demand that you pay my CO2 tax to the Goldman Sachs and NWO basterds.
Besides UNILEVER invented ice which doesn’t melt in the summertime so no big deal.
Wait a couple of years and your elegant bum will be freezing off and you’ll have to say sorry.
Mark my words.
Antarctic ice is growing, not melting away http://tinyurl.com/d8der2
@Youri .. “Software”
…. ” “The software is a disaster,” wrote a New York Times reviewer. “It crashes constantly. Playback scroll bars don’t work. Cuts from one camera angle to another include one empty frame where you’re supposed to be….” You get the picture. “…
LOL .. no surprises here !
Remember my old post about a major bank and the budget of 1 Bio. Euros they spent on “development” of a new swaps system to replace the old one ( our small group of 4 expert developers ) that had been working perfectly for over 20 years – ZERO crashes in that period and a peanut-budget in comparison ?
I still wonder to this day whether they’re finished yet .. if it works properly ; and what it costs to support.
That was just one example … another IB where I worked had a similar fiasco but not as serious.
It all comes down to “men in pinstripes” … so-called “IT managers and IT project leaders”.
In the first example, the bosses of the “US swaps business” eventually asked me to keep on what they ( the new IT project to replace ours ) were doing ( they didn’t trust them at all ) .. and was later my downfall politically it seems. i.e. IT were in control of the bank , like “Hey if you don’t agree “our” budget, we can close IT down” !!!
In one meeting they ( US business bosses ) even screamed at these IT managers saying “You devour ‘more’ money for this shit that doesn’t work than we actually make in profits per year in our swaps business” !
I even wondered if there wasn’t some “dubious infiltration” – like spies & conspiracy – to ruin the bank.
I have never met such a band of AWs ( Absolute W*nkers ) in my life … as my ex-colleagues would also testify to ( they are also no longer there )!
The “real” gurus in the business are the techies of high-level languages like A+, KDB, APL etc. etc , like Arthur Whitney here :
http://kx.com/Company/executive-team.php
The question remaining with China is, how entangled in the Illuminati Net are they? Clearly they want out of the trap, but how big is the hole? How deep is their desire, really?
They seem willing to enter into new Illuminati schemes by joining up with new IMF Bonds and SDRs. Which are really just smaller versions of the US Dollars they otherwise are looking to bail out of.
I think in the end China will fall back into their copycat status. The current rebellious attitude I suspect will fade.
Hidden costs emerge from the debris of Lehman crash
Published: September 12 2009
This time a year ago, many people were anxious, stressed and uncertain. The world’s most senior bankers, regulators and traders and legions of junior staff too were working around the clock amid a frantic effort to prevent Lehman Brothers going bankrupt.
A year later, the repercussions of Lehman’s demise – and the rescue of AIG a day later – continue to be felt, not least in the global efforts to tame the privately-traded derivatives markets, home to financial contracts with an estimated face value of roughly $600,000bn.
Yet with the focus on lessons learnt from the global market’s inadequacies before Lehman’s collapse, some crucial teachings may yet come from efforts by Lehman Brothers’ creditors to unwind the derivatives portfolio.
Before explaining why, I want to mention a factor in most people’s lives which probably caused as much stress a year ago as it does now: technology.
The gap between the promises of technology and the experience that is delivered is often substantial. Real-life examples abound.
Most people have experienced moments either at home or in the office when computers do not work. The limits of technology is also one reason reviews in the sector are so popular.
A recent verdict on a new video gadget is a perfect example. Called Yoostar, it allows people to film themselves in front of a green screen and then superimpose their acting onto famous scenes from movies like Forrest Gump .
“The software is a disaster,” wrote a New York Times reviewer. “It crashes constantly. Playback scroll bars don’t work. Cuts from one camera angle to another include one empty frame where you’re supposed to be….” You get the picture.
The point is, no one is shocked to hear stories about technology not working exactly as it should. It is therefore staggering that so much of the financial system relies on faith that technology will work and do what it says it does.
This is where the two themes – a bankrupt Lehman Brothers and technology – come together.
Unwinding derivatives is a complex task at the best of times. In the case of Lehman, one of the biggest dealers in some of the most complex derivatives markets, this has been even more so. Lehman’s global derivatives book included contracts with a notional face value of $39,000bn and deals with 8,000 different counterparties when it went bust. The derivatives business was actually split into multiple strands, backed up by between 20 and 30 different systems.
Once it went bankrupt, the staff which supported these systems “evaporated”, according to Steven O’Hanlon, president of Numerix, a pricing and valuation company which is working with Lehman Brothers Holding Inc to unwind the derivatives portfolio.
“The more time goes by, the less insight remains in terms of the people who staffed those systems,” said Mr O’Hanlon. He likens the amount learnt about derivatives from the Lehman job to lessons from wars. “The medical industry has advanced itself whenever there is a war, when it has to undertake hundreds and thousands of procedures in a compressed period of time.”
The main conclusion so far – and there are many fascinating details in the Lehman unwind – is that the technology costs for derivatives have been underestimated. In addition, the answers that every regulator now wants and every investor should demand, in terms of levels of exposures and risks that banks hold, cannot be easily gleaned from the current multiple systems used to value and track positions.
“Many previously hidden costs of running a derivatives business, including technology support of multiple disjointed systems, can no longer be discounted,” says Luc Faucheux, a managing director at Lehman Brothers Holding Inc in New York.
The unwinding of Lehman Brothers’ derivatives book might yet prove to be one of the best places for regulators to look for clues to how they should push financial markets to change.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7efa0c0-9f33-11de-8013-00144feabdc0.html