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Elsewhere on Thursday (with permalinks — just to show we listen to you, readers…)

– Despite F.Scott Fitzgerald’s musings on the topic of second chances in American life, Wall Street has parceled out plenty through the years.

– Hedge-Fund Guy enters an investment bank: “I wish to complain about this derivative security what I purchased not two years ago from this very boutique,” he says.
“Ah yes, the Collateralized-Debt Obligation,” says the Wall Street Banker. “What’s wrong with him?”
HFG: “He’s dead, that’s what’s wrong with him!”
WSBL: “No, no, he’s … restin’.”
HFG: “Look, matey, I know a dead derivative when I see one, and I’m looking at one right now.” [and so on…]
– That long-standing symbol of the business world, the corporate HQ, will soon be no more. The days of an all-powerful, single location, world headquarters are numbered.

– Looking, as I always do, on the bright side, I note that an unexpected benefit of the chaos on world banking markets is that banks are dropping some of their more irritating advertising in favour of something more relevant to cash-strapped customers.

– It’s been a while since the phrase “carry trade” has been bandied about in polite society, so NakedShorts thought that he’d take his just-enough-math-to-be dangerous and mark the more-or-less anniversary of the Great 2007 Quant Meltdown with a little figurin’. Yowzah!

– The ability of the government-sponsored entities to overwhelm the market with their generalized cruddiness wanes as more people view them as a part of the government (be it now, or down the road).

– Overstock.com, as readers of this blog know, likes to sue people whom it deems responsible for the “naked short selling” that it blames for driving down its share price.

– So, apparently, when Morgan Stanley agreed to advise the the Treasury Department about rescuing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the investment bank agreed to give up “any involvement it has had advising Fannie and Freddie as part of this new assignment.”
That had to be a tough call, huh?

– Of course, [the acquisition of] GSO wasn’t enough to keep Blackstone from posting a loss. But, in a dark time for private equity, Blackstone has shown that there is some benefit from diversification.