Comments on: Bad Math, Worse Investors

By: Details « Taunter Media

Details « Taunter Media — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:11:40 +0000

[...] gifts; whatever you think of the government’s decision to invest in Goldman, surely the terms were concessionary. Billions of dollars ended up flowing to the UAW to cushion the bankruptcy [...]

By: Unconscionable Math « Taunter Media

Unconscionable Math « Taunter Media — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:08:40 +0000

[...] You need to understand conditional probability. And the folks at Assurant are counting on the fact that you [...]

By: Taunter

Taunter — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:08:39 +0000

I think the overall tendency of people is to anchor on break-even. You see it in discussions of real estate all the time: “my brother doubled his money in real estate.” “Wow. Over how long?” “What?” “When did he buy and sell?” “He bought in 1986, and sold two years ago.” “And you think that’s good?”

I also think it should be fairly clear by now that anyone in traditional media who could do any math long ago followed Steve Rattner a couple blocks east and got into finance himself. The two industries are simply too similar in location and requirements to have a 50x wage differential.

By: Sparhawk

Sparhawk — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:36:31 +0000

Good analysis, what a joke. Is no one in the traditional media able to do (relatively simple, not to take away from your efforts) analysis like this anymore?

By: anne

anne — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:51:44 +0000

Eliot Spitzer also noted that Goldman has tapped into $28 billion in TALF funds – making a tidy profit on that as well.

I LOVE how GS’s release points to the $10 billion loan, since paid back, and the warrants as the only things the feds have done for them.

Not true not true. But what is true is that the government is one of the worst investors ever. Such a rotten return on the investment of trillions….