The Upside of Anger-Minyanville

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The Upside of Anger

Todd Harrison Sep 17, 2008 7:21 am


		It's important to understand how we got here.

“The wheel is come full circle.”
--William Shakespeare

My grandfather taught me that what goes around comes around. It isn’t always pleasant, but it typically proves true.

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We’re at a painful place in world history. It isn’t something one would wish for nor is it particularly pleasant to discuss.

Avoidance isn’t a viable solution. It is, in many ways, how we arrived here in the first place.

Whoever said ignorance is bliss surely wasn’t involved in financial markets.

Nobody wanted to examine the cumulative imbalances as they built but now that they’ve burst, everyone is placing blame.

Main Street is wagging fingers at Wall Street.

Wall Street is looking to Washington.

The government is passing the burden back to the population.

It’s a vicious circle that has come home to roost.

We, the people, are paying the price and our children will share the tab.

Societal acrimony is percolating, global tensions are rising and the world has forever changed.

There are no easy answers or quick fixes. Time is the arbiter of fate and price is the ultimate judge.

I’ve long said that to get through this, we must go through it.

We’re going through it now and as unpleasant as it is, it’s a step in the right direction.

For Sure and Seven Years Ago Minyanville's Why Wall Street Will Never Be the Same

Minyanville's Why Wall Street Will Never Be the Same

Minyanville has long warned of the eventual comeuppance, expressing years ago that the stage was set for “something entirely more depressing than a recession.”

We banged the drum on Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) in 2005.

We shared our fears in 2006 that our once proud industry would seismically shift.

We wondered how the Fed would solve an insoluble problem.

We offered that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

We flagged the first cracks in the financial foundation.

We witnessed the writing on the wall last summer.

We pondered the invisible hand while it was still a conspiracy.

We watched the witch hunt on Wall Street.

We exposed the dangerous derivative machination.

We monitored moral hazard.

We wondered about our world wishbone.

We dissected the anatomy of recession.

We focused on financial engineering.

We got bullish into the Bear Stearns (JPM) abyss.

And then quickly offered 35 reasons why the market hadn’t bottomed.

We sold in May and went away.

And shared the short side of crude into the height of the mania.

We positioned ourselves positive into the July 16th low.

And mapped our mission across multiple horizons.

We printed Hank Paulson’s playbook.

And ran with the rally before reality set in.

We warned that September would be a month to remember.

And then remembered our friends and the lessons we learned.

Just last week, we watched Hank’s Hail Mary.

Shared that social mood and risk appetites were shifting.

Asked if The Big One was coming.

And contemplated if the contagion could coagulate.

As the weekend awaited, we spoke of Russian Roulette for the financial set.

And offered war is hell as we returned to our turrets.

Perspective Directive

I don’t highlight these columns to stake claim to prophecy. We don’t take pleasure in other people’s pain and millions are in a world of hurt.

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Comments (10)

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Richard Monihan

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09-17-2008, 1:27 pm
While I have not been one of the biggest supporters of the viewpoints in these columns, I feel that it's in the best interests of everyone to point out realities. Eventually, even bears are going to be right, so if you bang the drum lon Read More

Walt Bridge

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09-17-2008, 10:29 pm
Richard, I like the way you frame economics as having the virtue of making events understandable, rather than predictable. Those who are observers of the sciences don't seek the knowledge at the heart of the discipline, but rather the products Read More

Andy Glasebrook

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09-18-2008, 1:36 am
I say to everyone go to your local bank tomorrow and demand to withdraw in cash whatever you can from your account. it's your money and if you don't withdraw it now, you will lose it!!!! the banks after all are just another business and Read More

Andy Glasebrook

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09-18-2008, 1:43 am
you are going to lose it all of course. how stupid can you be? the banks will continue to tell you all is okay while you leave your money on deposit with them (for 2-3%? while they lend out at 5-6%!) but in fact they are using your money to reduce Read More

Richard Monihan

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09-18-2008, 10:28 am
Thank you, Walter. I believe investors who are scared, at this point, are forgetting the lessons of the past. Fear is what undoes us. A few months ago, I posted the Rudyard Kipling poem "If" in the commentary section for on Read More


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Todd Harrison is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Minyanville. Prior to his current role, Mr. Harrison was President and head trader at a $400 million dollar New York-based hedge fund. Todd welcomes your comments and/or feedback at todd@minyanville.com.

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