Answers I Really Wanna Know: Commercial Paper Comes Home to Roost

By Todd Harrison Jan 27, 2009 10:00 am

Keep an eye on the end-of-the-week debt test.

Do you remember when we warned it would be a September to remember as financial institutions eyed $871 billion in debt coming due into year-end?
Are you equally aware of the $245 billion of 90-day commercial paper (that companies sold to the Federal Reserve) will mature this week and next?
As $50-$70 billion is expected to be rolled over or bought by investors, will that be viewed as an effective thaw or another straw on the back of the government?
When will we get a “debt test” calendar similar to the economic calendars that have been on Wall Street since the beginning of time?
How I reconcile my perceived window of opportunity (after January 20 and before the bloom fades on the Rose Garden in March or April) with more sobering assimilations such as the one Professor Bennet Sedacca scribed?
Is “with discipline and a tight risk leash that I’m able to tether out when I perceive an advantageous risk-reward” an acceptable answer?
Did you read on the Buzz yesterday afternoon that I pared my upside bets (including financials and energy) into strength so I could watch the market absorb the looming supply?
With the understanding that a full frontal assault, should I wish to reengage, was simply a few fingers away?
Does this picture of Hoofy and Boo represent the climb we must together navigate to get to the other side of this period of price discovery?
Y’all read Pepe Depew’s excellent 5 Things yesterday?
Is Jay-Z watching Research in Motion (RIMM) $49-ish as a near-term uptrend in line with the nice, round bottom?
Does anyone else ever confuse Suzanne Somers and Sally Struthers?
While I've always had an affinity for catching cusps, isn't the easiest money made between the twenties?
Do you remember in Ojai ’05 when we offered that “A complex maze of derivatives has tied together the balance sheets of the world’s largest organizations. With the emergence of bearded financials such as General Motors (GM), General Electric (GE) and Ford (F)—all of which have considerable finance arms—it’s quite probable that a ripple in Fannie Mae (FNM) or JP Morgan (JPM) will have an exponential impact across a wide array of sectors and industries?”
If Phoebe could talk (write), could you imagine the best selling tell-all she could sell?
If you don’t incent Wall Street, who will be left to fix the kitchen sink?
Is there a better way, however, than rewarding them for the worst year in the history of banks and brokers?
Perhaps issuing options struck at current levels to incent them to rebuild the ark?
Has it really come down to secretive government-to-government deals bartering for food?
Did you ever see Hoofy and Boo mix it up with Mr. T?
Remember when folks thought that Hamptons real estate was immune?
When are we gonna dust off Minyans in the Mountains?
Be it Crested Butte, Ojai, Vail or some other remote locale?
How the heck did Jack Bauer get jumped last night?
Are you living to work or working to live?
Perhaps more importantly, are your remembering that gratitude is latitude and profitability begins within?

R.P.

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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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