The Other Paulson and Insider Trading

Economy

If you don’t already understand why people are pissed at Wall Street this piece might help you out a little. It details a somewhat cosy chat between Hank Paulson (US Treasury Secretary) and a group of hedge fund managers/brokers where Paulson discloses non public details regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Groupon…..What a Bust

Economy

Groupon the darling of the social media buyer groups listed this month and it has been a bust. The stock is now trading at a substantial discount to the IPO. Granted the market has been crap but Groupon has been crappier         I have written about this phenomena before and the questionable strategy of…

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Activity

Trading Psychology

Traditionally westerners equate activity with productive effort, as such the more noise and the more fuss you make the more productive you are. The same philosophy drifts into trading, as such trading becomes an activity-based endevour, which then migrates into entertainment. Research by W.B. Canoles, S.R. Thompson, S.H. Irwin, and V.G. France in their paper An…

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Conspiracy Theories

Trading Psychology

Unfortunately the default human behaviour of being consumed with irrationality is common. In markets this leads to a range of inane behaviours but one which seems to be running rampant at present is the various conspiracy theories running around the market. Everything from the new Prime Minister of Italy being a Goldman Sachs plant to the massive…

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