Filed under: Market Trends
Why does the media slant towards negative news stories? Bloomberg, WSJ, Cnn.com are infinitely more willing to report bad news than good news. At least report both.
For example, Citi is doing badly right now and that is hurting the market. However, Wachovia and Wells Fargo are getting a long just fine after their merger—-why not report that good news?
I’m just saying…
..
Filed under: MBA, Market Trends | Tags: how does the recession impact PE private equity venture capital VC, The fate of PE
I sat in on a guest lecture today. About 150 students packed into a room to see Mr. Chen of ____ Capital Group speak. He’s been in the VC business for 30 years. He is brilliant.
- He says to follow the money—-to go where the stimulus package has gone (healthcare, education, and….I forget).
- Mr. Chen says that PE is F_cked. PEs purchase companies by using lots and lots of debt (i.e. leveraged buyouts). Lots of this debt matures this year, and in order to keep their business model running they will have to replace old debt with new debt. This is problematic because a) it’s hard to get a loan nowadays and b) the rates on these loans are awful compared to the peak of PE (2006 and 2007). Illiquidity + High loan rates will kill the PE model. Mr Chen expects a bloodbath.
- It seems like Mr. Chen is okay with the government injecting cash into the system. However, it concerns him that the Fed is now managaging an unprecedented volume of assets ($1+ trillion) that it has no experience managing. He is afraid that lack of experience to these assets class will create inefficiencies and result in problems (i.e. losses).
- He says VC is done in that super high returns have disappeared because the tech market has become efficient. Before, VC funds would purchase a project that other investors foolishly thought was too risky, and then make ridiculous returns. Now, investors get what they pay for because their returns are proportional to the risk of their investments. The VC market has learned how to measure and price risk.
- Because the VC world is less interesting, Mr. Chen decided to leave tech VC and develop a new fund that is focused on sustainable development. This is very interesting to me and I’ll probably write a little more about it in a few days….I’ll release the name of the fund and the name of this Mr. Chen then too.
- I saw no more than 20 girls in that room. At first I didn’t bat an eye—I’m used to being outnumbered. Then I started to think about it and felt weird about it. Why are their so few females in the room? How is that okay? How does being such an obvious minority affect the females that play in that space (finance, PE/VC, etc)? I’m not crying the feminist battle cry here, I’m just saying….it’s weird to be so obviously outnumbered in a room.
Filed under: Market Trends
I thought this video was insanely interesting. Andressen, founder of Netscape, throws a lot of left-field ideas. I am sure that not all of them will stick, but given his entrepreneurial track record, I am sure that some of them will be executed in the market at some point.
The idea that struck me most: Newspapers should shutdown their printing presses, reengineer their business model and focus on the internet. I.Agree.
Great piece. You should watch it.
Does anyone know what happened to him? Did Elizabeth leave him? How is she doing in terms of the cancer?
Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m looking for a dream job—-and I’m open to suggestions.
Filed under: MBA, Market Trends | Tags: b-school and the recession, business school, finding a summer internship in a down market, finding an mba internship, how many mba's have jobs right now, how many mba's have summer internships, how to cope with a down economy, how to cope without a job, how to find a job, how to survive a recession, is going to business school mba b-school a good idea during a down market recession depression economic crisis, Unemployment, what to do if you are laid off
On campus recruiting is over and I am _______ to say that I don’t have a summer internship yet. Sad. Scared. Anxious. Doubtful. Insecure. Mad.
Recruiting has been tough this years. The firms that haven’t pulled out all-together most likely limited their headcount and gave offers to students that had 100% relevant background for that positoin. Unfortunately, many of us came here to switch careers—–landing an internship as a career switcher is difficult if the employer is screening for previous experience.
It’s easy to get down, to doubt yourself, to wonder if the opportunity cost of coming back to school (i.e. forgone salary, etc) will outweigh the benefits. It’s easy to define yourself by the rejections you have received.
Well, don’t. Do not define yourself by these rejections. Do not define yourself by the handful of doors that have shut you out. Instead, look at the vastness of the opportunities that are ahead of you. You have ten weeks this period to take risks, to try something new, to work in an unpaid internship at the firm you love, to try something you never thought you would try, to live somewhere new, etc. Ten weeks is doable. Ten weeks is affordable.
Watch Steve Jobs address to Stanford and see if his words resonate….they resonate with me.
-The dots connect when you look backwards, not when you look forward.
-Trust in something, in fate, in destiny, in your gut, in karma, something that lets you know the dots will connect eventually.
-Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living by the results of other people’s thinking.
Filed under: Uncategorized
This is sadly ironic (cnn.com):
The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife.
Filed under: Market Trends
Here is an alternative. Brian Breslin thought of an alternative to stimulate our economy, he got up, he wrote it down, and published it on the Internet.
Anyone who is against Obama’s stimulus package—-get up, and vocalize an alternative. Brian did.
What is going on with this cnn.com article?
How can he deny that Obama is doing things differently? I’ve been alive for 27 years and I have NEVER seen a President be so transparent. Every week, Obama puts a video up and updates everyone on what he thinks the government should accomplish. He answers the press’ questions. He gets up there, and answers. Bush did not do that, he had Tony Snow get up there and do that for him. Obama went to Capitol Hill to talk to the Republicans. That is a HUGE sign of respect. Usually, the Hill comes to the White House…walking over there was a sign of respect, a signal that Obama was willing to negotiate.
And he DID negotiate. TONS of stuff was cut from the package, funding that even economists say should be in the package—like infusing cash to state governments to stimulate regional economies.
The Republicans are on the wrong side of this argument. Period. They dragged their feet. They were obnoxiously stubborn.
If the economy does improve, and the great minds of economics and finance attribute it to this stimulus plan…THEN I want to see zero hypocrisy. It is clear that the Republicans are against this, which means they can take no credit.
Freaking nay-sayers. DO something. How can they sit there and just drag their feet, in this environment…instead of DOING, instead of ACTING.
It really makes me angry.
