Wall $treet Folly

Carl Icahn's long awaited blog is set to launch in May

That's according to Reuters.  He's been teasing us since early February that it was "coming soon".  We await the arrival of "The Icahn Report" with anxious anticipation! 

Carl Icahn is adding a new weapon to his arsenal -- a blog

There'll soon be a new blog in town, penned by none other than famed activist investor Carl Icahn. He'll  focus on what he perceives to be management problems at public companies, including ones that he's not currently involved in. There's not much there right now -- just a front page that says "Blog Coming Soon" with a picture of the man.  We look forward to its launch with anxious anticipation. Welcome to the neighborhood, Carl!       

No it wasn't your imagination...our blog was down this afternoon

We've gotten a bunch of email letting us know that our blog was down this afternoon.  Sorry 'bout that, but our blog host had server issues and they were down.  Thanks for being patient!

Did Greenspan help fuel subprime irrational exhuberance?; Hedge fund manager / blogger Jeff Matthews is not making this up: these braces worked magic on his portfolio

                 

Did Greenspan Add to Subprime Woes? Hedge-Fund Manager's Bet Against the Odds Pays Off Big

SEC's Cox uses blogs as a public sentiment indicator

Chris Cox, who became the first SEC chairman to post to a blog last month when he commented on Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz's, uses blogs to take the public's temperature on issues:

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a technology cheerleader who recently posted on a corporate blog, said on Monday that he uses blogs to gauge public reaction on securities issues.

Christopher Cox, speaking at the Reuters Regulation Summit in Washington, also said the commission will be looking further at what corporate Internet posts might constitute public disclosure.

"Blogs are a great way to infer passion and depth of feeling," he said at the summit. "They give you an early read on the ... response you might expect."

But Cox said he does not rely on blogs to find the way forward on tough issues. "Blogs in many cases are so irreverent," he said. "They don't wait for facts."

SEC's Cox uses blogs to gauge public sentiment - Reuters

Chris Cox blog post causes a bit of blog envy

Might blogs be used for corporate disclosures in the future?  Maybe.  Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz, an avid blogger, posted a letter he sent to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox regarding the possibility of using blogs for the dissemination of important corporate information, on his blog.  And Cox's response?  It was on Schwartz' blog. It's an idea that the SEC is willing to explore:

"The (SEC) encourages the use of Web sites as a source of information to the market and investors, and we welcome your offer to further discuss with us your views in this area," Cox told Schwartz in his posting on the CEO's blog. (He also sent Schwartz a letter by mail.)

Said Cox: "Assuming that the (SEC) were to embrace your suggestion that the 'widespread dissemination' requirement of Regulation FD can be satisfied through Web disclosure, among the questions that would need to be addressed is whether there exist effective means to guarantee that a corporation uses its Web site in ways that assure broad non-exclusionary access ..."

Cox' blog post to Schwartz has prompted a bit of blog envy:

"We're jealous," lead writer Peter Lattman huffed Monday on the blog. "SEC Chairman Christopher Cox posted a comment on a blog. But not the Law Blog. ...

"Shameless plea to Chairman Cox: We've got a serious case of the Monday morning blues and it would turn our day around if you posted a comment on the Law Blog. Don't worry, we don't want your thoughts on Reg FD or hedge funds. Keep it light: Tell us about the last movie you saw. Your favorite book? Thanksgiving plans?"

SEC chief suggests blogs for disclosures - AP via Mercurh News

If your big swinging dick is a revenue producer, Lloyds just might insure it

But on the flip side, no revenue, no insurance.  The folks at Long or Short Capital called Lloyds to find out about insuring what's most valuable to them:

So I was thinking over the weekend, what’s most important to me? I decided it’s my private parts. As I thought about these valuable assets I started thinking about how reckless I am with them. I realized I should either be more careful or take out an enormous insurance policy on them. I had heard of this being done before. I had also heard Lloyd’s of London was the place that could help me so I rung them up.

The exchange is pretty funny.  Kinda reminds us a little bit of Monty Python.  Read it here.

Under the Counter looking for partner / buyer

Looks like there won't be many more posts on Under the Counter's blog unless they find a writer/partner or buyer.  This note is on their site:

It won't come as news to anyone who has been regularly checking this site sinced we launched almost a year ago that postings have slowed to a trickle. The truth is, between our full-time job and our two other blogs, Brownstoner and Brooklyn Record , there just aren't enough hours in the day to do this right. So before Under The Counter completely falls off the map, we're looking for someone who's interested in either writing it on a partnership basis or just buying it outright. In addition to the name (which ain't half bad, in our opinion), the site's major asset is that there are 60 other blogs out there currently linking to it.

A Message to Readers - Under the Counter

Our blog host, Typepad, was down for well over an hour and a half....

Just wondering if anyone else had the same issues.  *grumble*