Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. worked Sunday to finish their $9 billion pact, as both sides pushed to keep the general terms of the deal intact while sweetening key details for the Japanese banking giant, people familiar with the matter said.
While some points could change as talks progressed Sunday evening, Morgan Stanley will likely announce early Monday a renewed commitment to sell a 21% stake to MUFG for $9 billion.
But under new terms being discussed, the New York investment bank would sell only preferred shares, instead of a mix of preferred and common shares. The conversion price for the convertible preferred shares would come down to the low $20s from $31,people familiar with the matter said, reflecting the recent share price drop for Morgan Stanley, which closed Friday at $9.68. The rest of the deal would be in perpetual preferred shares.
The new wrinkles make the deal more expensive for Morgan Stanley and possibly could fall below some investors’ expectations for a dramatic weekend rescue of the firm. But Morgan Stanley is hoping that finishing the investment on schedule by Tuesday will boost confidence among investors who worried the entire deal could fall through.
» by flahute in: Life on May 24th, 2008 at 05:15:42 UTC |
A friend of mine told me today that “Confidence is sexy. Self-deprecation is not. Choose sexy.”
Life is about making choices … some are easy; but most are not.
That’s been my dilemma for most of my life … what choice to make. Most of the time, I get so paralyzed with fear that I make no choice at all, and I get stuck; mired in a funk of my own making.
And yet, I know that I have the capacity to make choices; strong choices, hard decisions. And generally they’ve been the right decisions. So why do I lack the confidence to continue to make choices? Why do I make fun of myself? Why do I put myself down? And why should I expect anyone else to care about me and want to hang out with me, which I don’t even want to hang out with myself?
Not all choices are easy … but in its own way, even indecision is a choice that people make … and much to my detriment, this seems to be the choice I make the most often.
Right now, I think I’m going to choose to go to bed … maybe my head will be a little more clear in the morning, and I can better articulate what I’m thinking and feeling right now.
» by flahute in: Word Play on April 14th, 2008 at 22:43:14 UTC |
BAD RELIGION - AMERICAN JESUS
I don’t need to be a global citizen
‘Cuz I’m blessed by nationality
I’m a member of a growing populace
We enforce our popularity
There are things that seem to pull us under and
There are things that drag us down
But there’s a power and a vital presence
It’s lurking all around
We’ve got the American Jesus
See him on the interstate
We’ve got the American Jesus
He helped build the President’s estate
I feel sorry for the Earth’s population
‘Cuz so few live in the U.S.A.
At least the foreigners can copy our morality
They can visit but they cannot stay
Only precious few can garner our prosperity
It makes us walk with renewed confidence
We got a place to go when we die
And the architect resides right here
We’ve got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith
We’ve got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day
He’s the farmer’s barren fields (In God)
The force the army wields (we trust)
Expressions on the faces of the starving millions (Because he’s one of us)
The power of the man (Break down)
He’s the fuel that drives the Klan (Cave in)
He’s the motive and the conscience of the murderer (He can redeem your sin)
He’s the preacher on T.V. (Strong heart)
The false sincerity (Clear mind)
The form letter that’s written by the big computers (And infinitely kind)
The nuclear bombs (You lose)
The kids with no moms (We win)
And I’m fearful that he’s inside me… (He is our champion)
Yeah!
We’ve got the American Jesus
See him on the interstate
We’ve got the American Jesus
Exercising his authority
We’ve got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith
We’ve got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day, yeah!
Short bike ride yesterday, in the cold (thankfully not raining or snowing), and while I expected it to be difficult since I haven’t thrown my leg over a saddle since December; I did not expect to struggle on a mere 1/2 hour ride.
Then off to party at Jennie’s last night, meeting up with many friends who I’ve not seen in several weeks … completely brain-farted Nancy’s name, which was quite embarrassing; a total synapse mis-fire (or non-fire).
Late start this morning, drove up to Solitude for a couple runs off Eagle Express, and a couple of runs off Powderhorn. Was completely not feeling it, so gave up early and came home …
Definitely not in a good mind-space this afternoon …
Behind the swift decline of Bear Stearns Cos. is a deepening worry on Wall Street that some financial institutions might not be able to make good on their commitments.
Such angst about the health of an institution holding somebody else’s money is an age-old worry in finance. The federal government created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 1933 to give bank depositors confidence they would never again face such concerns.
Bear had denied rumors of financial stress for days, but Friday said persistent rumors about its financial health had caused some lenders and clients to back away from financing or trading with the firm and forced it to turn to JPMorgan Chase Co. for help.
Some hedge-fund clients had demanded that Bear come up with cash as collateral on trades they had done with the firm or had withdrawn funds from their accounts with the firm, further straining its finances. Taken together, it was like a modern version of a bank run.
Bear Stearns Cos. once prided itself on trading securities other firms wouldn’t touch — such as New York City bonds during the city’s mid-1970s’ fiscal crisis.
On Friday, the firm, in the middle of its own crisis, was being kept alive only with the help of a government regulator, the Federal Reserve, which was sponsoring emergency credit support for the once-proud bond firm.
The role of the Fed in brokering a temporary rescue shows how Bear, now Wall Street’s fifth-largest firm, has so many connections to other big dealers and investors that regulators are loath to allow a sudden collapse.
Like Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., which collapsed in 1990 after its main market, junk bonds, suffered a steep downturn, Bear’s main market of mortgages has been the center of bond-market woes that hit Wall Street starting in June.
But the Federal Reserve didn’t intervene to stop Drexel’s collapse, partly because the firm had been the subject of a bruising series of regulatory investigations that took hold in 1986.
NEW YORK — In a dramatic move Friday, JPMorgan Chase Co. and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York stepped in with emergency funds to keep beleaguered investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. afloat.
The move, during a week of worry about whether Bear could continue to meet its obligations, took the credit crisis to a new, more serious stage and was a reminder of how quickly an erosion of confidence can undermine even leading financial institutions.
The involvement of the Fed — coordinating with the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission — made clear authorities were concerned about the risks to the broader financial system. Bear is the smallest of Wall Street’s big five investment banks, but it is a significant player in markets for debt, particularly for securities backed by mortgages.
My reaction?
It’s just a start, and I hope to flesh it out further as the day goes on.
To the tune of “The Bare Necessities” from Disney’s The Jungle Book:
Look for the Bear Stearns equity,
The simple Bear liquidity,
I’m talking ’bout debt instruments and cash.
I mean the bare necessities,
Like J.P. Morgan’s sympathy,
‘Cause the Fed ain’t always gonna save your ass.
Whenever they go long, whenever they short,
The hedgies are wond’ring if they should abort.
Investors are running on the bank,
To make some money before Bear tanks.
When you see all the traders retreat,
It’s time to examine the balance sheet,
Then maybe sell some more.
The Bear’s liquidity and strife will affect you,
They’ll affect you.
Look for the Bear Stearns equity,
The simple Bear liquidity,
I’m talking ’bout debt instruments and cash.
I mean the bare necessities,
That’s why Bear Stearns can’t rest at ease
‘Cause the Fed ain’t always gonna save your ass.
After skiing this past Monday with Mama T. and one of the ferners at the ‘Tude on Monday … today I skied Snowbird (for the first time) with the short one, who was very, very patient with me, because the runs she took me on (with the exception of the first warm-up run) were definitely WAY above my ability.
Took the tram to the top of Hidden Peak, then dropped into Mineral Basin taking the Path to Paradise (blue) along to Junior’s Powder Paradise (blue/black); then taking the Mineral Basin Express back to the top of Hidden Peak, then along the Cirque Traverse to drop into the Upper Cirque (double black), then down Chip’s to Who-Dunnit (both blue) to drop some things back at the car.
My boots were killing me, and I was battling a grumbly tummy, so I hung out at the Plaza while the short one went back up for another attack on the Cirque. We then met up with Tom Boonen, and took the tram back up Hidden Peak, where they bagged the High Baldy Traverse before dropping into the chutes above Peruvian Gulch … I had a long argument with myself at the gate, and since my confidence levels were nigh upon nil, I backtracked, dropped Chip’s Run (blue) to Primrose Path (black) back to Chip’s Run (blue) to Chip’s Face (black) then back to Chip’s to the Plaza.
Lunch at the Forklift, then back up the tram for our last couple of runs (skipping the last run) … I let my compadres talk me into tackling Baldy this time around … hiked along the first part of High Baldy Traverse, then skied the rest of it towards one of the easier drop-offs into the double-black soft stuff. By this point, my legs were jelly, and while I’ve been having problems getting forward enough over my skis anyway, I was really having problems getting down this … rag-dolled once, fell a couple of other times, but ultimately made it down alive, well, and proud of the attempt, even if it wasn’t the prettiest descent in the world.
Jennie … thank you so much for introducing me to your mountain, and while I’m sure you would have had a better ski day without me holding you back, thank you (and thank you too, Todd) for your patience with my various struggles. It may not have always looked it, but all-in-all, I really did have an enjoyable day.
I will be back, albeit probably not until next season, with new, properly fitting boots and some more off-piste technique practice; and anytime you want to ski Solitude, let me know, and I’ll show you what I can do on MY mountain.
No photos today … every time I stopped, I was too busy trying to catch my breath (amazing how much more difficult it is to breathe at 11,000 feet than it is at 10,000 feet) to take the time to haul the D80 out of the bag and shoot some of the incredible views.
@ashbuckles WPTouch is just a WordPress plugin to format a WP blog for viewing on an iPhone. WordPress has a app to post in the App Store. in reply to ashbuckles3 hrs ago
