Saturday, January 19, 2008

Appointment in Samarra

Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.
W. Somerset Maughham

Unlike the Fed, which thinks we have all the time in the world, (except when it comes to a stimulus plan) in one day, the AAA insurance rating scam on the bonds is over. Here's what quickened the demise of these insurers. You need to watch it, even if it's 13 minutes as Cramer hastened their untimely exit. It's great theatre!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=624755222&play=1

Now Cramer presented his rescue plan to the insurance monolines Friday on MadMoney. Here it is:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22728371/

What is interesting about all of this, is that Cramer said he spoke up, while Wall Street shut up, because he wasn't concerned about the consequences. He recommended viewers to read Appointment in Samarra to understand how Wall Street works. That's John O'Hara's book about a man, Julian English, who upset the apple cart of his life, by first throwing a drink in the face of Harry Reilly, and then the consequences of it. This time the drink is Cramer's rant, thrown into the face of the fiction of the financials of the monoline insurers!

What is more funny, is that the next day Julian's wife Caroline, had a talk with him:

She lit a cigarette. "Well, you fixed it last night. No point in going why you threw that drink at Harry, but I just want to tell you this much, you've made an enemy for life."

"Oh no. Naturally he's sore, but I'll be able to fix it. I can handle that."

"That's what you think. I'll tell you something. Have you any idea how fast news travels in this town?"

And Cramer, gives his fix to the mess the next day on Mad Money.

But the markets, like the book, aren't so forgiving!

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