Save the Date

If you happen to be in New York on April 25th, please stop in to The After the Bell Forum at The Westin Times Square after work. I'll be moderating the first panel discussion on technology and automation for successful trading.  Please check it out and stay for the second panel on connectivity, co-location, big data and news-based trading as well as the post-panel networking session.

Stopping the Spread of Greek Fire

One of the enduring mysteries of antiquity is the make up of Greek Fire.

According to records, the Greeks would use this nasty Napalm-like substance to set fire to enemy navies. For the unfortunate victims, no normal fire-fighting techniques could extinguish it. Once a ship caught fire, it burned until there was no more fuel left.

Sound familiar?

Exchanges are Large Enough

It is curious how the financial markets can mirror nature. Nature has a way of capping the growth of a species so that it does not outstrip the available resources in its ecosystem.

After the European Union officials decided not to approve the proposed Deutsche Börse-NYSE Euronext merger last week, NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer went on the record stating the era of exchange mega-mergers was at an end.  It appears that the global market has decided that the largest global exchange operators are large enough.

After Irene

An interesting little tour of Hoboken, NJ the day Hurricane Irene left.

Hoboken Update II

Hoboken 411 posted a few daylight photos of Hoboken as well as some from HobokenPatch. I'm hearing that the east side of Hoboken is doing relatively well, but some points on the west side of the city has up to 5 feet of water.

Update: Here are a few more photos from HobokenPatch.

Hoboken Update I

There's not much to do remotely but scan the Web for updates and useful links.

I've already started collecting useful Twitter feeds for updates on the conditions in Hoboken (@rob_daly/hoboken-news).

So far it sounds like massive flooding, which has lead the city to evacuate the local Wallace School shelter and transport people to the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ late last night.

Everything else seems to be understandably anecdotal when it comes to power outages and flood levels. As of approximately 6 am power utility PSG&E estimates that 213,000 customers are without power in the company's territory.

Just a few minutes ago, the city reported local flooding sites. They appear to be the usual suspects.

Okay, Irene

I spent this morning packing the car, picking up my sibling and heading to the family homestead. It looks to be a good call since the mayor of Hoboken has officially ordered a mandatory evacuation of all first floor units in the city. Now, it's waiting and watching the Weather Channel and one of the local webcams.

For everyone who decided to stay put and ride it out, good luck and God bless.

Irene, Really?

I’m really torn on the entire Hurricane Irene coverage that I’ve been seeing on television and online. Ever since Los Angeles traffic officials hyped the July weekend closing of the 405 Freeway as “Carmegedon” in order to keep people off the highway, I’m having a hard time digesting all of the hurricane hype surrounding Irene and the tri-state area.

I can see it from a municipality's view: They simply do not have the budget to deal with hurricane damages as they previously did and fear is a wonder motivator to get your citizens to do what you want them to do. But once you know that governments cry “wolf” one too many times, it is hard to totally trust them.

No, I don’t want to become another accident statistic. I’m probably packing a bag tonight in case I have to spend some time away from home because of the weather. Yet, I remember other Category 1 storms hitting the region in years past and you saw people in the Hoboken bars and restaurants.

Just my $0.02.

If I am horribly horribly wrong, please make sure that my nephew gets my comic book collection.

Jackassery Costs Dear

The key paragraph from S&P's downgrade note:

The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year's wide-ranging debate, in our view, the differences between political parties have proven to be extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently. Republicans and Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee decisions on more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options. In addition, the plan envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements,the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key to long-term fiscal sustainability.

Japan Loses Centenarians by the Truckload

Over the past couple of years a number of long-held beliefs have been taking hits. Now it's time to cross another one off the list. As long as I can remember experts have been extolling the benefits of the Japanese diet as a path to longevity. However, according to recent research from the government of Japan, it's a total sham. Turns out that the high percentage of centenarians living in Japan is just a massive bookkeeping error and pension fraud committed by the senior citizens' children.  Oh well.