Also, Happy Financial Fools Day: Protest reports from the G20 convention, from Reuters.
And From The Front Lines: A photo that shows the ratio of press to protesters. (DB)
Meanwhile: He-Man and “Postman Pat” are being rescued by private equity firm GTCR. Huzzah. (Dealzone)
“Hubris” Interesting facts from this NY Times article on Cerberus’ Investment in Chrysler:
- It’s co-investors have lost four times as much money in aggregate as Cerberus.
- Cerberus put in only about one-fifth of the capital for Chrysler and GMAC, but was in charge of all of the major decision making.
- A third of Cerberus’ co-investors doubled down on GMAC in December.
- There’s also the news from yesterday that the firm will use a new vehicle to meet redemption requests. How does that work exactly? (Bloomberg)
Paul A. Eisenstein: Why doesn’t Chrysler, or the rest of the auto industry, ever learn from its mistakes? (Daily Beast)
Did You Know: There was such a thing as “art banking?” If you didn’t, carry on. If you did, know that UBS has cut its practice. (Crain’s NY)
On The Application Of Surveys: Felix Salmon was not impressed by a recent AlixPartners survey on consumer spending. (Reuters)
Speaking of Surveys: Here’s how some investors feel about asset allocation to alternatives in the wake of Madoff, gates, regulations, and the market outlook. (Quinnipiac University)
Creativity: How KKR is slashing debt. (Deal Journal)
India: Wilbur Ross is looking to buy Satyam. (BusinessWeek)