Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Davos Opens

The World Economic Forum officially kicked off two days after Oxfam released their report on the impacts of the global economy.

During the period 2010-2015, the total wealth of the world’s poorer half went down from $2.5 trillion to $1.8 trillion, while the total wealth of the world’s 62 richest people went up from $1.2 trillion (not counting undeclared wealth) to $1.8 trillion (also not counting secret wealth). 
Davos featured income inequality in 2015.


“The global inequality crisis is reaching new extremes. The richest 1% now have more wealth than the rest of the world combined. Power and privilege is being used to skew the economic system to increase the gap between the richest and the rest. A global network of tax havens further enables the richest individuals to hide $7.6 trillion.” 

And that's what Davos was engineered to do, serve the captains of industry.  Private equity underwriters are the captains of captains in an industry all their own.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Power Africa to Follow Davos

After the greed and leverage boys meet for deal making in Davos, Switzerland January 20-23rd they can fly to Washington, D.C. for the Power Africa Summit which runs January 27-29.

The Powering Africa: Summit is a meeting place to enable dialogue between public and private sector decision-makers across the US and Africa, promoting the investment opportunities in Africa's power sector. Those attending will include Ministers of Energy from Africa, heads of African utilities and regulatory bodies, US-based private equity houses and wealth management establishments.

The most notable of these are Blackstone, KKR, the Abraaj Group and the Carlyle Group, who have invested billions of dollars in pursuit of cornerstone energy projects that will draw directly on the spending power of the consumer.  
January looks like a busy month for global tampering for the PEU boys.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Carlyle Monetizes Mountain Water: Thumbs Missoula, Montana PSC


The Carlyle Group took the bold step of selling Missoula's Mountain Water, a division of Carlyle's Park Water holdings.  The sale occurred after a court condemned Mountain Water, giving the City of Missoula the right to buy their local water company for just under $90 million.

Apparently, The Carlyle Group is bigger than local governments or state public utility commissions.  The billionaire boys are used to steering government, not the other way around..

Monday, January 11, 2016

Citizen Hillary Mined PEU Speaking Fees: Davos Nearing


The Clinton's millions in speaking fees have been reported by WaPo and The Intercept. Three private equity firms hired Hillary Clinton to speak since she stepped down as Secretary of State.  Leon Black's Apollo Global Management, David Rubenstein's Carlyle Group and Henry Kravis' KKR each paid Mrs. Clinton hundred of thousands of dollars.

It's worth remembering this fact as the World Economic Forum nears.  The meeting of global tamperes clearly has a bias towards the financial sector. Only months ago the WEF released two reports on Alternative Investments 2020.  Alternative investments include private equity underwriters and hedge funds.

One report is on regulatory reform and the other on the future of alternative investments.


Private equity underwriters rode decades of financial engineering and their preferred tax status to become financial behemoths.  Their spectacular ascent occurred under Red and Blue Presidents.  Bill Clinton privatized government background checks to The Carlyle Group's profitability.  George Bush's two terms in office saw Carlyle grow from $3 billion under assets to over $90 billion.  Carlyle more than doubled again under Obama.  How big might they get under Hillary Clinton's shepherding?

The PEU ground may become fertile under the Fourth Industrial Age, the theme of this year's World Economic Forum:

The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country.
PEUs love disruption.  It's the field in which billionaires are made.  They need politicians to socialize their Third Wave losses as they privatize their Fourth Wave gains.  I believe Hillary is up to the task.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Davos Masters: Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution


The power, greed and leverage class will once again convene in Davos, Switzerland at the 46th World Economic Forum annual meeting.

“There are many challenges in the world today, and I feel that one of the most intense and impactful will be shaping the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ – driven by the speed, the breadth and the complete ‘systems innovation’ of technological change underway. The challenges are as daunting as the opportunities are compelling. We must have a comprehensive and globally shared understanding of how technology is changing our lives and that of future generations, transforming the economic, social, ecological and cultural contexts in which we live.

Central questions that will be asked of the Fourth Industrial Revolution include:

1)  How will it transform industry sectors, including health, mobility, financial services and education? 

2)  How can technology be deployed in ways that contribute to inclusive growth rather than exacerbate unemployment and income inequality? 

3)  How can breakthroughs in science and technology help in solving problems of the global commons from climate change to public health? 

4)  How will emerging technologies transform the global security landscape? 

5)  How can governments build institutions capable of making decisions when the challenges they face are more complex, fast-moving and interconnected than ever before? 

I recognize a few PEU underlying themes.  The answer to unemployment and income equality is technology, which the government must purchase from the private sector.  It's not making America's billionaire class pay a higher tax rate than their secretaries or taxing their investment packaging which now get the treatment of local, safety net hospital..

Governments are responsible for global security and thus must foot the bill for intrusive spying, tracking and monitoring of all citizens.  Nearly every private equity underwriter is in the defense and homeland security space, often monetizing their affiliates by selling to fellow PEUs.

Government has been reduced to the simple task of decision making.  There's no discussion on the central role of government to ensure people are treated fairly.  PPACA, otherwise known as health reform, resulted in the deterioration of health benefits such that many people cannot afford to see their doctor or get prescriptions as they haven't met their absurd annual deductible and don't have the cash to pay for care.  Health reform has turned our nation into one of underinsureds.  Many employers have chosen to drop coverage levels to the point people are insured on paper.  There's no substance to the plan when it comes time for needed care."

Candidate Obama wrote to potential donors in 2008:

"If you're concerned about fairness in our economy, they (Republicans) won't do much to reward work and the workers who create it."
How have you fared under Obama's eight years in office?  My employer provided health insurance turned to junk over the last five years.  Pay has been stagnant, interrupted only by an occasional pittance of a raise 

Ironically last year's World Economic Forum had lots of talk about inequality, which grew by leaps and bounds in America under President Obama.



It's hard to believe this crew will do anything other than further their own nests.  It's been their practice for 46 years.  If they were doing such a great job why would security need to increase tenfold this year?  The Swiss Army will protect the billionaire class with 5,000 troops.

The :BO-PEU portion arose in the 1970's so their contribution to winning the global economy by having workers lose has been a mere thirty to thirty five years.

Enjoy the show of Davos masters adding to their personal pots.  If they have their way we'll be lucky to have one left to piss in.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Fortress Investment Group's Ghoul-like Returns


32 Advisors website shamelessly reveals the ways politicians and public servants cash in after leaving government.  They profile how the big money boys hire political insiders, who subtly direct them to industries experiencing major disruption.  In this case 32 Advisors highlights Austan Goolsbee's turn at the till.

Through a contract with New York City-based consultancy 32 Advisors, Austan Goolsbee has held conference calls most Fridays since February 2013 with employees of large hedge fund firms Fortress Investment Group, York Capital Management, Perella Weinberg Partners, SkyBridge Capital and others.

Fortress Investment Group is the only publicly traded company in the group.  How has Fortress' stock performed since Goolsbee began advising them?  Fortress (symbol FIG) closed Friday at $4.65 per share.  The size of the loss depends on which Friday Austan started. 

February 1 - Close on 2-4 of $5.53, loss of 88 cents per share or a 16% decline

February 8 - Close on 2-11 of $6.32, loss of $1.67 or a 26% drop

February 15 -Close on 2-18 of $6.15, loss of $1.50 per share or 24% loss

February 22 - Close on 2-25 of $6.39, loss of $1.74 per share or 27% decline
Austan Goolsbee helped Fortress achieve ghoulish returns.

The big money boys are happy to pay retired political ghouls for insider connections, because that's the way work gets done in Washington.  Note that Goolsbee is advising Perella Weinberg, once cited by President Obama as speculators holding up efforts to save Chrysler.  Yet Obama reformed the healthcare landscape for those very same speculators.

Friday, January 1, 2016

CNBC's Annual PEU Review Omits Carlyle Group

 CNBC reported on 2015 stock performance for a number of publicly traded private equity underwriters (PEU).  Reporters used a number of terms besides private equity  to describe the companies, LBO, public deal makers, and hedge fund asset class.  They highlighted the beating most took in their annual stock performance.

I found it interesting the report omitted The Carlyle Group, especially given Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein is a frequent guest speaker on CNBC.  Carlyle also values its good name.  I offer the following chart on Carlyle's 2015 stock performance.
The reported closed the story with "the hedge fund asset class is losing public favor."  That should help private equity keep its good name.  Blame it on the hedgies.

Update 1-8-16:  CG is down to $13.88 per share, nearly two dollars per share from 12-31.