'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis

A couple of days ago I finished reading Michael Lewis' 'The Big Short'.  Michael Lewis has written several best selling books, including 'Liar's Poker' and "The Blind Side'.  His newest book provides a very detailed explanation of the events that lead to the downfall of the the market in 2008.  This is a must read for everyone and it clearly shows how we were all duped by those in charge of the financial markets.


The CEOs who ran the largest financial and insurance institutions, AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutche Bank, JP Morgan, CitiGroup and Lehman Brothers were taking risks unheard before in the history of the financial marketplace.  The rating agencies, specifically Moody's and Standard and Poors were giving "riskless" ratings to financial instruments that they didn't have a clue about.  The institutions 'hid' things on their books so that we the unsuspecting investors (or should I say 'saps') would pour our hearts, souls and our hard earned money into their investments and our homes.

As Michael Lewis states: "The people in a position to resolve the financial crisis were, of course, the very same people who had failed to foresee it", including Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke and the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and CitiGroup. And, of course, I was caught up in a mortgage on a house that was included in the great fall of 2008. 

When I read Michael's first book, 'Liar's Poker', I swore that I would never invest with the brokerage firm that he worked for, Salomon Brothers (which is no longer in existence).  Now, after reading his second book, I'm almost convinced that I would be better off putting my money in my mattress.

It is going to take YEARS for us to recover from this mess and the housing market may be the most vulnerable of all.  Owning a home used to be the American Dream.  Now, it's an American Nightmare with not much hope of providing the equity that many need in their later years. 

Heat Lose to the Mavericks in NBA Finals

Looks like the Miami Heat and LeBron James will have to wait at least another year until they get another chance at a championship ring.  I don't typically watch NBA basketball but I was intrigued by the Miami Heat and the big three, James, Wade and Bosch and whether or not they would be able to the championship James so desires.

My observations indicated to me that the Mavericks REALLY wanted this one.  They had fantastic teamwork throughout the series and showed lots of heart and grit.  Nowitzki was ill with a fever when he scored the final points in game 4.  He is a class act and an incredibly good shooter.  Jason Terry and Berea tore them up with their 3-point shooting and pin-point passing. 

The Heat had way too many turnovers and passed TOO MUCH!  Then last night, the missed enough free throws to win the game outright.  I think LeBron James is an incredible talent but humble he is not.  If you are going to be a high class athlete, then you've got to be able to take the HEAT or get out of the kitchen.  He is a 26-year old man that really didn't get a chance to grow up since he went right from high school to the pros.  Maturity goes a long way and hopefully, he will get his mental game together to go with his athletic talent.  Otherwise, I don't see him getting a championship ring soon.