random drive by AIG moment

A couple of days ago I was talking about how the market, as far as I can tell, is schizophrenic.

Example:

American International Group (AIG) is currently being raked fore and aft over that entire messy bonus issue. Late last week, it traded at less than fifty cents a share. I know this because I have a spreadsheet, and you know, I'm anal. You would think--you know, in a world where the market had something to do with what was going on in the actual business end of a company--this would be bad for the price of shares. Yeah, I would too. You know. Until this morning.

However, I cannot login to my account right now, as suddenly and inexplicably, there is too much trading right now. This was new, and I went to pull my spreadsheet and realized things looked wrong, as there was money there that really shouldn't be, since come on, it's not like I'm using logic here in my buying sprees.

This is because AIG tripled in price*.

Let me point this out again. AIG is being investigated for bonus stuff and is going to get ass-raped by the government with government subsidized lube which is also known as sandpaper and this morning the shares reached two dollars each. Bank of America is also still trading above seven (as of the last fifteen seconds), and see, this is why when people look grim over the state of the economy because the DOW looks unhappy, I kind of laugh. The DOW is not unhappy. A whole bunch of hedge fund managers and assorted brokers just bought new BMWs and are making a down payment. Check car sales in the area. Or you know, whose child was arrested recently. I mean, seriously.

*taps fingers on desk*

So far, two hours of high trading and counting. This is hysterical. And I cannot participate in this historical moment. Not that I would. But I do like to boggle at it in real-time.

Comments

[ratcreature]

Yeah, I mean if a company doesn't have any money (or not any that legitimately belongs to it anyway) and didn't make any profit but ginormous loses, you'd think the best employees can hope for is still getting paid the regular amount at all, rather than going under with it or negotiating pay or work hour cuts to salvage it. It's just really bizarre that their contracts apparently give them "bonuses" (which by their very name you'd think would be something extra that a company pays only when they do well) no matter their or the companies performance.

But then I remember a bit back here bank managers who lost over 2.5 billion euro and got their bank ruined (so that it had to be taken over by another bank with government help too iirc) still insisted on getting over 400 million euro in bonuses, and actually intend to go to court to get that money. It's unbelievable. But apparently whatever contracts investment bankers have don't work based on Earth Logic no matter where they are. Like, I think I remember the headlines about how The Royal Bank of Scotland had losses in the double digit billion range and their the managers still got over a billion in bonuses...

[seperis.livejournal.com]

God, I know. The entire system of pay in corporate life is ridiculous.