QuantCandy's Blog

More details are revealed on S&P’s ratings of structured deals, particularly CDOs in a story posted today in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal.  Quote:  In one email, an S&P analytical staffer emailed another that a mortgage or structured-finance deal was “ridiculous” and that “we should not be rating it.” The other S&P staffer replied that “we rate every deal,” adding that “it could be structured by cows and we would rate it.”

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, but some of the comments on this blog just crack me up.

I like these webinars, from the Toigo Foundation on sales and trading, the recruiting process, investment banking 101 and so on, provided by industry practitioners in partnership with the site ReadyforFinance.com. 

Detailed listing:
Recruiting Hints and Tips in the Finance Industry
Speaker: Ben Thompson, Managing Director, JPMorgan

Sales and Tradiing 101
Speaker: Shelley Stewart III, Analyst, Sales and Trading, JPMorgan

Preparing for the Summer Internship Recruiting Process
Speaker: Erica Hamilton, Founder and President of CDG Perspectives

Investment Banking 101
Speaker: Chakana Fowler, Associate, Syndicated & Leveraged Finace, JPMorgan

Demystifying the MBA Admissions Process
Speakers: Jevelyn Bonner-Reed and Sergio Sotolongo

Financing Your MBA
Speakers: Sergio Sotolongo and Jevelyn Bonner-Reed

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and ToigoTalksâ„¢
Your Future in Finance: From College to CEO

Blueprint for Success: Careers in Corporate Finance from Analyst to CEO
Lead Speaker: Kimberly Bankston, Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion for GE Commercial Finance

Corporate Culture – Learn It, Navigate it, Excel In It
Lead Speaker: Omar White, Vice President FX Institutional Sales

Barclays Capital
Speaker: Christopher White, Associate Director of Global Credit E-Commerce

There are also free “Wall Street Bootcamp” presentations from Pennsylvania State University that you can download from itunes. In itunes, go to the podcasts section, select itunes U, Pennsylvania State University, Smeal, Wall Street Bootcamp, or just search for “Wall Street Bootcamp”. The URL is here

They presently have podcasts on the topics:

What is Investment Banking?
Competing for Jobs on Wall Street
Wall Street Etiquette
What is Sales and Trading?
What is Private Wealth Management?
What Wall Street Recruiters are Looking For

Talk given at Grant’s Investment Conference, April, 2008.  Provides analysis of Value at Risk and where this metric gives misleading result and how Einhorn questioned ratings agency analysts about hedge and counterparty risk for major financial institutions.  A fascinating read.  See the pdf link here.