Year End 2013

Two thousand and thirteen, coming quickly to a close, 

Events that have transpired, let us here expose.
Over Russia flew a meteor, over the Vatican white smoke,
Bombings up in Boston, the stateless Snowden bloke.
Poison gas in Syria, floods in India in June,
The governmental shutdown, in the Philippines typhoon.

A new tenant in the White House?  Alas we were not so lucky,
At least the current occupant, appears increasingly lame ducky.
Like in many a second term, scandals now abound,
The yes we can agenda, has now sadly run aground.
Worried about big brother? You might be right my love,
The NSA can hack anything, except healthcare.gov.

Who left us this past year?  We wish them all Godspeed,

Farewell to Edward Koch, farewell now to Lou Reed.

Global statesmen left us too, men and women of high stature,

Goodbye Nelson Mandela, goodbye to Margaret Thatcher.

James Gandolfini we will miss you, and your softer side of crime,

Adios to Hugo Chavez, your revolution ran out of time.

In the markets year to date, we’ve had lots of steady action,
Your choice of asset class, has shaped your degree of satisfaction.
US equities won the race, all year they kept on sprinting,
Boosted by juicy steroids, also known as money printing.

Gold and bonds were laggards, causing their owners mental anguish, 

The Yen, Aussie, and Rupee, against the Dollar all did languish.

Among stocks there were big winners, that proved to be good picks,

The Facebook made a comeback, though not quite like Netflix.

Tesla hurt the shorts, cutting through them like a knife,

Other exhibits in that category, Green Mountain and Herbalife.

Losers have been scarce, in fact there are hardly any,

Blackberry and teen retail, and the flailing JC Penney.

And what about the macro, as we look out to fourteen?

Should we bet it all on bitcoin, to keep it in the green?

Across every class of asset, vol has disappeared like vapor,

The markets are complacent, worried not about the taper.

Remember you can’t go broke, with some profit taking,

Your smarts in this year’s rally, you should not be mistaking.

With those gains you can now harvest, let’s also do some giving,

There are still so very many, with a low standard of living.

Five years ago things were dismal, as the crisis was so dire,

Who imagined that so quickly, to new records we’d vault higher.

Be thankful this December, your health is just one reason,

Let’s think of those less fortunate, in this year’s holiday season.

Hedge Fund Man

Hedge Fund Man - by Peter Ort He's a PM and a trader He's got a signal turning green He's a restless young risk taker Wants to run the big money He's got no problem with his high fees And his lockup is secure He's cleaning up his network To keep his sources pure Learning to lower the beta of the Old World Man Learning to make the alpha like a New World Man He's bought some concentrated stakes And learned when to sell and apply the brakes He's old enough to know what options to write But young enough to confuse it He's noble enough not to take in too much cash But weak enough not to refuse it He's a Hedge Fund Man... He’s got activism fever Spin off your factories and farms He's a fighter and no stranger To the sell side and their charms He's got market timing power With quant models on patrol He's got to watch the advance/decline line And keep his risk control Trying to double the pay of the Old World Man Buying a Swiss chalet like a New World Man He's forgotten the drawdown of yesterday He knows a high water mark is here today He's noble enough to see his risk is not right But weak enough not to defuse it He's wise enough to raise a yard But fool enough to lose it He's a Hedge Fund Man... Learning to lower the beta of the Old World Man Learning to make the alpha like a New World Man He's a Hedge Fund Man... He's a Hedge Fund Man...

New World Man – by RUSH He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it He's a New World Man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and a ranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the Old World Man Trying to pave the way for the Third World Man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it He's a New World Man... Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man He's a New World Man... He's a New World Man...