"If you call yourself a relative return fund, you need to actually sell things to make that return. Lots of asset managers seem to have forgotten that"
One banker bemoans the lack of activity in the secondary markets
"I’ve been pretty gloomy for the past few days but now I am full of bullish claptrap"
One HK-based ECM banker says the prospect of a large Asian IPO has changed his mood, if not his tendency to spin
"No one’s going to accuse the Jobs Act of being perfect, but at least it has an impact. Compare that with years of navel gazing with lots of chat and nothing happening"
Even a lawyer is bored by how long Dodd-Frank is taking
"Most of the measures taken in Europe to reduce the likelihood of sovereign and bank default are only going to make the loss given default that much larger in the end"
This credit market strategist isn’t really selling his asset class to us
"With dealer inventory shrinking you have some mutual funds promising investors daily liquidity then investing in markets where they’d struggle to liquidate positions inside six months"
This banker is already worrying about what will happen when the recent heavy flow of money into FICC tries to get out again
"History may judge that when stock markets were ripping in the first quarter and bank stocks led the way, that’s when banks should have issued equity. When the ducks are quacking, that’s the time to feed them"
An ECM banker says bank boards might one day regret their revulsion at raising new equity at discounts to book value