"I’ve no interest in Davos. I don’t know how they keep the snow from melting with all the hot air. What has Davos ever achieved except perpetuating the belief among participants that they are so very special?"
At least one sovereign wealth manager won’t be at the World Economic Forum. Perhaps some of the chief executives whose banks he has invested in will be a little relieved...
Banker: "The fog has lifted, I can see the blue sky in Canary Wharf!"
Euromoney: "Yes the market’s tone does seem very firm doesn’t it?"
Banker: "No I’m not talking metaphorically about the markets. There really was a fog!"
A busy start to the year didn’t stop some London-based DCM bankers window-gazing
"I’d grade it a C–. It’s trading like crap. It was bad on guidance, bad on leads, bad on sizing... but other than that it was perfect!"
A senior debt banker in New York discusses a bond deal one of his competitors had just closed
"What were the highlights of last year? I’m going to come back to you on that!"
For many bankers, 2008 was a year to forget
"In conditions like these, I’d say that inflation is a high-quality problem by and large"
A banker takes a sanguine view on the possible causes for the sharp steepening in the US yield curve last month