Tavakoli Structured Finance LLC

Archive of Commentaries Authored by Janet Tavakoli

This page is comprised of an archive of public commentaries written by Janet Tavakoli from 2003-2014. Some commentaries have been incorporated into, or appended to, updates. Finance articles that have been particularly popular are listed on a separate page by topic; see finance articles to browse by topic. See also the Blog for more recent publicly available commentary.

Recent client work is not posted on this site.

See also the press section for articles in which Janet Tavakoli has been interviewed and quoted, or view video interviews.

2014

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Bailout Economics 2014: Predators Prosper, Prey Perishes
The Financial Report – June 15, 2014

China and Russia to Form Joint Credit Rating Agency
The Financial Report – June 10, 2014

Electronic currency isn’t free from crime
The Financial Times – May 30, 2014

China’s New Silk Road and USD Reserve Currency Status
The Financial Report – May 5, 2014

Financial Leadership: Dividing Our Supporters, Uniting Our Critics
The Financial Report – April 12, 2014

Apply Peterffy solution to HFT spoofers
The Financial Times – April 12, 2014

Comment Letter to the SEC Re: File no. S7-11-13
Tavakoli Structured Finance – February 24, 2014

Bloomberg’s Glitch Highlights Larger Issues
The Financial Report – February 4, 2014

Did Banks Dump Structured Financial Products in Your Pension Fund?
The Financial Report – January 22, 2014

2013

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Hidden Bank Risks Drive Investors to Productive Assets, U.S. Treasuries, and Gold
The Financial Report – December 16, 2013

Alan Greenspan Played Daily Show’s Jon Stewart
The Financial Report – October 28, 2013

Prince Harry Responds to Goldman Sachs
The Financial Report – October 20, 2013

Currency Manipulation and Derivatives
The Financial Report – October 15, 2013

President Obama Might Ask Who Benefits from U.S. Debt Default
The Financial Report – October 9, 2013

Structured Finance: Sovereign Debt, Banks, and Gold (Part 3 of 4)
The Financial Report – October 8, 2013

Pope Francis, Glenn Greenwald, and Tavakoli Respond to Media
The Financial Report – October 5, 2013

Congressman Cummings, “AIG Can Crush You Like a Bug”
Huffington Post – September 25, 2013

A Risk Manager’s Impossibility?
Risk News and Resources – September 24, 2013

Should We Help End Cuba’s “Special Period?”
The Financial Report – September 12, 2013

Why POTUS Allowed Bailouts Without Indictments
The Financial Report – September 10, 2013

Who Says Gold is Money? (Part Two of Four)
The Financial Report – August 30, 2013

Financial Reform: The Silent Guns of August
The Financial Report – August 23, 2013

Structured Finance: Price Manipulation Includes Silver and Gold (Part One of Four)
The Financial Report – August 17, 2013

Unindicted Bankers, Eurozone Squeeze
The Financial Report – August 11, 2013

Bernanke’s Deposition: AIG, Goldman, Merrill and Bailouts
The Financial Report – August 7, 2013

Investors in Stevie Cohen’s SAC May Face Clawbacks
The Financial Report – July 24, 2013

Aces and Eights for Stevie Cohen?
The Financial Report – July 24, 2013

Comments on President Obama’s Speech
Huffington Post – July 24, 2013

Goldman Sachs, AIG and IKB: Fallout From Credit Derivatives and CDOs
The Financial Report – July 10, 2013

Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen Are the Google: Julian Assange Warns Resistance is Futile
Huffington Post – June 4, 2013 (Satire)

Leveraged Buyouts
The Financial Report – July 2, 2013

The Psychology of Loss Aversion
The Financial Report – July 2, 2013

Tel Aviv versus Davos
Huffington Post – June 5, 2013

Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen Are the Google: Julian Assange Warns Resistance is Futile
Huffington Post – June 4, 2013 (Satire)

Growth versus Viral: Google+ and Facebook
Huffington Post – May 29, 2013

Facebook Advertisers Beware
Huffington Post – January 16, 2013

2012

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Bill Ackman is Right about Herbalife: It’s Ripe for Investigation
Huffington Post – December 23, 2012

Facebook’s Fake Numbers: “One Billion Users” May Be Less Than 500 Million
TSF – December 11, 2012

Facebook: SEC Should Investigate the Pump and Dump (scroll to end of previous article)
TSF – November 30, 2012

Facebook: Soaring Fraud and Decelerating User Growth
TSF – November 26, 2012

Vatican City: True Financial Crime and Murder
Huffington Post – November 10, 2012

Facebook’s New Strong Sell Signals
Huffington Post – October 31, 2012

Facebook’s Plummeting Stock Price
TSF – October 16, 2012

BP Oil Spill Fine Upset: Likely to Soar Tens of Billions
Huffington Post – October 11, 2012

BP: Still Leaking
TSF – October 9, 2012

Déjà vu: When Money Dies
Huffington Post – October 4, 2012

Steve Cohen’s Press Release on SAC’s Alleged Insider Trading: I’m a Genius! (Satire)
Huffington Post – October 2, 2012

China and Japan (and U.S.) Island Dispute: It’s All About Oil
Huffington Post – September 25, 2012

How to Get an Angel Investor
Huffington Post – September 24, 2012

Is Nokia’s Management Insane?
Huffington Post – September 6, 2012

Prince Harry Offered Partner Position at Goldman Sachs (Satire)
TSF – August 29, 2012 – Updated 2014

Crime and Mayhem in the USA
Huffington Post – August 1, 2012

Facebook: Is Stock Research Rigged?
TSF – July 26, 2012

Wall Street’s Ongoing Great Bailout
TSF – July 24, 2012

JPMorgan Raises Fraud Questions: Rising Trading Losses Top $5.8 Billion
Huffington Post – July 16, 2012

Third World America 2012: A Country At War With Itself
Huffington Post – July 6, 2012

Financial Journalism: “Sometimes Being Responsible Means Pissing People Off
TSF – July 3, 2012

Jamie Dimon: JPMorgan’s Chief is the World’s Funniest Financier
Huffington Post – May 15, 2012 (Updated May 19, 2012)

Jamie Dimon’s SNAFU: JPMorgan’s Other Derivatives’ Losses
Huffington Post – May 12, 2012

Warren Buffett Calls for 90% Billionaire Wealth Tax (Satire)
TSF – May 7, 2012

MF Global Implosion: Congressman Grimm Sends a Message
Huffington Post – May 3, 2012

Renewed Hope that Jon Corzine Will Face Criminal Charges
Huffington Post – May 1, 2012

MF Global: JP Morgan Produces Smoking Gun
Huffington Post – April 3, 2012

The JOBS Act Is So Criminogenic That It Guarantees Full-Time Jobs for Criminologists
by William K. Black – March 20, 2012 (JT Note: I am among the co-signers)

What Do Customers Really Think About Goldman Sachs?
Huffington Post – March 19, 2012

Greece and Credit Default Swaps: Bucking the ISDA Cartel
TSF – March 3, 2012

MF Global: Crime, Comedy and the Cover-Up
Huffington Post – February 28, 2012

Even In a Palace a Right Life Is Possible
Huffington Post – February 12, 2012

Gold and Silver Price Manipulation
TSF – January 25, 2012 – Updated 2014

Price Manipulation: Look for Motive
TSF – January 19, 2012 – Updated 2014

China 2012: The Year of the Bull (Rogers) or the Year of the Bear (Chanos)?
TSF – January 9, 2012

2011

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2011: The Year 60 Minutes Misled Americans About Municipal Bonds
Huffington Post – December 30, 2011

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Confronts MF Global and Wall Street
Huffington Post – December 26, 2011

Rehypothecation Is An Old Story: MF Global’s Story Is a Different Story of Filched Funds
Huffington Post – December 16, 2011

Wealthy Patriots Wage Class War
Huffington Post – December 12, 2011

Jon Corzine Dodges the Fraud Question
Huffington Post – December 9, 2011

Chanos Crash: Timing China’s Financial Meltdown
TSF – December 6, 2011

Paulson’s Actions Raise Serious Ethical Questions
Huffington Post – December 6, 2011

Is Crony Capitalism Wrong?
Huffington Post – December 3, 2011

MF Global Revelations Keep Getting Worse
TSF – November 21, 2011

Credit Derivatives and Leverage Sank Jon Corzine’s MF Global
TSF – November 4, 2011

Clear and Present Danger
TSF – October 31, 2011

“Standard” Credit Default Swaps on Greece Are a Sham and It’s Not a Surprise
TSF- October 27, 2011

Fraud As a Business Model
Huffington Post – September 6, 2011

Investing: Bad News, Good News, and What’s Next
Huffington Post – August 21, 2011

USA is “AAA” in Label Only
Huffington Post – July 29, 2011

Tavakoli Structured Finance Revokes the Credit Rating Agencies’ NRSRO Designation
TSF – July 26, 2011

Mark Zuckerberg’s Value Problem: “My” Facebook Profile Was a Fraud, So Was “Warren Buffett’s”
TSF – July 14, 2011

Why Some Housing Prices Are Still Falling and Subprime Loans Are Still Sliding
Huffington Post – June 27, 2011

The Middle Class is Drowning in Debt and Choking on Lies
Huffington Post – June 24, 2011

Third World America 2011: “Fast Tracking to Anarchy”
Huffington Post – June 8, 2011

Euro Endgame
TSF – June 1, 2011

Wall Street’s Advice to the IMF: Control Your Alleged Rapists! (Satire)
Huffington Post – May 22, 2011

Warren Buffett and the Boys of Wall Street
Huffington Post – May 9, 2011

Today’s Silver Scandal
TSF – May 5, 2011

Buffettgate: An Unenforced Policy Isn’t a Policy
Huffington Post – April 6, 2011

The Biggest Headache for Investors in Groupon and Facebook
TSF – March 3, 2011

Gold Game Changer: J.P. Morgan Accepts Gold as Money
TSF – February 7, 2011

Blame the Victims and Enrich the Perpetrators
Huffington Post – January 13, 2011

2010

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Tavakoli’s Top Ten Business Books of 2010 (Satire)
Huffington Post – Dec 13, 2010

Repairing the Damage of “Fraud as a Business Model
Presentation to the FHFA Supervision Summit in Washington D.C. – Dec. 8, 2010

In Third World America, You Can’t Buy a Ream of Paper on Minimum Wage
Huffington Post – Dec 18, 2010

Goldman Sachs Sued by German Bank Over Alleged Securities Fraud
TSF – October 5, 2010

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger: Winning the Class War
Huffington Post – September 21, 2010

Goldman Sachs: Bullies on the Block
Huffington Post – September 13, 2010

Third World America: “Fast-Tracking to Anarchy”
Huffington Post – August 25, 2010

Goldman’s CEO to Treasury Secretary: OK, Now What? (Humor)
TSF (and Huffington Post)- August 23, 2010

How to Thwart the Assassins of the American Dream
Huffington Post – August 15, 2010

JPMorgan’s Losses from Indecent Overexposure
TSF – August 9, 2010

Stranguflation: Deflation and Inflation Where It Hurts America Most
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – August 3, 2010

IKB’s CEO Found Guilty, Some U.S. Bank CEO’s Should Also Face Charges
Huffington Post – July 16, 2010 – Updated 2014

2012: Voters Nix Incumbents, Demand Financial Reform and Fed Fraud Audit
Huffington Post – July 1, 2010

Wall Street’s Advice to Joran van der Sloot (Satire)
Huffington Post – June 8, 2010

“Banging” the U.S. Stock Market
TSF (at Huffington Post)- May 10, 2010

Confidence Game: Bill Ackman Shorts MBIA
TSF – May 4, 2010

President Obama: Bring Back William Black
TSF (at Huffington Post) – April 25, 2010

Rick Ungar Gives Barry Ritholtz a Lesson in the Law
The Financial Report – refrers to April 24, 2010 – posted April 24, 2014

ProPublica’s (and NYTimes’) “Untold” Magnetar Story Creates Excuses for Wall Street and Washington
TSF (at Huffington Post) – April 19, 2010

Congress’s FCIC Nearly Nailed Former Citigroup Executives to the Wall–Then Blew It
Huffington Post – April 8, 2010

Goldman Sachs: Spinning Gold
TSF – April 7, 2010

How to Corner the Gold Market
TSF – March 30, 2010

AIG Continued to Write Protection After 2005 (Lewis and TIME are Incorrect)
TSF – March 20, 2010

Michael Lewis: Wall Street’s Smart Aleck Apologist
TSF – March 15, 2010

Credit Derivatives on the United States: Games and Gold
TSF – March 12, 2010

Washington Must Ban U.S. Credit Derivatives as Traders Demand Gold (Parts 1)
TSF – March 8, 2010

CNBC Protects Bad Guys Who Took Huge Bailouts from Taxpayers
Huffington Post – March 4, 2010

Wall Street and Washington Hope You Are Gullible: Disappoint Them
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – February 14, 2010

Congress Exposes Potential Profiteering in AIG’s Deals: Delay Enabled Cover-Up
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – January 28, 2010

Show Bernanke and Geithner the Door
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – January 22, 2010

Bank of America’s Shareholders Should Reject Bonus Plans
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – January 12, 2010

Timothy Geithner, I Call Your Bluff
TSF – January 7, 2010

2009

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Washington’s Bipartisan Betrayal: The 2015 Global Financial Crisis
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – December 31, 2009

Responding to Goldman Sachs
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – December 25, 2009

Treasury Covered-Up and Bailed Out Goldman Sachs
TSF (also at Huffington Post) – December 22, 2009

Inside the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Finance Initiative
TSF – December 14, 2009

Beware of Geeks Bearing Grifts (Excerpt from Chapter 6 of Dear Mr. Buffett)
Risk Professional – by Janet Tavakoli – December 2009

Goldman, Guns, and Bloomberg
TSF – December 2, 2009

Warren Buffett, Stop Using My Credit Card!
TSF – November 23, 2009

I Retract My Apology and Call for More Regulation of Goldman Sachs
TSF – November 22, 2009 (and related commentaries)

Goldman’s Undisclosed Role in AIG’s Distress
TSF – November 10, 2009

Goldman Sachs Reasonable Doubt
TSF – November 2, 2009

Goldman’s Lies of Omission
TSF – October 28, 2009

Warren Buffett’s Wall Street War
TSF – October 20, 2009

China Defaults, Currency Basket Threatens Dollar
TSF – October 6, 2009

Wall Street’s Fraud and Solutions for Systemic Peril
Presentation to the International Monetary Fund – September 29, 2009

AIG Bubble: Irrational Exuberance
TSF – August 28, 2009

Where Were The Drama Pundits [Whitney, Taleb and Gasparino] When It Mattered?
TSF – July 29, 2009

Gasparino’s Glass Jaw is CNBC’s Draw
TSF – July 22, 2009 – Updated January 2014

The Cure For Prostate Cancer: Invest Now
TSF – July 21, 2009

What Wall Street Owes You (Commentary)
CNN (exclusive to CNN) – July 15, 2009

Anchored Under Water
TSF – June 26, 2009

Taleb’s Stranded Swan?
TSF- June 3, 2009

Taleb Kills $20 Billion Mythical Swan
TSF – June 1, 2009

President Obama’s Right to Free Speech
TSF – May 10, 2009

Ponzi Schemes and Stress Tests
TSF – May 8, 2009

Obama’s Adviser is Wrong: Malfeasance (Not Models) Killed Wall Street
TSF – February 24, 2009 – Updated 2014

Investment Funds: Should You Hear Alarm Bells?
TSF – February 9, 2009

Merrill’s Murder/Suicide
TSF – February 7, 2009

The China Syndrome: It’s Our Fault They Don’t Trust Us
Financial Times – February 5, 2009

BofA Says Merrill’s Huge Hit was in December (Not November)?
TSF – January 26, 2009 – Updated 2014

Premise of Fortune Cover Story is Incorrect
TSF – January 11, 2009

2008

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Alternative to Treasury Bailouts: One that Does Not Violate the Spirit of Democracy
TSF – September 25, 2008 and Financial Times Oct 2008. Updated 2014

Madoff Deserves Lots of Company
TSF – December 13, 2008

Dead Calm: No One Trusts You (Merrill Lynch’s Phony CDOs)
TSF- July 30, 2008

Ambac and MBIA Underwriting Standards
TSF – February 18, 2008

Cynical Use of Derivatives Has Left Market in a Pickle
Financial Times – Letter from Janet Tavakoli – January 31, 2008

Dicey Deals Done Dirt Cheap: Monolines in Dire Straits
TSF – January 3, 2008

2007

Find Another Year

CDO Cliffhanger (Clients Only)
TSF – November 27, 2007

Are You Sure You Made A Fortune Shorting the ABX (or TABX)?
LIPPER HedgeWorld – by Janet Tavakoli – December 5, 2007

Accounting Can Be Beautiful and Is Merrill’s (Earnings Charge) Number Up? (Clients Only)
TSF – November 27, 2007

Barclays, Swiss Re and More on the Credit Crunch – Update (Clients Only)
TSF – November 19, 2007

Derivatives Update (Clients Only)
TSF – November 17, 2007

AIG Catches Up (Clients Only)
TSF – November 7, 2007

Too Big to Regulate? (Clients Only)
TSF – November 5, 2007

Mal de MER – Fourth Quarter (Clients Only)
TSF – October 25, 2007

Subprime’s Unreported Undertow (Clients Only)
TSF – October 22, 2007

Merrill’s Mal de MER (Full Report for Clients Only)
TSF – October 8, 2007- by Janet Tavakoli

Misfortune’s Formula: Structured Credit Ratings
HedgeWorld (Reuters) – by Janet Tavakoli – September 19, 2007 – Updated 2011

Bear Bailout Bad Idea for Hedge Funds
HedgeWorld Commentary – by Janet Tavakoli – June 28, 2007

Greater Global Risk Now Than At Time of LTCM
Financial Times – May 7, 2007 – [Letter to Editor] by Janet Tavakoli

Subprime Mortgages: The Predators’ Fall
Risk Professional (formerly GARP Risk Review) Issue 35 March/April 2007 – by Janet Tavakoli

Do Not Accept Bolton’s Interpretation on Links with Iran
Financial Times – April 11, 2007 – [Letter to Editor] by Janet Tavakoli

Subprime Damaged US’s Standing as Global Leader in Finance
Financial Times [Letter to the Editor] – March 19, 2007 – by Janet Tavakoli

TSF Comments on SEC Proposed Rules on Rating Agencies
TSF – February 13, 2007 – by Janet Tavakoli

Crisis in Credit Derivatives is Averted – Updated February 7, 2007 – Updated 2014
LIPPER HedgeWorld.com [Reuters] May 2006 Updated Feb. 7, 2007 – by Janet Tavakoli

2006

Find Another Year

Oil Pressure: Fallout from the Iraq Study Group Report
LIPPER HedgeWorld – December 14, 2006 by Janet Tavakoli

The Golden Fleece Award for Optional Integrity
LIPPER HedgeWorld [Reuters] – October 2, 2006 [Commentary] by Janet Tavakoli

Dead Man’s Curve [Amaranth Advisors]
LIPPER HedgeWorld [Reuters] – September 22, 2006 [Commentary] by Janet Tavakoli

Oil and Power: Iran Approach Must Avoid Past Mistakes
LIPPER HedgeWorld [Reuters] – by Janet Tavakoli – June 14, 2006

Mon Ami ISDA: Crisis in Credit Derivatives
LIPPER HedgeWorld [Reuters] – May 22, 2006

The Elusive Income of Synthetic CDOs
Journal of Structured Finance Winter 2006 Volume 11, Number 4 – by Janet Tavakoli

2005

Find Another Year

Commentary: My Favorite Hedge Fund: Part II
LIPPER HedgeWorld [Reuters] – October 24, 2005 – by Janet Tavakoli

CDOs: Caveat Emptor
GARP Risk Review – September/October 2005 Issue 26 – by Janet Tavakoli

Consider the Full Notional Amount of CDOs When Assessing the Risks and Rewards
Financial Times Letter to the Editor – August 19, 2005 – by Janet Tavakoli

How Investors Can Lower Risk When Choosing a Hedge Fund
Financial Times – June 8, 2005 – by Janet Tavakoli

My Favorite Hedge Fund
LIPPER HedgeWorld – May 26, 2005 – by Janet Tavakoli

CDOs Can Confuse Bank Managers
Financial Times – April 26, 2005 by Janet Tavakoli

Tavakoli’s Speech to the IMF on Global Systemic Risks
TSF – April 26, 2005

How Will Bond Market React to Citigroup Trades?
Financial Times – February 7, 2005 by Janet Tavakoli & FT follow-up on costs February 12, 2005

Structured Finance: Rating the Rating Agencies
GARP Risk Review Issue 22 January/February 2005 – by Janet Tavakoli

2004

Find Another Year

STRUCTURED CREDIT: The Trials of Tranching
International Financing Review – IFR Magazine – October 25, 2004

Invisible Hedge Funds (Banks’ Trading Desks)
GARP Risk Review July/August 2004 Issue 19 – by Janet Tavakoli

Martha Stewart: The Irony Maiden Hates to Lose
The Yearbook – July 14, 2004 – by Janet Tavakoli

Ultimate Leverage: Collateralized Fund Obligations
HedgeWorld’s Accredited Investor June 2004 – by Janet Tavakoli

FASB in Error on Options Valuation
Financial Times – April 5, 2004 – [Letter from Janet Tavakoli]

2003

Find Another Year

Investors Are the Gullible Ones if They Rely on Ratings as Indicators of Financial Robustness
Financial Times – December 29, 2003 – by Janet Tavakoli

CDO Evolution Creates New World of Risk
Risk Professional (formerly GRR) November/December 2003 Issue 15

Buyer Beware
International Financing Review (IFR Magazine) Derivatives 2003, Issue 1507 – Oct. 25, 2003
by Janet Tavakoli

Landesbanken: even lower rating may be in order
Financial Times – December 1, 2003 Leaders & Letters – by Janet Tavakoli

Enron, J.P.Morgan and Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles
TSF – April 10, 2003
Structured Finance Definitions and Concepts

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