God Dang!

On December 8th, 2010, NYSE’s Duncan Nierderauer welcomed Dang Dang (China’s version of Amazon?) executives, including Dang CEO Li Quoqing, to the stock exchange to ring the opening bell in honor of the company’s $272 million Morgan Stanley – led IPO. Here we are six weeks later, and apparently Li wants to do his own wringing (ummm Morgan Stanley’s neck). Apparently CEO Li is upset that Morgan Stanley priced their IPO too low, at $16 per share (it now trades near $34 just weeks later). On Sina’s Chinese version of Twitter, Li wrote:

“I am openly here criticizing investment banks, criticizing Morgan Stanley,” Li said in his post. “So what? Can’t Morgan Stanley be criticized?”

 

He then proceeded to go on a profanity-laced tirade:

You (Morgan Stanley) gave out a valuation of 1-6 billion, but in Hong Kong the opening statements stated only 0.78 billion, stop f&&^%ing acting. You f**kers knew first day of launch that valuation would be 2 billion, but you still priced USD 16 per share, which comes to 1.1 billion. My CFO was in panic mode, I held back a breath and silently cursed you motherf**kers.”

 

His comments were followed by two Morgan Stanley employees (actually, they turned out afterwards to not be employees, but heck why mess up the story) in turn hurling insults right back at Li, including calling him poor, and a nobody aside from his wife appointing him to the position:

“Our investment firm didn’t charge you a f$%king single extra cent, go home and work that out with your broken-gong brain. Do you know what you are? You are a beggar! For the last ten years have you lived a day without being chased after by debt collectors? How many of your debts did your wife repay? You really think Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse believed in you? If not for Yuyu [Li’s wife], you would be left on the streets of Beijing as a piece of sh#$.”

Dang confirmed the CEO’s comments and said they were supposed to serve as a warning to other Chinese companies looking to do IPO’s in America. The Article can be read here. The sanitized version can be read here.

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction!

We just wanted you all to read something amusing to put you in a good move before everyone concentrates on the AAPL news and pummeling that will infect the QQQQ’s and 86 other ETF’s etc. In all seriousness please watch your algorithms today (vol may spike), as well as get your bids in 9.9% below the market in your target names!

 

Where we left off 4:00pm EST:

INDU               11,787.38                                +55.48

SPX                 1,293.24                                  +9.48

CCMP              2,755.30                                  +20.01

Futures now at 7:30am EST:

DJA                             +26

SPA                             +0.60

NDA                            -13.75

Key Data out today:

 

08:30:              Empire Manufacturing Index

09:00:              Tic Flows

10:00:              NAHB Housing Market Index

 

Since the prior close, some key stories:

 

–       Steve Jobs Leave of Absence scares AAPL holders, although market now shaking it off.

–       Stocks rise to two year high.

–       Goldman blindsided, scuttles sale of Facebook.

–       Chinese paper talks down the USD.

–       US Banks sell treasuries as loans expand.

–       Food prices causing more riots in Tunisia.

–       GSCO downgrades CNC and HUM.

–       MSCO downgrades YHOO.

 

 

Earnings:

 

Pre-market:  AMTD, C, CRRC, DAL, EDU, FAST, FRX, LEE, MBWM, MMR, WNS

 

After the Close: AAPL, ADTN, COOL, CREE, FULT, HBHC, IBM, LLTC, OMN, PNFP, SEED TESS, WDC

 

 

Significant Movers This Morning:

GT + 4.6%, ARM +4.3%, WL -7%, AAPL – 4.5%, CMA -3%