LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE

Yes, that is Game Boy Tetris, now available on the Nintendo eShop. What took you guys so long? My lifelong goal has been to reach 200 lines (I'm not even close in the above screenshot with a mere 140), but the closest I have ever come is 187. I could have sworn that if you reached 200, you could take a photo and they'd run it in Nintendo Power. Did I imagine that? Maybe. I'm still sending a picture in should I reach it, but alas, my brain appears to be much slower than it used to.

Why Does Standard and Poor's Still Exist?

So S&P finally busted out the red pen today, downgrading 9 eurozone countries. You may ask (and it's a good question), who gives a fuck? And the answer, I think, is nobody.

I mean, I realize ratings agencies are somewhat inextricably intertwined in the fabric of our financial system; I think there are still some funds that are required to purchase triple A paper, like money market accounts. But the reality is that the ratings agencies are so far behind everyone else, that issuing a rating is like looking around on a cloudy day and proclaiming that we have an increased chance of rain. In other words, everyone who knows more about the bond markets than S&P (which is every trading desk in the world) has already taken their position. You didn't need to be Nostradamus a month ago to see that Italy and Spain looked really fucked up.

And remember the last time S&P downgraded a major country? Let's look at how the bond market reacted:

Well shit. Ten year US Treasury yields actually DROPPED (the downgrade was August 5) - under 2%! So basically nobody gives two craps what S&P says. And why should we? If the subprime mortgage crisis taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't assume that the agencies can competently assess risk.