1. TED is hanging up his spurs. He’s one of my all-time favorite bloggers, who started his writing around the same time I started researching my risk arbitrage strategy back in the mid-2000’s. Thoughtful. Knowledgeable. Literate. I might dedicate myself to this twice as diligently without achieving half of what he did.
2. Dodd-Frank and the Volcker Rule. I had to mothball the deal strategy, after 
successfully running it in an investment bank for several years. Yes, Wall Street became a sloppy, 450-lb man by 2007. But let’s not allow U.S. liquidity nor global capital markets share to become a Seinfeldian ‘shrinkage’ punchline … “like a frightened turtle.”
3. I’m an introvert. I took a job that is more suited for an extrovert. It’s exhausting. I’m a good reader and bad listener. I went from a job where I read more than 4 hours a day to one where I was in meetings for more than 4 hours a day. This is a bit like fumbling the (American) football in the red zone, and the other team recovering it and taking it to the house, a 14-point swing in a game where the margin of victory is typically much smaller.
4. The New England Patriots offense is sputtering. Is Tom Brady an introvert in an extrovert job? Mrs. DA thinks Gisele has him whipped good. They did start dating in late-2006. So maybe it’s not about balance on defense, something the 2001/2003/2004 teams had more than the 2007/2011 teams. Oh backers, where art thou? (Photo sources here, here and here).
I. I’ve been watching the strategy, and it is still working. The Sharpe over the past couple of years looks like it is greater than 3. It’s time to get it going again. I’m planning to write down some of the highlights here. A good trader journals. And my kids might find some interesting things in here, if the underlying infrastructure persists long enough for them to take a look.
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Deal Arb 