Hedge fund manager John Devaney, who had to sell his yacht and jet plane last year after wrong-way bets on mortgage securities, says it's time to buy bonds backed by subprime loans. The chief executive officer of United Capital Markets Holdings Inc., who lost more than 35 percent for at least one client last year and prevented investors from withdrawing their cash, says bonds derived from subprime mortgages are a bargain after falling as low as 10 cents on the dollar. TCW Group Inc. and Pacific Investment Management Co. are also betting that prices will recover. ``Just because I lost money doesn't mean I will quit, no way,'' Devaney, who sold his boat ``Positive Carry'' and Gulfstream IV, said in a telephone interview from Key Biscayne, Florida. ``Prices have collapsed and this is the best opportunity I've seen in my career.'' While the worst real estate market since 1981 caused demand for bonds backed by subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations to evaporate, 5,700 people are scheduled to attend the American Securitization Forum annual conference in Las Vegas starting tomorrow, said Katrina Cavalli, a spokeswoman for the organization. New York-based Bear Stearns Cos., whose hedge fund losses helped trigger the seizure in credit markets, and Calabasas, California-based Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, are sending speakers and hosting events at the meeting, which is being held at the 4,000-room Venetian Hotel. Countrywide, which agreed to be bought by Bank of America Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina after losing as much as 89 percent of its market value, is throwing a party to coincide with the National Football League's Super Bowl championship. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anEgTK3aK4gs&refer=home It needs brass balls to come back into business... <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-AXTx4PcKI&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y-AXTx4PcKI&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
1) The happiest day of a boat owner's life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. 2) Brass balls don't matter if you have rocks in your head.