What Do Paulson, Fuld, Mack, Blankfein, others have in common ? Funny money from vague third tier assets priced by their firms...... ....................................................................................................... Quote from Roubini about brokerage firms.... In a few years time there will be no major independent broker dealers as their business model (securitization, slice & dice and transfer of toxic credit risk and piling fees upon fees rather than earning income from holding credit risk) is bust and the risk of a bank-like run on their very short term liquid liabilities is a fundamental flaw in their structure (i.e. the four remaining U.S. big brokers dealers will either go bust or will have to be merged with traditional commercial banks). Firms that borrow liquid and short, highly leverage themselves and lend in longer term and illiquid ways (i.e. most of the shadow banking system) cannot survive without formal deposit insurance and formal permanent lender of last resort support from the central bank. ............................................................................................... These firms have been through quite a few phases.... ...................................................... Remember Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Bullish On America ..................................................... EF Hutton When Hutton Talks, people listen .................................................... Smith Barney We make money the old fashion way, we earn it... ....................................................... They went through all this because of the money to be made on tranferring names on a security name. Electronic direct access can do this now for almost nothing. .............................................................. Nowadays......they got into widely distributed, nonaccountable passed on grayly priced securities....created funny money bonuses from third tier in house evaluation...called the Paulson Way to Profitability....game over.... ............................................................ Because of legal largesse...the ipo business is moving to other exchanges.... .......................................................... Because of legal largesse.....trading volume is building to non US domiciled electronic exchanges.... ........................................................... Company research has always been a spanking boy in the way of profits....thus was moved out or compromised a long time ago... .......................................................... So just where is brokerage firm money going to come from ? ........................................................ Paulson saw it comin....he got another job.... He's head of the US Treasury.... Now that is where the real money is....cause you can literally print it....and it's all legal !!!!!!