Saving The Financial Monsters

Can this man save Wall Street?

by Katrina Brooker, senior writer

October 29, 2008: 6:32 AM ET

(Fortune Magazine) -- At 11 o'clock in the evening on Saturday, Sept. 13, Larry Fink was about to board a flight from New York to Singapore. The following Monday he was scheduled to meet with the managers of several Asian sovereign-wealth funds. For the head of BlackRock, one of the world's largest asset managers, this trip was a huge opportunity that could mean billions of dollars in new business.

Still, he knew that the next 19 hours would be a bad time to be unreachable. Just a few miles west of the airport, bankers and government officials were huddled in the offices of the New York Federal Reserve Bank to hash out the fates of three of the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street - namely, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Merrill Lynch. Two of the troubled firms - Lehman Brothers and AIG - were BlackRock (BLK, Fortune 500) clients; Merrill Lynch was BlackRock's biggest shareholder.

Fink made one final call before boarding. "Can I get on this plane?" he asked a colleague inside the meetings at the New York Fed.

"You can go," came the response.

At that moment Fink thought Barclays (BCS) had agreed to buy Lehman. So he boarded. As Fink took off, he could see through his window the lights of lower Manhattan. He did not know it then, but it would be the last time he would see Wall Street - at least the one he recognized - in one piece.

When Fink landed in Singapore at 5 a.m. on Monday morning, he checked his BlackBerry and scanned the headlines: Lehman bankrupt, Merrill Lynch bought by Bank of America, AIG collapsing. "I felt like Charlton Heston landing on the Planet of the Apes," says Fink. "My world had transformed."

In that moment, Fink knew as well as anyone how treacherous the capital markets had become. As chairman and CEO of BlackRock, he had seen the hidden liabilities of just about every financial institution that would be pulled into this whirling vortex of doom.

AIG, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac had all hired BlackRock over the past few months. As Fortune went to press, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson had BlackRock on his short list to manage, well, your money - a chunk of the $700 billion bank bailout known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

If Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke have been the public faces of the financial crisis, Fink has been its behind-the-scenes fixer and father confessor. The reason so many CEOs have kept him on speed dial in recent months is simple: No other firm is trusted to pick through the exotic securities infecting banks' balance sheets and place an accurate value on them.

At a time when the credit-rating agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's have lost face, BlackRock's valuations have become a kind of de facto Good Housekeeping seal of approval that buyers and sellers of distressed assets trust.

"I think of it like Ghostbusters: When you have a problem, who you gonna call? BlackRock!" says Terrence Keely, a managing director at UBS, who worked with BlackRock last spring to dispose of a troubled $20 billion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (BlackRock unloaded it for $15 billion).

But before anyone organizes a ticker-tape parade for Fink, keep in mind that 25 years ago he was an early and vigorous promoter of the CMO (collateralized mortgage obligation). Today the CMO and other asset-backed securities have become the monsters responsible for the credit crisis.

BlackRock itself has not been unscathed: Its money market funds saw $50 billion withdrawn in the month of September. In the third quarter, assets in its fund-management business lost more than $100 billion, dropping from $1.4 trillion to $1.26 trillion. Its stock, trading at $113 on Oct. 23, is down 40% for the year.

"The market declines are so severe, BlackRock is not immune," says Fink, 55. "I've been in this business for 32 years, and in a 20-week period - from Bear Stearns's collapse until now - the landscape has changed so dramatically. It's very unsettling. Very disorienting."

So the question is, Can Fink stop this monster - and make a profit along the way?

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UMNO Money Politics :Who Gave Them The Money?

Hantu Laut

Money politics, the scourge of UMNO party politics.These high stakes games of getting elected into the 'hall of shame' in the top echelon of the party is getting dirtier and messier at every party elections.Buying and selling favours have become a trade able commodity with some throwing in the flesh trade as part of the package.It is rumoured that in past elections some delegates were offered the services of female companion for the night as added incentives.How far this is true is as good as the question everyone is asking now, who ordered the killing of Altantuya ? If not Razak Beginda, than who ? It sounds more like he got off on technicality as the honourable judge had said the prosecution failed to make a prima facie case.

Money politics have existed for yonks and practised everywhere including the so-called purest democracy, the US.The on going presidential election would be completely paralysed without huge donations from party supporters,businessmen, corporations and would-be opportunists.The difference between the West and here is they have refined the art of money politics.All donations to the candidate must be declared, giving particulars of amount and name of donors.This is for the purpose that the person elected into office will not use or abuse his power to favour those who have donated to his campaign funds.Undeclared donation is illegal and can get the candidate into serious trouble with the law or get impeach from office or both.

Politics in the West is not as clean as one would like to think.Many high ranking politicians have been caught for corruption.One recent case is Ted Stevens, a US Senator from Alaska who received money and gifts and didn't declare it.He is now under indictment for corruption.

The difference again between the West and Malaysia is, in the West, nobody gets protection from prosecution, no matter how high up the person is, including the President, no special treatment or immunity is given to them.In Malaysia, the Prime Minister is still percieved to be calling the shot who should be prosecuted and who shouldn't.This may be mere perception but as long as the ACA is not independent such negative perception would continue.

Money politics in UMNO is of the crudest form, completely unrefined and wrapped up in secrecy, a story of cloak and dagger that shows the highest order of political immaturity.Even worse, where money can't buy favours those involved resort to using coercion, threat including death threat,intimidation,blackmail and bodily harm if all other methods failed to do the job.

Lynn Pan would have better describe the functions of this kind of gangsterism in her book 'Gangsters In Paradise' in old Shanghai, where the whole city was governed under the influence of gangsters and secret societies.

The brand of money politics in UMNO has its roots in Sabah, where it started long time ago during Mustapha rule.During his time they either paid money or gave other form of incentives to buy votes especially in areas where opposition is strong.If money didn't work, than coercion and intimidation were the formula used.This kind of political gangsterism can, sometimes, bring in votes for those who had the gumption to use it.

Money politics reached its peak under Berjaya when it has to fight USNO and PBS.Cash,water tanks and zinc roofing materials were the favourites among villagers who would take from all who were stupid enough to give.

In the 1985 State Elections money politics didn't work when most Sabahans were fed up with the autocratic rule of Chief Minister Harris Salleh.In spite of the fact that his party Berjaya spent million, it was badly trashed, won only 5 seats out of 48.Newly formed PBS got a simple majority and reneged on its promise to form a coalition with USNO, who got significant number of seats to be a partner in the government. Sentiments of the people plus money politics were instrumental for the victory to PBS as most big Chinese businesses secretly donated money to PBS at that time.

Money politics in UMNO started when Mahathir was prime minister.Before him, such f... words were unheard of. During Tengku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Hussein Onn rule there was not an ounce of money politics, most politicking were above board,untainted and dignified.

Mahathir was not personally involved in money politics or even encourage it but where he failed miserably was he didn't take any action to nip it in the bud which he could have done so much easier in the beginning.

Umno disciplinary chairman Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen said The problem began about two decades ago, worsened over the years and was now showing no sign of getting any better.

"We are trying our best, but it seems we can't deal with it completely. It is now rooted to the core," he admitted.

I would say it is rotten to the core because even the top leadership are indulging in it but are pretending to making speeches against it to divert attention away from their own dubious ways.

Tengku Rithauddeen said money politics was becoming a norm in the party as all those who indulged normally benefited from it.

Money politics intensified under Abdullah Badawi because of his weak leadership.The jockeying for positions had become very expensive affairs with money spent in the millions.One divisional head in Sabah have been rumoured to spend RM3 million just to become head of a division.The stakes is high but the reward is higher.Becoming division head means tens of million of government contracts given as reward.

The leaders in UMNO should stop pretending.They have no serious desire to stamp out money politics.Some of them are just as much involved in it as the 'kuching kurap' at the lower ranks.

Although I am not a member of UMNO I support the idea of a debate between Khairy Jamaluddin and Mukriz Mahathir for the UMNO Youth Chief post.This is one way you can reduce money politics and use merits to select your leaders.Mukriz should not shy away from the challenge, it is the right platform to show your capability.

Anyway, who gave those idiots the money to play money politics, if not the top leadership?

Pak Lah:It's 'sap sap soi' no need to apologise

Hantu Laut

As they say in Hakka 'sap sap soi'. It's a small matter you don't need to apologise at all.Your apology does not make any different.The question is whether the price agreed upon is a fair price to pay for those machines. The meagre difference of RM93 million is not something you should worry about.What you should worry about is whether there were element of corruption or payment of excessive commissions to a third party.

Pak Lah has apologised over a small mistake he made on the price of the Eurocopter.You can read it here.

It is ridiculous that the boys at the Ministry of Defence want the Prime Minister to correct such petty amount and if they think that would satisfy the thirst of the conspiracy theorists, they are awfully wrong.

Reminiscence:The North Borneo Railway

Hantu Laut

After having written many articles on the gloomy scenarios of the economy, goddam politics and the antics of our mostly incorrigible politicians, I think I should take a break from those dreary subjects and take a trip down memory lane, a dose of nostalgia that bring back memories of my childhood on what must be, my rendering of it, the slowest train in the world.

It would take almost a whole day of daylight to travel from what was Jesselton then to Tenom in the interior.The scenic beauty of the lust jungle, the Padas Gorge and the backdrop of the Crocker Range is just unforgettable.


The North Borneo Railway re-named Sabah State Railway has ceased operation temporarily for major tracks renewal work. For those who love the past, below is the history of the Railway from the day it started in the then British North Borneo.

In the 1880’s, the so-called “White Rajahs” of the British Crown established the British North Borneo Company by obtaining parts of North Borneo from the Sultan of Sulu. The wild jungles provided grounds for great adventure and potential riches. As the need for larger plantations grew, the question of transportation became a major issue for these young plantation owners. A railway straight into the heart of Borneo was the only viable solution to keep the company afloat.

In 1894, the Chartered Company elected William Clarke Cowie as the Managing Director of the British North Borneo Company. Cowie appointed an English Civil Engineer, Arthur J. West, to build the railway line from Bukau, north to Beaufort and south to Weston. Named after Mr. West, Weston was to be the new port at Brunei Bay. However, upon completion of the railway in 1890, Weston was discovered to be too shallow for a deep-sea wharf. Instead, Arthur J. West extended a 64 km line from Beaufort to Tenom and to Melalap where laborers, mainly Hakka and Cantonese were lured from China to undertake what was known to be the most challenging task of construction along the gorge section. In the meantime, George Pauling & Company was appointed to continue the railway from Beaufort, further 90 km to Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu). The railway was finally on the move!

However, victory did not last long, for in 1930, the Great Depression spread through the world. This threw men out of work everywhere; trade was almost halted; there was no sale of rubber and established companies collapsed. Hardly had the world recovered from this when the Second World War started in 1939. The Japanese 37 Army, under Lt. General Masao Baba occupied North Borneo. WWII and the Japanese Occupation almost paralyzed the whole railway system between 1944 and 1945. Despite severe damages, the railways continued providing its vital service to the state during the war. Locomotives continued running between bridges and “Rail Jeeps” were modified to replace damaged locomotives.

During the Post-War period, immediately after liberation of North Borneo by the 9^th Division Australian Imperial Force (AIF), the British North Borneo Company faced the gigantic task of reconstruction and decided to relinquish its ownership of North Borneo to the British Colonial Office. From then on, North Borneo became a Crown Colony until Malaysian independence.

The railway remained the only means of transportation into the interior until only half a century ago, playing a vital part in the economic development of Sabah. It helped open up the country and the emergence of towns like Bukau, Weston and Jesselton. It now continues to run through six main stations, namely Tanjung Aru, Papar, Bongawan, Beaufort and Tenom. The smaller stations are Putatan, Kinarut, Kawang, Kimanis, Lumat, Saliwangan, Halogilat, Rayoh and Pangi.

The North Borneo Railway features a British Vulcan steam locomotive, designed and built by the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows, England in 1954 as part of the last order before the factory converted to diesel and electric locomotive construction. The Vulcan 6-015, a 2-6-2 carrying a green livery with polished boiler bands and red edging to the running plate and tender frame, was de-commissioned for general use in the early 1970’s by the Sabah State Railway Department. It was proudly re-launched on January 22^nd, 2000, in honour of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s capital, achieving City-Status. Not only does this steam engine represent the last of a fleet of steam engines that have plied the tracks through Borneo since the late 1800’s, it is also one of the only functional wood-burners left in the world.

The North Borneo Railway also features six carriages that have been meticulously restored and renovated to reflect the era of the steam train. The exterior utilizes the traditional deep green and cream of the original North Borneo Railway, with carved brass logos featuring the original British seal. The interior, highlighting the natural woods of Sabah, has comfortable seating and dining facilities. Every carriage provides the amenity of a modern washroom onboard. Seating accommodates 36 passengers per carriage, with a total train capacity of 180 passengers. An exotic bar car and observation deck accompanies the train, providing a comfortable lounge area to heighten the overall journey experience.

Windows remain open throughout the journey, and high-powered fans line the ceilings to ensure maximum comfort along the route. A provision has been made for air-conditioning, though the open windows enhance the entire heritage experience, as passengers are able to lean out the windows and doors to interact with the countryside, rather than merely be observers.

The North Borneo Railway is built and operated to the highest of international standards and is fully compliant with modern safety standards.

The nostalgic romance of an old steam train…passing through villages and coastal towns paddy fields, rainforests and plantations of rubber and coffee… A ride on the North Borneo Railway is truly a journey of rediscovery into the heart of Borneo, transporting you back into the past; to the days of the Chartered Company…and British Colonial Office…of young Englishmen setting out to be planters in the interiors of Borneo…

The North Borneo Railway runs 36 miles between Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, and Papar, an agricultural town, known as the rice bowl of Sabah. From Tanjung Aru Station, your train, with an open observation car, travels along the main road to Putatan, a small village on the outskirts of the city. Beyond this station, the journey continues along a lovely bay dotted with mangrove swamp, protecting the coast from the South China Sea. View the fishermen waist-high in the waters collecting shrimp and small fish in these safe coastal waters.

As the train rounds the bay, it veers into the interior, leaving the main road behind as it makes its way through the countryside. Kinarut, a small kampong (village in Malay), is our first whistle-stop. Famous for its pre-war shop houses, passengers will de-board here for a quick tour of lovely Tsim Shen Tsui Temple, a temple built in honour of Mainland Chinese by the local community. It features 18 statues of Buddhist monks, a 20-foot giant smiling Buddha, and a lotus-pond in honour of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. Back onboard, enjoy the journey, surrounded by mangrove swamps and acres of Nepa Palm and Screw Pines. This swamp region is vital for the local community, as villagers collect the Nepa fronds to make baskets and mats, as well as the atap roofs for their houses. The area is also rich with fish and prawn, as mangrove regions are tidal. Local villagers travel through the swamps on little dugout canoes, painted in bright greens and blues.

The train then passes through a deep mountain tunnel, the sole tunnel along the entire route from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom, in the heart of the interior. As it emerges on the other side, the landscape changes dramatically from swampland to padi field. Watch as the farmers toil away in the fields, harvesting Sabah’s favorite crop. Water buffalo dot the fields, many with perched egrets on their shoulders, highlighting the pairs symbiotic friendship.

The train then enters Papar town, crossing a bright yellow trestle bridge over the Papar River. Blue, yellow and red fishing boats dot the river’s edge, docked to bring the day’s catch to the vast fish market in town. The train steams into town, met by waiving locals. In Papar, the Vulcan engine refills with water and utilizes a turn-table to reverse for the return journey into the heart of Borneo. A railcar of the Sabah State Railway Source:North Borneo Railway