We came out of halftime running and pressing and I just got some opportunities.
After we're through with all of the enhancements, I want my clients to say, 'Wow. Have you seen the Las Vegas Convention Center?' ... That will be a validation for me.
It's an expensive proposition. Everyone kind of bit the bullet and went ahead with the project.
Goldman's in-line quarter compares unfavorably to their 30% upside surprise in the third quarter and Bear Stearns's and Lehman's 5 to 10% upside surprise this quarter.
Most upside against our estimates came from equity trading as with Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. The positive surprise ... was that mortgage trading results were actually up on last year.
The new combined company is going to be trading at something like 20 to 22 times 2007 earnings. So, it's very much at the high end of the asset management peer group. Most asset managers trade at that sort of multiple on this year's earnings, not next year's earnings.
Quality is a little hard to figure out, but strong asset management incentive fees offset weaker restructuring fees resulting in in-line revenue.
The fourth-quarter was a bit disappointing relative to both expectations and their strong third quarter.
The combination of standardized protocols and component-based software will make it less and less sensible for corporations to have their own IS staff in the traditional sense,
It's been the best year. I've got the best teammates and we've had a lot of fun.
