Some of The Prince’s earlier mortgage commentary:

Speculation and Fraud In Mortgages?  A Blind Eye.

For Ratings Firms Holding AAA Sacrosanct is Foolish

Bank of America is the Smart Money on Countrywide

All About Resets in Housing As Numbers Get Worse

The Face of Wall Streets Mortgage Mess

CDO Credit: Twas the Night Before Christmas

My readers may also notice that the asides commentary area has been moved up on the site to make sure that section gets as much attention as the longer commentary sections.  You may also notice that a new features has been introduced entitled "The Prince’s Hostile Makeover".  This is meant to lighten the mood a little on the sight and do something in a vein similar to LolCats or Icanhascheezburger but with finance "celebrities" instead of cats (The prince knows the distinction isn’t always that clear).

Finally, posts will now only be made on Monday to Friday.  The Prince is taking this action because he has noticed that the majority of his readers read during the regular work week while they are at their jobs.  On the weekends no one (including the Prince) doesn’t want to read about creative ways to use the ESOP structure to get tax savings in an equity issuance. 

The Prince would also like to seek the advice of his readers on what they want to see on the site.  What did I write that you liked and want to see more of?  Please email The Prince with your suggestions for how the blog could be improved.  Criticism is always appreciated since it will help The Prince improve the site.  I get about a half dozen suggestions each week through email and I would love to get more comments.  One suggestion that I may institute is a Q&A every month between The Prince and readers.

The Prince’s hope is that these changes and additions to the blog will make it more relevant, easier to navigate, and funnier.  If you don’t like the changes tough because this blog still remains The Prince’s kingdom and I am, to quote Cowper’s poem,  "master of all I survey". 

Economic News

RGE Monitor - This is simply the best site for aggregating what economists are saying about the domestic and international economies.  The pieces are of extremely high quality and it is a great place to look for emerging trends for you to exploit through investments.

The Big Picture - Another fabulous site focusing on economic and financial commentary.  The analysis is usually rich with new insights and very sophisticated.

Calculated Risk - Covers economics and the financial market.  Always offers useful commentary backed up with graphs and statistics.  Does some pretty interesting calculations trying to estimate writedowns and the values of various assets.

General Market and M&A News

New York Times Dealbook

FT Alphaville

WSJ Marketbeat

Bloomberg

Commentary and Investing

Abnormal Returns - The links they regularly provide help the reader hone in on the best commentary of the day. 

Howard Lindzon - My favorite investing blog.  His commentary is always interesting and the interaction with his readers on his trades is excellent.  He is also one of the creators of WallStrip.

Intelligent Speculator - Recently launched site that focuses on value investing with a slightly speculative edge.  Presents some interesting trade ideas for stocks that look undervalued based on varying metrics.

La Contra - Fascinating blog presenting contrarian investment ideas.

Fat Pitch Financials - Site that offers the tools to make you a better value investor.

The Street - Daily does of financial commentary from experts of various quality.

Seeking Alpha - The best aggregator of commentary and investing ideas on the web.

Private Equity and Dealmaking

Going Private - I just love the way Equity Private writes.  The writer’s quick wit and years of experience make this blog a fascinating read.  The writing is superb and the original insights are fascinating.  The Prince’s goal is to write like Equity Private.  I have a long ways to go and a lot of experience to gain before I can reach that goal.

Blogging Buyouts - Good for blurbs on various Private Equity news.  Site doesn’t have much new material right now as LBO game is on hold because of lack of financing.  However, I’m sure they will start covering the difficulty that PE firms are having with the firms they bought at ridiculous multiples at the peak.

Epicurean Dealmaker - More wonderful writing that you can’t find anywhere else.  Incredibly interesting with a great sense of humor.

Wall Street Fun

Dealbreaker

Wall Street Folly

The All Nighter

BankersBall

Wall Street Oasis

WallStrip

When he wrote the technical trading post critical of TA he knew that it would get people going and he plans to revisit the topic soon in order to respond to some of the emails/comments.  There are certainly some misconceptions floating around out there about the purpose of his pseudonym.  Quite frankly, The Prince was pretty surprised how many readers suggested he learn some humility.  Please understand that writing in the third person and The Prince of Wall Street alias are nothing more than exaggerated caricature of an overconfident egomaniacal junior financier.  The man behind The Prince is much more humble and aware of his current low place in the Wall Street pecking order.  Yet, somehow reading about the man behind The Prince isn’t as much fun.  People love spectacle and that is what aesthetic of The Prince provides.  To return to Machiavelli, "To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people."

Many reviews of this site have asked me to share more information about myself and my life.  I will be doing more of that as time goes on but my first priority is protecting my identity.  I’m sure my future employer would not be ecstatic about this blog even though everything I write here is completely legal and above board.  It is just a risk that most banks would rather not have on their balance sheet, if you know what I mean.  So, The Prince must return to Niccolo’s words again when he says, "Never was anything great achieved without danger."   The Prince is not Vayner for those of you that put that guess forward, although The Prince does find him hysterical.  The Prince knows his readers are thinking enough with the cheesy Machiavelli lines, so here is some more info on The Prince.

Many commentators have attacked The Prince as a rich snob getting what he wants through daddy’s money and connections.  In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.  Let’s set the record straight.  Every job The Prince has ever been offered was the result of interviewing and his record.  In response to the suggestion that The Prince is living off his parents wealth, both his parents are social workers living an unremarkable middle class existence.  Can you taste the irony in The Prince’s choice of career?  His parents did not contribute money to his private school education.  The Prince won scholarships, used loans, worked jobs and built websites to meet his tuition payments.  He went to a public high school.  The Prince attained his first job at age 13 at a golf retail store.  He worked there until he was 18 selling golf clubs and building high-end custom golf clubs.  Almost everything The Prince learned about sales he learned on the floor of the shop selling golf clubs to the executives who frequented the shop after playing golf near their second homes in Aspen.  His first job on Wall Street was the result of six interviews.  His last summer job was attained through a stellar recommendation from his former boss and 30-45 minute interviews with everyone in his new group.