COMMENT We can feel it in our bones. Something is happening here. First, the alternative asset management firm Fortress Investment Group goes public and trades up to previously unheard-of valuations for companies in the investment arena. Next, the private equity colossus Blackstone files for its own initial public offering, with the potential of generating a huge payout for its chairman, Stephen Schwarzman.
These self-motivated, intelligent individuals are trying to tell us something important. The question is: do we have the ability to look beyond their words and actions and intuit motivation? Greed, uncertainty and fear. What are the implications? That the equity markets are in trouble? That the credit markets are on the verge of a sharp sell-off? That we are at the dangerous stage of a private equity bubble?
