$$$ Bernanke Defends Record On Lehman
[WSJ]
$$$ Obama’s Too Small Steps On The Economy [TDB]
$$$ Paolo Pelligrini: The US Continues To Dig Its Hole Deeper [BI]
$$$ Bedbugs Make Selves Home In Greenwich [GT]
$$$ Russian Girls Invade Hamptons In Hopes Of Becoming Trophy Wives [TDB]
From the mail bag: Continue reading »
As is widely known, Wesley Snipes was found guilty of tax evasion a little while back, a charge which the actor believes to be bull shit. Because he would prefer not to go to prison for three years, Wes is attempting to appeal the verdict. Separately, Snipes was once a client of accused Ponzi schemer Kenneth Starr, who it came out several months ago had screwed a bunch of investors out of a bunch of money. These are two seemingly unrelated matters. And yet, today there is this:
The pole-dancer wife of accused Ponzi schemer Ken Starr claims private eyes for Wesley Snipes have been stalking her in a bid to find evidence to clear the actor of tax charges.
Moreover, Mr. Pandit seems uncomfortable as the leader of one of the nation’s biggest banks. He shuns most interviews, and he is prone to overreact to criticism no matter the source, be it The Wall Street Journal or a minor blog. Reports suggest Mr. Pandit is behind Mr. Mayo’s ban, a charge Citigroup denies. [WSJ]
A show of hands– how many of you think your male colleagues wear make-up? You were going to say “none,” right? Wrong, RuPaul. Statistically speaking, probably one-half to a third of your work pals are wearing some sort of lacquer right now, be it a little lip gloss or some bronzer and that doesn’t even include the transvesite beauts. Now that that’s out in the open you can finally stop being ashamed and start appreciating how this stuff is going to change your life. Like Jeffrey Lederer, the gentleman pictured here, checking himself out. What’s he thinking about? I don’t know, maybe about how at the age of 60+, he’s reeling in tail 20 years his junior, the kind of puss a man by the same first name can only dream of bagging. Chick thought he was 25, all thanks to his friends at MAC.
One argument that men’s cosmetics are going mainstream: some men are not even self-conscious about using them. Jeffrey Lederer, 63, a principal in several investment partnerships and a former Wall Street trader, openly applies Menaji products — including a Bronze Star facial bronzing gel, concealer and anti-shine powder — after his workouts at a private Manhattan club.
Bernanke Meets Buffett In Role Conceived To Protect Markets (Bloomberg)
Under the Dodd-Frank law, Bernanke’s Fed gains powers never before housed in one regulator. The central bank remains the supervisor of 5,000 U.S. bank holding companies and 830 state banks. “When the dust settled, Congress realized that Bernanke and the Fed knew what they were doing,” says Mark Gertler, a New York University economics professor who did research with Bernanke, a former Princeton University professor, on the causes of the Great Depression. “The power of any Fed chairman is ultimately based on the perception by Congress that he will use it prudently. He has this reputation.”
SEC Charges Wharton Buddies (WSJ)
Mr. Self regularly called Mr. Goldfield from his cellphone while going to and from work at Merck, the SEC said. In one conversation, Mr. Self said that “the weather was in the 50s” or words to that effect, conveying that Mr. Self’s company’s bid for MedImmune was going to be in the $50s, the complaint said. At the time, MedImmune shares were trading in the $30s.
Goldman Sachs Invests To Get Its Image Right In China (Telegraph)
In what is thought to be a rare move for the bank, Goldman used Brunswick to carry out a reputational study in China shortly after hiring the company to be its retained public relations firm in the country last October. The short-term project, the findings of which are not publicly known and are unlikely to be released, was ordered ahead of the bank’s civil fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the fallout which followed. Ironically, news of Goldman’s interest in its public perception comes as the latest piece of anti-Goldman literature has become a bestseller in China. Goldman Sachs Conspiracy, by financial journalist Li Delin, is said to have sold more than 100,000 copies since it was released on June 1, making it something of a hit. The content is inflammatory to say the least, with the book branding Goldman as having the “cruel nature of a Manchurian tiger,” and “the IQ of an Israeli Shar Pei dog.”
RBS Cutting 3,500 Jobs (UTU)
Rob MacGregor said: “The news that the Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut another 3,500 staff from across the UK is a horror story. It will be a specially bitter pill for staff to swallow as RBS has decided to move some of the jobs abroad to the Far East, India and America.”
Romer: US May Need Stimulus II (NYP)
Departing White House economist Christina Romer said the US must find the political will for more action, beating back the bugbear of high deficits in favor of a second stimulus bill that would boost the economy and create jobs. “We have tools that would bring unemployment down without worsening our long-run fiscal outlook, if we can only find the will and the wisdom to use them,” Romer said in a speech at the National Press Club. “The United States still faces a substantial shortfall of aggregate demand. GDP by most estimates is still about 6 percent below trend,” she said.
Lehman Says Two Units Need Help To Avoid Failing (Reuters)
Aurora Bank FSB, formerly known as Lehman Brothers Bank, has struggled to meet capital requirements as regulators have limited its ability to offer new certificates of deposit. The other banking unit, Woodlands Commercial Bank, faces similar restrictions from the regulator due to capital requirements, complicating efforts to sell the units. Continue reading »
$$$ Bear Stearns Help Was `Original Sin,’ Wallison Says [Bloomberg]
$$$ White House Economist Calls For More Stimulus [Reuters]
$$$ J.P. Morgan Names CFO for Investment Bank [WSJ]
$$$ Sneak Peak at Steven Rattner’s Overhaul: Auto Triumphs of “Unshaven, Sockless Men” [NYO]
He “picked her up in a Maserati and she said well maybe I can get used to this.” Let’s make this happen. Continue reading »
For its September issue, Absolute Return is running a “hedge fund report card.” The magazine polled hundreds of investors, asking them to rate their respective funds based on factors that included alignment of interests, alpha generation, independent oversight, infrastructure, transparency and liquidity terms. The results put York Capital at number one, followed by Bridgewater Associates, Bain’s Brookside Capital, Adage Capital and Cayon Capital overall. Bringing up the rear were SAC Capital, TPG-Axon, QVT Financial, Citadel and Cerberus Capital in dead last. In addition to asking the investors to simply provide scores, AR also afforded them their opportunity to air their grievances. Let out what they’ve been holding in, etc. For instance, someone with Citadel apparently doesn’t think Ken Griffin treats his clients right, noting that KG “holds his investors somewhere between indifference and disdain.” Which doesn’t really seem that fair! Continue reading »
“There was no capital hole. Lehman had the capital. We needed the liquidity.” [DI]
Remember last year, when not a day went by without people claiming Tim Geithner was getting fired and the White House had supposedly all but forced him to move into an office in the basement where the pipes leaked so that they could prepare the place for Jamie Dimon, who we were to believe was TG replacement? That died down for a bit, in part because Geithner’s pussy outreach program was pretty successful and also because he came in handy for pick-up games. Mostly, though, it was because Obama and Dimon’s relationship hit the skids and the President needed to find someone else to make Geithner worry about. Allegedly he has. And his name is Mike.
Is Mayor Bloomberg being wooed to join the Obama administration? Asked about last weekend’s four-hour golf game with President Obama on Martha’s Vineyard, Bloomberg told reporters yesterday, “The economy was the main subject, other than discussing golf.” Now there are whispers that the president went even further and sounded out Bloomberg about whether he would join his foundering economic team as treasury secretary, replacing prime blame-target Timothy Geithner.
Vanity Fair is out with its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Last year, Lloyd Blankfein was named numba 1 stunna. This year, something interesting happened wherein he clocked in at dead last. One can’t help but feel as though VF is trying to send a message here. Well guess what, ladies? LCB doesn’t need your mocking pity. Maybe next year, he starts his own list. Also of interest to note in the way off disses is that missing from the list are Maria Bartiromo and Erin Burnett, who last year were deemed the 69th most influential, a position they shared, in addition to the Dollar Dominatrix, who was 86 and David Einhorn, who was 87. For the second year in a row, Steve Cohen and Ben Bernanke were left off because really, what have those guys ever done? Here’s who did get named: Continue reading »
