Wachovia Execs Could See ~$100MM In Severance (DJNewswires)
Banking’s bastard child from the south – the one that lost $33B in two flat quarters – is paying its top 10 people $98.1MM on leaving. I’m more curious about what happens after the merger – does Wells get greedy? They’ve now got enough assets to shore a massive investment arm, and here’s enough talent on the street to build five banks; is anyone going to take advantage of the situation?
Goldman to Sell $2 Billion In FDIC – Backed Bonds (NYT)
” Goldman Sachs plans to sell at least $2 billion of new debt that will be guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, with pricing expected Tuesday, according to a market source familiar with the sale.
The debt will mature no later than June 30, 2012, the source said. Goldman Sachs is the sole bookrunner, while Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are joint leads, the source said.
The debt is guaranteed under the FDIC’s Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, and investors are watching the deal as a test case for demand under the new program.
Citi Has A Credibility Problem (Reuters)
And, the light comes on. It’s finally starting to sink in that Banks don’t tell people everything, and that their repeated calls for transparency aren’t gong unheard. Well, that’s not fair: people hear you screaming they just don’t give a shit (promise).
“Citigroup Inc’s repeated assurances that it did not need additional capital, followed by its quick about-face in accepting billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. Treasury, has many investors wondering what other banks are hiding… “The biggest question is what, as the owner of bank stocks, do you really own?”"
No, the biggest question is “why are investors holding bank stocks?” If you don’t have all of the information you need to hold the security, here’s a tip: you shouldn’t be. You don’t get to own bank stocks just because you want to, risk free.
Your House Is Worth Less, Or: How To Mislead the Public With A Worthless Headline (FT)
The median home price has fallen by 11.3%, reaching $183,300 according to the National Association of Realtors. But this doesn’t necessarily mean your house is worth less (though, it probably is). For those of you too far removed from statistics, the median of anything is found by counting your way to the middle. There’s no trending, smoothing, or averaging; it’s much like finding your way to the middle of a ruler, just put a finger at both ends and slide it to the center: when you get there, you’re home.
There’s ways to skew the median so as to make it smaller, that have nothing to do with the price or your home (or even homes in your neighborhood). All you have to do is build houses that cost < $183,300, en masse.
What's more likely than a sudden shift in new construction, however, is that there was a shift in prices coupled with new construction of lighter/cheaper houses - but that, too, is pure conjecture.
Dubai Having A Bad Month (BBC)
Dubai is one of the few regions in the Middle East that isn’t oil rich, which is causing some issues for the poor little fella here of late. The Government has had to pull two lenders out of the gutter, and state affiliated firms are sitting on $70B in debt; not bad for an area with only ~2.6MM people.
HSBC Going Forward (Reuters)
While the article touches on whether HSBC would look at Citi’s assets (no one cares about that anymore) it clearly states as a byproduct where HSBC is going – and that they’re intent on getting there. BRIC markets are still expanding, EM markets are going to grow into flourishing stabilized commerce centers – and HSBC sees itself in the middle of all of that.
Plus, they’re not bitching or defending themselves, which seems fresh for some reason.
Google’s Looking At Cutbacks To Contract Labor (Reuters)
Google currently houses about 10k contract laborers, of which some are going to get cut; is this a sign of things to come for the big G?

Thanksgiving Is Upon Us (USA)
A brilliant Holiday: we’re celebrating our historical lack of love for all things sin. Some 300 – 600 years ago a bunch of people on boats set sail from England and landed in New England, the Fertile Crescent that it is. After prospering wildly they sent for their friends and a party was had; and that party is Thanksgiving.
For those of you not staying in the City this year, let’s have a little chat: your parents/friends back home/uncles – pretty much anyone you’ve ever known from where you’re from – are going to yell at you about the Economy. It’s your fault. Sadly, I don’t have any advice for you. I can tell you this: I’m going to Thanksgiving dinner dressed as a turkey. A big f*cking Turkey.
If they’re going to blame me for the Economic woes of the over-spending middle-class, I’m coming armed with plumage.
–William Richards