John Thain has been canned for the suggestion that he receive a $10 million bonus this year. Apparently his retraction was too little, too late. Kidding! Thain’s going to be fine. The same can sadly not be said for equity research. Cuts began there around 8:30 this morning.
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- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
Funny
They should start with the two jackanapes on Squawk this morning.
any word on S&T?
why do i always have to take a dump right before the open? it’s as reliable as putting on ski boots-
Can someone at ML provide us with the degree of clopticism of the individual doing the dirty work?
Just Merrill equity research? Not B of A as well? Know a couple of B of A analysts who are quaking in their shoes, knowing their MER counterparts are higher-rated on II
Anyone have the final numbers on first year Merrill CEOs?
@6
True indeed.
Bess,
Let’s get some statisitics on how many BofA’ers are ousted by Merrill Lynch transplants…
Wow Beth…spreading more rumors are you? You should be ashamed of yourself (you vicious animal liar). I mean, really, this is just irresponsible reporting! I truly expect that a rag called Dealbreaker would actually check the facts and report the truth! Seriously, you should really take a cue from Jon Stuart and The Colbert Report, now, those are REAL reporters (and I’m sure Cliff Asness agrees)!
Kisses,
Your friends at FINalternativesolutions
and whether wideclops sightings induce bowel movements. prarie doggin over here-
Kudos on making front page of the Post’s business section Beth.
I bet traffic is up today, don’t forget to try to extract some additional funds from your advertisers.
@9 go stand by a pole where we can all line up and donkey punch you. Go back to Yahoo groups, there awaiting your return.
Can they get rid of those two idiots on CNBC this morning?
who is beth?
Who cares about Merrill? Let’s talk about Cliff Asness!
@12 – sarcasm-detector set on high today?
@11 – link for the post article?
Dear 12,
Clearly you aren’t good at understanding sarcasm. Get a clue! And be a man (or woman) and sign your post. Darling Beth knows exactly who I am.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12112008/business/hedger_asness_flames_blog_over_layoff_it_143683.htm
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12112008/business/hedger_asness_flames_blog_over_layoff_it_143683.htm
Hedge-fund manager Cliff Asness seems to have gotten himself entangled in a nasty and embarrassing online brawl that suggests he’s losing more than just his investors’ money.
The fight started when Asness – or someone claiming to be him – posted an angry and lengthy rebuke to an item on Wall Street gossip blog Dealbreaker.com about layoffs at AQR Capital, his Greenwich, Conn., firm.
“This is Cliff Asness (for real, if you’ve read anything by me you can probably tell from the below),” began the rant.
It went on to slam the people who post comments on the site as “bitter former employees,” and “little men who get off on anonymous mendacity on the internet [sic].”
It also attacked Dealbreaker.com Editor-in-Chief Bess Levin – incorrectly referred to as “Beth Levin” – as being a “vicious animal” liar.
Yesterday, Levin decided to hit back with a post that mockingly offered Asness some advice about how to handle snarky blog posts.
“The first [route], which most travel, is to ignore it. You oversee billions of dollars – YOU SHOULD BE ABOVE THIS,” the post chides.
Assuming the rant is Asness’ – and Levin said she strongly believes it is – the flare-up could be a blow to the hedge-fund manager’s already rusty reputation.
“You have to wonder why is he losing it in this site if everything’s OK [at his firm],” Levin told The Post.
Asness, a normally outspoken 42-year-old hedge-fund manager, declined to comment for this article. He also declined to confirm or deny whether he was responsible for the embarrassing missive.
@6
They are integrating BofA into Merrill as it has the superior research team. Wouldn’t be surprised if more of BofAs guys are let go.
” Dealbreaker.com Editor-in-Chief Bess Levin ”
So your the EIC Beth?
Thought that was EP.
AQR is fucked!!!
if you want entertainment read this
http://dealbreaker.com/2008/12/layoffs-watch-08-aqr.php
then this
http://dealbreaker.com/2008/12/advice-to-our-hedge-fund-frien.php
all these layoffs before Christmas are brutal.
@24
Thought there was an unspoken rule about no laying off right before christmas.
Bess, what about Donny Deutsch playing home wrecker and hooking up with then married, Lisa Sandler (wife of Hedge Fund Mogul Andrew Sandler, whose father founded Sandler Capital Mgt)?
A lot of people who didn’t know that Asness is an assclown now do because of his foolish decision to “defend the good people” of his firm. Given this lack of judgment, I wouldn’t let Asness walk my dog, much less manage my money with his black box.
About Us
DealBreaker is an online business tabloid and Wall Street gossip site that covers the personalities and culture that shape the financial industry, offering original commentary, news and entertainment. DealBreaker is published by Breaking Media, which also publishes AboveTheLaw.com and Fashionista.com.
Publisher
David Minkin
Editor in Chief
Bess Levin
@25
Typically no but equity research needs to be integrated before the merger is completed. Can’t have 2 ratings on the same stock..
That’s why heads are rolling in research first.
Ironic — I was meeting a friend for lunch down on Wall Street yesterday and we walked past 10 Hanover Square where Kidder Peabody used to be, and I told him how ugly the bloodbath was in equity research when PaineWebber bought it — and then again when UBS bought PaineWebber, and again when UBS decided to be run by idiots, and again when …
Plus ca change…
Kenny Smith was seen at 4 World Financial this morning… He told the ML research team to pack their bags, cause they’re going fishing.
27 as if you have enough to meet his minimum
Bonuses at MER were moved to the end of this year instead of end of January.
Therefore, they are laying off staff now so that they do not have to pay them bonuses in 2 weeks…
Also there were no base comp raises last year.
So, with the low base MER analysts are making, they are really getting scammed.
It’s like they worked the whole year for less than a GM worker.
In the mean time the MER corporate office is handing out multi-million dollar bonuses to back-office paper pushers. They made sure their bonuses were not cut.
It’s pretty disgusting
6, 8 & 21…they already decimated BoA back around bonus time last year: http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120795699896909269.html
…skeleton staff already on BoAs side…probably just trimming the fat off of MERs side now…
I don’t wish layoffs for ANYONE, especially at this time, but I must admit… I hope B of A keeps their peeps.
@34
MER has been laying off analysts several times this year already. There are rows of empty cubicles over there. Not much fat left.
Now they are cutting bones and limbs: they are dropping coverage on entire industries.
But they don’t care because all 3 (2 MER and 1 BofA) DORs kept their jobs: they made sure of that.
The management is getting rid of the little people so that they can pay themselves their big fat bonuses like any other year.
34 – agreed. BofA is a shell right now, many of the bankers, traders, etc. were layed off in the winter and spring of 2008.
@12 – last time I checked, the proper contraction for ‘they are’ is ‘they’re’, not ‘there’, which is a location. boob.
@36, all I can say is YUP…but when did you start thinking this wasn’t a pyramid scheme?
34 & 37 – you don’t know what you’re talking about
@ 33
So go get a job in the back-office and quit your complaining! Or are you an eq. research analyst that just puts a buy rating on every stock to maintain client relationships. eq. research = a joke anyways
turd
Oh, the ignominy! The torture at GS will now continue another 5 years! Assuming you survive the layoffs, of course.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anbeZQFUGznM&refer=home
@24
It WAS an old Irish Catholic firm. Not sure howmany people in MER EQ reseach practice the pagan holiday.
@24
It WAS an old Irish Catholic firm. Not sure howmany people in MER EQ reseach practice the pagan holiday.
@24
It WAS an old Irish Catholic firm. Not sure howmany people in MER EQ reseach practice the pagan holiday.
Anyone have any info they care to share in regards to these layoffs? What research analysts have been let go so far? Any big names?
@46 John Olson was let go for issuing a sell rating on LEH.
How long until we see:
Layoff Watch ’08: DealBreaker
@48- hi cliff asness
God Bless Andy Tim
is this for MER in New York only, or London as well?
48-
considering they were actively looking for people about a month or so ago (and maybe still are?) and that they are featured in the post today probably not anytime real soon.
What about CMBS at Merrill?
What about Research at BofA? Shouldn’t they be laying off there, too at the same time?
About 1/3 of Merrill’s Research department laid off so far today
54 – yes, it’s happening today real time
99.1% of contract workers were let go yesterday in Legal and Compliance. CS employs a lot of contractors. Great group to work with but they could have easily cut some of the dead weight and would have been much better off going forward. There are some lifers in the back office who are beyond inefficient. I’ll name names if you want me to.
#57 did you mean to post in the CS Layoff watch comment section? This is MER’s…
Any updates? What are the numbers like on BAC’s side?
any word on FIG?
What about CMBS at Merrill?
@61
Only equity research layoffs are occurring today
Hatchet fell at BofA research today, got about 9 “coverage in transition” notes.
was on the BAC side today. Most of my Energy department hacked. They slashed about 2/3 of all publishing analysts. Severance pretty good, 2 weeks/yr plus 90 days.
THey told me that my juniors would be canned next Wednesday. Severance only 4 weeks + 2 weeks/yr, plus 25% of your annual bonus. They said of the 70 or so juniors, they only expect to keep 20 or so. Good times.
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