• 04 Dec 2008 at 8:34 AM

Opening Bell: 12.04.08

Picture 283.pngCredit Suisse To Cut 5300 Jobs, To See Losses of $2.5B (Reuters)
“The bank said the loss in the two months to end November, primarily in investment banking, where most of the job cuts will fall, was due to adverse market conditions and risk reduction.”
The downside for the bank is actually gong to be a bit sharper for Q4 because of restructuring chargers that aren’t included in the figure; total losses for Q4 could reach 4B Francs. Most of the cuts are going to happen on the Investment Banking side, though we don’t yet know which specific divisions or offices are going to feel the brunt of the blow.
If you info about who/what/when/where in re: Credit Suisse, shoot us an email at tips (AT) dealbreaker (DOT) com.
French Plan 20B Euro Stimulus (BBC)
Tales from “A Year In The Merde” weigh heavy in my belief that the French are nearly incompetent when it comes to all things business, much less finance. So when France announces that it’s plotting a $23B stimulus package to reinforce the automotive and housing industries: one has to wonder.
CNBC To Cut 80 Jobs (Reuters)
It’s expected that we’ll see the cuts “across the board” by Thursday.
D.E. Shaw, Farallon Funds Freeze Redemptions (Bloomberg)
Shaw is said to have gated redemptions in its Oculus and Composite funds, while Farallon has frozen redemptions in its “biggest fund,” which you already knew, since we told you yesterday.
J.P. Morgan Freezes Funds Collateral (WSJ)
The Guggenheim Investment Fund has seen J.P. Morgan step in and seize collateral in order to meet margin calls in the last couple of days, after the Fund got its ass handed to it in leveraging.
It looks like the Fund is short ~300MM (WSJ math) in the call on the $8B managed.
Capital One Eyeing Chevy Chase Bank (NYTimes)
This deal could prove profitable for Capital One if managed effectively; it secures a large deposit base for the Bank and Credit giant, who will face $1.75 in write-downs because of the acquisition.
“Capital One will pay $445 million in cash and $75 million in stock based on Tuesday’s closing price of $29.29 a share, according to several people briefed on the deal.”
Mini-Me Bank Jeffries To Cut 300 People (DJNewsPlus)
The Bank is looking to cut around 13% of its staff by the year end, and that the year over year headcount would be off by 18%, “not including 85 new hires in mortgage and international equities.”
Jeffries is expected to post a Q4 operating loss of somewhere in the neighborhood of $60.5MM. Jeffries, like every other firm on the street is giving credit to “the extraordinary operating environment”, not the fact that they got caught with their pants around their ankles.

–William Richards

Comments (37)

  1. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:41 AM

    lots of bad news but it is all insignificant compared to the news that Carlyle fired 100 demi gods… Tears in heaven..

  2. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:42 AM

    Hey!! Bloomberg gave you a shout-out!
    “Farallon, founded by Thomas Steyer, told investors in a letter that Farallon Capital Institutional Partners LP plans to resume redemptions as early as January. Meanwhile, they won’t be charged management or incentive fees. They will pay expenses such as legal and accounting fees, according to the letter, which was posted yesterday on the Web site dealbreaker.com. “

  3. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:43 AM

    Oh yeah and about the CNBC, hope they fire Maria Bartiromo so I can stuff something fluid inside her pink slip.

  4. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:44 AM

    @2…nice….of course DB scoops Bberg. Bess is running this shit tight!
    Unemployment numbers are gonna raise the roof in this bitch!

  5. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:52 AM

    Why does every story on hedge funds have to end with this:
    “Hedge funds are private, largely unregulated pools of capital whose managers can buy or sell any assets, bet on falling as well as rising asset prices and participate substantially in profits from money invested.”
    As if someone reading Bloomberg (or anyone remotely interested in finance) didn’t know?

  6. Posted by Last Man Standing | December 4, 2008 at 8:52 AM

    Bill,
    good title and summary for the jeffries yahoos. they are an embarrassment to inv banking.

  7. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:53 AM

    Dealbreaker Layoff League Table 2008…
    Bess, how about compiling one ?

  8. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:53 AM

    Why would Jeffries still have new hires?

  9. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:54 AM

    Hope I never get hit by a restructuring charger. Sounds nasty.

  10. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:58 AM

    CNBC should fire the whole lot and become an infomerical channel. Just think Jimmie Johnson (football not NASCAR) pitching trading secrets all day long

  11. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 8:59 AM

    CNBC should fire the whole lot and become an infomerical channel. Just think Jimmie Johnson (football not NASCAR) pitching trading secrets all day long

  12. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:02 AM

    @7 – Great idea!
    People still watch CNBC??

  13. Posted by Seaman Bodine | December 4, 2008 at 9:04 AM

    RBS killing many today

  14. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:07 AM

    this AM also some telecom & other jobcuts announced in addition to CNBC:
    AT&T x 12,000
    Viacmom x 850
    DuPont x 2,500
    Chicago Tribune x 11
    Experian x 300
    Steelcase x 300+

  15. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:10 AM

    @8 – new hires = much less expensive than existing employees and generally much more gung-ho and ambitious hard workers fresh out of school especially nowadays!

  16. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:12 AM

    DB IB cuts coming today or tomorrow.

  17. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:12 AM

    Macquarie bank axing bankers:
    “THE job-cutting from Macquarie Group’s global operations is fast approaching 1000 after the investment banking and asset management empire axed another 100 posts from its domestic businesses yesterday.
    It is understood that many of the latest jobs have gone from the once-mighty deal-creating Macquarie Capital Advisors division, which has been the powerhouse of the group’s profits over the past 10 years.
    A number of foreign exchange dealers are also understood to have gone in the cull, which has affected both the group’s headquarters in Sydney and its other main operating base in Melbourne.
    An unspecified number of jobs were lost in its structured finance department last week as the cuts gathered pace across Macquarie’s worldwide businesses, which employed 13,700 people at their high point only earlier this year.
    Its London operation, the centre of a big push by Macquarie into the top echelons of the financial world in recent years, is believed to have lost one in four of its staff numbers in the cutbacks.”

  18. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:12 AM

    DB IB cuts coming today or tomorrow.

  19. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:30 AM

    Satellite Asset Management:
    Does anyone know what is happening at Satellite? Are they closing funds, laying off, seeing heavy redemptions, etc?
    Any information will be helpful.

  20. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:30 AM

    Satellite Asset Management:
    Does anyone know what is happening at Satellite? Are they closing funds, laying off, seeing heavy redemptions, etc?
    Any information will be helpful.

  21. Posted by bank_teller | December 4, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    the holiday party is: ON

  22. Posted by Anal_yst | December 4, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    1. That pic of Brady reminds me of Gustav Graves from Die Another Day, that handsome fellow! (no homo)
    2. Odds that Dennis Kneale gets the axe?
    3. Jeffries hiring peeps in the mortgage group (they had one to begin with)?

  23. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:38 AM

    @19/20 DB wrote on Friday that they were closing the funds.

  24. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 9:58 AM

    OK, time to start a wishlist of CNBC “talent” that you would like to see fired:
    1. Dennis Kneale
    2. Melissa Francis
    keep going…

  25. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 10:02 AM

    @24- Can you leave Melissa Francis out of this.
    Is it safe to say anyone without a I AM CNBC commercial isn’t safe?

  26. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 10:03 AM

    i heard Gasbag’s employment situation is ‘fluid’

  27. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 10:19 AM

    @20, doneski in equities.

  28. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 10:22 AM

    Jefferies has three of these: “E”

  29. Posted by Phobos | December 4, 2008 at 10:34 AM

    @28 Lay off the crack.

  30. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 11:01 AM

    Every time I see a picture of Dougan he reminds me of Le Chiffre From Casino Royale

  31. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 11:10 AM

    @ 24 – Kramer.. please Kramer

  32. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 11:19 AM

    I resent being called incompetent. It is only incompetence if you are caught.
    Jerome Kerveil

  33. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 11:58 AM

    @7/@12: Someone needs to update the September madness bracket.

  34. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 12:06 PM

    Umm…ok, apparently brands like L’Oreal and Carrefour can be built by being completely incompetent in business. Carry on.

  35. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 12:16 PM

    @34
    l’oreal is pure necessity in a country where everybody smells like fromage and carrefour is there because french say they love little vilages and small businesses but are to cheap to actually support them.
    Frogs suck.

  36. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 1:09 PM

    OBAMA’S FAILSAFE CANDIDATE WINS ANYWAY
    AMERICAN-ALLIGATORS, WATER MOCASSINS AND OTHER ASSORTED LIZARDS TURNED OUT IN RECORD NUMBERS FOR THEIR CANDIDATE,
    ALLIE-ARNOLD..TO BE REINTRODUCED TO NEWLY RENOVATED DC SWAMP

  37. Posted by guest | December 4, 2008 at 3:03 PM

    @32
    incompetence is not being able to spell your own name…

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