With Roots in ’70s, Madoff Scheme Takes New Toll (WSJ)
From time to time Mr. Gettinger would try to engage Mr. Madoff in talk about his investment strategy. “I asked him about it several times and he wouldn’t talk,” said Mr. Gettinger. “Anytime you would talk to him about his business he would tell you he wasn’t going to make any disclosures, he had a proprietary trading system and he wouldn’t tell.”
Suspicions about Mr. Madoff’s trading also go back further than whistle-blowers have alleged. In 1991, a consultant hired to review a corporation’s investments with Mr. Madoff made in the late 1980s grew suspicious about his returns. According to client statements and other information gathered by the consultant and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, between 1980 and 1990, the consultant found that Mr. Madoff claimed to his client to have earned 22.6% per year, double the average return on the Dow Jones Industrial Average during that time.
Also the Smothers Brothers, i.e. Mark and Andy, have yet to be contacted by prosecutors because apparently even entertaining the thought of family members testifying against one another is just too awkward.
L’Oreal Heiress Bettencourt Said to Have Invested With Madoff (Bloomberg)
Given that he scammed 8 billion people it shouldn’t come as a shock that we’ve got some pretty good stats in there, like his victims included “the world’s richest woman” and the first-known talking dog, who resides in Boca.
Layoffs Watch ’08: Glenview (NYP)
L-train has laid off a bunch of staff, and will probs cut compensation for existing employees significantly next year. This makes some sense.
SEC chief defends response to economic turmoil (Reuters)
Chris Cox: Orator (If you missed it, Track 1 can be found here.)
What we have done in this current turmoil is stay calm, which has been our greatest contribution — not being impulsive, not changing the rules willy-nilly, but going through a very professional and orderly process that takes into account unintended consequences and gives ample notice to market participants,” Cox told The Washington Post.
This caution “has really been a signal achievement for the SEC,” said Cox.
“When these gale-force winds hit our markets, there were panicked cries to change any and every rule of the marketplace: ‘Let’s try this. Let’s try that.’ What was needed was a steady hand,” he said.
He Can’t Speak Worth A Damn, But This Is Good (WaPo)
“Cox said the biggest mistake of his tenure was agreeing in September to an extraordinary three-week ban on short selling of financial company stocks. But in publicly acknowledging for the first time that this ban was not productive, Cox said he had been under intense pressure from Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to take this action and did so reluctantly. They “were of the view that if we did not act and act at that instant, these financial institutions could fail as a result and there would be nothing left to save,” Cox said.”
You are getting one ‘Don’t Short Me, Bro‘ t-shirt and a matching thong, on the house, Mister!
Jamie Foxx and Terrence Howard: Sing Off? (Blog)
Gary Busey apparently entered a celebrity lip syching contest and lost. That is some bull shit.
Programming Note: We’re on an abbreviated vacation-esque schedule ’til ’09, or the urge to reach out and touch you moves us. Off for the big birthday tomorrow, with opening/closing wraps today, Friday, next week. We still want to hear from you, though, so if Bernie Madoff slips in the shower and you’ve got pics, do not hesitate to let us know.
Oh, and Geoffrey Raymond has finally completed his Madoff/Tony Bennett, which he couldn’t have done without your help.
Red are Dealbreaker readers, Green are drinkers at the Peter McManus Cafe.
berniemadoffgeoffreyraymond [click to enlarge, click again to read up close]
Chris Cox is a cox-head, this guy is so out of touch….reminds me of Monica Noel
The Terrence Howard album was grown and sexy(Pause) but riding with Jamie on this one.
Sadly, it appears Mr. de la Villehuchet decided to wait to fight for his client’s monies. It seems he decided to beat Bernie to hell and to fight him in the afterlife……..
Why doesn’t Chris Cox follow the French guy out the door.
@3 Maybe he will come back as de la Villehuchet le Blanc.
Is Gary Busey managing money now?
@6- he’s worked at SAC for several months now.
Bess please start a poll for Gary Busey as Head of the SEC………
“or the urge to reach out and touch you moves us.”
Oh, there may be some comments on that statement.
Happy Holidays from
Wideclops, AD, and the Shamwow guy.
I’ve got a win/win for everyone. Ready for it??? Check this out,
Madoff scheme = very bad. But,
Madoff scheme = movie deal = gross revenue in the neighborhood of 20 billion (plus or minus some fraud)
+
Madoff book deal = 20 billion (plus or minus some fraud)
+ prisonside tickets to Bernie’s execution = 10 billion (plus or minus TARP funds deducted)
=
roughly 50 billion in total. Win/Win for everyone.
so in this enviornment, does just having a job in front office finance = the new “killing it?”
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/23/news/companies/AIG_150bailout_Loomis.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008122318
11 Could be. Clearly a significant downsizing has occured, both in terms of people and compensation, in recognition that the industry is just not generating the revenues to support what was going on in the recent past.
the new “killing it” is not having to off yourself because you lost all your and your friend’s money
Nice of Cox to admit banning short selling for financials was a horrible idea.
Nice to reveal he was getting pressure from the Balds.
Not good–basically admitting he had no balls. Way to stick to your principles Coxy.
Oh and Leavitt, STFU you fucking hypocrite.
Markets Clear, peace.
what time does the market close today?
-Bored Goldman Sachs Secretary; bonus: $65,000
Bess – how about a poll on when Bernie jumps from his penthouse to the street below…..
1pm.
Word is that these girls will be next seen at the FGG “Turn Back The Clock To 2003″ client party:
http://perezhilton.com/2008-12-24-spreading-the-holiday-cheer-2
How much did a GS secretary make in total compensation in 2007? 2008?
is that gary Busey?
caretaker@endofesq.com
Wait, so we’re supposed to be productive today with little to no dealbreaker? Fuck that.
Cox you can suck my Cox.
Cox: an a$$hole with no balls. Could have
been rid of Goldman because of this gutless fool.
These GS fools will be out of govt office soon enough. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the weekend getaway to Mustique using the Gulfstream. Unfortunately for them Mrs Noel won’t be there to suck their collective Cox.
@ Lowly
Agreed.
F-me, ughh.
Could Cox be any more delusional?
too much sushi – mad hatters disease
That Gettinger geezer is from Scrasdale
I knew his sons Scott & Milton.
The dad had a huge mid-century house with pool and hot sweedish 2nd wife 25 yrs younger…..
Wow $10M gone…and $3M trust fund too
This is hitting close to home
@20
A greased pole
Who under the age of 80 is named Milton?
Anal_yst,
For this reason, I hate the holidays (particularly, because I always seem to be one of the only retards working a desk, twiddling my thumbs). I thought Bess was an atheist. This is unacceptable.
Right now on CNBC – ‘Everyone is wondering whether the Russians are also invested in Madoff because they do not take these things too well and will not wait for all the legal stuff to run through”
“Yeah, thats why they have marshalls watching madoff 24 hours”
Wow! So they bascially just went on air and call Russians bloddthirsty mafia thugs. Not going into the merits of that argument but still, a major channel saying that on air?
@31 major network? I thought you said it was CNBC?
Seriously, who aside from real traders, day traders, and retirees watches CNBC?
And who cares about their witless banter – all I really want is the financial news and a little business gossip.
Oh, except Charlie. I love Charlie – old school Wall St charm.
here are some lawyer ads to put a smile on your face and remind us all what we have become.
http://endofesq.com/?p=758
@31
Russians, Columbians, Minoans, …
H’mm maybe Made-Off wasn’t that smart after all? Could it be that he has an ace up his sleve? maybe has no need for federal marshalls?
@34
Was that a “Smokin’ Aces” reference?
@ Lowly
Love it that all my friends in basically everything but Finance have the better part of December off, at least this week.
Why the F’ did we get into this field again?
“He will wear a columbian necktie….”
Translation for white-bread/wonder kiddies whw were wee tikes in 80s:
Columbians slit your throat and then pull your tongue thru slit so you look like miami-vice/don johnson with pink thin tie….
@Anal_yst
>> Was that a “Smokin’ Aces” reference?
Nope, all me. Probably a case of art immitating life.
I would love to see the entire Madoff clan popped by the russia mafia, would save a ton in legal costs for the US to prosecute.
can i go home now?
@39 no. we must all continue alt+tabbing for at least 3 more hours.
Noel family pile-on continues:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12242008/gossip/pagesix/beauties_hit_with_madoff_mud_145687.htm
… In Brazil, they were known as the Aspirina Sisters because they gave the Brazilian girls headaches by always stealing their boyfriends, … Lisina, then in her teens, dated the son of a Neapolitan mafioso, “and would show up all the time in a white mink coat … four of the five sisters allegedly slept with the same handsome stud … Toub was nothing more than a party promoter in the ’90s before he married into the Noel family business … [Busson] was an actor who was in 1988′s “Sweet Lies,” starring Joanna Pacula.
@40
I’m not sure what’s worse, being bored to tears stuck on the desk, or, like me, being swamped and wanting to slam my head against said desk.
Rock…hard place.
i work in sales, my clients are all home..why am at my desk? its’not like there is a promotion on cross currency swaps….buy 1, get 2 on a large variety of currency pairs…!
hey sales guy,
what time you are boys finishing up? i’d like to get home before christmas day.
-your back office
“jesus wants you for a sunbeam”
best comment on the Madoff piece.
“jesus wants you for a sunbeam”
best comment on the Madoff piece.
who’s going to sign manny?
Merry Christmas dealbreaker clan..
Why am I still at my desk? Oh! Yes. Back to doing my ‘self-performance appraisal’. Yes, like that’s really going to help my bonus number.
*JO&C time in 15 mins*
-mrp
Is the Media Blind?
These bimbos are far from Gorgeous….Leno chins and five-head foreheads….
Heidi Klum is gorgeous; these chix are nonsense
Toubs real first name is Jamshid….not very swiss sounding from here
His dad Said ix on wiki as being in the Robert VEsco scandal of the 70s….another billion $ mutual fund scheme where some NJ dude took over the Investor Overseas Services $ 2 Billion Fund…they never caught him, last seen in Havana
41 – how much did their PR firm pay to have the girls referred to as beautiful?
Hey everyone, check out WFMI, it’s a steal at $9!
Merry xmas.
I’d do the one on the right. The other 4 maybe not. I will admit that I have a bag of carrots and sugar cubes in the car. Could even stretch to a salt lick.
“Where have all the cowboys gone?” acquires deeper meaning with the Noel daughters.
Jesus, the Noels are really too ridiculous for this to not be some sort of brilliantly-executed reality show experiment ala Truman Show, or maybe from Mark Burnett or something.
When did Busey get an artificial leg?
I’d give almost anything to ba a fly on the wall at Noel’s during tomorrows festivities. I’d stretch to Made-Offs left testicle…
@Anal_yst
Noel’s take after S.R.Hadden in Contact. The ending leaves you with the same nasty taste in the mouth…
They have the means and the will.
I really think DB staff should come into work all week so I don’t get bored on my two weeks off.
Unrelated, I think our most exciting news in 2009 will be a general implosion of Russia’s economic framework as they succomb to petro reality. Wonder how many people have portfolios, trading strategies or direct investments that depend on a healthy and functioning Russia. The merriweather of the past is long gone.
@55, that’s probably his catheter bag
But in publicly acknowledging for the first time that this ban was not productive, Cox said he had been under intense pressure from Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to take this action and did so reluctantly. They “were of the view that if we did not act and act at that instant, these financial institutions could fail as a result and there would be nothing left to save,” Cox said.”