Opening Bell: 12.04.08

Posted by Dealbreaker, Dec 04, 2008, 8:34am

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

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