Archive for January 2009

  • 28 Jan 2009 at 7:57 AM

Opening Bell: 01.28.09

Picture 645.pngWells Fargo has big loss as it adds to reserves (Reuters)
“The quarterly loss at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, not including Wachovia, was $2.55 billion, or 79 cents per share, compared with a profit of $1.36 billion, or 41 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 4 percent to $9.82 billion.
The company also said the former Wachovia Corp, which it bought on December 31, lost $11.17 billion in the fourth quarter, largely to boost loan loss reserves as well as investment writedowns. Before Wells Fargo outbid Citigroup Inc to take control, Wachovia nearly collapsed as losses soared from troubled mortgages.”
Boeing Posts Quarterly Loss on Strike Impact and Charges (PRNewswire)

Fourth-quarter net income declined to a loss of $56 million, or $0.08 per share, reflecting the now-settled machinists’ strike (EPS impact estimated at $1.09 per share), a charge related to the 747 ($0.61 per share) and a litigation-related reserve ($0.09 per share).
Revenues for the quarter declined 27 percent to $12.7 billion, due primarily to the effects of the strike which reduced commercial airplane deliveries by approximately 70 units and revenues by an estimated $4.3 billion.
For the full year of 2008, net income fell 34 percent to $2.7 billion, EPS was $3.71 per share, and revenue fell 8 percent to $60.9 billion. Full-year results were impacted by the strike, the 747 charge, the litigation-related reserve, and higher costs for AEW&C announced in the second quarter, which together reduced full-year EPS by an estimated $2.56 per share. This was partially offset by lower pension and deferred compensation expenses.
“The progress we made in many areas of Boeing during 2008 was outweighed by the impact of the strike and our performance on some key development programs,” said Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney. “Our imperative going forward is improving execution where it needs to be improved, maintaining strong performance across all our production programs, and preserving our financial strength to grow in these challenging economic times.”

Tax-evader Not So Popular In Davos (Bloomberg)
Meouch: Boy-toy Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s Yuan call was characterized as “economic suicide” by Morgan Stanley’s Asia Chairman Stephen Roach, before a panel in Davos today. “I’ve never seen an economy in recession voluntarily raise their currency,” Roach added. “It’s horrible advice.”
Eating Out, With T. Boone Pickens (Dallas Morning News)
Want some of that shit? TBP is auctioning himself off on eBay. Bidding starts Monday, at $100,000, and last ’til February 12. Good luck to all.
Behind Citi’s Decision to Scrap New Jet Plans (FT)
Mentioned yesterday but confirmed: it was those meddling bastards over at Tim Geithner’s Treasury that guilted Citi into saying it has “no plans to take possession” of the Dassault Falcon 7X.
Stimulus Bill Near $900 Billion (WSJ)
Expected House vote today. Includes: “a $365.6 billion spending measure for such brick-and-mortar projects as highways and bridges; a $180 billion measure to boost jobless benefits and Medicaid, among other things; and a $275 billion tax-relief package, which includes a plan to give a $500 payroll tax holiday to all workers, a proposal from Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign.” Also: ” ‘I would love to not have to spend this money,’ Mr. Obama said, according to individuals familiar with the president’s meetings with Republicans.”
Stephen Schwarzman’s Maverick Proposal (DBook)
Crab-hands wants more leverage.

  • 27 Jan 2009 at 5:32 PM

Dear Fellow Investors:

OPEN LETTER TO INVESTORS
IN STEEL PARTNERS FUNDS
Carl C. Icahn
767 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10153
January 23, 2009
Dear Fellow Investors:
As you know, Steel Partners has announced the “WebFinancial
Solution” which we believe would be extremely detrimental to all of
our investments in Steel Partners. I am against that transaction and
a lawsuit has been filed to oppose it in Delaware.
I believe it will be beneficial for all investors in Steel Partners
to meet to discuss the “WebFinancial Solution.” Because Steel Partners
has refused to make a list of investors available to us, we ask that you
call either Susan Gordon (212-702-4309) or Sue Zippo (212-702-4310) at
my office. Please provide them with your name and phone number. We
will then contact investors and arrange for a meeting.
Steel Partners’ actions to date and plans for the future are
significant events for all of us and I strongly believe that we should
meet to share our thoughts and concerns.
I look forward to meeting all of you.
Very truly yours,
Carl C. Icahn

HT: 1-2

  • 27 Jan 2009 at 5:06 PM

Write-Offs: 01.27.09

$$$ Harvey Pitt on Madoff and reforming regulation [The Deal]
$$$ AIG Said to Pay $450 Million to Retain Swaps Staff [Bloomberg]
$$$ Will Former Lehman CEO’s Sale of Mansion to Wife for $10 Actually Protect It From His Creditors? [TPB]
$$$ Calling all former Lehman Brothers and Sisters: A writer at GQ wants to talk to you (anonymously, if you’d like). Interested? Get in touch.

  • 27 Jan 2009 at 4:04 PM

Blind Item

At which southern Connecticut hedge fund did the following conversation recently take place?
Third party (making routine inquiry): How many PMs do you have?
Manager: 75.
Investor Relations: No, 80.
Manager: (surprised, confused though that could’ve been the low blood sugar) Really? (composes himself) Hm…go fire some.
And scene.

  • 27 Jan 2009 at 3:49 PM

Cosmos Mobbed Up?

CNBC touched on a dirty little rumor. “Hedge fund manager” Nicholas Cosmos once owed $139k to the Genovese crime family, an amount that was at least partially paid by members of the Gambino family.
This could mean he was seriously connected. Or just that he was in the construction business and an obsessive gambler. Take your pick. Says a friend of Dealbreaker “Yes, yes, you can see it in the eyes.”
Says CNBC in a Charles Gasparino exclusive:

A former Genovese family associate, Michael Durso, who is now in the federal witness protection program, and another associate met Cosmo in in the late 1990s, sometime around 1997, and it was at that time when they put pressure on Cosmo to pay around $139,000 owed to loan sharks connected with the Genovese family, according to people with knowledege of the matter.
At one point, members of the Gambino family intervened on Cosmo’s behalf and paid some of the debt, these people said.
Durso, these people say, has been in contact with the FBI about his alleged involvement with Cosmos. An attorney for Cosmo when informed about the alleged connections with New York crime families had no comment.

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Continue reading »

cuomo.jpgThe rumor we heard is that Merrill never actually took any TARP money. Paulson strong-armed them, made a lot of noise, but they never actually got a check. This would make a lot of the skewering they have been taking from the likes of Andrew Cuomo, false.
We, of course, are instantly suspicious. Did they take money that, technically, wasn’t under the TARP umbrella (how’s that for mixed metaphors?) or somesuch dodge? Or have they really enjoyed no government assistance in this respect at all. Why aren’t they screaming bloody murder about this?
We know someone out there knows. Find us.