Paul Volcker sees the bottom. Right in front of his nose. And let us tell you something: As head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board and a fact finding body on the United States Tax Code, Das Volk knows wherefrom he speaks- when the man says “stop the presses,” he means “stop the bloody presses”
The Federal Reserve is going beyond the traditional role of central banks here or abroad,” Volcker said. “At some point it’s reasonable to ask should this particular institution, with its independence very well protected, be allocating so much of what is essentially government money.
This would seem to suggest that rumor to the effect that Volcker had been “mushroomed” are false (or that he escaped his minders and is presently on a dangerous public speaking rampage, just one step ahead of the law.
Volcker Says the U.S. Economy Is ‘Leveling Off’ [Bloomberg]
The key issue: Splitting the Chairman and CEO role (effectively stripping Lewis of the Chairman title) has moved from “still being tabulated” to “deadlocked” as the proxy vote is carefully counted behind closed doors.
The situation is, of course, fluid.
Apparently, victory in the Chrysler battle will be announced presently:
President Barack Obama plans to announce tomorrow morning that Chrysler LLC will be placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy leading to an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, people involved in the matter said.
Administration officials are still trying to resolve outstanding issues, and the plan is not finished yet, said one of the people, who declined to be named. If there’s a bankruptcy filing, it could come as soon as tomorrow, the people said.
We will keep you up to date as we are.
Obama Said to Ready Plan For Chrysler Bankruptcy, Fiat Alliance [Bloomberg]
Apparently all 18 of Bank of America’s directors were elected “comfortably.” While results of the votes on eight shareholder proposals are still being tampered with tabulated, including the one on splitting the chairman and CEO posts, it appears we’ve got an answer to this morning’s question, re: whether or not there’d be any flirtatious exchanges between Lewis and shareholder Evelyn Davis, like there were between E-Dav and Dick Parsons’ at Citi’s meeting last week.
You know, we were fairly certain that the first time we wrote about octogenarian Ace Greenberg’s sex life (by way of Barbara Walters’ who was also banging Alan Greenspan at the time) was going to be the last. Thanks to Charlie Gasparino, not so! Perhaps taking his Italian deli meats beat a bit too literally, Gasparino’s latest report involves the former Bear Stearns chairman attempting, unsuccessfully, to slip a BSC employee the salami. Sadly, Ace Not In The Hole was unsuccessful, and Jimmy Cayne was forced to pay off the girl to the tune of $2 million.
The allegations, which centered around “inappropriate touching,” according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, didn’t result in a lawsuit. Instead, reeling from the bad press of the firm’s role in the burgeoning financial crisis, Cayne settled the matter with the woman, a much younger employee who worked in sales capacity, and who had initially demanded a much higher payment. The employee also claimed to have had a witness to this behavior. In an interview, the 81-year-old Greenberg said, “I can’t comment on something as ridiculous as this.” When given another opportunity to comment on either the unproven allegations or whether the payment was actually made, Greenberg said, “I’m not going to dignify” the matter with a response. He referred to the entire issue as “bullshit,” and said my sources were “pathological liars.”
Shockingly, JPMorgan, which every day must get down on its knees and thank god it paid the privilege to be saddled with “these people,” declined to comment when Gasparino came a’ calling. Regardless, and not to minimize sexual harassment, can’t we all just come to the conclusion that of course this happened? In his last years at Bear, Greenberg was doing magic tricks and getting broken up over the fact that his puppy wasn’t placing well in dog shows. Which is to say, he was dipping his toe in senility, if not jumping right in, and more than likely thought that stuff like, I don’t know, pinching girls’ asses on the floor still fell under the umbrella of “appropriate” touching, which it was when he first started at the firm, back in 1821.
Earlier: Barbara Walters Has Done 80 Percent Of Wall Street’s Living Dinosaurs
At last week’s Citi annual investor meeting, one shareholder suggested that the bank “hire the best public relations firm in all the land,” in order to put itself back on the path to success. We don’t necessarily disagree (though we would add that there are other things the Big C might considering doing as well)! Apparently, though, they’ve yet to hire anyone for the job, given this morning’s latest whoops. As you’re aware, Citigroup has asked Daddy Geithner permission to pay special bonuses to many “key employees,” namely those at its trading unit, Phibro, who are threatening to leave unless Vikram coughs up the dough. Employess like Andrew Hall. He runs Phibro. And, as reported last year by the Journal, he also owns this German castle.
Hall, by all accounts, seems like a cool guy who, more to the point, earned Citi a decent amount of pocket change last year. Obviously, though, that won’t much matter when the masses get a hold of the castle business, which reads so much worse than, like “mansion” or “big ass house” or even “chateau.” I guess the one argument Citi could make is that people who own castles are exactly the sort of prima donnas who would throw a hissy fit and say stuff like “if I walk out that door I’m never coming back!” But yeah, somehow we see this one not working out.
Citigroups Andrew Hall Has Castle, Demands Bonus [Daily Intel]
Supposedly Bank of America “cannot report results of shareholder votes [and whether or not Ken Lewis goes] today because of [unexpectedly high?] volume.” Right.
Count on a failing business backed into a corner to rely on “changing the rules of the game” to sustain itself, to carry it above water (barely) for another few periods. Just buy some time until something miraculous can be arranged (or more time can be purchased from the time vendor).
In this case, the “rule change” developed by some “genius” is the regulatory raising of the cost of operation of an entire industry’s flagship products so as to make one firm’s “novel alternatives” profitable. The “novel alternatives” are small cars and fuel-efficient models. The company is Ford. The “genius” is Bill Ford.
Higher taxes to push the price of petrol up by more than 70 per cent are needed to change Americans’ car-buying habits and usher in a new generation of fuel-efficient vehicles, according to Bill Ford, chairman of Ford Motor.
[...]
His comments mark a clear break with the rest of the US auto industry in the depths of a financial crisis that has sapped Detroit’s ability to fund a new generation of electric vehicles, hybrids and other more fuel-efficient models.
And what about the billions upon billions in extra costs heaved onto the back of everyone who drives so that Ford can sell some electric cars no one wants to buy otherwise?
Strong price incentives were needed for a lasting change in consumer demand, Mr Ford said: “It’s got to be a pocket book issue for the customer to change their behaviour.
That’s just fantastic, Bill.
Ford chairman calls for petrol tax to drive change [The Financial Times]
Friday is Neel Kashkari’s last day at the Treasury. This is, of course, deeply disappointing for those of you who feel strongly about having follically-challenged men at the helm of things, as we’re now down to a single Bald. But cheer up, pups. TARP-boy’s retirement means one very important thing– anecdotes about $Kari’s time on the job! Like this:
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…they are different from you and me.”
The personage of Sir Fred Goodwin- who resigned as head of Royal Bank of Scotland about a month before that institution reported the largest yearly loss in United Kingdom history (£24.1 billion) and whose house in Edinburgh was vandalized by anti-capitalist terrorists- commands a yearly pension of some £703,000, a sum which, jumping on the executive pay bandwagon, Lord Myners has been pressuring the Royal Bank of Scotland to trim.
It turns out that the position of Grand Master at RBS had some other perks as well, such as getting your name on the five pound note. This, it seems, may have the tendency to drive men mad. Lord Myners, in classic Angloharangue, sums up the results for us:
I have been advised that in the Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters in Gogarburn, Sir Fred Goodwin employed somebody whose sole job was to ensure that bank notes dispensed from automatic telling machines in that headquarters building bore his signature and his signature alone.
Goodwin insists cash machines hold ‘his’ notes [The Times Online]
Fred J. Martin of San Francisco said his trip to the meeting cost more than he’ll receive in dividends this year. “I question whether the board has effectively represented the stockholders who elected them,” he said, adding later, “Your acquisitions are much akin to the blitzing of Baghdad.”
Earlier: Ken Lewis: “Merrill Decision Made Independent From Government Influence”
