CNBC reports that Bernie Madoff’s sentencing, originally scheduled for June 16, has been postponed ’til June 29, to give victims a little more time to work on their statements, which are to be read in court. They now have until June 10 at 9PM to get them in, which should leave plenty of time for Wanda Sykes to do some re-writes. If you’re feeling inspired, or have any suggestions for material other than “don’t worry about missing the handies, Bubba will have you covered,” please feel free to share at this time.
Archive for May 2009
Fairfield Greenwich, a hedge fund ensnared in Bernie Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme, is handing over $2.5 billion remaining in four funds to Sciens Capital as Fairfield looks to salvage assets not affected by the scandal.
As part of the deal, Fairfield won’t sell the funds to Sciens but instead will simply hand them over, retaining some rights to revenue, said a person familiar with the situation.
Noel’s Fund Eyes Change [NYP]
Or a scam of any kind? Laura Pendergest-Holt’s totally at ease demeanor says no! Interrupting commentator Mike Darda to show us footage of the firm’s Chief Investment Officer arriving in a Houston courthouse to be arraigned on charges of one count of conspiracy and one count of obstruction, CNBC’s cameraman shows us a calm, cool and collected LPH. In fact, she looks like she’s having a downright great time! There she is with her water bottle, smiling away, laughing and chattin’ it up in the lobby, making plans with a couple of bros to meet up later. Of course, she should probably consider bringing on the waterworks, in the interest of sympathy and whatnot, but for now it’s nice to see this thing isn’t phasing her.
Update: Oh, perhaps it was nervous laughter. According to Scott Cohn, LPH had forgotten to bring ID with her this morning, which was why she was chilling/socializing in the lobby long enough for prying eyes to get the impression she’s not sweating this thing. This is why it’s always a good idea to pack your bag the night before showing up in court. You wait ’til that morning and you’re definitely going to leave the house without everything you need. Think, LPH, THINK!
In the ongoing battle to determine which financial center sucks less, London has some things going for it (except for the quality of Bolivian Marching Powder, of course). Well, when I say “London” I suppose Bloomberg means “Canary Wharf,” which is a completely different thing altogether.
The City already has enough empty offices to hold two- thirds of Canary Wharf, the docklands area developed 1 1/2-miles east in the 1980s to lure investment bankers. About 9 million square feet (855,000 square meters) are available in the City and that may climb to 12 million by the end of 2009, according to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the biggest commercial property broker. Almost 19 percent of all City offices may be vacant next year, analysts at CB Richard Ellis estimate.
“We’re in the eye of the storm,” said Bryan Higgins, chief investment officer of Irish homebuilder Menolly Group, which bought 107 Cheapside in the City three years ago for 150 million pounds ($227 million). The building has no tenants. “Supply way exceeds demand,” he said.
Rents will drop to 40 pounds per square foot by the end of this year, the same as 1991 when Canary Wharf got its first tenants, analysts at London-based King Sturge International LLP estimate. Prices declined to 46.50 pounds per square foot in the City during the first quarter from a high of 65 pounds in mid- 2007. Rents fell to as low as 30 pounds two years after Canary Wharf opened.
Rents Crashing in London to 1991 Prices Le Gavroche Shows Gone [Bloomberg]
If Jim Cramer Weren’t Such A Gentleman, Such A Paragon Of Virtue, He Would’ve Broken Jon Stewart’s Face On TV, Says Jim Cramer
By Bess Levin
A lot people have apparently been asking Jim Cramer why, instead of defending himself on the Daily Show, he just rolled over and took whatever Jon Stewart was giving. The answer, Cramer says in an upcoming issue of Time, is that he was “trying to defend our network and take the highroad.” But if you think JC didn’t want to go circus freak crazy on Stewart, you think wrong! Every fiber of his being was screaming “beat this bitch’s ass, you know you want to, just do it. Do it like you do on Mad Money. Do it like you and Spitzer used to in the good old days. Just wail on him.” But no! Cramer held it together and exhibited a level of restraint so foreign to his own identity that even Little Jim was recoiling in disgust. Oh, but that Stewart guy will get what’s coming to him, believe you me. He’ll get his due. Just watch, it’ll happen. If not on set or in his office then in the xerox room or the little conference room near to the kitchen. It will happen. And, as hinted above, it might happen with a rolling pin, and it might happen with Martha, either merely in tow or doing all the actual pounding herself. Just wait.
“I tried not to take it personally, but it was so vicious,” Cramer tells Time magazine, out tomorrow. “The ultimate takeaway from the evening was, Jim, why didn’t you defend yourself? And the answer is, I was trying to defend our network and take a high road and I didn’t want to hit him with a chair or break his face or something like that. But he was very vicious. One day he’ll answer for it.”
He Seethes [Page Six]
Outsiders stepping in from that center of business acumen and industry, Italy, to reinvigorate American business practices is a nuance that hasn’t gotten much play in the recent Big Auto Quagmire while more disturbing stories (like cement shoes for debt-holders) made the rounds. But now that it is clear that progress demanded changes in long-standing rules of the financial road (at the expense of certain politically unpopular elements) let’s get down to the business of letting Fiat’s genius show us the way. What do your management geniuses have for us first, Fiat?
Fiat SpA may use designs or technology from General Motors Corp.’s Opel in future Chrysler LLC models as part of a global auto alliance, people familiar with the discussions said.
Uh… so… you want to take something Big Auto owned already, and pull it into Chrysler, which Big Auto used to own? This is the genius management expertise we needed? (Actually, after a little reflection on the last few members of Big Auto senior management we remember, this is a relative improvement).
The talks involve folding GM and Fiat’s European and Latin American operations into a new company, said the people, who asked not to be identified because details aren’t public. GM wants 40 percent of the new company, while Turin, Italy-based Fiat’s preference is to give 30 percent, two people said.
Adapting Opel designs for Chrysler vehicles would form a tight link between GM and the Fiat-Chrysler venture, spreading costs among more models to save money. Global sales for GM, Fiat and Chrysler were about 12.4 million in 2008, topping the 8.97 million of Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker.
More revenue than Toyota? That’s where its at! If the last 8 years have taught us anything it is that bigger is better! Bigger cars. Bigger companies. Too big to fail. Big revenues. (Profits to follow after big delays).
Fiat Said to Study Use of Designs From GM’s Opel for Chrysler [Bloomberg]
From: State Street Employee Communication
To: All Employees in the John Hancock Tower
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 11:50 AM
Subject: Desktop Printer Removal Begins May 18
As previously announced, in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency, Global Procurement Services (GPS) will retrieve all employee convenience desktop printers globally in favor of networked group or shared floor printers.
Starting the week of May 18, members of IT Desktop Services, Global Realty Services and GPS will remove identified existing desktop printers at your location. We ask that you fully cooperate and provide the team with full access to your desktop printers. If you have extra toner cartridges that are for the printer that is being removed, you can identify them to the removal team, and they will mark them for pick up as well.
Paulson Told Banks He Would Expose Them (Bloomberg)
“Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, saying nine U.S. banks were “central to any solution” of the credit crisis, told their leaders to take government aid or be forced to by regulators, according to a memo prepared for an October meeting.
“If a capital infusion is not appealing, you should be aware that your regulator will require it in any circumstance,” Paulson’s one-page list of talking points for the session with the banks’ chief executives said. “We don’t believe it is tenable to opt out because doing so would leave you vulnerable and exposed.”"
More info at Judicial Watch, which obtained records of the scare tactics.
Dress Codes: When No One Wants To Look Like A Banker (NYT)
“I have guys coming in here saying, ‘I don’t want to look like a banker anymore,’ ” said Eric Goldstein, an owner of Jean Shop, a premium denim store in the meatpacking district. He is now dispensing advice on how to look like a “creative professional.”
The new look is still professional enough for work, even a business lunch. But it is quirky and cool enough to suggest that you haven’t spent the last decade lounging in the old boys’ room inhaling cigar smoke and default swaps.
Global Banks Sue MBIA (FT)
“Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan and 15 other large financial institutions filed suit on Wednesday against MBIA, claiming the bond insurer reduced its ability to pay policyholders by splitting its business in two.
The suit, which includes Barclays and HSBC of the UK as well as European banks, is the second legal challenge to MBIA’s restructuring since the bond insurer in February received regulatory approval to split into two: a “good bank” business responsible for guarantees of municipal bonds and a “bad bank” that had insured structured bonds backed by mortgages and other assets.”
Lehman Considers Spinoff Of Remnants (WSJ)
“The unit oversees everything from corporate-bank debt and risky consumer mortgages to Miami condos and New York apartment complexes. Internal Lehman calculations have pegged their fair-market value at about $45 billion. That is down by more than half since last September, when the financial crisis flared after Lehman’s collapse. Lehman values the assets at $400 billion at nondistressed prices, including $300 billion in the servicing of assets”
$$$ From the Mozilo’s Lawyer: Media “innuendo” about insider trading is “scandalous”
$$$ Advice to disgruntled bank patrons: Don’t say you’ll show up packing heat. [Star Tribune]
$$$ SEC Seeking Public Ridicule On Uptick Rule And Circuit Breaker Restrictions [zero hedge]
$$$ Dan Loeb sells egg for $5.4 million. [Cityfile]
$$$ Obama Pushes Broad Rules for Oversight of Derivatives [NYT]
Potential charges apparently include “alleged violations of insider-trading laws as well as failing to disclose material information to shareholders.” No comment from the Countrywide founder’s representation, or Moz himself, who has reportedly barricaded himself in a local Mystic Tan.
Will BAC be on the hook for those sweet legal fees? A reader believes so! “And if I remember correctly Ken Lewis (aka his shareholders) was a schmuck and agreed to cover all of Angelo’s legal costs, which would probably include civil charges.”
Former Fairfield Greenwich employee Sherry Cohen on the Noels:
Frontline: Did you like them?
Cohen: I think that Walter and Monica are very, very likable people.
I think that the next generation had supreme self-confidence, confidence that I kind of wish I would’ve had, except that it really got to be too much. They were sometimes arrogant. They had a tremendous sense of self-entitlement. And I wasn’t the only one who thought that. And I wasn’t the only one who thought that they were very, very aggressive…
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