$$$ Jamie Dimon could’ve enclosed a nice note with the TARP check he sent the government, like Lloyd Blankfein did, or written “suck it” in magazine clippings, or enclosed pictures of him doing T. Geith’s wife. Instead, he had a minion shove the money in a bag which Dealbook notes, “didn’t include any comment from the firm’s chief executive.” That’s what you call cold. Ice cold. [Dealbook]
$$$ “The recession is great.” [Forbes via AWL]
$$$ Lisa Maria Falcone: The Lost Interview [Cityfile]
Archive for June 17th, 2009
We cut you guys down prettay, prettay, prettay frequently. It’s all warranted, of course, but we’ve decided we should be pumping you up, too, for the things you occasionally get right. Moving forward, we’ll be taking the time to highlight the best comments from the peanut gallery (please note that the frequency of these little back pats will be dependent a) how badly you show me you want it and b) how lazy we’re feeling). I don’t know if it was the sharks or the coke, but today a whole bunch of you brought it and brought it hard. Two in particular.
Re: Cantillion Capital Closing Up Shop, letter from von Mueffling:
17 June 2009
Dear Investor,
After eleven years in the hedge fund business, six of which have been at Cantillon, my colleagues and I have concluded that the opportunity going forward for our investors is to focus on our long-only Global Equity business exclusively. This decision has been made for two reasons.
The hedge fund that kicked Veronica Hearst out of her Palm Beach mansion and forced Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland to bankrupt their jewelry business through predatory financing is now in some trouble of its own. With multiple lawsuits against the firm, along with huge losses in its investments and a lack of liquidity, some investors are balking at the methods the fund used to lock down its capital while returning money to a preferred group. Tied into the mess are questions about what value assets remaining in the fund are now actually worth. There’s talk there could be an investor takeover of the fund.
New Stream Capital makes its money through lending, at high double-digit interest rates, to luxury home owners and commercial businesses that find them self in a short-term cash crunch. Preying on distressed situations, they typically secure the financing with assets worth more than the loan, change the terms of the loan forcing the borrower into default, and then load on enormous fees that often take rates above legal usury rates. They also buy life insurance settlement contracts at a discount and bet when the person will die so they can collect. Last August founder David Bryson issued a release claiming the firm had $1.2 billion in assets – a 2008 audit report on the financial condition of New Stream Secured Capital and Subsidiaries shows assets are $724,993,484.
California may be out of cash in a couple weeks, but they do have enough money to throw a multi million dollar victory parade for the Lakers. While the club may cover half the cost, the LA city budget will be covering the rest of the festivities unless there are private donations. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is adamant about this.
We’re going to have a parade. People can complain about it, that’s fine, but we’re going to have a parade.”
No word yet on who will be paying for Kobe’s victory parade.
L.A.’s Broke but Still Wants a Party [WSJ]
God love this bank.
Citi has a back/middle office in Warren, NJ and also (this’ll make sense in a second) buses that go back/forth between there and its other NYC offices for employees.
This dude recently (Thursday) got fired for lateness, but takes company transportation to work everyday, so it’s clearly not his fault. It gets better.
Hey hey hey my girlies (and boyzies who don’t mind doing women’s work*). Do you want to assist in the administration of a very successful and prestigious hedge fund? Is you smart? Is you hungry? Is you prepared to get it done right, the first time? Is you ambitious but sufficiently submissive to not correct your boss when he screws up simple grammar and spelling? Then read on.
The coked up kind? But seriously: we’re ten minutes into the Frontline documentary on the Bank of Amerillwide deal (which you should watch if you’ve got an hour in the middle of the day to spare, and who doesn’t). Andrew Ross Sorkin has just described Bank of America (pre-MER ingestion) thusly: “They’re sharks…but they’re not Wall Street sharks…it’s a different type of uh, of…of sea these people are swimming in.” Somebody help me out here.
Update: We called up Charlie Gasparino, who’s also featured in the documentary, to see if he knew what kind of shark a Bank of America shark would be. Sayeth CG: “I love Andrew Sorkin, I think he’s a great reporter, but I didn’t get the shark comment. Sharks don’t get bullied into doing one day of due diligence. Sharks don’t assume billions of dollar of losses on their books. Sharks don’t agree to outlandish executive pay.” (Chaz also told us, when asked if he had an other issues with the show, “I thought they softpedalled John Thain’s statements on Merrill’s finances over the year, and what they did to the market.”)
Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg must be feeling a lot like Colonel Jessep. AIG sued Greenberg for his role in canceling a deferred compensation plan for executives and running away with millions of AIG shares which were then sold over time for close to $4.3 billion. After a testy day on the stand yesterday, AIG’s attorney turned up the heat today looking for Greenberg to admit he ordered the code red and broke his fiduciary duty to the executives.
In response to this morning’s report that Rick/Richard Stahl, one of two former Madoff traders suing Bernie’s sons Andy and Mark for $1.34 million in deferred compensation, and the description of Stahl as “a real hot head who always tried to physically intimidate people in the work place,” another ex-employee writes:
This couldn’t be further from the truth. I was a Madoff trader who traded alongside Rick for 3 years. He never, ever, used his size (which isn’t that big to begin with) to threaten anybody. Rick was/is a great trader and was both well respected and well liked on the trading floor.
