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.
Archive for June 2009
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.
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.
The Journal reports that William von Mueffling is set to inform Cantillion hedge fund investors today that it’s been real. Moving forward CANtillon will be focusing its efforts on the long-only biz.
The plans mark the end of Cantillon funds now holding about $3.5 billion in assets, people familiar with the matter say.
The closures will leave Cantillon with about $1 billion primarily invested in stocks that the firm expects to rise in value, also known as long-only investments, the people said. The New York firm’s closures will affect the majority of its business, its hedge funds, which bet on both rising and falling stocks. James O’Brien, the firm’s chief operating officer, declined to comment.
Matthew Goldstein says yes, as evidenced by the fact that no cruel or unusual restrictions or regulations are placed on them in the financial regulatory reform package (early drafts stated that managers had to appear on Power Lunch and interface with Dennis Kneale at least once a week, in addition to requiring them to wear fishnets and heels while trading or, in the case of firms that would welcome such attire, banned anything deemed “chick garb”). Obviously some hedge fund leading light is responsible for getting ‘Bama to change his tune post-Chrysler public tongue lashing (and Biff Basness performance art). The question is who and how?
Lehman simply can’t quit Mark Walsh. Even though the former head global head of real estate helped bring down the firm through a series of ruinous transactions, Lehman’s estate selected a group headed by Walsh and several of his colleagues to manage the real estate focused PE arm he previously oversaw, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners. Adding credibility to this decision is the Federal investigation into whether or not Walsh’s team improperly valued Lehman’s CRE holdings to bolster the firm’s sheet and a civil suit on behalf of New Jersey pension funds claiming Walsh and his team defrauded them by misrepresenting Lehman’s real estate portfolio.
Lehman Property Boss Returns [WSJ]
That’s right, please, by all means, reduce I-Trump to a rack that got hired because she shares DNA with the boss. That way you’ll be least expecting it when she lays her business skills on your ass.
The dynastic daughter is definitely cut from the same cloth as her father and he has been a tough and effective tutor, whether that’s schooling his daughter in the workings and politics of a construction site or how to market the Trump name. And she’s proved to be a very quick learner. She has moved out of the shadow of Donald Sr. and is much more than just the boss’s daughter. Associates and colleagues have often noted that in negotiations, people soon realize they are not dealing with some flunky. There is also much praise for her decisiveness. Although this hasn’t stopped some people from assuming that Daddy’s little girl will be a pushover. Her technique, apparently, is to let them think that for as long as possible, believing that these misjudgments and blind spots give her more power at the negotiating table. She is able to wrong-foot them and take advantage of the situation.
Ivanka Trump’s Rope A Dope Business Technique [Clusterstock]
