Apparently our elfin’ Treasury Secretary was not successful in his quest to get someone to buy his Larchmont-area Tudor, even after dropping the asking price from $1.635 million to $1.575 million (he and wife Carole paid $1.602 million for the place in 2004). And now he’s reportedly renting it out, by the hour. No, just we haven’t reached seedy hotel-status just yet (god, that would be great though, wouldn’t it?). T. Geith is, however, pimping it for the price of $7,500/month, which the AP helpfully points out is probably less than the li’l fella’s mortgage payments. For those of you interested in a short-term stay in a piece of history, we suggest familiarizing yourself with the space at this time which, now that it’s being rented, presumably comes with the owner’s nightmare inducing decor.
Archive for June 2009
Possibly, according to an employee of the less tax evade-y Swiss bank in town, who overheard the change being discussed by management in an 11 Madison Avenue elevator last night. Obviously don’t get too excited, though, as it’s not really going to translate to more money (or ability to make payments to the bank of your ex-wife)– apparently the increase in salary comes with a decrease in bonus (putting the Douganettes in good company.)
Slow-Jammin the News: California Economy Edition
Happy Hump Day. Let’s ease into it with some slow jams, courtesy of Jimmy Fallon and The Roots. Last night was the first time in about a year I caught a network late-night show, and, as much as this pains me to say, this wasn’t that bad (considering Jimmy Fallon’s involvement). Of course, he’s not saying anything new: even the Yahoo! Finance crowd knows California’s economy is in the toilet.
Scramble to Hedge Commodity Exposure (FT)
Because so many of firms have shown themselves adept at hedging in the past. Oh well, at least this’ll juice profits at all the ibank derivatives desks (now, and when they have to prematurely unwind/cover when their “hedges” inevitably come back to haunt them). This is to say nothing of the lessons learned in Hedging 101, but who am I to throw a wrench in the gears of commerce?
Companies are hedging a growing proportion of their commodities exposure as they grapple with soaring levels of volatility and risk, just as their profits suffer amid the economic crisis, according to a report published on Tuesday. Greenwich Associates, the US financial consultancy, said that 55 per cent of the companies it polled in North America, Europe and Asia hedged their commodities exposure last year, up from 45 per cent in 2007. At the same time, more companies are elevating their final decisions about hedging to their chief executive or board of directors, in a sign of the growing importance of the activity.
Commodities bankers said the trend of increased hedging had continued this year as raw materials prices bounced from their lows and users, such as airlines and shipping companies, rushed to buy protection against further price increases. Craig Smyth, Citigroup’s vice-president of commodities in Asia, on Monday said that the bank’s commodities hedging business had risen sharply during this quarter compared with January-March, as oil and other commodities prices surged. “We have seen more of our customers coming to hedge this quarter than the previous one … we have seen a 200-300 per cent increase in hedging,” he said
Appeals Court to Hear Challenge to Chrysler-Fiat Deal (WSJ)
Over/under on how many weeks (er, days) this delays the inevitable?
The U.S. federal court late on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal related to the bankruptcy of Chrysler LLC, potentially extending the auto maker’s stay in Chapter 11 reorganization by at least several days. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said it would hear an appeal by a group of Indiana pension funds challenging the sale of most of Chrysler’s assets to the company’s proposed partner, Fiat SpA of Italy.
The pension funds hold about $42 million of Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt. Secured debt is backed by the borrowers assets and normally puts the lender at the front of the line for repayment.
The pension funds are arguing that the sale to Fiat is unconstitutional. They say are entitled to full repayment of the money they are owed before Chrysler’s assets can be sold. The Indiana funds bought the Chrysler debt at 43 cents on the dollar in July 2008. Most other secured lenders have agreed to the restructuring plan Chrysler has proposed in bankruptcy court that will pay them 29 cents on the dollar for their debt.
Oral arguments in the appeal will begin Friday, according to the court’s order.
No tears. (Save it for the T-fund.)
Sector Reports (May 2009) [PDF]
Earlier: Bill Ackman On Why He Teared Up During Last Week’s Target Shareholder Meeting
For those of you who swear you saw some guy who used to work a couple seats away serving bottles of Mouton-Rothschild at the restaurant you had dinner at last weekend, your eyes may not be deceiving you.
From Ordering Steak and Lobster, to Serving It [WSJ]
Earlier: Live-Blogging The Renaissance RIEF Call
Earlier than that: Dear Renaissance Investor
Jim Cramer is reportedly among a group of four “leading” investors who are submitting a petition to the SEC today in support of reinstating the uptick rule. It is currently unknown whether or not the sound board or frequently airborne plastic animals made the trip with the CNBC oracle.
It seems, against our (and your) better wishes, Shia LaBeouf has been cast in Wall Street 2 (as has Javier Bardem, and, obviously, Michael Douglas). The only part left up for grabs is that of Gordon Gekko’s daughter, and LaBeouf’s love interest, so if you’ve got any ideas, please share at this time. Here’s a bit about the plot, courtesy of Nikke Finke. Read it and see if you can figure out who the “stock-shorting worldwide hedge fund manager” is based on, while we bitch and moan about this a little while longer to ourselves:
Michael Douglas, as everyone already knows, reprises his Best Actor Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko. But what hasn’t been reported is that, as the movie begins, it’s 21 years later and Mr. Greed Is Good has finished serving his prison sentence. He finds himself on the fringe of the financial community. (“Kinda like Jim Cramer or Mike Milken after their disgrace,” an insider with the pic tells me.) Gekko is cautioning Wall Street that the “end is coming” — but nobody is listening. So Gordon is obsessed with trying to repair his ruptured relationship with his daughter. That juicy actress role isn’t cast yet. (But I’d love it if Oliver had the balls to bring back Sean Young as Mom in spite of their notorious falling out during the filming of the original.)
Now that it appears that the financial system has escaped a Chernobyl meltdown, lines are being drawn in the sand to define the cast of characters who might be in a position to cause a financial nuclear winter in the future. It’s no surprise that the hedgies are front and center in the debate over who could pose a systemic risk to the US and the global financial system. As regulators on both side of the Atlantic draft legislation to determine just how tight the vice will be for the hedgies going forward, at least one guy who has a pretty good idea of what happens when a hedge fund meets its maker is taking up the ‘it’s not us’ campaign.
Dow Jones reports that FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Economic Club of New York today the bureau will be “shifting resources to New York to combat white collar crime” and is “working to prevent the potential next wave of cases involving fraud related to TARP funds and stimulus money.” 580 corporate fraud cases and 1,300 securities fraud cases– “including many Ponzi schemes”– are being investigated circa now.
General Motors has reached a preliminary agreement for the sale of its Hummer brand of large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks to a machinery company in western China with ambitions to become a carmaker, a person familiar with the Chinese government approval process said Tuesday.
The Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., based in Chengdu, concluded the agreement with G.M., said the person, who insisted on anonymity.
This, of course, does not rule out the possibility Carlyle’s Rubenstein got one, too, after last night’s dinner on the patio.
Chinese Company Said To Be Buyer Of Hummers [NYT]
