Who knew Tim Geithner was such a master of market timing? Faced with mounting pressure to put the regulatory vice on the financial industry sooner rather than later, Timmy threw out the end of this year as a target completion date for the regulatory overhaul. His timing couldn’t be better. Adjusting for the fact that financial regulation is never timely, TG has likely succeeded in pushing off the signing of potential regulation to the moment when even Nouriel Roubini expects GDP will be growing. At that point, the last thing Timmy or anybody else in the administration will want on their hands is being responsible for knowingly dumping regulatory weed killer on all those green shoots.
Archive for July 2009
And what are they saying? That Bernie was a baller, and also an imbecile, possibly. The Post reports that an upcoming book about B-boy, “Madoff With the Money,” will expose a few previously unknown details about the Ponz Master. Some are of little interest (he was weaseled way out of serving in ‘Nam, he was “a serial Casanova,” he had to pay off female employees he might’ve banged). Others seem unlikely (supposedly acquaintances considered him “the dumbest man on Earth.” Obviously you don’t pull off the shit he did, for as long as he did without having something resembling a clue, leaving us to wonder, did Bernie actively play dumb to throw people off? And if so, how far did he go? Talkin’ telling people he couldn’t read, or, like, trying to convince them he was an actual rètard?). One is just. plain. awesome:
Just before Madoff’s arrest, a pal ran into him in Central Park and saw him wearing two gold Rolexes on one wrist. “I gotta know what time it is in my London office,” Madoff explained to the friend, who told Oppenheimer: “Think about that — Bernie couldn’t do the addition or the subtraction!
Zee Germans, just like everyone else, are raising base pay. Supposedly global banking employees were informed yesterday that first years are being bumped to 60k, second years 70k, third years 80k and first year associates 95k. One HY informed us that he and his colleagues are “extremely displeased” with numbers, as they are “insulting low compared to competitors (even Jefferies, for God’s sake).”
Warren Buffett To Get Animated (CNBC)
Yes. The Oracle of O will be starring in a series of cartoons imparting wisdom on kids in the areas of finance and huge cans.
JPMorgan Said to Increase Some Investment Banker Salaries Starting in 2010 (Bloomberg)
“The plan, unveiled yesterday at a meeting with investment bank co-heads Steven Black and William Winters, affects those who earn half or more of their total compensation in year-end bonuses, the person said, declining to be identified because pay matters are confidential. It will be implemented in 2010 and details will be announced closer to the end of this year. The salary increase doesn’t change total pay.”
Fortress Plans Buying Spree (FT)
Wes Edens has a message for any hedge funds that haven’t made back last year’s losses by the end of ’09: “It’s all over for you,” so you might as well turn over the keys to the place now.
Citigroup Board Names Three New Outside Directors (C)
Vikula welcomes (Mike Bloomberg gal-pal) Diana Taylor, Timothy Collins, and Robert L. Joss.
Calpers Hopes Riskier Bets Will Restore Its Health (NYT)
The fund’s new head of investments aims to sink a few billion into “beaten-down private equity and hedge funds. Junk bonds and California real estate also ride high on his list. And then there are timber, commodities and infrastructure.”
Blindsided By Bear, Mr. Miller Sees Bull (WSJ)
In a quarterly report to fund shareholders, Mr. Miller said that a new bull market is under way and that technology and financial-services stocks would be among its leaders.
Buffett’s Goldman Stake Pays Richly (Dealbook)
Ka-ching for the Oracle. WB’s stake in Goldman is now worth $4.1 billion more than what he paid 10 months ago and the girls are on Lloyd.
$$$ Matthew Goldstein: Mack Is No Blankfein, Thankfully [Reuters]
$$$ Has Carl Icahn given up blogging? [Cityfile]
$$$ Be the flyest bitch on the desk: buy the Bernie Madoff jumpsuit. [AA]
$$$ A curious nomination [True Slant]
$$$ The Backlash to the Macklash [Daily Intel]
$$$ HSBC’s Hedge Fund Hope [FTAlphaville]
The Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee gave a little glimpse into the thought processes coming from the Washington braintrust as they craft risk management legislation. While keeping people alerted to the possibility that the bailout beast may hiccup again and throw some support CIT’s way, Dodd also offered his two cents on the topic of risk management and the rationale behind the need for things like the CFPA.
“There is an important signal for shareholders and others out there who invested their resources and have been hurt terribly by what’s happened,” Dodd said. As an investor, “I’d want to know whether we’re keeping the same people around that watched the value of my investments decline so precipitously.”
Evidently having completely unhedged long exposure is the hallmark of prudent risk management that all forthcoming regulation should seek to enhance.
CDS target practice starts next week with a proposal that may call for banning naked CDS trades. Lawmakers will get their opportunity to shine and add to their distinguished track records identifying the risks in sophisticated financial products. For example, people should rest easy that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, sponsor of such pieces of CDS-related legislation as ‘Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to clarify the treatment of reimbursements to Members for the use of personally owned airplanes in the performance of official or campaign travel’ as well as the unforgettable ‘To suspend temporarily the duty on certain engines for snowmobiles’ will help to decide the conditions under which the multi-trillion dollar market operates.
Have you sort of felt, for the last year, that the Journal wasn’t doing a very good job addressing the real issues surrounding the crashing of the global economy? Sure, they’ve kept us abreast of which CEO’s are taking the jets out for rides on the company dime, and who’s getting big ass bonuses straight from the taxpayer pocket, but it’s mostly just been frivolous bunk. I don’t know what happened over there last night, but today the paper has finally printed a substantive story that gets to the heart of the matter of the danger that lurks among us, and how not until we fix it will there be a true recovery. We’re talking, of course about a Page One exposé on your cankles. That’s right: your fat fucking ankles. The fat located between your foot and your calf. Need a more clinical description?
Cankle, a portmanteau word combining calf and ankle, refers to “the area in affected female legs where the calf meets the foot in an abrupt, nontapering terminus,” according to Urban Dictionary. A spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association says the word is not a medical term.
Are you so in denial that you have no idea what we mean? Here, the Journal will draw you a picture:
The UBS tax saga seems to have really thrown Switzerland out of its sweet spot. Having defined itself as a place that doesn’t choose sides and simply exists in a neutral, grey area, the heat the country has taken over the past several months for helping Americans (and many others) avoid the tax man has forced its hand. In a somber moment today, the Swiss initiated a double-taxation treaty with Finland which now sets the stage for the country’s removal from the G20′s “grey list” of uncooperative tax havens. For those looking to stash funds (real or fake) in a place that won’t automatically set off alarm bells, your remaining grey list choices are Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, and for the Latin American set, Chile.
Nothing has actually been done yet (why rush themselves?) but ABC News reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission is most definitely leaning in the direction of showing Joe Cassano and the AIG Financial Products team they mean business. Actually, that’s not true that the regulator hasn’t done anything– the SEC has sent strongly worded letters to the possibly guilty parties making it clear that they intend to make Joe and Co pay, which should count for something. How bad? Money-wise, not bad at all. Fines could amount to $1 million, if that, but what is really upsetting and, we think, a bit extreme, is that these guys might lose their professional licenses, which could make finding new gigs kind of difficult. That’s sure to weigh on JC during today’s bike ride.
If Ken Lewis has his way, yes! For the Victorians in Charlotte, this will come as a huge disappointment. For the Hasselhoffs (pictured at left), get psyched. From Bank of Amerillwide HR tips line:
Thought everyone should that George Ellison, the George Ellison whose behavior in Vegas a few years back scarred employees into leaving BAC for UBS (after they were threatened to keep it on the DL), is third in line to take over at Bank of America, having been promoted by Ken Lewis all these years and supported by Lewis no matter what. He’s also overseeing public bailout monies, which are probably going towards hookers and blow.
Update: Don’t break out the blow just yet:
Ellison does not manage the bailout money and he definitely isn’t under consideration to for KLs job. Ellison is a life long investment banker that currently manages structured finances. He lack of corporate banking experience combined with his very well known personal issues will never pass the board.
