There may be hope yet for the new General Motors and anybody looking to see auto bailout money complete the round trip. It took just six weeks for GM to learn that eBay may work well for buying artifacts from failed investment banks or California’s liquidation but when it comes to autos, consumers want a bit more than the standard pitch of ‘can’t you just see yourself in that car’. The lack of demand for visualization-based car and truck purchases has led GM to cancel their online program. Showing its ability to make subtle refinements, the automaker will shift its focus from trying to get people to take a test drive in their head to giving them a risk-free two months to mull over their purchase decision. Given their performance over the past couple of decades, a one step forward, one step back model is, literally, a step in the right direction.
Archive for September 2009
Marc Dreier Got Into The Ponzi Biz To Fulfill His Destiny For Greatness, To Fill A Void, And To Buy A Beach House
By Bess Levin
Not a day goes by that I don’t curse Bernie Madoff, for robbing Marc Dreier of the insane media attention he deserved for a scam maybe not as big as but exponentially more creative and ridiculous than what the simpletons over at the Lipstick building had going on. Today we have a bittersweet glimpse of what that would’ve been like, courtesy of Bryan Burrough’s interview with MD. Let’s just start with the images above. Would Bernie, or any financial services hack for that matter, agree to such a photo shoot? No! Meanwhile you’ve got Dreier mugging it up for the camera. Is that his “sexy face” you see in the bottom right corner? Yeah it is! Whereas some people have turned down multiple offers for a tasteful centerfold spread in Bloomberg Markets Magazine, you’ve got this guy setting the room on fire with minimal direction from the photographer to “WORK IT, OWN IT.” And the outtakes, my god, the outtakes. Don’t even hesitate to dream they involve something along the lines of this:
Maybe Adair Turner was really onto something when he made a plea for banks to focus on socially useful endeavors. While CEO after CEO was coming forward to advertise their decision to work for $1/yr until their respective institution returned to non-government supported profitability, some of their counterparts in the nonprofit world were enjoying record paydays free of Congressional and Ken Feinberg scrutiny. While the median comp number for nonprofit CEOs was at a Chinese bank like $361,538, healthcare CEOs showed that working for a nonprofit doesn’t necessarily mean taking a vow of poverty.
Page Six reports that a 14-acre Southampton spread, which sat on the market for two years at an asking price of $59 million, is in contract for $45 mill. Whose ass should you start kissing now in order to ensure an invite for next summer? Unclear. The buyer is unidentified but Post did offer up the (vaguely oxymoronic?) hint that he is a “recession-proof financier” as a jumping off point. Right off the top of our heads we’ve got:
After two and a half months and $9.5 million, the world’s most expensive online map is ready to go. As promised, the government has completed its extreme makeover of the Recovery.gov website to help you track every last taxpayer stimulus dollar headed out the door to pay for one of those really useful $1200 signs. Given the outbreak of vanishing money over the past year, there is no way the government would want to take credit for burning $10 million on little more than a font change. The initial results are in.
Possibly, according to some of our favorite tax evaders in town, who were told not to come in for the day. Of course, they may be jumping to conclusions, and it could have nothing to do with a pig disease outbreak at all. It could very well be that UBS is shutting down. Or it could be herpes.
Banker-Pay Guidelines May Put Citigroup, Bank of America at Disadvantage (Bloomberg)
Not so says BAC! “We are focused on paying competitively in a way that aligns associate, shareholder and taxpayer interests,” said Scott Silvestri, a spokesman for Charlotte, North Carolina- based Bank of America.
Allen Stanford Granted Transfer After Jail Fight (NYT)
Federal District Judge David Hittner signed the order transferring Mr. Stanford to the federal jail in Houston without “the incident,” saying only that the big man needed to be moved ASAP or someone’s gonna get punched in the mouth: “Because of the unique circumstances present in this case, it is appropriate to order Stanford” be moved “no later than Thursday, Oct. 1,” the judge said in the order.
Paulson’s Plan (NYP)
JP is mulling over the idea of saving CIT Group through a merger with IndyMac.
FDIC Is Expected To Ask Banks To Pre-Pay $36 Bilion In Fees (NYT)
Sheila Bair’s gonna need that money now, thanks. Make it out to “SheBair.”
Cassano Is Back In US (NYP)
Joe and the wife have been staying at their home in Westport, which is more convenient than London for when he has to appear for questioning re: some shit that went down at his old job, and will provide the former AIGFP head with new bike routes.
JPMorgan Chase Announces Management Changes (JPM)
Bill Winters out, Steve Black named Executive Chairman of the Investment Bank, and Jes Staley named CEO of the Investment Bank, reporting to Steve.
SEC Weighs New Rules for Lending of Securities (WSJ)
Mary Schapiro said she wants to shine a light on the “opaque market” and will do so by holding a public round table discussion on the matter today. Come on down.
UBS Aims to Cut State Ties, Targets Recovery (Reuters)
CEO Oswald Gruebel is guessing the bank will make its triumphant return within the year.
$$$ Hedge Fund COO Vellanti Dies in Fall From Escalator [Bloomberg]
$$$ Is there anybody that handled the financial crisis well? The IMF says yes, they did. [WSJ]
$$$ Some states believe choice still has a place in insurance. [NYT]
$$$ Former Enron cheerleader headed for 16 months behind bars. [Bloomberg]
$$$ Lehman prepares for the Australian invasion [Reuters]
In the current environment where every institution and individual allegedly involved in some sort of wrongdoing neither admits nor denies that they committed crimes, Ralph Cioffi may signal the end of an era. After finding sworn testimony doubles as Kabuki Theater, US prosecutors believe they may finally have a smoking gun when it comes to what Cioffi classifies as being truthful regarding obtaining a line of credit for a Florida condo project.
“The government asserts that the proffered evidence is direct proof of the charged crimes,” prosecutors said Sept. 25 in court papers. “This proof will demonstrate that Cioffi and Tannin used Cioffi’s investment in the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund Ltd. to lie to Busey Bank to secure a $4.25 million line of credit,” they said
Unfortunately, given that Cioffi doesn’t go on trial until next month, the head start they just gave him is direct proof the government still has a lot to learn when it comes to putting people behind bars.
U.S. Says It Has ‘Proof’ of Cioffi’s Insider Trading [Bloomberg]
The relevant question for tax increases around the world was really a matter of when and not if. Now we know when. Faced with few alternatives, Spain plans to raise €11 billion from a combination of new tax initiatives and repealing existing rebates. In addition to joining the growing bandwagon of European economies increasing their VAT taxes, top income earners in Spain will be kicking in a bit more to help right the ship.
“We are aware of the collective effort we are asking for, but we are sure that the budget is the one this economy requires” to recover from the crisis, Vice President María Teresa Fernández de la Vega said Saturday, after the cabinet’s approval of the 2010 budget proposal.
But things on this side of the Atlantic operate a bit differently. We don’t tax out of desperation. We only tax when somebody in a position of power has given the signal that the recession is over and highly sought tax increases can be better justified. That move to reappoint the Beard 3 weeks before he gave the thumbs up seems to be working out really well for all involved.
Zapatero Unveils Budget Plan With Tax Increases [NYT]
Ken Lewis will likely not be invited to dot the ‘i’ at Ohio Stadium anytime soon. As the Bank of America lawsuit phenomenon starts to head west, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is getting the Buckeye State involved by suing BAC and MER for billions on behalf of five pension funds. Evidently believing that sworn testimony at the hands of Andrew Cuomo isn’t quite the truth telling solution one might hope for, the Ohio AG plans to have heart-to-hearts with Kenny boy and John Thain about the whole losses-bonuses misunderstanding. But this is actually a step in the right direction for KL & Co. Compared to shelling out $1,784 billion trillion, a paltry 10 figure lawsuit is a huge upgrade.
