Heads of high frequency trading desks have a lot of top secret, propriety information on their mini super-computers at work. Statistical arbitrage models sit there as the potential door to lightening quick profits. But when Mikhail Malyshev, the former head of Citadel’s high-frequency trading group, started dropping napalm on his hard drive before taking off for his new firm, Teza Trading, it wasn’t to destroy any evidence of stolen files. No, Malyshev was trying to prevent people from making a far more terrifying discovery about another high frequency pursuit of his.
Archive for October 2009
BofA Board Weighs ‘Short-Term’ CEO (WSJ)
One gets the impression they’re slightly miffed with Ken Lewis: “We don’t want to go through what Citi went through,” one director told a person close to him. That is a reference to two months in late 2007 when Citigroup Inc. was rudderless following the departure of CEO Charles Prince. “If we had more” notice of Mr. Lewis’s departure, “we could have started work on it,” this person said he was told by the Bank of America director.
Fed Draws Court’s Eyes In Lehman Bankruptcy (WSJ)
A court-appointed examiner is taking a looksee at whether or not the Federal Reserve “improperly cut in front of other creditors owed money in the $613 billion bankruptcy case,” records show.
Cuomo Given Campaign Cash by Pension-Probe Figure, Returned It (Bloomberg)
“Was this contribution given back in good faith when they felt it would be the appropriate and honest course of action to take?” said Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor who is a legal-ethics expert at New York-based Pace University School of Law. “Or were they doing it at a time when they felt it would be extremely embarrassing and raise questions about the office and the investigation?”
Despite Resignation, Lewis Still Faces Legal And Political Woes (NYT)
If he thought he was just going to be able to head back to the mountains and grow another beard, he thought wrong.
SAC Bets On Former Employee’s Fund (FINalternatives)
SAC is backing the US Absolute Alpha, a new fund managed by former employee Mike Corcell at London-based RWC Partners.
The Credit Crunch Continues (WSJ)
An essay by Meredith Whitney. (She begins with her qualifications: “Anyone counting on a meaningful economic recovery will be greatly disappointed. How do I know? I follow credit, and credit is contracting.”)
Letterman Reveals Sextortion Plot (NYP)
Who among us hasn’t been the victim of a $2 million shakedown after an office affair gone wrong?
$$$ A (potential) $53 million retirement score for Ken Lewis [Fortune]
$$$ BofA’s Merrill Lynch Legacy: The 7th Floor [TBP]
$$$ Matthew Goldstein: Sheila Bair’s Pandit-less Summer [Reuters]
$$$ Thousands Of Bugs Set Loose In Greenwich [Daily Intel]
$$$ Jim Chanos For SEC Chairman [JeffMatthews]
$$$ The Good News And The Really Bad News [AR]
Lenny Dykstra Objects (To The Filthy Insuation He Stole The Fixtures Out Of His House, Would Go Back To Flying Commerical If His Life Depended On It)
By Bess Levin
Brilliant legal mind Lenny Dykstra is now representing himself in his Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. While there’s only a remote possibility he’ll get to argue in an actual courtroom trial that includes examining of witnesses (in which case, please call Jim Cramer and LD’s “fucking derelict business partners” to the stand), the bottom line is that he’s going to have the opportunity to open his mouth and spew legal terms and half-chewed Twizzlers. No further questions. I’ll hold you in contempt. Get your fucking hands me, vampire bat.
So you were at the helm of an institution ruined to the point of nationalization and you’re widely credited with helping produce the first run on a British bank since the mid 1800s. What comes next for you? Witness relocation program? Trials and possible jail time perhaps? If you’re former CEO of Northern Rock, Adam Applegarth, the answer is a new career in private equity. Proving that what goes around comes around isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the guy whose firm morphed into one big distressed asset will be taking on an advisory role at Apollo Management to help decide which diamonds in the rough its new European Principal Fund should invest in. With Bob Nardelli going back to Cerberus to recount the good times at Chrysler and now this, the new normal is looking pretty good for those that led to its creation.
Disgraced Northern Rock boss lands US private equity job [Guardian.co.uk]
Whether the trustee in the King Ponz incident, Irving Picard, wants to chalk it up to not successfully carrying the 1 in a couple of spots or trying to put a dollar value on pain and suffering, the total amount of losses suffered by Bernie’s former flock just went up to $18 billion. But help is on the way in the form of an additional $2 billion Jeffry Picower will be kicking in. It turns out Picower just so happened to be in the right place at the right time frequently enough to pocket $7.2 billion from his investments with the head of the Butner Prison Investment Club. Some, though, have a different word for his incredible streak of luck.
To: BlackRock Employees
Subject: CNBC Filming Live Today at 40 East 52nd Street
To mark the 10th anniversary of BlackRock’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, CNBC will broadcast a special edition of its “Closing Bell” program today, live from BlackRock’s 5th floor at 40 East 52nd Street. The program will include interviews with BlackRock executives on the firm’s history, market commentary and client and investment trends.
Don Imus Would Like To Know How Long It’s Going To Take Charlie Gasparino “To Grow A Pair”
By Bess Levin
You might not have known this but Charlie Gasparino has a book called “The Sell-Out” coming out in November. Since CNBC hasn’t let him plug it on air, Chaz has been having to go through other channels to promote the thing, including a guerilla marketing campaign that involves leaving ripped out pages of the tome in the men’s rooms of various bucket shops all over town. But with the release date fast approaching, Gaspo has naturally wanted to up the press for his contribution to literature. So when Don Imus asked CG to appear on the his radio show yesterday, Chazza agreed immediately. Though he prefers the medium of television, feeling strongly that you should get to see the Jabroni Pony’s face while he delivers his scoops, he was excited to tap another audience of potential readers, and also just to spend some time with Don, who is a friend. Unfortunately, CNBC didn’t quite see it that way, what with the I-Man working for their competition, Fox Business, as of next Monday. They put the kibosh on the whole thing, and Gasparino was forced to leave an awkward “I hate to do this to you” message of Don’s voicemail late Tuesday night. How did the NAACP Image Award nominee take to the perceived snub? Not so good!
While Bobby Benmosche’s musings on everything from when to pick grapes for a dynamite bottle of Cabernet to how much Andrew Cuomo will regret the day the two of them get in the octagon together are typically priceless, the value of his services to AIG is far less abstract. The pay czar is expected to given the all-clear for BB’s total compensation package in the near future. While McKinsey may not be getting any more cash from the original greenback black hole for their services, Benmosche is going to be getting $3 million- and that is just the appetizer.
As you’re aware, some names have already been tossed out to succeed the CEO of “the greatest financial services company in the world.” They include insiders Brian Moynihan, head of consumer banking, Tom Montag, president of Global Banking & Markets, and Sallie Krawcheck, wealth management chief, in addition to those not currently taking up desk space in the building– BlackRock’s Larry Fink and former Merrill President Greg Fleming. But we’ve yet to see a short list of wildcards. Since the board was taken completely by surprise to hear that Lewis was bailing after an unsatisfying Labor Day Weekend left him questioning what he’s doing with his life, and unlike JPM, has no succession plan in place, they’re said to be seeking suggestions from just about anyone, even you.
This is not the way to express your appreciation for the IMF’s relatively positive comments on the end of the recession in a number of European countries and GDP growth in emerging market countries. After singling out Turkey as one of the countries that will lead the emerging market charge, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was treated to a shoe being thrown at his head while giving a speech at a Turkish university. While the most recent contestant for title of world’s greatest shoe thrower could use some pointers from Bush’s favorite Iraqi journalist, his attempt did not go unnoticed by the security guards in the room.
