Since Raj Rajaratnam was escorted out of his apartment almost two weeks ago in cuffs one thing we’ve been waiting to hear is who slept with whom in this whole thing. Who was going downtown for the hot tips? Was Raj using his bod to get ahead? Someone seems to think that Newcastle’s Danielle Chiesi might’ve been using her powers of persuasion to get an edge in the insider trading game. Not exactly sure how, given that this guy (below) runs what seems to be a small shop out in Ohio but whatevs. Regardless, at least we know she treated her men to the finer things in life, which is nice.
From: [redacted]
To: Dealbreaker
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Subject: Danielle Chiesi
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Not Obama’s favorite banker, Jamie Dimon, though you’re on the right track in assuming it’s someone who doesn’t take shit or prisoners from anyone (though he will take a bullet). Someone who, perhaps unlike our current Treasury Secretary, could stand up to Larry Summers and say “No, you’ve had enough Diet Coke for today,” and pass the big boy a Vitamin Water. Someone, like Fifty Cent. And as luck would have it, Mr. Cent has already stated publicly that should the President decide to shake up the economic dream team, he’s there.
“Any businessman who wants a piece of the future should learn for me. Obama is great. If he wants me as his financial adviser that would be cool.”
If you were thinking the CNBC contributor didn’t have the qualifications for the job, think again.
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On October 6, Sallie Krawcheck appeared on CNBC to say that she is “very much focused” on her job running Bank of America’s wealth management unit. According to the Post, this SKraw’s way of “going public with her ambitions to run the bank.” A couple days later, the paper claimed this (fake) campaign for Lewis’s job somehow “got a big boost,” when shareholder Jonathan Finger stated that the board should pick an outsider to run the bank, despite the fact that The Kraw currently works on the inside. So you see everything was chugging along nicely and girlfriend probably would’ve gotten the gig she was so desperately and publicly begging for and them bam!
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Pay Czar Increased Base Pay At Firms (WSJ)
On average, base salaries climbed to $437,896 a year as a result of Mr. Feinberg’s review, compared with $383,409 previously, a 14% increase, according to a Journal analysis of Treasury data. Of the 136 employees under Mr. Feinberg’s review, 89 saw their base salaries increase.
Ex-AMD Chief Ruiz Tied To Galleon (WSJ)
Apparently Hector Ruiz gave Newcastle’s Danielle Chiesi her info about a 2008 reorganization of AMD. He’s not technically in any trouble himself, yet.
Ruiz’s Rise To Prominence Said To Culminate In Link To Galleon Case (Bloomberg)
Little more info about Danielle Chiesi’s buddy: he doesn’t take shit from anyone and people look (looked?) up to him. “Hector is one of the most respected figures in the industry,” said Dan Hutcheson, head of VLSI Research, a semiconductor research company in Santa Clara, California. “He’s a very quiet person and very methodical, and tends to be pretty analytical.” According to Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates in Wayland, Massachusetts, “He fought the underdog fight for years against Intel. He was a hard-charging executive, take-no-prisoners type.”
Lazard Reports Higher Than Expected Profit (Reuters)
It’s how Bruce would’ve wanted it: The investment bank reported net income of $37.4 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $77 million, or $1.17 per share.
Treasury, GMAC In Talks For 3rd Round Of Aid (AP)
Just asking for a little cash to tide us over, maybe like $2.8 billion to $5.6 billion. It’s not so much that we need the money, we just want to set the record as the U.S. company to receive three rounds of bailout aid, you know?
Irish Pubs Cut Beer Prices After Pound Slide Leaves Economy `High and Dry’ (Bloomberg)
3.50 euros for a Guinness.
$$$ Goldman Sachs: We’re The Good Guys [NYT]
$$$ Jamie Dimon promises not to go after top performers at Bank of America, Citi [AP]
$$$ Is Hank Greenberg So Bad For Starting An AIG 2? [NYM]
$$$ UBS To Align Bonuses With Business Performance Once UBS Is Profitable [Reuters]
$$$ Jefferies promotes Lorello to global head of IB [Reuters]
As you’re aware, brilliant legal mind Lenny Dykstra is representing himself in his “don’t call it bankruptcy” bankruptcy case (which has been converted from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation). How are things going so far? Well, Nails has some complaints. First off, why isn’t anyone repping for Team Twizzlers?
Attorney Leonard Shulman, speaking on behalf of the estate, said, “This is a very sophisticated and complex case with quite a bit of litigation that can, and should, be pursued.” He said his office is working with Fireman’s Fund to settle for “just north of $1 million” to cover damage to both homes and to drop claims of bad faith against the insurer. Dykstra says that leaves only about $500,000 to repair the larger house, which “won’t even pay my experts to get started” on repairs. However, any settlement money will go to the estate, not to Lenny Dykstra. The former World Series champion vented in court that the estate’s lawyers weren’t looking after his interests. “I just heard everyone talk about everyone else. But what about Lenny?” Judge Mund advised Dykstra to get his own attorney. “Estate attorneys are not you.”
He’s not asking for much, you know. Just a place to rest his head, maybe tin of dip, an apology from Jim Cramer for giving him the Bear Stearns treatment, and a private jet. The basics.
Dykstra complained in court that his estranged wife has plenty of money (including his pension) while he has nothing. “I live in the street,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want anything special. My wife gets $25,000 a month, and she’s got $300,000 cash. You know what I got? Zero…I couldn’t even buy gas for my car.”
Really, will no one have a heart? The man can’t even afford to put himself up in a seedy motel for the night.
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According to City Councilwoman Joann Watson, that number is $1 billion and the administration should cut a bailout check and see what the Motor City does with it. That figure should cover the city’s $300 million budget deficit plus the $700 million in petty cash needed to shock a pulse back into the city. However, before you start thinking Watson is just another local politician asking for a bailout using the ‘just because’ school of thought, be advised, she’s got her reasons.
“If the federal government can get a loan from China, if the state of Michigan can get $2 billion in federal stimulus money, why isn’t it obvious for the city of Detroit?” she said. “Why not establish us as an important precedent? They’ve bailed out Wall Street. They’ve bailed out General Motors. When are they going to bail out the workers? And Detroit’s problems are a direct result of the economic meltdown and the crisis in the auto industry”
It’s true the bailout express has been all over the place during the past year. But writing a check this size for the city at the epicenter of the auto implosion- does Detroit really deserve something like that?
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The other day, the blogger over at Wall Street Cheat Sheet penned a column arguing that “according to transitive logic,” Jim Cramer would recommend selling your stock in The Street.com (TSCM), due to the fact that JC tells people to dump shares when executives leave companies suddenly or miss their filings. Both of these dealbreakers recently occurred at The Street, so the author argued that if one were a strict Cramer fundamentalist, there’d only be one thing left to do. He did not claim that JC had actually made this call himself, but rather used it as sort of WWJCD case study. You would think that Jimbo would a) realize this and b) be flattered that someone had not only bought his book but was following his teachings so closely and helping others to apply them in real time investing situations. But you’d think wrong! Uncle Jim fails to see the humor here and not only that but he wants the post removed, an apology, and honestly? A little class and civility up in this piece. Best line (especially picturing him writing it): “Think about how much better you are than that.”
From: James Cramer
To: info@wallstcheatsheet.com
Subject: Some decorum and some fairness
Date: Mon, October 26, 2009 5:30 am
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It looks like there is another reason why the majority of people are better off than Warren Buffett. After decades worth of data, the clever crime fighters at the IRS think they may be on to something. As it turns out, most people who play elaborate games of hide-and-seek with some of their assets belong to the same tax bracket.
A new Internal Revenue Service enforcement unit targeting the very wealthy will help the tax agency decode partnerships, offshore trusts and other complex techniques used to hide income, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said Monday.
Dubbed the Global High Wealth Industry group, the unit will launch “a small number” of audits of individuals with assets or income in the tens of millions of dollars, Mr. Shulman told an accountants’ trade group. An IRS official said the group would begin work on these initial audits in the next month.
Tax cheats beware, the special unit targeting you is onto the complex web you weave. Playing games on your 1040 is not going to get the job done any more. The IRS is taking a more “holistic” approach to you guys and will not stop until they’ve achieved their objective.
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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s president and CEO Jamie Dimon was interviewed by Charlie Rose at the Securities Industries and Financial Markets Association’s annual meeting on Tuesday, where the Wall Street veteran shared his thoughts on the economy, compensation, markets and bailouts.
“The chance of financial Armageddon is over,” Dimon said. “Confidence is coming back. This is what a recovery feels like. Corporate credit is flowing, and corporations are flush with cash.”
Can you feel it? Can you feel down in your plums? That tingly feeling? That’s the recovery working its magic. You want some cash? You want some cash? Here’s some cash [throws it in your face]. Come back for more whenever, I’ve got plenty. This wallet doesn’t lie.
Jamie Dimon On The Financial Crisis [The Deal]
How are managing money and martial arts kind of the same thing? They both have the potential to kick the shit out of you but as long as you don’t fall over and die (or bleed enough money out of your ass that you’re forced to close up shop) it is all good. Lose nearly 70 percent? No problemo.
Benoit “La Tornade” Descourtieux, the second-oldest contender in Hong Kong’s third annual Hedge Fund Fight Night for charity, finds it easy to draw a link between managing money and martial arts.
“As long as we do well most of the time, or even if we don’t do well but survive, we’ll be OK,” said the 46-year-old, Michael Douglas-lookalike in an interview at his 27th-floor office with a view of workers unloading cargo ships at Victoria Harbour. Descourtieux manages the Calypso Asia Fund, which bets on rising and falling stock prices and their derivatives.
Anyway, most of you don’t need to be told what you already know (everyone’s a professional here) but in case you’re interested in seeing the metaphor in action, are in the neighb (Hong Kong), and would like to drop a few G’s (for a good cause!), La Tornade will be sparring Thursday night. Bonus: there’ll be a guy named John “Headcount Reduction” Crane and a male model in the ring. (For those who can’t make it, there’s an Ultimate Cage Fighting event taking place in Southern Connecticut next month, with some big name participation.)
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