Archive for November 2009

Jordan-Wimmer415.jpgJordan Wimmer, the ex-Nomos Capital IR girl taking issue with, among other things, her former boss Mark Lowe’s executive decision to hire a (highly qualified) prostitute to work at the firm, his insistence on her being present while he received lap dances, and his dumb blonde jokes, has one more thing to add. He might’ve tried to run her over, several times.

Jordan Wimmer, who earned £577,000 per year, said she believed her boss Mark Lowe 59, the firm’s founder, had hired a Russian hit man or enlisted a family member to attempt to murder her. Miss Wimmer told how she was left fearing for her life after an incident in which a car tried to run her over six times near the King’s Road in Chelsea.

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So it makes sense that they should be compensated accordingly. Not sure why this needs to be reiterated but for those of you who just don’t get it:

“I often hear references to higher compensation at Goldman,” said Mr Blankfein at an industry conference on Tuesday. “What people fail to mention is that net income generated per head is a multiple of our peer average. The people of Goldman Sachs are among the most productive in the world.”

Earlier: God’s Minions Not Cooling Their Heels At 85 Broad

bernanke 3.jpgWell, here’s a fun twist to Sen. Chris Dodd’s proposal to castrate the Federal Reserve: Big Ben Bernanke is set to travel to the Hill at some point after Thanksgiving for a few rounds with the gentleman from Connecticut, who heads the committee considering Bernanke’s renomination as chairman of the soon-to-be-inconsequential Fed.
Now, Dodd is saying all the right things, telling Bernanke he’s “doing a terrific job” and that his bid to give most of the Fed’s power to others is “not about individuals and personalities.” But then he turns around and says Ben’s Boys have been an “abysmal failure” when it comes to regulating banks.
One of Bernanke’s minions has already spoken out against doing anything to trim the Fed’s authority, with the Kansas City branch warning that messing with the F.R. “could lead to delays or second-guessing of supervisory recommendations and greater political interference.” And it was talking about Rep. Barney Frank’s proposals for financial regulation reform, which don’t go nearly as far as Dodd’s in cutting the Fed down to size.

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Opening Bell: 11.11.09

robertbenmosche.jpgAIG’s Benmosche Threatens To Leave (WSJ)
Man’s got a vineyard and 12 bathrooms. He doesn’t need this: “At a board meeting last week, the strong-willed industry executive told fellow AIG directors that he was “done” but agreed to think it over after other board members reacted with shock, according to the people. During the three-hour meeting, board members discussed difficulties of complying with pay policies and retaining talent at the company. Mr. Benmosche’s frustrations “hit a crescendo,” said a person familiar with the matter. “Bob feels he is in an impossible situation,” the person added. Mr. Benmosche didn’t respond to a request for comment.”
Whitacre Prods GM Executives With Message of ‘We Need to Hurry’ (Bloomberg)
Let’s put the pedal to the metal here, people: “I’ve been telling them that we need to hurry every chance we get, that we don’t have long to do all this,” Whitacre, 68, said yesterday in an interview from his office in San Antonio. “This is about a turnaround, this is not business as usual. This is about a new GM, a new way of doing business.”
Tax Fears Are Causing Client Outflows, Swiss Bank Asserts (NYT)
Julius Baer would appreciate it if we could please stop scaring its clients into thinking they’re going to get in trubs for tax evasion.
Geither Wants A Strong Dollar, Will Tackle Deficit (Reuters)
“I believe deeply that it’s very important to the United States, to the economic health of the United States, that we maintain a strong dollar,” Geithner said in a meeting with Japanese reporters at the U.S. embassy.
Swiss Bonus Rules Limited to 12 Biggest Finance Firms (Bloomberg)
So, sorry if you work at UBS.

  • 10 Nov 2009 at 5:43 PM

Write-Offs: 11.10.09

$$$ Boston Provident Trader Ezra Levy Arrested for Theft [Bloomberg]
$$$ If We Were Friends With John Paulson [NYM]
$$$ Buy some sex toys from this accountant. [GC]
$$$ Dennis Berman: A Reason To Pay For Big Banker Bonuses [WSJ]

  • 10 Nov 2009 at 4:23 PM

Bad Day For British Banks

London Is Fading.jpgThe City is not a happy place today: The U.K.’s two biggest banks both reported lower earnings thanks to the credit crisis, while Lloyds Banking Group announced a new round of job cuts.
First, Barclays and HSBC. The former said its third-quarter profit fell by half. Worse, its profit was actually lower than its write-downs and impairment charges, which doubled to £1.4 billion.
The latter was a little bit more coy, but the news was worse. HSBC said its third-quarter performance was lower than a year earlier, but didn’t specify. It did say it took a US$3.5 billion hit on its own debt; without it, the bank would be doing better than it did in the third quarter last year. But it isn’t.

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  • 10 Nov 2009 at 4:15 PM

Reader Poll: CFA

The ad people who run this asylum would like you to please answer this quick and painful question.

  • 10 Nov 2009 at 4:04 PM

Not Guilty!

Screen shot 2009-11-10 at 4.43.46 PM.pngThe Wall Street trial of the century (and a horrendously botched prosecution) has led to the acquittal of two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers accused of defrauding investors.
It took a jury less than two days to exonerate Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin of securities and wire fraud. Cioffi was also accused of insider-trading. The two were accused of lying to investors in their two hedge funds, painting a rosy picture while the bottom fell out of the credit market. Both funds failed, costing investors $1.6 billion.
Their victory is a huge defeat for the Justice Dept., serving as something of a test case for similar battles against Wall Street executives.

Screen shot 2009-11-10 at 3.27.40 PM.png
Cityfile reports that you now have the opportunity to sit your ass in the Don’s cockpit. Trump put his Boeing 727 up for sale yesterday. No word on the asking price but it’ll probably cost you considering that you’re getting three bathrooms with “gold plated sinks,” “abundant storage for fine china and crystal” and a “circular shower.” Make him an offer.
Donald Trump Has An Aging Plane To Sell You [Cityfile]

Severance: it’s means you got canned but if you got somea that way back, like circa Bear going down, before the next level shit of everyone getting axed, it was safe to assume you a) got a decent amount it and b) weren’t looking for a new job in the scariest environment imaginable. So, it was only natural that you didn’t freak out or take the first new gig you were offered, whether or not involved standing on a street corner. Also? You probably didn’t change your lifestyle much, right? If you answered yes to any of the above, Paul Joegringer knows how you feel:

Paul Joegriner hasn’t worked since March 2008, when he was laid off from his $200,000-a-year job as chief executive officer of a small bank. But you wouldn’t know it by appearances. His wife, Marzena, shuttles their two young children to private school every morning. The family recently vacationed in Virginia Beach, Va., and likes to dine on Porterhouse steaks. Since losing his job, Mr. Joegriner, 44 years old, has had several offers. He’s turned each down in hopes of landing a position comparable to what he held before. By Mr. Joegriner’s own calculations, the family will be out of money in six months if he doesn’t find work. “It will be D-Day,” he says. “But on the outside, no one has any idea that we’re in trouble.”

Except for anyone reading the Journal today. Moving on, Chuck Hipsher can also empathize:

He met his wife at the ad agency, and the two had a $40,000 wedding. Kelly Hipsher, 32, was laid off in October 2007 and found out she was pregnant in February 2008. A week later, Mr. Hipsher’s pink slip followed. Two months after that, the out-of-work couple moved to Greenville, S.C., to be closer to family and get a fresh start. Together, they had received about $60,000 in severance. “Now we have $600 to our name,” says Mr. Hipsher. Although their rent was cheaper, Mr. Hipsher says the family continued to spend like before. They moved with three cars — two BMWs and a Chevy Silverado. They continued to buy cases of $36-a-bottle wine. They spent $250 a month on a cleaning lady, and Mr. Hipsher dropped $50 a week on flowers for his wife. The couple still dined out regularly.

As can an asston of other people, apparently:

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I am confident history will show that our actions… in building Bank of America positioned our company for future success. As I look ahead, I see no reason that Bank of America will not be among the handful of the most important and most successful financial-services companies in the world.

I can think of 45 billion reasons.

Our business model is benefitting from the acquisitions of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch.

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