This is the first bold claim in a Financial Times article today on how Barclays Capital has done so well for itself over the last 14 years: “most investment banks claim to have a ‘no-jerk’ policy on hiring.” Of course, on occasion, said rule is overlooked. Not too many times, once, maybe twice at Goldman Sachs. But at BarCap? NEVER (“at BarCap the policy is taken seriously from the top executive suites on down.”) It’s just one of the many ways the firm keeps its people grounded and in doing so has been able to consistently make it rain. Others include: Continue reading »
Archive for March 2010
Since Lehman Brothers bit the big one, many people have abandoned Dick Fuld. Former employees, friends, Erin– they all want nothing to do with him. There doesn’t seem to be much to gain in staying loyal to the ex-CEO, other than knowing you’ll never have to wonder whether or not you’re getting an honest answer to the question, does this outfit look like shit? (In fact, you won’t even have to bring it up– Dick will gladly broach that subject.)
So when it was suggested last week that Charlie Gasparino owed David Einhorn and all the critics of Lehman Brothers an apology, for saying that those claiming the bank was in a bad way had no idea what they were talking about, and that, were it to come down to a fight, street or otherwise, he’d have his money Fuld smoking all these fools, some peole might’ve assumed CG would admit the error of his ways and go on record to state that he’d officially stopped returning Fuld’s calls. Unfortunately, these people failed to remember two things: 1) Charlie Gasparino neither makes mistakes nor admits to them and 2) he never, ever turns his back on a friend. For these reasons and more (DF has dirt on CG), Charlie poses an interesting theory in his latest Daily Beast column– the guy preparing the report on Lehman released last week had an interest in making Fuld and Co.’s actions look worse than they maybe were–, that all in all, in said report, Team Lehman didn’t come off that bad and the Dick Fuld? Charlie’s still got his back.
I’ll be the first to tell you that Fuld was a good CEO who over time became arrogant and delusional, and with that allowed his firm to embrace risk in astronomically absurd ways, particularly as Lehman became more successful. Increasingly, he appointed yes men and yes women to senior posts, including Erin Callan, who in my opinion was grossly unqualified to be the chief financial officer of a major Wall Street firm that was rolling the dice on esoteric bonds. [...] But consider this: Valukas, a former U.S. attorney, works for the Lehman estate. It’s his job to get money for the estate to make creditors whole. In doing so, it’s his job to make Fuld & Co. look as culpable as possible in the way they handled the firm’s finances as it slid into bankruptcy.
Michael Lewis: “No Intelligent Person Who’s Sitting On Wall Street Can Think Of Themselves As Anything But Overpaid”
By Bess Levin
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Speaking of Lewis, Janet Tavakoli had a few things to say about him and The Big Short this morning– the book gets the crisis all wrong, and Mike is a “girlie man” and a “eunuch.”
$$$ Cheap cigars, politics and the Volcker Rule [Reuters]
$$$ Why Did Lehman Behave So Idiotically? [HuffPo]
$$$ Tudor Tensor’s überquant, Steve Evans, was a video gamer kingpin in his youth [CTNews]
$$$ “It is estimated that some 50% of all traders have a subconscious desire to lose.” [CNBC]
$$$ So, a winner has been picked for the poker tournament give-away. If it wasn’t you, I still think you should go!
$$$ DON’T FORGET: Tomorrow is Jamie Dimon’s birthday. He’s turning 54. The wording on your cards better be perfect.
Wanted – People to Pee on Goldman Sachs – $20 (Financial District)
Date: 2010-03-12, 12:33PM EST
Reply to: sale-jcarv-1640787037@craigslist.orgI’m looking for any individuals who will urinate, or spit on the Goldman Sachs building, or any of it’s employees. You must tape the action and upload it to Youtube. Reference this add at the beginning of the video. Once I have seen the video, I will pay you via paypal. I am serious, and this is legit. Here’s the price breakdown:
I remember when I was a very little girl, our house caught on fire.
I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face as he gathered me up
in his arms and raced through the burning building out to the pavement.
I stood there shivering in my pajamas and watched the whole world go up in flames.
And when it was all over I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a fire?”
March 15, 2010, marks the anniversary of a special day. Can you guess what it is? Ides of March? Yes, but no. St. Patrick’s Day? Too soon. Give up? It’s National Green Shoots Day. That’s right, March 15th marks one year to the day 60 Minutes broadcast Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke softly cooing in the ear of the market. It’s been all clover and honey since then, as we all know. Unemployment up? Who cares! GDP down? Bah! CPI negative? Not to worry. Your house? Fuhgeddaboudit! Your meager, all-stock bonus? So sorry! (But that’s another story.)
You may be asking, is that all there is to a recovery? Of course not. Goldman Sachs has booked a unit every other day since then, banks in general are feeling much, much better, the threat of financial reform recedes in the rearview mirror, and the federal funds rate will remain exceptionally low for an extended period, thank you very much! Continue reading »
One final spin. Good night, sweet prince.
When I think of a certain someone in someone in Stamford, a lot of things comes to mind. Fleece. Preserved fish. Magic. But the very first thing I think of is a Zamboni machine. Him riding it. His star traders being invited for a congratulatory spin around the floor when they’ve had particularly good months. His underlings cleaning it with a tooth brush in an effort to prove themselves. And so on and so forth. So it’s with an extremely heavy heart that report the Zamboni? The Z? The Z-meister? Is no longer. Continue reading »
That's right, act like you're not going to miss this.
“They’re free to do what they want to do,” Pandit said yesterday at an investor conference in New York. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they would actively think about something,” given where the stock is trading, he said.
How Would Former Lehman Brother’s CFO Brad Hintz Characterize The Bank’s Accounting Practices?
By Bess Levin
“Shenanigans, Bob. Shenanigans.”
What are they doing about it? Considering their options, that’s what.
According to people familiar with the matter, a number of employees — including some of the bank’s most talented and highest-paid people — are feeling that they aren’t being fairly compensated for their work in helping the bank weather the financial crisis without having to be bailed out by the German government.
Sources said the frustration has the potential for creating a real headache for CEO Josef Ackermann, who runs the risk of losing talent in the bank’s trading operation, which is considered the second-most profitable behind Goldman Sachs. One group of bond traders that has already left over pay includes Jerry Cudzil and David Malvern, who were part of a team that took over a book of business from Deutsche Bank’s former head of credit trading, Boaz Weinstein.
Apparently management thinks it’s paying its employees just fine but is the victim of “an unusual wave of poaching from rivals like Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Credit Suisse.”
