Toby Smith, a market analyst for Fox News Channel and best-selling author of investment books, has taken a special liking to a small penny stock called China Tel Group. Indeed, he has been touting the stock to his Twitter followers for the past four months.
Unfortunately for Toby (and those who followed his recommendations,) the Asian broadband wireless company has failed so far to find the financing it needs to stay afloat despite several arrangements with relatively unknown investment firms that have subsequently walked away from the deal several times. Continue reading »
Charlie Gasparino recently participated in one of New York‘s dining features wherein notable people discuss what they ate over the course of the week. Those of you in the know re: the fuel that makes this Jabroni Pony will run not be surprised to hear that he consumed many a vodka martini, doused his meat in ketchup and affirmed his commitment to “staying regular” by downing a bunch of bran muffins. Unlike his last food diary, in which Gaspo confessed to finding no greater joy in the world that tearing into a plate of braciola while on the can, the Fox Business anchor kept it mostly clean, while sharing a few tips. Such as how to make gravy from scratch (“good Italian canned tomatoes, two cans of the whole tomatoes and one of crushed. I let it cook for about an hour and fifteen minutes, maybe an hour and a half”), indulging while keeping yourself in centerfold form (“I only eat desserts on the weekends”) and drinking like a man (“no respectable Russian will drink Grey Goose, they all drink Ketel One, because you want to taste the vodka. Now I can’t go back to Grey Goose, which is really super smooth, you can’t taste the vodka. If you’re gonna drink it, you gotta make it real”). Continue reading »
Major Banks Mask Their Risk Levels (WSJ)
BREAKING: “You want your leverage to look better at quarter-end than it actually was during the quarter, to suggest that you’re taking less risk,” says William Tanona, a former Goldman analyst who now heads U.S. financials research at Collins Stewart, a U.K. investment bank.
Brown Pledges Extra Curbs On UK Bank Bonuses If Elected (Bloomberg)
Gird your loins, chippies: “We will not hesitate to give the FSA the powers to quash executive bonuses if we feel it is simply wrong for the financial system to encourage reckless and irresponsible behavior.”
Soros: Greece Needs Concessionary Rates from Germany (Reuters)
“I hope that Germany will realise that talking about lending at market rates is the wrong remedy. It would push Greece into the abyss,” he said.
Former Fannie CEO Admits Failures (WSJ)
“I should be clear that this was a failure of leadership,” Armando Falcon, the former head of the companies’ regulatory agency, said in prepared testimony.
Woods Goes Low At Augusta (NYP)
As warmly received as Woods was by the spectators, and much as he smiled after making great shots and as well as he played, make no mistake, the specter of the sex scandal hovered — literally — over him at Augusta National. Two hired planes, about two hours apart, flew overhead tugging cynical signs with them. The first flew over the course around the time Woods teed off to begin his round at 1:42 p.m. and read: “TIGER: DID YOU MEAN BOOTYISM?” Continue reading »
Warren Buffett take note: Don’t get involved in the RV business. It’s full of wealthy rednecks and sometimes they like stealing cash directly from the office vending machines.
That’s at least what one executive of a Berkshire Hathaway-owned RV company has alleged in a recent lawsuit filed after he was denied the CEO position and fired from the company. The former exec, Brad Mart, said he helped orchestrate the $800 million sale of the RV company, Forest River, in 2005 by simply submitting a two-page summary of the business to the Oracle of Omaha, who “surprisingly” called Mart a few hours later and bought the company shortly after.
“Mart was surprised that Buffett made the decision to purchase the company with virtually no due diligence, including no onsite visit to Forest River,” he said in the complaint. Continue reading »
A lot of people who bought portraits of Big Al before it turned out that he was responsible for blowing up the world are now embarrassed to keep their pieces out in public where their friends my see them. For now they’re just biding their time til McG bites the big one, at which point they can pull the portraits out of the attic and sell them for a buck for two. If you’re a Greenspan hater but a lover o’ art, this one you can feel free to keep above the mantle. It’s the Doctor, in his own take on reverse cowgirl, wearing chaps.
I don’t think I have to tell you that the SEC has been stepping up its game like crazy these last few months. They had a stern talking to with one of their employees about cutting back on his tranny porn surfing time on the job, they busted that “psychic” money manager , and now they’ve reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the capital markets by barring a trader from the industry for accepting car service from a broker he traded with without disclosing the conflict of interest. That’s “bribery” and it ain’t happening on Mary Schapiro’s watch.
They also nailed his buddy to the wall for accepting rent and travel costs for himself, his relatives, and his pet. Continue reading »
Tom Petters was sentenced by a judge today for his $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme and surprise! The fact that his lawyer described him as a “a flawed, but benevolent individual, a very decent guy” (save for the whole massive scam thing) did not help much.
A federal judge sentenced Minnesota Petters to 50 years in prison…The sentence means the 52-year-old founder of Petters Group Worldwide likely will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Prosecutors sought a 335-year sentence, while the defense said a term as short as four years was more appropriate. Petters blew kisses to family members in the packed St. Paul, Minnesota courtroom after U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle handed down the sentence.
WIN A CHANCE TO ATTEND THE 2010 CAESARS TENNIS CLASSIC!
Overnight Stay in a Centurion Tower Premium Room at Caesars Atlantic City on 4/10/10
Two tickets to the 2010 Caesars Tennis Classic APRIL 10, 2010, Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall – 7:30pm Continue reading »
William Cohan’s portrait of Bruce Wasserstein in the latest Vanity Fair sheds a bit of light on the events surrounding the Lazard chairman’s mysterious death last October.
But one thing is clear: Most of the deceased dealmaker’s colleagues thought he was a selfish asshole who took home a giant paycheck without doing much to deserve it. Several Lazard partners even tried to stage a coup to oust Bruce and approached the board about his enormous pay package in 2008, Cohan reports. But the board eventually feared shareholder lawsuits if Bruce left and the stock dropped.
Here’s one Lazard banker’s take:
“The difference between his perception of his value and everybody else’s was a wide chasm. If you want to look at him in the best light, you would say he just had an incredible view of himself. If you want to look at him in the worst light, you would say he didn’t give a damn. He just could take the money. He could convince the board, and he took it.”
Continue reading »
