From the front lines: “This just happened. He drank that fucker and quick. The best part was the lack of commentary. Just looked around to see if anyone was watching, took it down and got back to work. Oh, and it was a chick icing a dude.”
Archive for June 2010
Tony Hayward hasn’t actually resigned yet but at the present he’s not in so good with the Prez and a li’l accident– a blip, really– did go down on his watch. Reuters already has a list of fill-ins prepared in the event Big T involuntarily resigns. It includes Andy Inglis (head of BP’s core exploration and production division), Iain Conn (the head of BP’s refining and marketing unit), and Bob Dudley (a “Managing Director” with responsibility for oversight of the Americas and Asia). Continue reading »
The other day we noted that in the course of making fake trades at SocGen, Jerome Kerviel had invented a fake client who he’d named Matt, whose bio Kerviel added little flourishes to such as the fact that Matt apparently loved to play rugby. Today we hear from a non-imaginary colleague of Kerviel’s, none too happy about the fact that he owes her, a bottle of bubbly she’s probably never gonna get. Continue reading »
Confidential To Brian Moynihan, The White House Is Just Using You To Rankle Jamie Dimon
By Bess Levin
Remember this?
Time was, Jamie Dimon was referred to as “Obama’s favorite banker.” And for a while, he really was! And why shouldn’t he be? He’s a lifelong Democrat, he basically put Obama in office, he attended the 3-day inauguration in support of his guy. He’s extremely good-looking. He loves universal healthcare. He’s got charm and charisma dripping out of every orifice, he was one of the CEOs who didn’t fuck up and he’s not Lloyd Blankfein. I won’t even get started on the fact that he’s the guy who’ll make you laugh and he’s handy around the house. (Just know that those attributes were not discounted by the president.) And for a while, things between O and D (and their respective kingdoms) was good. Really good. Obama seemed to understand that Dimon wasn’t cut from the same cloth as “baldy,” it looked like JPM wouldn’t get punished for the sins of its peers and the President would openly acknowledge how great Jamie was, especially compared to the low-hanging fruit at Citi. Continue reading »
Serious Question: Is Tony Hayward Even Going To Turn Around And Acknowledge The Lady Protestor Attempting To Rip Off Her Top?
By Bess Levin
Or is he just going to keep staring straight ahead and pretend there’s nothing going on behind him? (Bonus question: did the blond woman next to her go “she’s a stripper”?) Continue reading »
[Warren Buffett and Bill Gates at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha, picking up the check and "dessert."]
Cracks Show BP Was Battling Gulf Well as Early as February (Bloomberg)
BP was struggling to seal cracks in its Macondo well as far back as February, more than two months before an explosion killed 11 and spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It took 10 days to plug the first cracks, according to reports BP filed with the Minerals Management Service that were later delivered to congressional investigators. Cracks in the surrounding rock continued to complicate the drilling operation during the ensuing weeks. Left unsealed, they can allow explosive natural gas to rush up the shaft.
Jim Chanos Shorts Oil Majors, Ford Shares, Hasn’t `Played’ BP (Bloomberg)
The founder of Kynikos Associates Ltd. said in a Bloomberg Television interview from his office in New York that his bearish calls on “some” energy companies, which he declined to identify, pre-date the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. “If you look at their cash-flow statements relative to their income statements, you will see companies that haven’t replaced reserves in years, and haven’t seen any increase in revenues in years,” he said. “They’re borrowing their dividend. They’re in effect liquidating.”
Calpers Asking California For More Money (Reuters)
Just $600 mill, just to tide them over.
Dick Bove: Goldman Case Going To Court (TSC)
“The longer this takes, the more likely it is that this thing is going to go to court and I’m still convinced the SEC doesn’t have a case,” Bove said in an interview. He argues the government never wins high-profile cases against companies that go to court.
Swiss Parliament Backs UBS Data Pact (WSJ)
With the passage of the law, Swiss tax officials, who had suspended processing the 4,450 names, are ready to hand over data on 1,200 accounts, according to a government spokeswoman. So far, the Swiss have sent 500 names of clients who consented to the immediate transfer of their details to the IRS.
Reining In Europe’s Deficits Is Just The First Step (FT)
David Cameron and Fredrik Reinfeldt: “Countries across Europe need fundamentally to change the way they deal with public finances so that debt crises of this magnitude can never happen again. That means that the stability pact must be taken seriously. There must be better safeguards against member states spending and borrowing too much and an early-warning system to identify problems before they get out of hand.”
Union Boss Hog In $300k Hooker Scam (NYP)
“A married, obese former president of a Port Authority union admitted yesterday in court to embezzling nearly $300,000 in member dues and using the cash for tawdry hook-ups with prostitutes, casino trips and lavish meals, sources told The Post.” Continue reading »
$$$ Warren Buffett And Bill Gates’ $600 Billion Challenge [Fortune]
$$$ BP, Transocean Oil Spill Washes On To Citadel, Highbridge, SAC Capital, et al’s shores. [AR]
$$$ Wall Street’s Do-Good Summer [NYO]
$$$ Eliot Spitzer: Stop Playing Defense [Slate]
$$$ BP’s Hayward to Get ‘Sliced and Diced‘ by Congress [AP]
$$$ Goldman Cuts DreamWorks Citing Ogre-Saturation [WSJ]
Not an amazing get out of jail free card but I’d say definitely a pretty decent one, which was that Antoinette Hodgson had a dream. A dream to franchise a Dunkin Donuts. (As for the gambling spree, that very well could’ve been part of her investment strategy, you have no idea.)
Hodgson, 58, of Montclair, N.J., “spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas,” according to a complaint charging her with conspiracy and wire fraud. “Antoinette Hodgson allegedly has already proved she’s a lousy gambler by losing the investor’s money in the casinos,” said George Venizelos, acting head of the FBI’s New York office. “She has now gambled with her future and faces serious charges for a plot of her own making.” In addition to blowing some of her illegal proceeds at the gaming tables, Hodgson allegedly spent $700,000 on a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in Arizona and gave away tens of thousands of dollars to her family and friends.
NJ Woman Gambled Away Ponzi Scheme Proceeds [NYP via Daily Intel]
Who's got 2 thumbs, a jolly elfin visage, and can honestly say he loves ya baby?
They may have thrown a banker out on her rockin’ ass for being too damn hot but you know what? Citi has a heart. Whereas other firms will not hesitate to foreclose on people who aren’t even in default and then go the extra mile by stealing the homeowner’s beloved pet, the House of Vikram has decided to show some compassion. They’re pumping the brakes on foreclosing on people in areas close to the little slip up by BP, which you must admit was big of them.
“Is Greenwich ready for bestiality?” Continue reading »
