UBS Hustles To Rebuild (WSJ)
Ten times over the past year, UBS AG Chief Executive Oswald Grübel has been called upon to speak personally with wealthy clients who were spooked by the Swiss bank’s deep troubles and threatening to taking their millions elsewhere. Mr. Grübel talked each one of the clients through UBS’s financial situation and sketched out his turnaround plan. All 10 ended up staying, according to Mr. Grübel. Under Mr. Grübel, UBS has set up an early-warning system to flag clients who make large withdrawals. It is deploying senior executives to soothe clients’ concerns and reach out to departed clients.

Treasury to Sell 1.5 Billion More Citi Shares (Dealbook)
Treasury said in a statement that it has authorized Morgan Stanley to sell the additional shares at market prices between now and Sept. 30, before Citi enters an earnings blackout period. Over the course of the year, Treasury has sold 2.6 billion shares of the 7.7 billion it received as part of its Citi bailouts. So far, those holdings have been sold off profitably, raising $10.5 billion in gross proceeds, the department said.

Goldman Sachs Said to Give AIG-Hedging List to Investigators (Bloomberg)
“We want to know the identity of those parties, partly just to know where American taxpayer dollars went, but partly to assess Goldman’s claim,” said Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, in a Senate hearing this week. “We cannot evaluate the credibility of their claim that they had nothing at stake one way or the other in the AIG bailout.”

High Finance And Corporate Pot, California Style (Reuters)
Even the cops who most hate it see legal California marijuana as a different breed of drug — and a game changer for the country. “The stuff we are getting in California is fricking leading the world,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Senior Narcotics Detective Glenn Walsh. “We already send marijuana all over the States, presumably all over the world.” Continue reading »

$$$ What Does Wall Street Really Want From Ben Bernanke? [CNBC]

$$$ U.S. to Let Tax Cuts For Wealthy Expire [WSJ]

$$$ Geithner Sees `Basic Confidence‘ in U.S. Economy [Bloomberg]

$$$ How To Get A Body Like Beyonce [WSJ] Continue reading »

Paulson Plans New Fund (WSJ)
Paulson & Co., is launching a fund under the European standard for open-ended investment funds, known as UCITS, that will track existing investments, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Paulson plans to launch the fund, which will be domiciled onshore in Europe, in the coming months, the person familiar said. It is being launched in conjunction with Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG.

Credit Suisse Sees Small Increase In Profit (NYT)
Credit Suisse’s profit rose 1.4 percent to 1.59 billion Swiss francs, or $1.5 billion, in the second quarter, from 1.57 billion francs in the same period last year. But earnings at its investment banking operation dropped 53 percent as unnerved clients cut back on trades.

Blackstone Reports Second Quarter Profit (BW)
$205 mill buys a lotta crabs. Just sayin’.

Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Said to Pass EU’s Stress Tests (Bloomberg)
Bank of Ireland’s 2.9 billion-euro ($3.7 billion) fundraising last month gave the lender enough capital to meet the threshold set by EU regulators, said the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Allied Irish, the second-biggest lender by market value, passed because regulators included in their calculations the 7.4 billion euros the bank plans to raise by the end of the year, said another person who declined to be identified.

New York City Pensions Consider First Hedge-Fund Investments (Bloomberg)
The three funds, with combined assets of $64.5 billion as of March 31, want advice from firms on formulating strategy, identifying new investments and monitoring portfolios, according to a request for proposals from the comptroller’s office.

Greenwich Pillage (NYP)
In a move that dramatically turns up the heat on Walter Noel, the former socialite and jet-setter, Irving Picard claims Noel and other brass at Madoff feeder fund Fairfield Greenwich “purposefully turned a blind eye” to Madoff’s shenanigans and used ill-gotten gains from the $7 billion in client funds they invested with the fraudster to fuel a lavish lifestyle. Picard says Noel and his main business partner Tucker, a former SEC attorney, each wrongfully earned $114 million in partnership distributions from 2002-08, in addition to salaries and bonuses. Tucker, Picard charges, was “acutely aware of many facts and red flags” but chose instead his “prized racehorses, private jets, and luxurious mansions.” Continue reading »