From the mailbag. Continue reading »
Archive for August 2010
Yesterday afternoon, Lakewood real estate developer Eliyahu Weinstein was charged with “masterminding” a $200 million scam to defraud investors, starting in September 2005. Along with Vladimir Siforov, Weinstein target Orthodox Jews in his community, “exploiting social and business customs.” And while theirs is not a business model you probably want to aspire to, there is at least one helpful thing to take away from the charges. Specifically, the ones cited in court documents vis-à-vis how Weinstein dealt with investors who wanted their money back. Even if you’re not running a scam, you probably still have to deal with the headache of clients getting all pissy when you have a down month or two, and when that happens, perhaps consider the following approach. Continue reading »
Gather round Team CT Commute and those who care about their plight. We’ve got good news and bad news to discuss. First, the good. A few years back, your right to the one thing that makes the lives of people slogging back to CT each day after what was probably a miserable twelve hours on the job worth living was threatened. Obviously I’m talking about the right to get smashed on the ride home. They wanted to take that way from you, and they tried, hard. Unfortunately they didn’t anticipate just how important Happy Hour on Wheels is to your existence, or that the proposed ban would awaken a fire no one saw coming. You fought back and you won. And all was good in the world, for a while. Then, a few months ago, it happened again. Citing the “recession,” officials said that new trains might not include a place to booze it up, claiming more seats are a bigger priority than the bar car. It was like they were trying to suck out our wills to live. Things have been tense to say the least since then, operating in a state of uncertainty, not knowing if today would be the last day you’d get to mix it up with your fellow financial services hacks while chugging a Tall Boy. This morning though, news came over the wire that should offer some relief:
It looks like the party will keep on rolling on the Metro-North Railroad’s Connecticut trains, as officials are moving forward with plans to replace out-of-date bar cars with new ones.
Having said that, the bad news is that whoever is in charge of designing these things apparently has never ridden a bar car, or he/she would understand there are some serious design flaws to the plans. Currently, the set up of the old cars facilitates situations like this: Continue reading »
Just an FYI, Gorman. Continue reading »
“I had two things going against me. I was a reporter with a camera and I was a woman,” she says of her early days reporting live from the bedlam of the testosterone-fueled boys’ club on the exchange floor. “One day, I was standing by the General Electric post and there were maybe 25 guys within earshot when one of them who was about three times my age said, ‘Run along, little girl, and don’t come here again.’ I had knots in my stomach. I looked at him and said, ‘Don’t talk to me that way’—and I ran along! But I came back! And I kept coming back. And 20 years later, I’m still there.” [VF]
As you’ve probably experienced first-hand, Bloomberg runs a pretty full service help desk. In need of guidance? Bored? Horny? Log right on– that’s what they’re there for. Associates have been known to make restaurant recommendations, play rousing games of Hang Man, do entire large scale projects if one is able to thoroughly exasperate them by pretending to be a hopeless imbecile long enough (…try it), or just provide a sounding board for you to talk shit about your ex-boyfriend. So the news that a mere query re: strip clubs is apparently too much for their Victorian sensibilities is distressing to say the least. Continue reading »
Credit Suisse, Barclays May Be Start Of Bank Hiring Freeze (Bloomberg)
“Now that trading revenues are dropping there’s a hiring freeze on,” said John Purcell, managing director at executive search firm Purcell & Co. in London. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see people shedding traders again.”
Papandreou’s Summer Pay Cuts Keep Cash-Strapped Greeks at Home (Bloomberg)
Eleni Alexiou says she can’t afford to take her two children to a Greek island on vacation this year after the government axed her summer bonus and reduced her pay. “We’re not going anywhere, just any place that friends and family can put us up,” said Alexiou, 38, a state employee at a citizens’ advice bureau in Athens. “The crisis is the reason. The summer bonus has been cut. Everything’s gone up in price.”
Wall Street Bonuses To Rise This Year: Report (Reuters)
Incentives at financial firms should rise from 2009 levels but remain below the record payouts of 2007, according to compensation consultant Johnson Associates. Average compensation at investment and commercial banks is set to rise for the second straight year, while payouts at asset managers should rebound from a 2009 trough, the report said. While some corners of Wall Street are likely to see bonuses rise by up to 15 percent this year, others could see a 15 percent drop, the report said. Businesses that will likely see the biggest increases include prime brokerage; equities-based asset management; and high net worth units. Areas set for the steepest bonus drops are fixed-income units at both investment and commercial banks and equities.
New GM Chief Known As Pragmatic Leader (NYT)
FYI: “The world is divided into defenders and attackers, and G.M. has been a defender,” Mr. Anderson said. “Akerson has run attackers. He is going to essentially turn General Motors into a next-generation attacker.”
Maxine Waters to Face Reporters Friday to Address Ethics Charges (ABC)
Waters will be joined by her chief of staff Mikael Moore, who is also her grandson. Waters is expected to read a prepared statement in front of cameras, followed by a presentation conducted by Moore refuting the statement of alleged violations issued by the Ethics Committee earlier this month. After the presentation concludes, television cameras will be asked to leave for an on-the-record, but off-camera Q & A session with Waters and Moore.
Economists Want Policy Makers To Back Off (WSJ)
53 surveyed economists offered a bleak picture of tepid growth and high unemployment. On average, they still don’t see the unemployment rate dropping below 9% through at least June 2011. They expect the economy to add just 136,000 jobs a month over the next 12 months, down from a forecast of 157,000 in the July survey. At that rate, job creation will barely keep up with new entrants to the labor force. Despite the continued challenging conditions, 30 out of 48 economists who answered the question said the economy didn’t need any more fiscal or monetary stimulus. Six economists said more fiscal stimulus was necessary, while five want more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and seven said that the economy could use both. The survey was conducted before the central bank’s announcement Tuesday that it would reinvest proceeds from its mortgage-backed securities and agency debt portfolio into Treasurys, essentially boosting monetary stimulus. “The economy needs government to get out of the way,” said Stephen Stanley of Pierpont Securities.
Steven Slater Ready To Come Home To JetBlue (NYP)
“It’s a wonderful airline, he loves working for them and wishes to continue to work for them,” Slater’s attorney, Howard Turman, said outside his client’s apartment in Belle Harbor, Queens. “He did his job effectively, efficiently and appropriately.” Continue reading »
$$$ Harbinger spokesman: “Phil Falcone is a strategic visionary with a record of success through all business cycles.” [Reuters]
$$$ Recession, Hamptons Style [DI]
$$$ Importer of ‘Smurfs’ takes plea in wacky $11.5 million Blackstone Group extortion case [NYP]
$$$ Rattner Discusses Management Changes At GM (via Martha’s Vineyard) [Bloomberg] Continue reading »
That’s just something I thought you needed to know. Apparently that’s her on the back of the bike. The “mystery woman” also has a house in Sag Harbor, if anyone looking to score tickets to one of his next shows needs clues to ID her. [NYDN]
Last night was Bill Ackman and Whitney Tilson’s big poker tournament to benefit their charity, REACH, which gives inner-city high school students academic support and scholarships for passing AP exams. Some of the kids were there to tell their stories, which was adorable, and the event raised money for a great cause, which is nice. Humanity and whatnot. But enough about that. Who won big (prizes — and would’ve taken home cash were the evening not about the children)? Continue reading »
As previously mentioned, Maxine Waters has been accused of some questionably ethical dealings. The Congresswoman from California has denied that she’s violated any house rules and as a result, will take part in a public hearing rather than admitting to any wrongdoing. Naturally you can expect any hearing involving Waters to be an extremely entertaining event but today the Boston Herald takes one for the team, raising a few points that ensure there will be a minimum of, ballparking it, 5 delightful awkward exchanges, vis-a-vis a pal of hers named Kevin who allegedly has a coke, sodomy and Porsche problem. Continue reading »
