Hiring Spree Gets Long In The Tooth (WSJ)
Wall Street employees about to return from the summer doldrums have something new to worry about: their jobs. The weak economy, volatile markets, regulatory upheaval and changes in how traders and investment bankers are paid are starting to trigger job cuts that could reverse a recent rebound in overall employment levels at banks and securities firms. While the firings so far add up to a tiny slice of all Wall Street jobs, companies and analysts say deeper cuts are looming unless business revs up soon. “When push comes to shove, Wall Street firms are erring on the side of caution,” says Michael Franzino, head of the global financial-services practice at executive-search firm Korn/Ferry International in New York.

Blackstone Makes Big Move into Chinese Housing (FT)
Blackstone has agreed to back the development by Great Eagle of more than 1,000 new homes in Dalian in Liaoning, a coastal city and port in northern China. The scheme is also set to include more than 400 hotel rooms, and is expected to be built in several stages.

UBS Revs Up Campaign To Woo Back Clients (NYT)
In the new campaign, which is planned for television, the Internet and print across the world, UBS “selected different great achievements by people that became famous by not resting,” the bank said. “The core of UBS’s identity is the focus on long-term relationships. The slogan ‘We will not rest’ expresses the attitude that is required to achieve this.” One image of the campaign shows Mr. Armstrong’s footprint on the moon underneath a text that says “until Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, he would not rest. Nor would his crew.”

Tax Cheats as Sailboat Owners Become $13 Billion Italy Dragnet (Bloomberg)
Inspectors identified beach clubs on the Amalfi Coast listed as money-losing, non-profit organizations that instead serve haute cuisine and cocktails to beachgoers who shell out 50 euros to lounge on a sunbed under an umbrella on the sand. An erotic club in northeast Italy that not only lacked a license, all 32 of its lap dancers “declared, in unison, that they were putting on their first performance,” and hadn’t had the time to get their working papers. “In Capri, we found a person on a luxury yacht who was officially listed as having no assets and in need of welfare,” Magistro said. “First he said he didn’t know who the boat belonged to, then, after checking, we discovered he led a life of luxury and owned several properties, none of them declared.”

They Still Don’t Get It (Slate)
Eliot Spitzer’s got some beef with the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading »

$$$ BofA, Ken Lewis Deny Fraud Charges [WSJ]

$$$ Larry Summers, lookin’ good [Rortybomb]

$$$ Goldman Sachs Is About To Go Nuclear [NYP]

$$$ Paulson Makes New Housing Bet [CNBC]

Wild Trading In Metals Puts Fund Manager In Cross-Hairs (WSJ)
Christopher Pia was the quintessential hedge-fund success story: a hard-charger from a working-class New York City neighborhood whose trading prowess earned him a top job at fund giant Moore Capital Management. He bought a sprawling house in Armonk, N.Y., and tooled around town in an orange Lamborghini. Mr. Pia liked to tell colleagues about his modest upbringing, and that he is a devout Catholic. He complained about hedge-fund managers he considered elitist. On the trading floor, he often twirled a string of rosary beads. Callers to his cellphone heard the Batman theme song.

How To Tell When Your Boss Is Lying (The Economist)
Deceptive bosses, it transpires, tend to make more references to general knowledge (“as you know…”), and refer less to shareholder value (perhaps to minimise the risk of a lawsuit, the authors hypothesise). They also use fewer “non-extreme positive emotion words”. That is, instead of describing something as “good”, they call it “fantastic”. The aim is to “sound more persuasive” while talking horsefeathers. When they are lying, bosses avoid the word “I”, opting instead for the third person. They use fewer “hesitation words”, such as “um” and “er”, suggesting that they may have been coached in their deception. As with Mr Skilling’s “asshole”, more frequent use of swear words indicates deception.

Fund Manager Finds Plenty Of Virtue In Sin Stocks (WaPo)
Vice is the only fund explicitly focusing on sin stocks. Its portfolio of about 30 stocks is divided almost equally among cigarettes, alcohol, gaming and casinos, and defense – industries that typically hold up well in tough times. Although such a small portfolio can lead to volatility, the Vice Fund offsets that risk by emphasizing steady dividend-paying stocks.

Shrinking Quant Funds Struggle To Revive Boom (CNBC)
The combined assets of quantitative funds specializing in United States stocks have plunged to $467 billion, from $1.2 trillion in 2007, a 61 percent decline, according to eVestment Alliance, a research firm. That drop reflects both bad investments and withdrawals by clients.

Toilet-Paper Scandal in India ‘Shames’ Commonwealth Games Host (Bloomberg)
Allegations of corruption and mismanagement are overtaking a tournament that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said would “signal to the world that India is rapidly marching ahead with confidence.” The Economic Times newspaper, citing internal documents, said organizers bought $80 rolls of toilet paper, $61 soap dispensers and $125 first-aid kits. Continue reading »

$$$ STOP SAYING TIM GEITHNER WORKED AT GOLDMAN SACHS! HE NEVER WORKED AT GOLDMAN SACHS, GOD DAMN IT! [NYT]

$$$ A hedge fund pioneer looks at 30 [Fortune]

$$$ A New Defense For Pedophiles, Courtesy Of Jeff Epstein [TDB]

$$$ Strippers Near Ground Zero Weigh In on Islamic Center [WSJ]

$$$ Goldman Sachs Lowers Targets for Bank Earnings [CNBC]