Archive for August 2010

  • 16 Aug 2010 at 4:30 PM

Nouriel Roubini Warns Against Next Generation Of Gordon Gekkos, Promotes Wall Street Sequel

By Bess Levin

Sayeth the Doctor:

In the 1987 film Wall Street, the character Gordon Gekko famously declared, “Greed is good.” His creed became the ethos of a decade of corporate and financial-sector excesses that ended in the late 1980’s collapse of the junk-bond market and the Savings & Loan crisis. Gekko himself was packed off to prison. A generation later, the sequel to Wall Street – to be released next month [which yours truly has a cameo in, thank you very much]– sees Gekko released from jail and returned to the financial world. His reappearance comes just as the credit bubble fueled by the sub-prime mortgage boom is about to burst [my trailer had a sign that said 'if this economist is a rockin' don't come a knockin'], triggering the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression [The extras. My god, the extras. I thought I had it good with my NYU groupies]. The “Greed is good” mentality is a regular feature of financial crises [These Hollywood chicks are, like, crazy horny]. But were the traders and bankers of the sub-prime saga more greedy, arrogant, and immoral than the Gekkos of the 1980’s? [Oliver told me stories but nothing really prepares you.] Not really, because greed and amorality in financial markets have been common throughout the ages. [Seriously, though, everybody buy a ticket so they make a third one of these. I need this.]

Continue reading »

  • 16 Aug 2010 at 4:20 PM

Freeloading Husbands More Likely To Cheat On Wives Than Men Who Make Money

By Bess Levin

But not too much! As the people who felt it necessary to perform this study report, “Freeloading men aren’t the only troublemakers. Munsch’s work, which was presented at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting on Monday, also found that men were more likely to cheat when they made a lot more than their partners.” [NPR via Daily Intel]

  • 16 Aug 2010 at 3:45 PM

This Is A (Kenny Powers-Inspired?) Music Video Nominating Elizabeth Warren As “Sheriff” Of The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection

By Bess Levin


[WW via Heidi Moore]

No comment on the lyrics but tell me the dancing moves aren’t extremely reminiscent and most likely inspired by these? Continue reading »

  • 16 Aug 2010 at 1:33 PM

Tim Geithner Getting Crap For Trying To Save A Little Cash, Maybe Helping A Friend Get A Job

By Bess Levin

Around these parts, we’ve talked about Tim Geithner’s housing troubles at length. The Treasury Secretary and his wife Carole bought a Larchmont Tudor in 2004 for $1.602 million. Then buddy boy got a gig in DC and they tried to sell it March for $1.635 million. When that didn’t take, the price was dropped to $1.575 million. No dice. T. Geith was then reduced to renting the place out for $7,500/month, which many helpfully pointed out probably didn’t even cover the li’l fella’s mortgage payments. For perhaps not having a good read on the housing market and for also thinking anyone would pay over a mill for a ghastly-looking bathroom in desperate need of a re-tile, Geithner took a lot of shit. But hey! At least he had the good sense to not then take out, say, a mortgage on a second home he couldn’t afford before selling his Westchester palace, right, instead choosing to bunk rent free with a college buddy living in the District, which some people are now giving TG shit for, because his ex-roomie just took a gig at JPMorgan. Continue reading »

  • 16 Aug 2010 at 11:30 AM

Broker Sued For Taking Assistant For A Spin On The Trading Floor, Manhandling Her Breasts With His Foot

By Bess Levin

It’s no secret that there’s something about trading that just makes you want to dance your ass off. You’re sitting there, buying, selling, harassing a Bloomberg help desk associate when all of a sudden, you get that urge, that stirring, down in your plums. You try to suppress it but you can’t. It’s an itch you need to scratch. A little foot tapping and finger snapping isn’t enough. The only thing that will satisfy this craving is you, jumping up on your desk and shaking it.

At some of the tri-state area’s more cutting-edge firms, this biological need has not only been acknowledged but accepted and incorporated into the trading day. In fact, at one of the industry’s most successful hedge funds, the trading floor is equipped with disco balls that descend from the ceiling when they sense a certain level of hip gyrations, while the rest of the lights dim and house music starts blasting, like bham bham bhamb and boom boom boom. It’s also not unusual to see a bunch of traders shimmying down the floor like gay chorus line circa 3PM and while I shouldn’t tell you this, has long thought to be the secret to this firm’s success.

Having said all that, if dancing is not an institutionalized thing at your place of business, it can catch some employees off guard and not in a good way. Animal Marcus Bolton knows what we’re talking about.

A British chief executive and his company are being sued for $20million (£12.8m) after a tango dance on the trading floor allegedly led to the sexual assault of a 27-year-old assistant. Marcus Bolton, 45, the head of Tullett Prebon Americas Corp, the leading New York brokers, is accused of manhandling Jessica Franqui, leaving her ‘violated’ and ‘humiliated’. The clerk claims she was grabbed by an ‘intoxicated’ Mr Bolton without her permission, who began spinning her around and dipped her so his face was close to his.

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Stephen Schwarzman Having Difficulty Forming An Opinion On Current Administration

By Bess Levin

President Obama and the business community have been at odds for months. But in July the chairman and cofounder of the Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms, amped up the rhetoric. Stephen Schwarzman—the leading John McCain supporter in a firm that, in 2008, gave more money to Obama—was addressing board members of a nonprofit organization when he let loose. “It’s a war,” Schwarzman said of the struggle with the administration over increasing taxes on private-equity firms. “It’s like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.” [Newsweek]

Let’s Talk About: CFA (Level 3) Results

By Bess Levin

Forty-six percent of you are likely feeling prettay prettay prettay good this morning, possibly on account of celebratory morning drinks. The rest of you are probably in not as great a place, on account of having just thrown away the last 4-6 months of your lives. Continue reading »

  • 16 Aug 2010 at 8:15 AM

Opening Bell: 08.16.10

By Dealbreaker

BofA May Pare Its BlackRock Stake (WSJ)
The bank has concluded that its 34% share of BlackRock Inc. isn’t a core asset and is weighing a possible reduction of its holdings in the asset manager, said people familiar with the situation. No talks have been held about when or how this might happen, and Bank of America still could decide to keep the 64.7 million common and preferred shares of BlackRock that it owns. But BlackRock executives expect the nation’s largest bank by assets to sell down its stake, said people close to the company.

Goldman Undercuts Rivals in GM IPO as It Loses Top Role (Bloomberg)
Wall Street banks led by JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley stand to make a combined $120 million on General Motors Co.’s initial public offering. If it weren’t for Goldman Sachs, they could have made four times as much. In a pitch to the U.S. Treasury in May, Goldman Sachs offered to accept a fee of 0.75 percent, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. That’s a fraction of the 3 percent banks typically charge on the largest IPOs and well below the 2 percent offered by Bank of America and other banks that presented to Treasury, said the people, speaking anonymously because the matter is private.

Goldman CEO, Others Get Millions From Options (Reuters)
Blankfein exercised 90,681 stock options at a strike price of $82.875, and obtained a $6.09 million gross profit by selling the resulting shares on Wednesday at prices between $148.97 to $152.00. In similar options exercises and sales, President Gary Cohn exercised 73,653 options and had a $4.95 million profit, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar exercised 67,326 options and had a $4.52 million profit, and General Counsel Gregory Palm exercised 47,895 options and had a $3.22 million profit.

‘Cruz Missile’ Takes Off With New Fund (WSJ)
Cruz, who has been fund-raising for nine months, has raised $200 million in total for Voras, according to people close to the firm, and has established two separate funds. One of the funds, a global macro strategy, is run by Cruz herself, and the other, a credit opportunities fund, is managed by Ellen Brunsberg, who previously ran Morgan Stanley’s European securitised products group. The firm has set up offices in New York and Hong Kong, and is waiting for approval from the Financial Services Authority for a London office that Brunsberg will run. Voras Capital Management was incorporated in the U.K. in January this year. Voras–the Greek word for “north” –is the name of a mountainous area near the town in Greece where Cruz was born. Cruz has hired a number of former Morgan Stanley staff, including Philip Newcomb, who was co-head of interest rates and currencies. He is chief operating officer at Voras in New York.

HP Board Said to Turn Against Hurd After Surprise Settlement (Bloomberg)
Hurd surprised the board by settling a sexual-harassment claim before directors could learn more about the incident, a final breach of trust that contributed to his ouster as chief executive officer, two people familiar with the decision said.

Maxim Group Is Granting Wishes (NYP)
Financial services firm Maxim Group has money to give away and is scouting for applicants — not for jobs, but for charity. If you have a compelling story, the Lexington Ave. investment firm might fund your dream vacation or a reunion with an estranged relative. “Let’s say someone wants to go to England to meet their long-lost aunt,” said Ed Rose about the kinds of wishes Maxim might fulfill. Rose said interested applicants should e-mail him at erose@maximgrp.com or call him at 212-895-3689.

New Crime Trend Is Truly Below The Belt (WSJ)
A memo circulated to all members of the New York Police Department, and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, warns officers to be aware that “drug dealers are using underwear with secret pockets sold in stores from several different companies to hold drugs and small weapons.” Instead of the standard light pat-downs around suspects’ waistbands, the knowledge that this secret underwear exists is going to cause police to have to undertake more thorough searches of some suspects, said Capt. Vincent Patti. Continue reading »

  • 13 Aug 2010 at 5:15 PM

Write-Offs: 08.13.10

By Bess Levin

$$$ Falcone Close To Deal With Inmarsat [FINalternatives]

$$$ The New Ping-Pong Diplomacy [WSJ]

$$$ JetBlue Memo Questions Flight Attendant’s Motive [AP]

$$$ Manhattan Luxury Condos Try FHA Backing in Sales `Game Changer‘ [Bloomberg]

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  • 13 Aug 2010 at 4:37 PM

A Modest Request For A Departing Bro

By Bess Levin

From: [redacted]
Subject: Robert Roderick

In his final day on Arrowstreet Capital’s trading desk, we, his colleagues, are attempting to send the guy off with a bang by having him top the most searched list according to Bloomberg’s MVP function. Much of the East Coast buy/sell side community have joined forces to make this happen. Do it for Bobby.

  • 13 Aug 2010 at 3:15 PM

What’s Happening In This Bull/Bear Scene?

By Bess Levin

Above is a desk statue being hocked to employees of various investment banks, along other crap like deal toys, frames for your certifications, bookends and so on and so forth. While the person who brought it to our attention was of the opinion it was “too dirty” for the office, I think he might be jumping to conclusions on that one. Thing is, we don’t know exactly what message the artist was trying to get across here. Really it could be anything. It could be could be that the bull is going down on the bear,* or who knows, maybe the bull just lost his contact. Maybe this was meant to be the visual representation of the old saying “You can get a good sense of market pessimism by sticking your head up a bear’s ass.” Hard to say, really, so if you’ve got an idea as to what’s going on one way or another, do weigh in.

*And so what if it is? Since when is inter-species love not appropriate for the workplace?