“During my tenure I abused the position of trust I enjoyed,” said Charles Antonucci, who admitted to accepting ‘what amounted to bribes from clients and faking a $6.5 million investment into the bank,’ and used the money to fund, among other things, trips to the Superbowl. “Sometimes I did it to enrich myself, other times in a misguided attempt to keep the bank healthy.” [WSJ]
Archive for October 2010
CEO Of Major Bank Thinks Banks Have A Lot To Look Forward To, Profit-Wise, But That’s Just, You Know, His Own Two Cents On The Subject
By Bess LevinBank of America’s profits have “a lot of room to grow,” the company’s chief executive said Friday. Financial companies in general will have more capital, less debt relative to their assets, and more stable earnings thanks to financial reform, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said. “I wouldn’t root against financial sector profits,” Moynihan said. [CNBC]
Over the last several years, people have been obsessed with determining who truly caused the financial crisis. Was it Alan Greenspan? Was it the banks? Was it the mortgage lenders? Evil short sellers? People who bought homes they couldn’t actually afford? Jimmy Cayne drug dealer? It’s up for debate and no one has yet to be unanimously, definitively blamed. Today in London, Nassim Taleb revealed the true villain, who’s been hiding in plain sight. Continue reading »
Oh look, the Dow hit 11k. As this is marginally exciting news for at least one, perhaps two people, we’re going to play Call the Close. Closest without going over wins, and as a bonus question, please also guess how much Dealbreaker friend Gianna Beamers took in in tips last night. Nail both and you’ll score yourself a choice of one “idea dinner” with Lenny Dykstra or a series of lunches with Charlie Gasparino, who will read aloud to you from his new book.
Does watching a couple twenty-somethings shave get you pumped about working in finance? Morgan Stanley may be the place for you. Continue reading »
Greenspan Says US Creating ‘Scary’ Deficit By Borrowing (Bloomberg)
“We’re involved in a dangerous game,” Greenspan said yesterday at a foreign-exchange conference. “We’re increasing the debt held by the public at a pace that is closing” the gap between our debt and “any measure of borrowing capacity,” Greenspan said. “That cushion is growing very narrow.”
Larry Wilcox, “CHiPs” Actor, Charged with Securities Fraud (CBS)
The scheme involving Wilcox was one of several kickback operations run by more than a dozen small-company stock promoters, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. The SEC charged Wilcox and the others in lawsuits filed in Miami federal court. The SEC says the promoters were caught in an FBI undercover sting operation offering to pay kickbacks to pension-fund managers or stockbrokers for using their clients’ funds to buy penny stocks.
Cleveland Browns Owner Claims Hedge Fund Is Hiding His Money (Forbes)
Randy Lerner, the owner of the Cleveland Browns and the Aston Villa Football Club, is embroiled in a lawsuit over his October attempt to redeem $40 million from a hedge fund run by two sisters and a recent Republican Congressional candidate. In legal papers, Lerner claims the funds have been “hidden.”
Money Manager Who Crashed Plane Gets 10 Years (AP)
Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation sentenced Marcus Schrenker, who conned friends into investing in a fund that didn’t exist and tried to fake his death by parachuting out of a plane and crashing it when the scheme started to unravel, to 10 years in prison, ignoring Schrenker’s claims that a lighter sentence would give him enough time to make things right. Schrenker, 39, told Nation he wanted to repay investors and rebuild his relationship with the three children he’s seen only once since his arrest. He said he has bipolar disorder and had got caught in a downward spiral of stress after becoming addicted to painkillers.
Soros Says Banking System Remains “Too Connected” (Reuters)
“We didn’t grasp the real problems” in the financial regulation bill, Soros said at a Financial Times conference. Soros argued that the banking system is too compartmentalized and added he doesn’t see what has been done to solve that issue. “One thing you have to recognize is that markets are inherently unstable, and maintaining stability has to be the objective of financial authorities,” Soros said. “I think things have really gotten out of control and they have not been brought under control by what we’ve done so far.”
Finance Leaders To Try And End Currency Wars (Reuters)
“What we all want is a rebalancing of the global economy and this rebalancing cannot happen without … a change in the related value of currencies,” IMF Managing Director Dominque Strauss-Kahn said.
Obama May Try to Woo Business as P&G, Blackstone Vent (Bloomberg)
“I have every expectation as we go through the next several months that we are going to see a greater involvement with business than we have seen in some time,” said Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader and an Obama ally.
More Taxes In Finance, European Commission Says (NYT)
According to the commission, the financial sector is not taxed enough, and should be expected to take some responsibility for the crisis, and its institutions benefited greatly from subsequent government interventions.
Economy Sheds 95,000 Jobs; Rate at 9.6% as Easing Looms (Reuters)
Nonfarm payrolls dropped 95,000, the Labor Department said on this morning. Private employment increased 64,000 after rising 93,000 in August. A total of 77,000 temporary jobs for the decennial census were terminated last month. Continue reading »
$$$ “Nobody else is looking at it,” Byron Wein said of why he likes Africa as an investment idea. “You know, you make money by going where people are afraid to go. There’s not going to be an economic disaster. But you should own some gold.” [DI]
$$$ Buffett Avoids Buyout-Firm Purchases, Says `They Don’t Know the Business‘ [Bloomberg]
$$$ Layoffs slow but hiring stays stagnant [WSJ]
$$$ Meredith Whitney Bearish On Small Banks [FINS]
Looking Ahead, We’re Also Going To Need A Sidekick And A Love Interest For The Alter-Ego
By Bess LevinA talented DB reader submitted the following image in response to our earlier Cliff Asness post, wherein we learned the he has not only a lifelong love of but “identifies with” many a super hero, and suggested there might be a hope inside him that someone, one day, will create a character modeled after the AQR founder. We think the sketch bears a haunting resemblance to the man himself and view it as a solid first attempt at Quant Man (working title). Continue reading »
The Professor has had it up to here with the governor who comes bearing the same first name as his last and sat down at his blog to say as much this morning. He’s pretty exasperated (note the curt, sarcastic “awesome”) but was still able to sassily get his Jersey on in a way that you know made him laugh this AM. Continue reading »
Attorney Defending Mark and Andy Madoff Offers Interesting Theory For Why Suit Against Them Should Be Thrown Out
By Bess LevinHey remember Mark and Andy Madoff, the spawns of Bernie whose lives were shook to the core when their father and former boss admitted to not exactly playing by the “rules” when it came to investing? Many assumed they had to have been in on the crime, given that they were the number two and three employees at the firm (though our personal conclusion was that given the photographic evidence that M&A spent 90% of their time fishing and posing, and the the himbo-esque looks on their faces) and for a while there it seemed like they were probably going to go downtown themselves. On the contrary, however, they’ve managed to keep themselves out of prison. They are currently facing a $200 million lawsuit but that’ll be probably be thrown out given the flawless logic offered by their attorney for why the boys are innocent. Continue reading »
