Supposedly, yes. Continue reading »
Archive for December 2010
Exceptions are mostly ‘meh’ at the House of Dimon. Continue reading »
[Sarah Jessica Parker fake trades at ICAP charity day.]
And for the bonus rounds… Continue reading »
According to an updated federal filing on Monday, the Justice Department has taken an interest in the split between investment firm TCW Group and its former CIO, Jeffrey Gundlach. While DoubleLine has confirmed that “some employees and former employees have been interviewed by the office of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan” and TCW has confirmed it received a subpoena and was informed “it is the victim in this particular matter,” it’s unclear exactly what aspect of the breakup the government is suspicious about. With so much to choose from it could be a) “the alleged theft of TCW’s information” by Gundlach, who left to start DoubleLine LLC b) whether or not government information related to a PPIP fund TCW dropped out of after Gundlach departed was “compromised” or c) if the items found in Gundlach’s office after he quit/was fired constituted an unfair edge, which they very well might have. To refresh, these items included:
DVDs:
Asian Office Sluts
Weapons of Ass Destruction Continue reading »
The Post reports Ackman and Scoggin Capital manager Craig Effron will do battle with McEnroe and his brother, Patrick, after bidding $100,000 on one hour of tennis at a charity lunch the other day. If the brothers are trying to gather intel on Ackman’s style, the Pershing Square founder’s formidable game was described in a book by Christine Richard, Confidence Game: How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street’s Bluff. Continue reading »
As few probably remember, back in February we pointed to an account of an anonymous group of London bankers spending £44,000 in one evening as indication that Team RBS may not have fared so badly in the bonus department (at the time they weren’t ID’d as the Queen’s bitches but we’ve got a sixth sense for these things). In addition to celebrating getting paid, the men were said to be in good spirits over the fact that they’d profited off the recent election, having “correctly guessed the results in constituencies over a large spread bet.” Today, as in approximately ten months later, RBS chief Stephen Hester was asked his opinion about the celebration. He chose not to congratulate or take any pride at all in his employees’ mad gambling skills. Continue reading »
According to Reuters, Paulson and Co’s Advantage Plus was up 1.13 percent in November (3.7 percent YTD), Paulson’s Advantage was up 0.46% (1.82% YTD), and his gold fund was up 5.8 percent (33.% YTD).
Remember Russell Abrams? Probably not but to recap: in July of 2009, two former Titan Capital Group assistants, Cristina Culicea and Danille Pecile, sued their boss, Big Russ, who asked Danielle to print out some photos he took of his wife, Sandra, on their honeymoon. In the pictures, Sandra is posing on yacht, with her rack on full display, which apparently made Danielle uncomfortable, as did the smirk Abrams gave his underling as she handed pics over, and when he asked “You liked them, didn’t you?” She, in fact, did not. Continue reading »
Here’s one: despite all we know about hedge fund manager Tom Hudson– that the depths of this grown man’s pirate obsession have translated to one firm named Pirate Capital (where a swashbuckling mascot stood in the lobby and minnow fights took place on the floor for the staff’s entertainment); an interim organizations where receptionists answered the phone “Good morning, Captain Jack”; and a second act firm called Doubloon Capital, whose flagship flagship fund is called Pieces of Eight, which refers to both the nickname of the Spanish dollar, “long tied to the lore of piracy” and the Pieces of Eight Cruise Ship, “fun for the whole family” if you’re in the Ft. Meyers, Florida area– would you still think he’d take the pirate theme one step further? That he would be of the opinion that using it in pitches with potential investors would get them to want to hand over their money not less but way more? No? Then you have underestimated this captain’s fetish. Continue reading »
New Players, Ties Surface In Insider Trading Probe (WSJ)
An independent analyst, John Kinnucan, has said he refused a Federal Bureau of Investigation request in October to record conversations with a client, whom he has declined to identify. That client is Michael Steinberg, a technology-fund manager at SAC division Sigma Capital Management, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Package Would Give Obama Stealthy Stimulus (WSJ)
Apart from extending Bush-era tax cuts, which were set to expire at year’s end, the agreement includes other components pegged at about $200 billion, including a payroll-tax cut for workers and an extension of unemployment benefits, which are likely to boost growth in 2011. The total package could amount to $900 billion worth of spending and tax cuts over two years. Most economic forecasts had already assumed the Obama administration would win support for extending at least the middle-class portion of the Bush tax cuts. Without that, the economy would likely be closer to stalling instead of growing a projected 2.5% to 3.5% next year. “This gave us a chance to do what most people thought wasn’t going to be possible in this environment, which is to provide a real forward lift to the economy relatively quickly,” National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers said.
Roubini: Bond Vigilantes Could Target US (CNBC)
Dr. Doom tweeted: “Obama-GOP tax deal costs $900 billion over two years. US kicking the can further down the road. Are bond vigilantes starting to wake up?”
Bankers Fail to Win Concessions on EU Bonus Rules, Lawyers Say (Bloomberg)
Bankers failed to soften European rules on bonuses that will limit cash payouts and impose minimum share retention periods, lawyers said. The rules, to be approved by European Union regulators at a two-day meeting in London starting tomorrow, are likely to be similar to those proposed earlier this year, which limited bankers to receiving a maximum of a quarter of their bonuses in immediate cash payouts.
BoA Deal In Muni Case May Be Tip Of Iceberg (Bloomberg)
Bank of America Corp.’s agreement to pay $137 million in restitution for taking part in a nationwide bid-rigging conspiracy for municipal-investment contracts may soon be followed by more settlements to repay the scheme’s victims, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division head said. “Stay tuned to this channel — I think you will see a lot more activity in the coming weeks and months,” Christine Varney, the antitrust chief, told reporters yesterday. “We are committed to getting restitution, full restitution, to all the municipalities that were victims of this scheme.”
Boston Businessman Giving Up $625 Million (AP)
A 97-year-old Boston-area apparel entrepreneur agreed Tuesday to forfeit $625 million to be distributed to cheated investors in jailed Bernard Madoff’s historic Ponzi scheme, authorities revealed, as a court trustee said negotiations are under way to recover money as well from the owners of the New York Mets.
Two Large Banks Tied to Gerson, Big Network Firm (WSJ)
Two large Wall Street firms formed alliances with the nation’s largest “expert-network” firm in recent years, giving them a vested interest in the outcome of a big insider-trading investigation. One of those Wall Street firms, Credit Suisse Group, recently received a subpoena seeking information and documents related to its use of experts at Gerson Lehrman Group, a large expert-network firm, by the banks’ researchers and clients, people familiar with the matter says. Credit Suisse declined to comment.
Harry Reid Tries To Add Online Poker In Tax Bill (POLITICO)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to use the tax cut package President Barack Obama brokered with Republicans to legalize online poker, POLITICO has learned — a move that could further complicate the deal Obama announced Monday…“The House Republicans will go crazy if this is in the bill,” said one senior congressional aide, declaring it “a total, 100 percent payback” for the support Reid received from gambling interests. The aide asserted that lobbyists for the Las Vegas-based casino operator Harrah’s, now known as Caesars Entertainment Corp., even helped write the legislation. “You could call him ‘Harrah Reid’ at this point,” the aide quipped. Continue reading »
$$$ Allen Stanford Too Drugged for Trial, Lawyer Says [Bloomberg]
$$$ “I think because the town of Greenwich hosts many financial institutions it is important that we assist the federal government in Fairfield County,” Ridberg said. “For us to serve as a base for them, or a satellite headquarters, I think is very important.” [Stamford Advocate]
$$$ How To Think About The Payroll Tax Holiday Or Deutsche Bank Blows It WIth A Rosy Projection [NetNet] Continue reading »
