“If he decides to get out of banking, I think he would be really good in politics,” Bubba told Reuters (in perhaps the first ever profile to be somewhat critical of the JPMorgan CEO). Continue reading »
Archive for February 2011
US Added Few Jobs Amid Bad Weather (WSJ)
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 36,000 last month, far below Wall Street expectations; economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast payrolls would rise by 136,000. Manufacturers reported employment gains but builders, transportation and warehousing companies reported declines, likely due to bad winter weather.
Goldman Sachs Turns Bullish on Europe Banks as Debt Risk Eases (Bloomberg)
“For financials the narrowing of sovereign spreads in peripheral eurozone, which our economists expect to continue, is a clear positive,” London-based Oppenheimer wrote in the report dated Feb. 3. “Banks are one of the least expensive sectors in the market and the trade-off between their growth prospects and earnings in the next few years looks especially attractive.”
Shumway to Return Client Cash in $8 Billion Fund by End of March (Bloomberg)
Chris Shumway, who announced he would step down as chief investment officer of his $8 billion Shumway Capital Partners LLC in November, said he’ll return client capital by March 31, according to a letter sent to investors. Shumway, 45, who started the Greenwich, Connecticut, firm with $70 million in 2002 and has produced average annual returns of 17 percent before fees, will continue to manage money for himself and his employees.
Jeff Skilling’s Son Found Dead At 20 (NYP)
The 20-year-old son of imprisoned ex-Enron president Jeff Skilling was found dead in his Southern California apartment. Police found the body Tuesday after being told by friends of John Taylor Skilling, a student at Chapman University in Orange, that he had failed to show up for a dinner date and wasn’t answering calls. Bottles of medication were found near Skilling, who reportedly had been distraught over a recent breakup with his girlfriend, police said.
Big Fine Over Bug In ‘Quant’ Program (WSJ)
A unit of French insurer AXA SA agreed to pay $242 million to settle fraud accusations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it hid from clients for nearly a year a serious software glitch in a quantitative investment model. Continue reading »
$$$ Madoff Trustee’s Suit Says J.P. Morgan at ‘Very Center‘ of Fraud [WSJ]
$$$ Bernanke warns of catastrophe if debt limit not raised [Reuters]
$$$ The Reckoning Of Centaurus Billionaire John Arnold [AR]
$$$ Blackstone Expands Headcount and Pay [FINS]
$$$ Businessman ‘who followed PR girl from London to Cape Town and firebombed her parents’ home‘ appears in court [DM]
$$$ Oysters Vanishing on Overharvesting, Disease, Researchers Say [Bloomberg] Continue reading »
Never Call James Gorman ‘Jim,’ Or The Real Reason Morgan Stanley’s In The Toilet, According To Charlie Gasparino
By Bess Levin
For those of you who were unaware, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman has one hard and fast rule, which is simply this: he will cut a bitch who refers to or calls him anything other than James. As in no Jim, no Jimbo, no Big J, no Jimmy, no Uncle Jim, no Jimmy Crack Corn, no Jimmy Cakes, no J’may and no JP Gorman Chase. It’s not just a pet peeve of his like, oh, ‘I hate it when people call him Jim, really ticks me off,’ it’s a ‘I will beat the ass of anyone– anyone– who calls me anything but James. Not kidding- I’ll scratch their fucking eyes out.’ This is well-known inside Morgan Stanley and as Ji–I mean James is so serious about it, his handlers go to great lengths to make sure anyone who interfaces with him from the outside is well-aware of what he wants to be called. One person who recently became acquainted with the rule? Charlie Gasparino, with whom it did not sit well.
I’ve been covering Wall Street now for two decades and never before have I been corrected by a CEOs’ handlers about a first name as much as I have when it comes to Gorman, who took the top job at Morgan about a year ago, and is now struggling to recreate that bank in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which it barely survived.
“Of course, Gorman should go by whatever name makes him feel comfortable,” Chaz says but here’s the thing– it makes Chaz highly uncomfortable, this not being allowed to call James Jim thing, not that there’s anything wrong with that. What’s more, this rule of Gorman’s is isn’t just about a name. Rather, Charlie actually posits, it’s indicative of what’s going to doom Morgan Stanley, and why CG fears James at the helm can only mean trouble. Continue reading »
Meaning your colleagues’ coke use is down 29% (only about .29% are blowing rails at their desk), while their heroin and prescription opiate use is up 20% and 18% respectively since 2008? Have you walked in on them freebasing a little in the men’s room before the open? Has anyone ever asked if they could borrow your belt so they might wrap it around their arm for “just a quick sec”? Do share! [Fortune]
Apparently all those charged worked for ‘expert network’ firm Primary Global Research, which is so far lapping every firm on most employees nailed for this sort of thing. The SEC described their consulting work as simply a front for their real gigs “moon-lighting as tippers.”
Have you been dying to work under Meredith Whitney but hadn’t heard of any openings at the firm? Now’s your chance! As you may have heard, Whitney is starting her own ratings agency and has applied to become a Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization (NRSRO. Fortune‘s Katie Benner has some of the details, including a presentation of the biz submitted to the SEC. Apparently there are many opportunities for candidates– MW expects that she’ll hire 200 people in the first year and grow to 650 by year three. On dollars and cents, Whitney says she’ll pay analysts $225,000 a year (to top Moody’s $212,200). Inquire today. Continue reading »
The Fed is wide open, okay? Now, if you wanna talk about these “audits” of monetary policy some people in Congress are calling for? That would have “a very bad outcome.” [Bernanke At The National Press Club;WSJ]
If you’ve also got some downtime circa 3PM today, you can get them answered during Mike’s “live-chat,” where he’ll be talking about, among other things, “why Wall Street hasn’t learned.” You can get in on the conversation here or here: Continue reading »
On Tuesday we reported that UBS has informed employees despite expecting bonus information this week, they’d have to sit tight a bit longer, with “bonus communication day” being pushed back to February 16 (and payment in March). The bank had said they just wanted to make sure they were properly complying with regulations (you know how it is). David Faber, however, has heard another theory. Continue reading »
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Merrill Lynch Banker’s Wife Has Contemplated Divorcing Her Husband Over His Exercise Habit
By Bess Levin
Take a good look at the picture up top. Mom. Kids. Hanging out on a Saturday, like a family. But where’s dad? At the office? A strip club? None of the above. He’s working out, which is why mom wants to divorce and/or kill him. Continue reading »
