“It worked for nine years, but mistakes were made,” Harris Barton, 46, says as he sips a coffee at an Italian restaurant in Palo Alto, California. After the demise of HRJ Capital, the firm he co-founded with Ronnie Lott of which Joe Montana was a partner, he says he was embarrassed every time he walked into a place like this in Silicon Valley. “I felt like everyone was looking at me and saying, ‘There he is, the dumb athlete who couldn’t manage his firm.’” [Bloomberg]
Archive for February 2011
For those of you keeping up at home, we’ve moved on from the ‘US policymakers are praying mantises biting our heads off after sex‘ metaphor (they’re now Satan, according to BG). Continue reading »
Mubarak Moves to Regain Streets as Turmoil Hits Yemen (Bloomberg)
“There is no chance Mubarak can last until September, there is too much water under the bridge,” said Rime Allaf, associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at London’s Chatham House. “The protests won’t stop until he leaves or is ousted. The opposition is clear that they want the fall of the regime, not just Mubarak.”
Another Rajaratnam Named in Ring (WSJ)
The government’s move emerged in recent days in court filings related to charges against former Galleon trader Michael Cardillo, who pleaded guilty last week in a New York federal court to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. In filing charges against Mr. Cardillo, prosecutors cite a co-conspirator, or “CC-1,” whom they allege participated in an insider-trading scheme with Messrs. Cardillo, Rajaratnam and others. “CC-1″ is Raj’s brother, Ragakanthan Rajaratnam, a Clorox Co. vice president, according to people familiar with the matter; he worked at Galleon between 2006 and 2009 as a portfolio manager. Prosecutors haven’t disclosed any charges of wrongdoing against Ragakanthan Rajaratnam, 49, in the insider-trading investigation.
Wall Street Pay Hits Record $135 Billion (WSJ)
In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. The total is up 5.7% from $128 billion in combined compensation and benefits by the same companies in 2009.
Nevsky’s Taylor Scales Back With $800 Million Fund (Bloomberg)
Nevsky Capital LLP’s Martin Taylor, who decided a year ago to step away from the “intensity” of running a $3.3 billion hedge fund, is starting a new version one-fourth the size, said two people with knowledge of the plan. Taylor, 41, and partner Nick Barnes, 36, aim to manage a fund with no more than $800 million when they shut their London- based Nevsky Fund Ltd. at month’s end, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Requests by clients to join the new fund, which will invest mainly in global stocks with a focus on emerging markets, have exceeded the amount Taylor and Barnes want to oversee.
Marc Faber: Bernanke, BLS Lie About Inflation (CNBC)
“I guarantee you … the annual cost of living increases are more than 5 percent, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics is lying,” Faber told CNBC at the Russia Forum in Moscow. Continue reading »
Smoking Allegedly An Impediment To Successful Career On Wall Street, Says Investment Bank CEO
By Bess Levin
O RLY?
How to get ahead without giving head? The following tips are courtesy of Houlihan Lokey Chief Executive Jeffrey Werbalowsky, who takes job applicants on dates. Continue reading »
According to the security guard suing James Simons’ hedge fund, he and his team were “instructed to shred confidential documents and walk about the firm’s floors “so that Renaissance employees would feel more secure.” [NYP via BI]
There were whispers at The Breakers resort on Tuesday morning that the weather battering the northeast would prevent James Dinan’s jet from making it to Palm Beach, Fla., in time for him to deliver the keynote luncheon speech to one of the year’s biggest gatherings of hedge fund managers. But it turns out that Mr. Dinan, the founder of York Capital Management, was thinking ahead. The CEO of the hedge fund that manages nearly $15 billion caught a commercial flight on JetBlue to Palm Beach on Monday, a spokesman for the firm said. [WSJ]
From the mailbag: Continue reading »
Not to worry, though- 2011 will be all good. The Big Guy guarantees it. Continue reading »
On September 7, 2010, the home of a single mother named Judith French was sold in a foreclosure auction, despite the fact that her lawyer, Richard Roman, had obtained a temporary restraining order. She then incurred $5,000 in legal fees, which a judge ordered JPMorgan, French’s mortgage servicer to pay. The bank has yet to do so, leaving Roman with no choice but to roll up his sleeves and take matters into his own hands. Continue reading »
Hedge Fund Industry Predicted To Double In Size–You’d Best Get Working On A Name For Yours NOW
By Bess LevinDon’t worry about the strategy- the name is the hardest part and we don’t have a lot of time. Continue reading »
As you’ve more than likely heard, the New York Mets are in a bit of a tough spot, on account of getting screwed financially by their investments with Bernie Madoff. They announced last week that they need to sell a minority stake and the organization has been working the phones trying to find a buyer, with zero success so far. Included in the list of people who have turned them down? Steve Cohen. The hedge fund manager, who has a box at Citi Field, was reportedly “adamant” that he wouldn’t shell out any amount of money without getting a say in the direction of the franchise. But disappointed Mets management shouldn’t take this as a hard no. Continue reading »
