By the lunch break, 13 potential jurors had been dismissed from the jury pool. At least one potential juror was dismissed after the judge raised questions about ownership of one of the companies at issue in the trial. It wasn’t clear what company the potential juror owned. Another potential juror was dismissed shortly after mentioning he had a 30-year friendship with Rev. Al Sharpton and was a former journalist, in response to a question about whether he or someone else had been a member of a group that lobbies or take positions on law-enforcement issues. One potential juror said she was a friend of David Tepper, the head of Appaloosa Management LP. She remains in the jury pool. [WSJ]
Archive for March 2011
Rajaratnam Jury Selection Says Friends Of David Tepper: Good, Friends Of Al Sharpton: Not So Good
By Bess LevinThe following post is by Dealbreaker reader and commenter Infinite Guest.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And if the only tool you have is an election, then every place looks like a democracy. For the past decade it has been fashionable in the United States and among the liberal democracies to tout the phrase “democracy and the rule of law” as though the two were soft synonyms for each other. They aren’t, of course. The rule of law imposes constraints on government, institutions and the people, without which democracy would be a deadly dangerous thing to have around. Continue reading »
Just because UBS is trying to get away from the whole ‘tax evasion’ specialists branding doesn’t mean this betrayal hurts any less. Continue reading »
Raj Rajaratnam Shows Up To Court With Enough Lawyers To Either Successfully Argue Innocence Or Win Over Jury With Modern Day Production Of Snow White
By Bess Levin
This could set a precedent for all future accused insider traders. Continue reading »
Loch Capital for the hat-trick. Continue reading »
Poll: Has Jamie Dimon Emerged From The Crisis As A Winner Because He’s Easy On The Eyes?
By Bess Levin
Serious question- has James Dimon, he of JPMorgan, come out looking better than some other Wall Street CEO’s because of a nice face, “fluffy white, unbankerish hair” and an ass you could bounce a quarter off of? Alternatively, has Dick Fuld become something of a villain not because of that business with Lehman Brothers’ balance sheet, per se, but because he’s got a mug that will haunt your dreams? Both are theories currently being floated. Continue reading »
The parking lot of Bridgewater Associates yesterday, following some melting of snow and a li’l rain. [WN] Continue reading »
According to Carl, he’s still shaken by the losses of 2008- those of investors, not his own- and wants to wash his hands of this whole thing. Letter via Dealbook:
Heralding a “new era” at the nation’s largest bank, Mr. Moynihan kicked off the bank’s first investor day conference since 2007 promising the bank has no intention of making any more acquisitions and will instead look to cut costs and focus on its customers. “I can’t stress enough to you how much of a peace dividend we’ll get without mergers,” Mr. Moynihan said, adding the bank doesn’t need anything. “That peace dividend is effectively a permanent dividend.” [WSJ]
Galleon Judge Speaks Softly, Carries A Big Rep (WSJ)
“He has good control over the courtroom—not because he’s loud or aggressive, but because he has this quiet quality,” says Gerald Shargel, a friend and defense lawyer who has represented mob figures. “Holwell won’t be bullied.” The 64-year-old Judge Holwell—a former White & Case LLP litigator with a thick white mustache—won’t let Mr. Rajaratnam’s high profile, or the attention his case has drawn, influence a trial that is expected to last at least six weeks, according to a dozen lawyers who have tried cases before him or know him socially.
Berkowitz Victory Becomes Challenge as St. Joe ’Under Attack’ (Bloomberg)
“The company’s basically under attack,” said Berkowitz, who was named chairman of the Watersound, Florida-based company on March 4 and whose Fairholme Capital Management LLC is its largest shareholder. “There are plenty of people out there who’d like to see the company go down the tubes. That’s sort of by definition anybody who’s shorting the stock.”
Morgan Stanley Moves To Say Bye To Smith Barney (WSJ)
Morgan Stanley is considering dropping the 73-year-old Smith Barney name from its roughly 18,000-member brokerage force, according to people familiar with the situation.
Barclays Reveals Executive Pay Deals (FT)
Some 231 senior employees – known as “code staff” – took home £554 million between them, an average of about £2.4 million per executive.
S&P Warns On Asian Inflation (WSJ)
“China is getting embroiled in such a tussle, and the implications for the rest of Asia have been a major worry for some time,” it said, noting that high U.S. unemployment and the approaching mid-term congressional elections sharpen this risk. Any action seriously affecting trade between the world’s two largest economies could have important implications elsewhere, although China’s recent steps to allow the yuan to gradually appreciate could reduce that possibility, it added.
Woman Caught With $170,000 In Underwear At JFK (NYDN)
A Queens woman nabbed at Kennedy Airport with nearly $170,000 hidden in her underwear was trying to avoid paying taxes on the sale of property in Sudan, the feds said Monday. Claire Abdeldaim’s real estate booty consisted of 1,699 $100 bills, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer George Wolynski testified Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court. “We got a big one,” Wolynski told his supervisor after seizing the cash last June. Abdeldaim, 64, had sewn the bills into her bloomers to get the money out of Sudan, where she had sold a tract of land owned by her late husband. Continue reading »
$$$ JPMorgan Sets Sights In Nigeria [Reuters]
$$$ Charlie Sheen Could Teach Wall Street A Lesson [Bloomberg]
$$$ During the trial, Seiden explained that he turned to securities fraud when his career as a licensed stockbroker faltered amid addiction problems. His drug use included “marijuana, cocaine, Percocet, Loricet, OxyContin, Roxicodone, acid, mushrooms, ecstasy, Soma, Xanax, ” Seiden told the jury. [NYP] Continue reading »
