Rajaratnam’s Wiretapped Call With Brother Bolsters Insider Case (Bloomberg)
And in testimony earlier this week, Goel said that Rajaratnam told him in 2003 that Rajaratnam had given BMW cars to two women in Intel’s sales department who leaked information to him. Lynam asked Goel if he thought Rajaratnam was joking. “I don’t think that was a joke, sir,” he responded. Wasn’t Rajaratnam kidding when he told Goel in a wiretapped conversation that he would kiss Goel on the cheek the next time he saw him? Lynam later asked. “I hope he was,” said Goel, to laughter in the courtroom. “If not, I had him figured out all wrong.”
Economy Grows 3.1%, Aided By Surge in Corporate Profits (Reuters)
Gross domestic product growth was revised up to an annualized rate of 3.1 percent, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate, close to its initial estimate of 3.2 percent published two months ago and up from its tally of 2.8 percent made in February.
Barclays Said to Be Investigated by Regulators in Libor Probe (Bloomberg)
U.S. and U.K. regulators are examining if communications between Barclays’s traders and its treasury broke regulations that stop information being shared across the bank.
S&P Warns Big Banks About ‘Excessive’ Dividends (NYT)
The credit rating agency said in a report that it “remains wary of banks aggressively increasing capital returns to shareholders at this juncture of the economic recovery.” S.&.P. indicated it might downgrade credit ratings at banks that made “excessive” payouts to investors.
Goldman Slides to 10th Spot in US M&A Rankings (Reuters)
Goldman advised on $71 billion worth of U.S. deals in the first quarter, far less than JPMorgan’s chart-topping $170 billion, and even lower than much smaller banks such as Rothschild, Evercore Partners and Lazard.
China-Focused Hedge Fund Assets Rise Despite Laggard Performance (DJ)
China funds added $3.5 billion in assets in 2010 to a total $18.68 billion, even as their 6.11% gains were short of the global industry average of 10.55%.
Warren Says Consumer Bureau Foes Should Look at Bank ‘Behemoths’ (Bloomberg)
“If we’re going to go out there and spill ink on accountability, we should also ask about how to hold powerful financial institutions accountable,” Warren said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg News. “The idea that we should be worried that some agency that will speak up for consumers might get a little too loud is looking in the wrong direction.” Continue reading »
$$$ Larry Fink: US Equities Are Cheap, ‘Under-Invested‘ [CNBC]
$$$ JPMorgan: How We Landed The AT&T Deal [Fortune]
$$$ “Our experience worldwide is that first-generation wealth is actually more generous than dynastic wealth,” Bill Gates said today at a press conference in New Delhi. “Both here in India and U.S. and other countries, the biggest givers are those who are receivers of first-generation wealth.” [Bloomberg]
$$$ Hedge Funds Under The Gun To Meet New SEC Deadline [Reuters]
$$$ Warren Buffett: Euro’s Collapse Is Not ‘Unthinkable’ [CNBC] Continue reading »
“It’s original gospel and it’s hot,” says singer/songwriter/i-banker Carla Harris. Continue reading »
Typically in families where their are children of the same sex, one of two dynamics exists. In scenario one, big brother (or sister) is the star, excelling at everything he or she does, making it impossible for the younger sibling to live up to the highly set bar. In scenario two, the younger sibling outpaces the older, making the first born feel like a fuck up for not having the same successes as junior. In the Rajaratnam family, the former was the case. Whereas Raj was married with a bunch of kids, little bro Rengan struggled to meet women, noting that it felt like “they’ve all gone away or someone snatched them up.” Whereas Raj ran a multi-billion dollar hedge fund, Rengan had a dinky little shop with assets under management barely hitting 200 million, seeded by his bro. And whereas Raj (allegedly) had some of the best insider trading skills on the Street, Rengan embarrassed himself trying to beat the press on hot tips. Continue reading »
Think you’re above this edict? Okay, big shot, leave the mess. Larry Fink will personally lean your desk into a bin labeled “[your name]‘s crap” and file his nails while you beg for it back.
From: [redacated at BlackRock]
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 03:12 PM
To: NYC – PMG Bonds
Subject: CNBC ON FLOOR THURSDAY- COMPLETELY CLEAN DESKS BY 4 PM WEDS MARCH 23RD
PLEASE CLEAR ALL SURFACES AND CLEAN YOUR WORK SPACES BY 4 PM ON WEDS SO THAT YOU DO NOT DISTINGUISH YOURSELF BY HAVING TO LOOK FOR YOUR BELONGINGS ON THURSDAY MORNING.
(IT WILL BE EASY TO IDENTIFY THOSE WHO ARE SO EXPOSED.)
IT REALLY ISN’T AN OPTION TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELVES BY HAVING THE MESSY DESK ON LIVE TV; THAT OUTCOME WILL BE ELIMINATED FOR YOU.
Continue reading »
Last January, Ms. Mascherin and her partner, Michel Tamisier, both former managers at the French fund Carmignac, created Precious Time, a fund dedicated to collectible watches. In a world hungry for placements and starving for returns, advisers are finding that “exotic” investment products have a refreshing appeal. “We see desperation around because traditional investments, including alternatives like real estate, private equity or hedge funds, have seen tremendous volatility since 2008,” said Massimo Monti, a principal at Rasini & C., an independent advisory company specializing in alternative and hedge fund investments. Ms. Mascherin said: “We are not leveraging and we are not shorting. Our shareholder is the owner of the physical stock. It is not a virtual investment.” [NYT]
Yesterday during Lloyd Blankfein’s testimony at the Raj Rajaratnam insider trading trial, Blankfein noted that, professionally, he prefers using voicemail to email. This is not a Lloyd quirk but something of an institutionalized “thing” at Goldman, where management has, for years now, been known to fill up employees phones with messages, rather than typing them out. The messages can range from morale boosters (LB left one for the staff last April around the time of the SEC investigation into ABACUS), to administrative and everything in between. For example, there was the time Hank Paulson left a firm-wide message, telling the staff he’d said some stuff he didn’t mean.
Mr. Blankfein’s predecessor as chief executive, Henry M. Paulson Jr., was also a fan of the spoken word. Voice mail was his preferred method of communication and in 2002 he famously used voice mail staffwide to apologize for his “80-20″ comment, when he remarked that 20 percent of the staff add 80 percent of the value. “It was glib and totally insensitive response, which is totally at odds with the way I think about the people here,” he told employees in a voice mail.
If that sounds awkward, it doesn’t really compare to the message he left for Jon Corzine one night not too long after pushing him out, telling him “it’s not you it’s me,” in an attempt to bury the hatchet, footage of which we’ve been able to obtain. Continue reading »
As we reported last week, when the earthquake hit, JPMorgan CEO James Dimon did not think twice about booking a flight to Japan to visit with employees and clients affected by the disaster. He arrived yesterday and, hearteningly, seems to have breathed new life into the area with his mere presence, lifting the spirits of those who were badly in need of a pick-me-up. Dimon offered “a silent prayer” for the victims of the ‘quake and delivered a “short but moving” speech to a sizable crowd, who was extremely happy to see him. “As part of the staff based in Japan, I was really encouraged by his visit,” a person at the bank told the Journal. As for what happened next, we don’t want to scare anyone but all Park Ave-based employees should be taking careful notes. Continue reading »
Apparently some people are of the mind that Cerberus Capital Management is racist. Continue reading »
As you might have heard, yesterday was the most majestic day of the Raj Rajaratnam insider trading trial, as it starred witness Lloyd Blankfein. After several hours of questioning (and one patently absurd effort by the court illustrator), the judge called for a quick break. During that time, Lloyd apparently “walked up to defense lawyer John Dowd,” with whom he “exchanged some words and a laugh,” and then “rapidly extended his arm and quickly shook Rajaratnam’s hand.” A very brief dialogue ensued, Raj “smiled” and Blankfein walked away. What did LB say to elicit the grin of the former Goldman client? Continue reading »
