He couldn’t leave without telling the IMF staff how much they meant to him. Continue reading »
Archive for May 2011
If You’re On The Phone With Charlie Gasparino And Hear Heavy Breathing, Grunting On The Other End, Don’t Worry, That’s Normal
By Bess LevinHe’s just in between sets. Continue reading »
UBS Chairman Would Like A Little Credit For All The Investment Bank’s Legitimate Achievements
By Bess LevinAs you may have heard, UBS has been going through a bit of a rough patch. Despite posting an annual profit (of 7.2 billion Swiss francs) for the first time since 2006, things just haven’t been the same since the crisis, and some have suggested it never will be, claiming that the bank “doesn’t have a chance” getting back to pre-crisis levels because “too much damage has been done.” Not helping things is the fact that there’s been very high turnover in the last couple months, which may have something to do with the fact that people would like to get paid. What you may not have heard is that the investment bank? Is kicking ass, according to Chairman Oswald Gruebel who is kind of confused as to why the media has chosen to ignore the division’s “steady progress” but wants employees to know he, for one, has not. Continue reading »
Raj Rajaratnam’s Brother Wants People To Send Letters To The Judge About His Character
By Bess Levin
He requested their help last week and even included some links on the proper formatting to use when drafting missives in an attempt to convince a judge to be lenient in sentencing.
From: Rengan Rajaratnam
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2011Dear Friends,
I want to thank you for your support. Your calls, emails, texts, and inquiries are constant reminders that through this dark, tragic time, Raj and the family are not alone.
As we prepare for the appeals process, we need your help and I am I only sending this letter to a handful of people. The sentencing phase is coming up relatively quickly and the federal guidelines are calling for 15 to 19 years in jail. The guidelines are harder and less flexible than many prison sentences for violent and predatory offenders. This is simply unfair, and we are praying for leniency from the judge while we prepare for the appeal.
In the meantime, on behalf of Raj and the family, I would like to enlist your support one last time. Positive character letters from family, friends, and colleagues that know Raj well can play a pivotal role in helping persuade the Hon. Judge Holwell to be fair, and lenient during Raj’s sentencing.
Once upon a time, there were two Brits named Gabriel Radzikowski and Sara Lilly living in flats in Bath. Lilly was a ‘local director’ at Barclays and Radzikowski…dabbled in various areas. At one point, Radzikowski could no longer afford to pay the rent and knowing his neighbor worked at a bank, figured he’d easily be able to secure a loan, no questions asked. Unfortunately and much to Gabe’s surprise, Lilly did not vouch for him and “use her position” to get him the money. Lacking the necessary funds the landlord required each month, Radzikowski was forced to move out of his flat and was “taken in by a local Polish couple.” And it’s while he was staying with Robert and Maria Jurczak that Gabe realized he had a choice to make. He could either a) take the bank’s rejection of his application for the loan, which probably had less to do with Ms. Lilly than it did his lack of a job in the traditional sense, in stride and move on or b) he could do what anyone else in such a position would do and say “Fuck this shit; you refuse my loan? I kidnap your dog and put him on ice, bitch.”
Radzikowski choose the latter and got to work with a plan that went something like this:
Step 1: Steal dog (a Yorkshire Terrier named Bilbo Baggins) in the middle of the night. Continue reading »
Hedge Fund Manager Elena Ambrosiadou Accused Of Hiring Extremely Skilled But Occasionally Scatterbrained Spy To Perform Recon On Former Employee, Ex-Husband (Update)
By Bess Levin
Remember Elena Ambrosiadou? She’s the IKOS Asset Management chief who founded the London-based firm with her ex-husband, Martin Coward, in 1993, prior to their marriage hitting the skids and Coward quitting, which caused a bunch of investors to leave as well. Sometime after that Ambrosiadou made the executive decision to have the keys to a private jet Gover was flying confiscated, stranding him in France (with his new gal-pal) and firing the research team that worked under him. And according to one of the employees who got the boot, she was just getting started. Continue reading »
Following The (Alleged) Maid Encounter, Dominique Strauss-Kahn Tried His Luck With A Flight Attendant
By Bess Levin
Last week, we mentioned that prior to (allegedly) sexually assaulting a maid just before checking out of his hotel, former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn tried and failed to seduce the Sofitel front desk lady, having invited her to have a drink with him, which she declined. That got us thinking that DSK probably unsuccessfully hit on a whole bunch of people during his time in NYC, prior to the maid incident (including but not limited to waitress at the Times Square Olive Garden whose spurning of his advances he did not take well, shouting “I thought that when I’m here I’m family, bitch!” before leaving in a huff and the people who accost you on the street and ask “Do you like comedy shows?” before shoving a flier in your hand). What we didn’t expect was that he’d continue his attempt to grab the ass of anyone within arm’s reach of his meathooks almost immediately following the alleged rape, but as we’ve learned, this guy is full of surprises. Continue reading »
Some cuts have gone down in the firm’s investment banking unit. Continue reading »
Options Trading in SAC Probe (WSJ, earlier)
Congressional investigators are broadening an early-stage stock-trading probe into SAC Capital Advisors, with plans to examine any suspicious trading by the hedge-fund giant in the options market, another arena where investors wager on the prospects of companies and deals, according to people familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday night that Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is investigating roughly 20 instances over the past decade when the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a Wall Street regulator, suspected SAC could have bought and sold stocks based on inside information.
Fitch cuts Greek rating, warns over restructuring (Reuters)
“An extension of the maturity of existing bonds would be considered by Fitch to be a default event and Greece and its obligations would be rated accordingly,” the rating agency said. If private sector ‘burden sharing’ is coercive, the credibility of EU/IMF policy commitments not just for Greece but also Ireland and Portugal would be severely diminished and affect financial stability across the euro area, it said.
Lagarde Is Front-Runner To Head IMF (Bloomberg)
“Lagarde might be front-runner,” New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said in an interview with TVNZ television today. “She’s super impressive I’ve got to say,” he said, while echoing officials outside of Europe in calling for a selection “on merit.”
Singapore to Create Most Bank Jobs in the Next Year, London Recruiter Says (Bloomberg)
Singapore will create more jobs in financial services during the next 12 months than any other city, beating London and New York, said recruiter Astbury Marsden, which advises companies in Europe and Asia.
Biggs Buying as S&P 500 Profit Estimates Climb (Bloomberg)
“Investors are overreacting,” said Biggs, citing concerns about the European debt crisis, housing and reduced stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve. “All those worries are true, but I can see a number of them will be resolved in the next two months, and I do not think the global economy will slow down significantly. Stocks are very reasonably priced on earnings for next year.”
Zapatero’s Socialists Routed in Backlash Over Austerity (Bloomberg)
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s Socialist party had its worst electoral setback in more than 30 years, prompting a shift in regional governments that risks reviving concern over public finances…The transfer of power in the regions may spark doubts over Spain’s ability to contain its budget deficit, and Spanish bonds declined today.
S&P warning heralds tough times ahead for Italy (Reuters)
Standard & Poor’s surprising decision to revise downward its outlook for Italy could mark the start of increased market scrutiny on the euro zone’s third-largest economy, which faces tough challenges that it is probably unable to meet.
Times Columnist, Wife, Charged In Domestic Argument (Hartford Courant)
New York Times technology columnist David Pogue and his wife were charged with disorderly conduct earlier this week following a domestic argument at a Woody Lane house, part of which she recorded on her iPhone, police said…He told police his wife had bitten his left arm and that she had been filming the altercation with her iPhone camera. Arciola said David Pogue followed Jennifer Pogue into a bedroom and allegedly jumped on top of her and hit her in the head with a phone…In addition to his column, Pogue writes a monthly column in Scientific American. He also appears weekly on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” and on “CBS News Sunday Morning.” Continue reading »
$$$ “Senate investigators are examining 20 instances over the past decade when a Wall Street regulator suspected that SAC Capital Advisors LP, one of the nation’s most powerful hedge funds, could have traded on inside information, people familiar with the matter say…Last month, Sen. Grassley asked the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which is the largest independent regulator policing financial firms in the U.S., for details of any “suspicious trading” by SAC. Finra last week provided Sen. Grassley with roughly 20 instances when it considered the timing of SAC trading ahead of market-moving news, or other circumstances of trades, as suspicious enough for Finra to refer the matters to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement staff, the people say.” (WSJ, earlier)
$$$ Gold jumps 1.5 percent on euro zone debt fears (Reuters)
$$$ Payrolls Grow in 42 States Including New York, Texas as Job Market Revives (Bloomberg)
$$$ Greece hit by Fitch debt downgrade (FT)
$$$ IMF approves 26 billion euro funding for Portugal (Reuters)
$$$ Former IMF Chief to Stay in Temporary Housing in Lower Manhattan
$$$ Dervis rules himself out of IMF race (FT)
$$$ IMF Aborted Strauss-Kahn Probe in 2008 (Bloomberg)
$$$ Emerging market equity funds see $1.6 bln outflows (MarketWatch)
$$$ Soros sharpens gold bubble debate (FT)
$$$ Analysts’ Rare ‘Sell’ Ratings are Rarely Right (Bloomberg)
$$$ Mayor Bloomberg says if Apocalypse happens, alternate side parking suspended (NYDN) Continue reading »
He’s selling a couple products (one that will let him “communicate instantaneously IN SWAHLI” and another that’s for people who can “afford a Rolls Royce, not a Volkswagen”) but it’s the yelling to the people off camera that’s important. Continue reading »
