Last May, we met Thomas Guerriero. At the time, the Guerreiro Wealth Holdings founder had just been accused by an underline of sending her videos of himself masturbating, texts about stuff he wanted to do to her (rife with grammatical errors), groping her, and leaving lewd Post-Its at her desk. Since then Guerreiro decided to abandon Wall Street (which he says is populated with “blood thirsty people who are looking to take your legs out from under you,”) selling his company and starting fresh with WMX Group, which has four companies and counting under its umbrella, one of which Tommy-boy describes as “the Berkshire Hathaway of professional sports.” Continue reading »
Archive for June 2011
Guy Accused Of Sending Employee Clips Featuring Him Getting Romantic With Himself Modeling New Company After Berkshire Hathaway
By Bess Levin-
Posted in:
Hedge Funds
Professional Sports Arbitrageur Seeks Investors For Offshore Hedge Fund
By Bess LevinInterested?
To: [A bunch of hedge funds]
Subject: Arbitrage InvestmentGreetings: I am professional sports arbitrageur. I am investigating the formation of my own offshore hedge fund that would fund my arbitrage activities, and I thought I would concurrently contact exisiting hedge funds to see if they would be interested in investing in this fantastic, risk free concept, saving me the time, effort and expense of establishing my own fund.
HSBC Banker Who Got Knife Pulled On Him By Ex-Girlfriend For Going On A Date One Day After Break-Up Headed To Jail
By Bess Levin
Remeber Toby Carroll? To recap, he’s a New Zealand-born real estate analyst for HSBC who’s been stationed in Dubai for the last several years. In January, he was jailed after his ex-girlfriend, Priscilla Ferreira, found him and a new girl, Danielle Spencer, in his apartment and proceeded to start slashing curtains, furniture, etc, and go after the Danielle with a knife.** The police were called and all three were sent downtown because in Dubai, sex outside marriage is illegal. After a week in the clink Carroll, who friends describe as “a fun-loving party boy who was dedicated to his job, a snappy dresser who liked women but wasn’t womanizer,” was released (as were the ladies who became friends after being forced to share a mattress in the women’s cell at Bur Dubai police station. Hopefully Carroll’s made the most of his freedom over the last 6 months, because he’s set to be sent back after receiving his sentencing last week. Continue reading »
Over the weekend Charlie Gasparino reported that John Mack is expected to retire as chairman of Morgan Stanley at the end of the year. According to Chaz, Mack will use some of his newfound time to write a book. It’s still in the early stages, though, and probably untitled. So! Continue reading »
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Enjoyed A Light Lunch Of Fish And White Wine After (Allegedly) Assaulting Hotel Maid
By Bess Levin
Both the defense and prosecution would like to use the meal to make their cases. Continue reading »
Back in April, both the New York Times and Charlie Gasparino claimed they’d heard Lloyd Blankfein was tired. So tired, they were told, that a regular nap would not suffice, but rather an entire lifestyle change was necessary, which included quitting his job. Goldman Sachs said the reports were untrue and reassured us at the time that Lloyd would be with us for many years to come. Unfortunately, the stories opened the door for people to start speculating about who might take over for LB when– we don’t even want to say it let alone think it– he decides he’s done running Goldman Sachs. They included current president Gary Cohn, vice-chairmen Michael Evans and Michael Sherwood, the latter of which was recently named Gary Cohn’s successor as chairman of the partnership committee, as well as “more junior candidates” like, David Heller, Harvey Schwartz, and David Solomon. Today Reuters reports that despite being less known than some of the other names, Solomon “might have what it takes to lead Wall Street’s most powerful bank.”
While it remains to be seen whether his slight resemblance** to Lloyd will be a good or a bad thing for his candidacy (will the fact that he kind of looks like LB serve as a constant reminder that he’s not LB and never will be?) insiders are apparently into Solomon’s laid-back attitude and the fact that he’s not a trader. Here’s a little more info on Lloyd Lite. Continue reading »
Efforts to create the first electronic “dictionary” defining derivatives and other financial instruments universally have moved ahead with the creation by US regulators of a committee to help develop it made up of BlackRock, the investment manager, CME Group, the derivatives exchange, and Google.
Global Derivatives Lexicon Edges On [FT via HNM]
Sarkozy Confirms Deal With French Banks (Reuters)
Immediately after French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the breakthrough, German bankers voiced their interest in the “French model.” The news came as international bankers met euro zone policymakers in Rome to discuss how the private sector can share the burden of a second rescue programme for Greece.
Soros Says Exit Mechanism From Euro Is ‘Probably Inevitable’ (Bloomberg)
“There’s no arrangement for any countries leaving the euro, which in current circumstances is probably inevitable,” Soros, 80, said at a panel discussion in Vienna yesterday on whether liberal democracy is at risk in Europe. “We are on the verge of an economic collapse which starts, let’s say, in Greece, but it could easily spread. The financial system remains extremely vulnerable.”…Because the “survival of the EU is of vital interest to us all,” there’s a need for a “Plan B,” he said, explaining that this could include EU-wide taxes, a “banking system guaranteed by European institutions, not a bunch of national banking systems,” or a financial transaction tax.
Capital Rules Tighten for Big Banks (WSJ)
The Basel deal will require roughly 30 of the world’s top banks to hold between 1% and 2.5% of extra capital as a percentage of their “risk-weighted assets.” That comes on top of a base 7% capital requirement for all banks that international policy makers agreed to last year. Newly assertive regulators are pushing banks to get smaller and simpler. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said Saturday that the capital requirements will apply progressively, based on each bank’s size, complexity, global reach and interconnectedness…The rules also feature the threat of an additional 1% capital requirement on giant banks that grow bigger. The goal, the regulators said in a statement, is “to provide a disincentive for banks facing the highest charge to increase materially their global systemic importance in the future.”
European Banks May Need More Capital After Basel (Bloomberg)
Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Germany’s biggest lender, and UniCredit SpA (UCG) are among European banks that may have to raise additional capital after regulators dismissed lenders’ threats that stiffer rules may stunt economic growth… The banks, together with Banco Santander SA (SAN) and Credit Suisse Group AG, will have a combined 62 billion-euro ($88 billion) capital shortfall, according to Mediobanca.
Dick Bove: Extra Bank Capital Means ‘Global Recession’ (CNBC)
“The legislators and regulators never understood what caused the financial crisis,” he wrote in a note titled Central Bankers Vote for Global Recession. “They have never acknowledged their part in facilitating the events that led to the crisis. Now having failed miserably in meeting their responsibilities on the way in to the crisis they are perpetuating their mistakes by over-reacting by swinging in every direction without regard to the consequences.”
European leaders prepare for a Greek default (Telegraph)
Greek politicians will vote on a radical €28.4bn (£25.2bn) austerity package in the coming days that they must pass if the country is to receive the vital fifth tranche of a €110bn bail-out agreed last year…Werner Faymann, the Austrian Chancellor, said on Sunday he “can’t rule out” a Greek default and Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, revealed that Europe is preparing “for the worst”.
New Debt Ceiling Estimate Coming (Politico Morning Money)
Treasury likely to update the “drop-dead” date for raising the debt ceiling either late this week or early next. As of now, no dramatic change expected from the Aug. 2nd date when Treasury currently says it will run out of emergency measures to forestall default.
Threat of $100bn hit if US top rating lost (FT)
“If Standard & Poor’s or any of the other major rating agencies downgrade the US, Treasuries would likely drop in value, possibly by as much as $100bn,” said analysts at S&P Valuation and Risk Strategies, a research team separate from the agency.
John Mack Likely to Leave Morgan Stanley by End of Year (FBN)
The FOX Business Network has learned that Mack is telling friends that he will likely leave the firm at the end of the year. People at Morgan Stanley confirm to FOX Business that while they would like him to remain in some capacity, possibly as chairman emeritus or as a senior adviser, his career as a day-to-day executive is coming to an end.
Outrage at £260,000 Wimbledon junket by RBS chiefs – after job cuts and a £20bn taxpayer bailout (Daily Mail)
The bank which was bailed out with £20 billion of taxpayers’ cash, faces fresh anger after laying on £260,000 of hospitality for its executives and their clients at Wimbledon. RBS staff enjoyed champagne and lobster platters in a luxurious suite attached to Court One. As one group of bankers strolled out late for Rafael Nadal’s match against Gilles Muller on Friday, they spoke admiringly of the gourmet menu they had just sampled. Continue reading »
Yes, technically elected officials did it but it wouldn’t have happened without said hedge fund managers, who made the case over lunch. Continue reading »
$$$ European Banks Scramble to Prevent Greek Default [Reuters]
$$$ Matthew Goldstein: Deutsche’s firing of top trader sparks probe [Reuters]
$$$ Too Big to Fail, Yes. Too Small to Fail? Never. [EasyStreet/Heidi Moore]
$$$ Peter Falk, star of ‘Columbo,’ dies at 83 [WaPo] Continue reading »
On the condition GS works for free. Continue reading »
