Elite model Xenia Tchoumitcheva is apparently a summer intern at JPMorgan in the graduate program for sales and trading…Apparently this isn’t her first finance internship. She previously interned at Merrill Lynch and the London hedgefund Duet Group, according to her website. She is also spokesmodel for Audi, Burger King, Visilab Sunglasses, and Casino Lugano according to her web site. Tchoumitcheva graduated with a degree in economics. She speaks five different languages. She was also 1st runner up in Miss Switzerland in 2006. [NetNet via BI] Continue reading »
Archive for June 2011
“Around two-thirds of recent softness in the U.S. economy can be attributed to temporary factors such as higher energy costs and Japan’s earthquake,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNBC on Friday. “Most people say you can attribute about two thirds of the slow down relative to expectations to those factors. Not all of it,” he said. [CNBC]
On several occasions around these parts, we’ve had discussions about what constitutes a worthy food eating challenge. And, more to the point, what constitutes a food eating challenge worth covering. To understand our position, one must know the history of our writing about The Food Eating Challenge (FEC), which began with a trader named Ian AKA Oyster Boy, who, in the summer of 2007, bet that he could consume 144 oysters in one hour at Ulysses. He completed the task at hand in a mere 15 minutes and then, ate 100 more in the remaining 45 minutes (which the staff had to bring in from next door, as they’d run out after the first leg). The gauntlet had been thrown down. And while a good number of you set out to perform feats of gastrointestinal fortitude that were imaginative, topical and, most importantly somewhat difficult, some thought that endeavoring to consume 8 vending machine items in 12 hours could be considered a challenge. After a while, we stated that such combinations of quantity + time would not be chronicled on our watch, in order to save yourselves (and ourselves) the embarrassment (first and second hand) of not only thinking that what amounts to a snack could be considered something someone would have a hard time completing but the shame of not even finishing it, which happened more than once.
Which brings us to a FEC that occurred earlier today at Citigroup, the merits of which are currently being hotly debated. Continue reading »
Critics also felt that [Portland Timbers owner] Merritt Paulson was heavy-handed in his dealings with the financially strapped city, which ultimately agreed to pay for about a third of the cost of the renovating the stadium, using money from ticket taxes and parking receipts at entertainment facilities, like the Rose Garden, home to the N.B.A. Trail Blazers, in Portland. “Why the Paulson family needed public money is beside me,” said Jack Bogdanski, a professor of tax law at Lewis and Clark College. “He came into town highly suspect in my book.” Others say the money was not well spent because, despite the renovation and M.L.S. guidelines for stadiums, the seats are still too narrow, the concourse cramped and the number of bathrooms inadequate. [NYT]
Go on, try. You can’t, can you? Continue reading »
A couple weeks back, an 8-foot long, 160-pound mountain lion started hanging around Greenwich, Connecticut and its nearby towns. News stations noted that a cat that size hasn’t been seen in those parts in 100 years; residents and people who work in the area were more than a little freaked the fuck out. Now testing of evidence found last week has revealed everyone should be doubly worried. Continue reading »
Citadel Securities (Europe) “saw its profits rise 7% to US$6 million last year, the firm said in a regulatory filing. The unit said it planned to expand its equities execution services for external clients this year, while it also is developing a retail broker execution business which aims to generate trading income using algorithms. The unit said it expects similar levels of trading revenue and profitability in 2011.” [FINalternatives]
As previously mentioned, now that he’s officially running for office again, President Obama is hoping to have the same support from Wall Street he did in 2008. Some financial service employees have remained loyal, others have vowed to never trust him with their hearts again, and others still seem like they could potentially be won back, should Obama play his cards right. Several weeks ago he invited them over to his house to have an intimate talk about where their relationship stands and last night he took them to dinner at Daniel. True, he made them pay ($35,800 each) but perhaps the fact that he took time out to get personal and fed them braised short ribs and citrus marinated strawberries did the trick? Here’s the full dinner menu from last night- is there a particular item that would get you to give him another chance or will he have to try a lot harder than that (perhaps by making you dinner himself and feeding it to you doing the airplane sound) if he wants you to even think about letting your guard down again? Continue reading »
Republicans Walk Out on Budget Talks, Default Looms (Reuters)
Boehner said talks could resume if Democrats took tax hikes off the table, but they showed no sign of backing off…Obama and Boehner have tried to establish a personal rapport since this spring’s budget battle. The two golfed together on Saturday and met at the White House on Wednesday. Cantor, who was building a similar bond with Biden, gave no indication after Wednesday’s session that talks had hit a wall. His withdrawal caught Democrats by surprise, coming as Obama met with House Democratic leaders at the White House before the afternoon’s scheduled negotiating session.
Russia May Face Debt Crisis Like Greece (Bloomberg)
“By 2030 the debt level would be unsustainable like in Greece” if nothing changes, Sergei Ulatov, the resident World Bank economist in Moscow said in an interview during the Russia and CIS Capital Markets Forum organized by Euromoney in London today. “Right now, we are mostly helped by oil prices and not by a very prudent macroeconomic policy.”
BoE’s Posen sees risk of euro zone rescue “disaster” (Reuters)
The risk is growing that rescue plans for debt-stricken European countries will end badly and money would be better spent on a public trust for banks, Bank of England policymaker Adam Posen said.
EU leaders appoint Mario Draghi as new ECB president (Reuters)
Italy’s Mario Draghi was appointed the new head of the European Central Bank on Friday, to replace current ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet at the end of October, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said.
Lagarde Vows Neutrality Toward Europe (Bloomberg)
“I will not shrink from the necessary candor and toughness in my discussions with the European leaders,” Lagarde said in a statement in Washington delivered in a meeting yesterday with IMF directors. “I am not here to represent the interest of any given region of the world, but rather the entire membership.”
Bernanke Public Approval Falls to Lowest (Bloomberg)
Bernanke is viewed favorably by 30 percent of those polled, compared with 26 percent who view him unfavorably; the remainder are unsure. In September of 2009, Bernanke enjoyed 41 percent approval and 22 percent disapproval. The Fed itself is viewed favorably by 42 percent of voters, little changed from previous surveys.
China accounting scandals put Big Four auditors on red alert (Reuters)
The string of accounting problems and stock plunges at publicly traded Chinese groups has sparked deep concerns across the world’s biggest audit firms, putting the so-called Big Four on alert from worries that their reputation could be brought down along with a growing list of stricken companies.
Carlyle to raise $1bn in weak IPO market (FT)
Carlyle, the private equity firm with $108bn under management, plans to raise more than $1bn with a initial public offering of stock but is likely to come to the market with a lower-than-expected valuation, according to bankers familiar with the matter…Carlyle had hoped to be valued at almost 10 times its “economic net income”, a metric that excludes costs associated with the listing, they said. Now, Carlyle can expect a multiple of about seven times unless market conditions improve, they added.
Buffett Closes ‘Backdoor’ to Berkshire (Bloomberg)
Warren Buffett’s plan to remove Wesco Financial Corp. (WSC) from the stock exchange will close what was considered a “backdoor” to investing alongside the billionaire. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) has agreed to acquire the 20 percent of Wesco it doesn’t already own for about $545 million in cash and stock.
Cash In The Walls, Pistols In The Books (WSJ)
For the past 14 years, Mr. Bulger and Catherine Greig, a 60-year-old former dental hygienist, lived in this city west of Los Angeles famous for its pier and Third Street Promenade shopping district a block from their apartment, which is a short walk to the beach. The FBI said they allegedly used the phony names of Charles and Carol Gasko. Neighbors and law-enforcement officials say the couple, who were aging but fit and liked pets, lived unnoticed in the cream-colored building. They kept pictures of cats—as well as about 30 guns—in an immaculate home on the top floor. Continue reading »
$$$ Jobless Claims Rise, Confidence Falls (Bloomberg)
$$$ Budget Talks Near Collapse as G.O.P. Leader Quits (NYT)
$$$ Here’s What’s Got Everybody So Excited: A Greek ‘Solidarity Tax’ (MarketBeat)
$$$ Wall Street’s Dinner With Obama: Hold the Scorn (DealBook) Continue reading »
Which TV Character Would Entice You To Invest With A Firm That Maybe Seemed Like A Scam?
By Bess Levin
Would Mr. Belvedere do it for you? Principal Belding? The kid from Silver Spoons? For Thornwater investors, Mr. Spock and his eyebrows were lure enough Continue reading »
