Opening Bell: 11.16.11

By

Purgatory For MF Global Customers (WSJ)
“My entire business has come to a halt,” said Mr. Gochberg, who can’t get to his cash. “I’m angry and I no longer have any confidence in our system.” More than two weeks after MF Global filed for Chapter 11, some 33,000 customers are stuck in a sort of purgatory, with no access to their cash until a trustee liquidating the securities firm says they can get it…A spokesman for the trustee said this week it is possible customers won’t get all their money back, due to the apparent shortfall at MF Global.

MF Global Trustee Moves To Return $520 Million In Client Cash (Reuters)
In a measure that will provide some relief to traders who have clamored to get access to their funds, James Giddens sought permission to return about $520 million to some 15,000 commodity customers even as the search continues for client money that regulators say MF Global may have misappropriated in its final days. The motion, which must still be approved by the court, came after intensifying pressure from commodity traders and the leading exchanges, who said that punishing customers who had liquidated their trading positions ahead of MF Global’s October 31 bankruptcy set a worrying precedent.

Italy’s Monti Names New Government (WSJ)
The ministers, including Mr. Monti—who will serve as prime minister and economy minister—will be formally sworn into office during a ceremony later Wednesday. Mr. Monti’s new ministers are drawn mainly from academia and the private sector. Corrado Passera, chief executive of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, will be industry minister. Mr. Monti said that post would be “at the center” of Italy’s efforts to revive growth.

Citigroup May Cut 3,000 Jobs As Pandit Trims Costs (Bloomberg)
The reduction, equal to about 1 percent of the staff, is an estimate and may change, according to the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the cuts. Among the jobs eliminated may be 900 from the division that includes the bank’s trading and investment banking operations, the person said. Citigroup, ranked third by assets among U.S. lenders, employed about 267,000 people at the end of the third quarter.

JPMorgan Joins Goldman Keeping Investors in Dark on Italy Derivatives Risk (Bloomberg)
As concerns mount that those countries may not be creditworthy, investors are being kept in the dark about how much risk U.S. banks face from a default. Firms including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan don’t provide a full picture of potential losses and gains in such a scenario, giving only net numbers or excluding some derivatives altogether. “If you don’t have to, generally people don’t see the advantage to doing it,” said Richard Lindsey, a former director of market regulation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission who worked at Bear Stearns Cos. from 1999 through 2006. “On the other hand, if there were a run on Goldman Sachs tomorrow because the rumor was that they had exposure to Greece, you’d see them produce those numbers.”

Geithner Seeks A US Boost (WSJ)
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Europe’s smoldering fiscal crisis should compel Congress to pass legislation that boosts the economy, warning that continued global pressures are constraining U.S. growth. Mr. Geithner also said there were “lots of ways” the European Central Bank could “play a more effective, supportive role” in resolving the European crisis, though he didn’t specify what the ECB might do…Mr. Geithner said he constantly monitors the situation in Europe and is willing to help leaders and finance ministers navigate their political challenges. He chose an American football analogy for gauging Europe’s progress, likening it to “three yards and a cloud of dust.”

Blankfein: Growth To Snap Back (Bloomberg)
“I don’t think that we can conclude that this slowdown is secular rather than cyclical change,” Blankfein, 57, said today at an investor conference in New York hosted by Bank of America Corp. (BAC)’s Merrill Lynch unit. “The world will snap back and it will be a surprise and it will be faster than people think. I don’t know when that will be and we will gear ourselves accordingly.” Blankfein, while noting that the firm is cutting costs and adapting to changing regulation and slower economic growth, said he is wary of overreacting by assuming the world has permanently changed. He reminded investors that Goldman Sachs reported record earnings in 2009 following a quarterly loss in 2008, in part because competitors pulled away from making markets for clients.

Protestors Weigh Movement’s Future (WSJ)
Activists vowed that their protests would persist. Marches and other demonstrations were planned for Thursday, the two-month anniversary of the movement’s founding. Some thought the eviction would galvanize their movement, which had become increasingly bogged down in running the miniature society created in the park. “In a way, this movement is not bound to any central location,” said Andrew Carbone, a 26-year-old freelance media coordinator who lives in Brooklyn. “In many ways [the encampment] has made people a little too comfortable.”

Man walks into house; puts up Christmas decorations (WHIO)
A Vandalia family is in shock when a man broke into their house, made himself at home and even put up Christmas decorations. Police said the man’s strange behavior may involve bath salts. According to police, an 11-year-old child came home and found a stranger sitting on the couch. Tamara Henderson was next door when her son call her. She said, “What do you mean a man is in our house? You don’t know if he has a gun or if he has a knife?” Henderson called 911 and screamed for her neighbors. Police reports indicated that 44-year-old Terry Trent did have a pocket knife and was most likely on bath salts. They said Trent walked through a back door and made himself comfortable. “The candle was lit on the coffee table, the television was on and very loud, and the candle on the kitchen table was lit,” Henderson said. He also did some Christmas decorating, police said.

Comments (76)

  1. 1
    Posted by ETF Dude | November 16, 2011 at 9:24 AM

    Snorting bath salt is the NKI.

  2. 2
    Posted by Cheech Marin | November 16, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Things are tough all over mang…

  3. 3
    Posted by J. S. C. | November 16, 2011 at 9:49 AM

    Finally! Now that all those protesters are gone, I can recover my hidden stash under the trash can in the southwest corner of Zucotti. Turks and Caicos, here I come!

  4. 4
    Posted by EvTO | November 16, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    Wow, Corzine fell harder than I thought…

  5. 5
    Posted by Creeper | November 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM

    That dude had probably had no where to go after tents were banned in Zuccotti

  6. 6
    Posted by LOL Wat? | November 16, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    Hooray! I've just come out of a 6-week coma and I can't wait to get back to trading commodities. Doc says not to stress out but a man's GOT to trade. MF Global, here I come!!

    -MF GLobal customer who has just come out of a coma

  7. 7
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    He looks so bad-prawnish in that pic.

  8. 8
    Posted by UBS MD | November 16, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    Where am I going to sleep now?

    -Former UBS MD

  9. 9
    Posted by Charlie Day | November 16, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    That Christmas guy stole my idea!

  10. 10
    Posted by BrotherLehman | November 16, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    Re: "JPMorgan Joins Goldman Keeping Investors in Dark on Italy Derivatives Risk":

    Why would we publicize our derivative risk there? There is no risk whatsoever. Everyone can breathe easy because we insured the whole stack against default with AIG.

    –Lloyd & Jamie

  11. 11
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 11:18 AM

    "26-year-old freelance media coordinator who lives in Brooklyn"

    - guy with a cynical admiration for the concoction of words these kids create to give dignified description to their unemployment.

  12. 12
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    Let's get some posts, nearly 11:30 and I'm still staring at the Opening Bell? Carney would never allow this…

  13. 13
    Posted by UBS HR | November 16, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    You mean like exchange listed derivatives managing director ?

  14. 14
    Posted by Bandersnatch | November 16, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    I've seen worse
    - Wikus Van de Merwe, District 9

  15. 15
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    UBS jokes are finally over?

  16. 16
    Posted by Bandersnatch | November 16, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    Yes, we'd have 3 posts on the price of rice in Thailand by now.

  17. 17
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    Carney's quantity > Matt's "quality"

    - Guy who use to rag on Carney all the time

  18. 18
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    Considering that per gram bath salt is more expensive than cocaine. Then yes.

  19. 19
    Posted by HAM05 | November 16, 2011 at 11:48 AM

    pandit looks the same way i do every morning at 9am and then again at 2:30

    what i mean to say is, he looks like he's pooping

  20. 20
    Posted by Question... | November 16, 2011 at 11:49 AM

    Can someone (Bess?) tell me what the deal is with the Most Unbalanced Comments? Who chooses them, and on what basis? I fully expect you miserable assholes to shit on me for missing the initial explanation/not automatically knowing what "most unbalanced" implies, so fuck you all in advance. Thanks!

  21. 21
    Posted by Anonymous | November 16, 2011 at 12:04 PM

    you have to feel for the guy. i usually reserve the palm over fist kung fu salute for only the most unwieldy.

  22. 22
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    If there's anything you learn in 16+ years of US schooling, it's that distinct combination of bullshitting with euphemism, achievement puffery, and wordcount-padding,. This kid clearly paid attention, he should kill it in consulting. As long as there's no math involved

  23. 23
    Posted by BessLevin | November 16, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    They are not what we thought they were going to be. Neither Matt nor I are choosing the ones that appear on the side of the page. You can email me if you're interested in hearing about this further…

  24. 24
    Posted by Question... | November 16, 2011 at 12:34 PM

    Thank you, Bess.

  25. 25
    Posted by guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:40 PM

    Um LOL, as Carney typically put up his first post at 2PM. Nice try, though.

  26. 26
    Posted by guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:41 PM

    Blarney's output amounted to an average of 3 posts a week, with a post time of 3PM. Not his fault, as that's what drunks do but, just sayin.

  27. 27
    Posted by guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    Really? You enjoyed posts about rice and the rambling hallucinations he called reporting?

  28. 28
    Posted by guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    And by this you mean a website run by people who don't wake up and pound 5 drinks.

  29. 29
    Posted by guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:52 PM

    Why don't you mosey on over to his new site, then? Oh, because the content is dog shit? Okay then.

  30. 30
    Posted by guest | November 16, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    Why don't you ask for your money back?

  31. 31
    Posted by Guest | November 16, 2011 at 2:03 PM

    Listen, if there's one thing we all knew about Don Varney, it was that he phoned it in every day, and made Bess do all the work.

  32. 32
    Posted by Batman | November 16, 2011 at 2:11 PM

    Angry brown penguin!

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    Cool you just made it to the Most Unbalanced Comments.

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