Goldman Roiled by Op-Ed Loses $2.2 Billion for Shareholders (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs slid $4.17 to $120.37 yesterday, leaving the shares still up 33 percent this year…Smith, who also wrote that he was quitting after 12 years at the company, blamed Blankfein, 57, and President Gary D. Cohn, 51, for a “decline in the firm’s moral fiber.” They responded in a memo to current and former employees, saying that Smith’s assertions don’t reflect the firm’s values, culture or “how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think about the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients.”
You Have Less Than Two Hours To Sign Up For The Dealbreaker NCAA Tournament Challenge (DB)
Do it here, do it now, or lose us forever (the password is: animalliar).
SEC Cracks Down On Pre-IPO Trading (WSJ)
Federal regulators are cracking down on an obscure but booming market for trading shares in companies before they go public. The Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against two money managers, alleging they misled and overcharged investors on funds formed to buy shares of Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and other social-media companies. A so-called secondary market in these companies’ private shares has grown rapidly as more investors seek to buy into the companies before their initial public offerings, hoping to profit later from a “pop” in the stock price after the IPO. The allegations by the SEC mark the first major regulatory blow to the market, which the agency says emerged in 2009 and which industry participants say has been fueled lately on the anticipation of a Facebook IPO in the coming months.
Citi Rejection Stings Pandit (WSJ)
The board of directors held a meeting by telephone shortly after the Federal Reserve said Tuesday it had turned down the capital plan the New York company submitted as part of its latest “stress test,” according to people familiar with the situation. Neither Citigroup nor the Fed disclosed what the bank had been seeking, but in recent months the bank’s executives had repeatedly said they wanted to return capital to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks in 2012. “Everyone was taken by surprise,” said a person with knowledge of the reaction among Citigroup executives and board members.
Jobless Claims in U.S. Decrease, Matching Four-Year Low (Bloomberg)
Claims for jobless benefits dropped last week in the U.S., matching the lowest level in four years, more evidence the labor market is improving. Applications for unemployment insurance payments fell by 14,000 to 351,000 in the week ended March 10, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 357,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Claims reached the same level a month ago, the lowest since March 2008.
UBS Cuts Bonus Pool (WSJ, DB)
That would be putting it mildly.
JPMorgan’s Dimon Responds to Goldman Column (Reuters)
J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon told employees to resist taking advantage of competitors and to focus instead on strengthening the bank’s own standards, in an internal memo sent in response to the firestorm engulfing Goldman Sachs after a former banker published his resignation letter in the New York Times.
Meredith Whitney: Banks Oversold, Muni Defaults Still Coming (CNBC)
“The banks should trade at tangible (book value) or a little better,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean they’re off to the races and that there’s tremendous momentum behind the fundamentals of these banks.”
Goldman fights back after employee’s scathing public exit (NYP)
After the memo was distributed, Goldman brass went into damage-control mode, fielding calls from investors and clients searching for reaction from the 143-year-old firm. Blankfein was light-hearted about the surprise attack but tried to be extremely responsive to client inquiries about it, sources said. Privately, some Goldman officials played down Smith’s significance within the firm, describing him as a “disgruntled mid-level employee.”
Two Billionaires Side With Greg Smith Against Goldman (Forbes)
Jim Clark said Smith’s criticism of Goldman’s treatment of its customers is “what I experienced over the four to five years” he entrusted some of his funds with the firm’s private wealth management division…Billionaire Stephen Jarislowsky, CEO of Canadian investment firm Jarislowsky, Fraser, says he also supports Smith’s op-ed. “It’s about ethics and fiduciary responsibility, and the lack thereof,” explains Jarislowsky. “If you’re a fiduciary you should work for your client and not for anyone else. If you’re a doctor, you’re not supposed to work for your pocketbook, but for your client’s health.”
Chinese Economy Already in ‘Hard Landing,’ JPMorgan’s Mowat Says (Bloomberg)
China’s economy is already in a so- called “hard landing,” according to Adrian Mowat, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief Asian and emerging-market strategist. “If you look at the Chinese data, you should stop debating about a hard landing,” Mowat, who is based in Hong Kong, said at a conference in Singapore yesterday. “China is in a hard landing. Car sales are down, cement production is down, steel production is down, construction stocks are down. It’s not a debate anymore, it’s a fact.”
Arrest warrant issued for Russell Brand over iPhone rage (NYP)
Brand was named in a police report on Monday night after allegedly grabbing a photographer’s cell phone out of his hand and hurling it through the window of a law firm. The paparazzo, Timothy Jackson, filed a police report immediately after the incident, citing “criminal damages.” According to Jackson, he had been out with several fellow photographers when he started taking pictures of the 36-year-old British comedian and actor with his iPhone. Brand allegedly “flipped out,” snatched the cell phone and threw it at a building, breaking a window in the process. His reps have contacted the law firm and offered to pay for the broken window.
Lesson #2 of 2012 for Greg: the NYT, any media really, will give you an undeservedly loud podium to voice your concerns if you've been associated with and willing to make wildly disparaging, unsubstantiated statements about a controversial institution. The harshness of that reality likely sinks in after the second or third career change and options begin to dwindle.
What a fwog-face.
I can't tell if Greg Smith is looking at me or something to my immediate left. Seems like he was cast in the Goldman recruiting video to promote 'diversity'. His credit should have an aserisks and he probably shouldn't mention this acheivement to newspapers.
All of the aspiring Jr. Mistmakers looking to join the Goldman ranks now have Greg to thank for the 15 additional rounds of interviews.
-Wideclops
UBS cuts bonus pool. What’s the next “shocking” headline: “Prostitution in Vegas?"
He kind of looks like a ping pong ball.
Whitney?
Water is wet
Who is calling whom the Muppet?
He kind of looks like me.
-(Suddenly realized where the Muppet jokes came from.)
It's not easy being green
bess making a top gun reference re: the NCAA bracket. my desk moved.
That's why he was such a warrior in Ping Pong. He never had to turn his head.
Putting out a memo saying "don't utilize Goldman's temporary bad rap relative our own," thereby highlighting aforementioned disparity…… Dimon, no N, no O, just KI
Huh, Greg is South African. I wonder if he played rugby at Stanford?
- Guy who hasn't seen the picture yet
In all seriousness, at first glance I thought it was someone afflicted with mongoloidism, which is not funny of course.
How much time do I have to sign up for the dealbreaker bracket?
Actually it is
goldman acts in own self interest
Never knew Jimmy Norton worked at GS
Take that back! Lil Yimmy would never stoop so low!
can u say extra chromosome
Finding a reason to talk about financials the day (2 days) after the XLF rips 3% is the NKI.
Greg looks like a well-rounded individual, always on the ball, someone who can roll with adversity.
Hindsight, is that you?
is everyone here too young to remember cecil toitle?
http://www.iconarchive.com/show/looney-tunes-icon…
C’mon DB, why did you have to post a pic? Now I feel bad for making fun of the poor guy.
Dear GS Employees and Doctors,
Stop thinking about lining your own pocketbooks and focus on making me wealthier and healthier
Sincerely,
A billionaire
Son,
I gave you a job and not the right to speak. Now, come home and give your mom a kiss.
LB
JImmy stoops plenty low.
-Uncle Paul
"Shagger of the Year?" I think not!
New policy: no more whiny Jews?
Don't. He's worth more than you'll ever be. And his serve has been clocked at 27 M.P.H.
Client number NEVER!….as if!
Are you not aware of my sausage empire?
Actually, he looks like me.
– Sloth
So am I
-Lynn T.
Um, he made no more than $500,000 last year. So, no, he's not worth more than most people will ever be.
he was a mid-level front office guy. or are you one of the morons who thinks he was a major player at GS?
Don't knock it. You need one of these faces to get to the top at Goldman
L. Blankfein – The Undisputed Jewish Shopkeeper of the World
He's kinda cute.
~Furious
Not even we would do him in our desolate place – looks like an unguided, pre-born bowling ball.
Wall street dudes are tough until they get F()cked up !
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