SAC’s Cohen May Face SEC Suit as Deposition Hurts Case (Bloomberg)
U.S. investigators have subpoenaed a 2011 deposition of SAC Capital Advisors LP founder Steven Cohen, whose sworn statements on insider-trading compliance may hurt him as he tries to persuade regulators not to file a lawsuit with the potential to shut his $14 billion firm. The SEC told the hedge fund Nov. 20 that it planned to sue SAC for securities fraud and so-called control-person liability for failing to supervise employees. The same day, the agency accused an ex-SAC portfolio manager and his hedge-fund unit of insider trading for persuading Cohen, 56, to make $700 million in illegal trades. Prosecutors also indicted the manager. Cohen’s testimony, reviewed by Bloomberg News, establishes his personal control over the unit, CR Intrinsic, and records his unfamiliarity with his firm’s compliance and ethics policies on insider trading. “I’ve read the compliance manual, but I don’t remember exactly what it says,” Cohen said.
Morgan Stanley Strives to Coordinate 2 Departments Often at Odds (Dealbook)
Traditionally, traders and investment bankers think of themselves as the elite of Wall Street and look down on the retail business, seeing it as pedestrian…Yet since Morgan Stanley moved to acquire control of the Smith Barney brokerage business from Citigroup in 2009, the balance of power has shifted to wealth management, which now accounts for almost 52 percent of the company’s earnings, up from roughly 16 percent in 2006.
Paulson Leads Funds to Bermuda Tax Dodge Aiding Billionaires (Bloomberg)
A decade after the U.S. Internal Revenue Service threatened to crack down on what it said were abuses by hedge-fund backed reinsurers, more high-profile money managers are setting up shop in tax havens. Paulson, SAC Capital Advisors LP’s Steven A. Cohen and Third Point LLC’s Daniel Loeb have started Bermuda reinsurance companies since 2011, following a similar Cayman Islands venture by Greenlight Capital Inc.’s David Einhorn.
Options Activity Questioned Again (WSJ)
Over the past year, unusually large positions were established shortly in advance of news that moved shares of Nexen Inc., Youku Inc., Human Genome Sciences Inc., Constellation Brands Inc. and, most recently, CBS Corp. All turned profitable after the news. A spokeswoman for the SEC, which regulates stock and options trading, said the agency would neither confirm nor deny the existence of inquiries into trading tied to those companies. No charges have been filed in the Heinz case, which was linked to a Swiss trading account, but the move to freeze the assets is one of the fastest enforcement actions ever filed by the agency, according to officials. The SEC said Friday that the timing and size of the trades were highly suspicious given the account had no history of trading in Heinz securities in the last six months.
Prosecutors, Shifting Strategy, Build New Wall Street Cases (Dealbook)
Criticized for letting Wall Street off the hook after the financial crisis, the Justice Department is building a new model for prosecuting big banks. In a recent round of actions that shook the financial industry, the government pushed for guilty pleas, rather than just the usual fines and reforms. Prosecutors now aim to apply the approach broadly to financial fraud cases, according to officials involved in the investigations…The new strategy first materialized in recent settlements with UBS and the Royal Bank of Scotland, which were accused of manipulating interest rates to bolster profit. As part of a broader deal, the banks’ Japanese subsidiaries pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud.
Russians Wade Into the Snow to Seek Treasure From the Sky (NYT)
Ever since the meteor exploded somewhere over this impoverished Siberian town, Larisa V. Briyukova wondered what to do with the fist-size stone she found under a hole in the roof tiles of her woodshed. On Monday, a stranger knocked on her door, offering about $60, Ms. Briyukova said. After some haggling, they settled on a price of $230. A few hours later, another man pulled up, looked at the hole in the roof and offered $1,300. “Now I regret selling it,” said Ms. Briyukova, a 43-year-old homemaker. “But then, who knows? The police might have come and taken it away anyway.” On Friday, terror rained from the skies, blowing out windows and scaring people over an enormous swath of Siberia. But by Monday, for many people what fell from the sky had turned to pure gold, and it touched off a rush to retrieve the fragments, many buried in deep February snows. Many of those out prospecting looked a lot like Sasha Zarezina, 8, who happily plunged into a snowbank here in this village of a thousand, laughing, kicking and throwing up plumes of powdery snow. Then she stopped, bent over and started to dig. “I found one!” she yelled. A warm breath and a rub on her pants later, a small black pebble, oval like a river rock, charred and smooth, was freed of ice. While trade in material from meteorites is largely illegal, there is a flourishing global market, with fragments widely available for sale on the Internet, usually at modest prices. At least one from the recent meteor was available on eBay on Monday for $32, and there is a Web site called Star-bits.com devoted to the trade — much to the displeasure of scientists and the countries where the objects were found.
UK’s Lloyds fined $6.7 million for mis-sold insurance (Reuters)
Britain’s financial regulator on Tuesday fined Lloyds Banking Group 4.3 million pounds ($6.7 million) for failing to handle complaints relating to insurance sold on loans and mortgages properly. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said failings in the bank’s systems and controls resulted in up to 140,000 customers experiencing delays in receiving compensation for being mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).
Horsemeat Scandal Draws in Nestlé (FT)
Switzerland-based Nestle on Monday removed pasta meals from shelves in Italy and Spain and suspended deliveries of all processed products containing meat from German supplier, H.J. Schypke, after tests revealed traces of horse DNA above 1 per cent. Nestle said it had informed the authorities.
Is Berlusconi Getting a Poll Bounce From Tax Evaders? (CNBC)
The media mogul, who has been convicted of tax fraud, has promised to introduce a tax amnesty for evaders if elected and to abolish the real estate tax.
Swelling U.S. Labor Force Keeps Fed at Ease (Bloomberg)
In the short run, the larger labor force will have an unfortunate side effect: It will slow the fall in unemployment. Mellman sees the jobless rate dropping to 7.5 percent by year- end from 7.9 percent now. It fell 0.7 percentage point in 2012. In the longer run, a bigger supply of labor is good news because it swells the pool of Americans available and willing to work, enhancing the economy’s potential to grow, according to Julie Hotchkiss, a policy adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. It also has a silver lining for investors. The gradual fall in unemployment will allow policy makers to keep monetary policy looser for longer without having to worry about igniting a wage- driven rise in inflation.
Couple Getting Affectionate Drive Through Home (WO)
“She told the investigating trooper that her and the boyfriend were getting a little amorous and the trooper suspects that’s probably why she lost control of the vehicle,” said Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes. Walker lost control of the vehicle and slammed into an unoccupied home. The vehicle went all the way through the house. The impact was so dramatic, the pressure blew a window in another part of the house out. Florida Highway Patrol troopers said Walker was injured when debris fell inside the vehicle. She was taken to Halifax Medical Center to be checked out. Her boyfriend, Charles Phillips, was not hurt.
Only in Florida…
Hey!
$32 for a rock someone claims fell from the sky still seems high…
Well, then I guess you won't be getting an invitation to the Paulson Shit That Fell From The Sky Advantage Fund.
which part? the empty house?
Maybe she got a little thirsty… So she went down for a drink.
Seems about right to me.
-P.T. Barnum
Winner.
And check all the science assholes on the trading floor correcting us that "meteorites" are what's found on the ground after a "meteoroid" enters the atmosphere. They can lose millions of dollars and still feel comfortable correcting us on astrophysical bullshit.
<img src="http://Now.apparelbookstore.info/rest.jpg"/> haha probably won't get that invitation.
Stevie is F O O K E D, fooked.
-Canadian Canadian
Heigh!
I don't know what the outcry over the horse meat is all about – there's nothing quite so good as a pack horse steak on a cold night after a long day of marching.
- La Grande Armée
That little girl is going to be crushed when she learns it's just a frozen piece of goose shit.
Did the commentariat know that this is the 50th anniversary of the start of the game show "Let's Make A Deal"? All I can say is, "Come on down!!!"
Here I sit all broken hearted; Paid a nickle to shazart and only farted. If that nickle broke your heart, I hope you shazart every time you fart.
Non target w/bad GPA –> En masse interviewing in every city across the nation –> new prestige = blowj'z
Guess managing granny's money and telling people I'm a wall street guy is working out!
MS-SB First Line VP (formerly SSB second Line)
Chop suey!
In Soviet Russia SAC investigates YOU!
You are quickly becoming the king of "dial tone" comments.
You got the ill communication….
Hay!
– European Whopper Junior
You guys are frick'n idots. LOOK what we are standing on a ROCK THAT FELL FROM THE SKY. Oh, dont believe me….fine. That is more time for me to harvest all the rocks on this planet. Gosh some dumbasses on this site.
You ferkin penguin
Roses are Red,
Violets are Glorious,
DON'T ever creep up,
On Oscar Pistorius.
you wouldn't get CA if I spotted you C-A-
Chin, Dano……get me the names of everyone who has stood on a non-earth made rock in the last 400,000 years here in Hawaii. And is anyone else sick of the high note piano pounding in the NyQuil ads on TV?? Jeez.
I proudly produced the thumbs down click making the total at the time "-2".
especially ping
We French certainly know our military shit.
- The Maginot Line
What?
The World According to Garp.
Funny.
You will be ok as long as you are not a bathroom door. He hates them.
Proper fooked.
-Mickey O'Neil
I'd love to place my sac on advisors chins.
LaxBro didn't sustain any injuries since he ducked.
Not today, InfiniteGuest, not today
Getting very nervous about that upcoming trip to go shopping Paris.
What? Worst comment since 2007.
Dude has anyone else known of people that have been caught in extra marital affairs due to the Apple software update? This weekend 3 people I know were either caught or got caught because they updated the software on their iPhone and messages were forwarded to the family iPad. Needless to say they wont be buying Apple products anymore.
-Guy who keeps his dingy in his pants, but wonders how many were ensnared in this update.
Cribbing comments from Deadspin is the NKI
You sure do.
- Dien Bien Phu
Blowjz is Polish for "retail douchebag"
Guess that's one upside to not being able to afford a family iPad
What did I say at dinner last night? NEVER go full retard without cameras rolling or speaking infront of Congress.
Shoulda bought a Surface, bro
Why does it always have to be white people problems on DB? I'm sorry, but I am an uneducated black female concilwoman from Detriot, I simply dont understand why we can't post more comments about job creation.
You need to deposit a nickle in order to dump at DB? WTF? Is this like at Aldi's you give a quarter to get a shopping cart?
Scathing case of examining your motives.
Sorry, we're racing against the clock here to figure out who exactly Timmy G's CEO is before he leaves town.
Yeah… icloud is a biatch … esp when your night out pics turn up scrolling through during breakfast on the family TV…
Sounds like you know a bunch of ABS traders then.
-Guy who took a page from drug dealers books and went pre-paid for second phone.
Apple's bedroom capitalism: letting the wife know you have a mistress so she steps her game up in the sack. genius
huh…
I thought it was surface pro
can we call you Morgan Burner ?
good handle from now on
Link it , or it wasn't cribbed…
We're not that bad.
Austerlitz
Well, in all fairness… http://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/french_mil… http://www.cracked.com/article_18409_the-5-most-s…
I heard his excuse doesn't have a leg to stand on.
SurfacePro is the clean up company when you have a fire or flood issue in your house.
"Racing"……. Really??
how do you know a banker went to school in the big ten? he doesn't know how to turn off photo stream on his iPhone (hint: settings -> iCloud -> photostream off). oh and his wife is usually gross.
How do you know a banker/trader/etc. is an idiot?
He's generating a *photographic record* for his wife's divorce lawyer.
"English Mangled Here"
So much of this confuses me
Ignorance is not just bliss, it's a defense.
That's why ya gotta go with the triple-pane!
this guy gets it
Russians Wade Into the Snow to Seek Treasure From the Sky
Actually kinda stuck on this one
Nickel?
Somehow this seems appropriate….
<img src=http://4.cdn.tapcdn.com/images/thumbs/taps/2013/02/d9d0945ef09c55fc43fb00a3bfda519b-620650f4-sz483x750-animate.jpg" />
Or even this …
<img src=http://4.cdn.tapcdn.com/images/thumbs/taps/2013/02/d9d0945ef09c55fc43fb00a3bfda519b-620650f4-sz483x750-animate.jpg" />
or this ???
<img src="http://4.cdn.tapcdn.com/images/thumbs/taps/2013/02/d9d0945ef09c55fc43fb00a3bfda519b-620650f4-sz483x750-animate.jpg"/>