London’s Investment Banks Double Pay to Lure Back City Talent (Bloomberg)
Great news: “The banks are killing the boutiques,” said Daryl Bowden, co-chief executive officer of ICAP Plc’s equities unit in Europe and Asia. “They’re doubling salaries and offering above-average compensation. Banks today have limited risk so people can work there without fear.”
Contrarian Investor Sees Economic Crash in China (NYT)
Jim Chanos “is warning that China’s hyperstimulated economy is headed for a crash, rather than the sustained boom that most economists predict. Its surging real estate sector, buoyed by a flood of speculative capital, looks like ‘Dubai times 1,000 — or worse,’ he frets. He even suspects that Beijing is cooking its books, faking, among other things, its eye-popping growth rates of more than 8 percent.” Meanwhile, Jim Rogers, who says China “is not a bubble,”‘ is making the bold claim that Jim Chanos didn’t know how to spell ‘China’ as of ten years ago.
Swiss Regulator Broke Law on UBS Client Disclosure (Bloomberg)
Oops: Switzerland’s financial markets regulator broke the law when it ordered UBS AG to give data on 255 of the bank’s clients to the U.S. last year, a court ruled. “Even if Finma was in a difficult situation because of the threat of a lawsuit against UBS, it shouldn’t have authorized the data transfer without following the proper administrative procedure,” the court said in a statement attached to the ruling. “An authority like Finma cannot apply state of emergency measures in place of the government.”
Tip Of Iceberg (New Deal 2.0)
Eliot Spitzer still wants to see those AIG emails. You people can’t hide much longer.
TCW Group Sues Former CIO Jeffrey Gundlach For Having Drugs, Pornos And 12 “Sexual Devices” In Office (DB)
In case you missed it yesterday.
Goldman Sued By Pension Fund Over Bonus Plans (Reuters)
In a lawsuit filed in New York state supreme court in Manhattan on behalf of shareholders, the Central Laborers’ Pension Fund said Goldman had by September 25 set aside nearly $17 billion for compensation and might pay out more than $22 billion for the year. It said this “highlights the complete breakdown” of corporate oversight.
Spending Bonus Cash Becomes Risky as Clawback Rules Increase (Bloomberg)
Seventy-three percent of Fortune 100 companies, or the largest U.S. firms based on revenue, said they had clawback policies in 2009 compared with 18 percent in 2006, according to Equilar, a Redwood Shores, California-based executive compensation research firm.

Geithner’s New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure (Bloomberg)
Apparently there was some stuff TG preferred to keep on the DL: “AIG said in a draft of a regulatory filing that the insurer paid banks, which included Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA, 100 cents on the dollar for credit-default swaps they bought from the firm. The New York Fed crossed out the reference, according to the e-mails, and AIG excluded the language when the filing was made public on Dec. 24, 2008. The e-mails were obtained by Representative Darrell Issa, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.”
Dubai World says debt revamp plan “some time away” (Reuters)
A report in Alrroya newspaper quoted an unidentified banking source saying Dubai World would “answer its creditors electronically today (Thursday).” A spokeswoman responded, “The story is erroneous. We are some time away from presenting a restructuring plan,” adding that the next step in the discussions between the debt-laden company and its creditors would be to agree to a standstill.
Wynn, Wife Split Casino Stock as Part of Divorce (AP)
Wynn transferred control of $741 million worth of his stock (more than 11 million shares) in Wynn Resorts Ltd. to his (ex) wife, Elaine, as part of a divorce settlement.
We Must Rehabilitate Risk: France’s Lagarde (CNBC)
She also warned of two imbalances which were part of the reason the crisis was so deep: “the balance of payments imbalance and monetary imbalances.”

Read more »

Galleon’s Rajaratnam Paid Tipster, Filing Says (WSJ)
In a filing in Southern District of New York court, prosecutors said Mr. Rajaratnam made the payment in 2006 to an unidentified source for a tip about an acquisition of ATI Technologies Inc. by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., reaping $19 million in illicit profit.
Prosecutors: Expect more U.S. charges vs Rajaratnam (Reuters)
Prosecutors said that while the indictment in December “alleged that Rajaratnam was responsible for illicit profits of $17 million, at this time the government believes that the total illicit gains attributable to Rajaratnam’s illegal trading are at least approximately $36 million.” The memorandum went on to say that the government plans to file a superseding indictment “that will expand the charges set forth against Rajaratnam in the current indictment.”
Hedge Fund Goes ‘Mom and Pop’ (WSJ)
AQR is launching its seventh mutual fund.
Senator Chris Dodd Won’t Seek Reelection (Politico)
He and his hair are retiring at the end of the year.
Citi’s Havens Got $9 Million for ’09 (WSJ)
Ken Feinberg reviewed the structure but not the dollar amount of the investment banking chief’s pay package, because the executive wasn’t among the 20 highest-paid executives at the time of Mr. Feinberg’s review last year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
UK Treasury to cash in as bonus tax fails (FT)
Alistair Darling’s “allies admit the tax has not changed the behaviour of big financial institutions, but take comfort in the fact that the Treasury is set for a windfall of hundreds of millions of pounds just months before the election as a result.”