December 13, 2011
Board of Directors
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Attention: Mr. Roy Bostock, ChairmanDear Directors:
Third Point LLC, as the beneficial owner of 5.2% of Yahoo! Inc.’s (“Yahoo”) outstanding shares, remains extremely troubled by news reports regarding the dysfunction and inequity being exhibited in the process of maximizing stockholder value that the Board is allegedly “managing”. We are disturbed but not surprised by this mismanagement given the history of strategic bungling by Yahoo Board Chairman Roy Bostock and Founder Jerry Yang, which has been chronicled in our previous letters and in numerous critical media and analyst reports. As significant shareholders with our own fiduciary duties to investors to uphold, we cannot stand by silently if such reports are accurate and Yahoo, a company in no need of cash, plans to engage in a sweetheart PIPE deal which will serve only to entrench Mr. Yang and the current board while massively disenfranchising public shareholders and permanently robbing us of the opportunity to obtain a control premium.
advice
Mike Bloomberg: You Can Take Unlimited Bathroom Breaks Or You Can Actually Make Something Of Yourself. Your Call.
By Bess Levin
Maybe you’re a first-year analyst at Goldman Sachs who’d like to run the place. Maybe you’re a SAC trader who wants to be the next Steve. Maybe you’re the CEO of JPMorgan, though you’d prefer the title of Mr. Treasury Secretary. Maybe you’re a mega successful hedge fund manager who dreams of breeding dogs and, one day, taking your best dog to Alaska to run and win the Iditorad in record time, with you driving. You’ve all got a dream but the question is, how are you going to make it happen? If you really want to know, Mike Bloomberg will tell you. The first thing you’re gonna do, the Mayor said in an recent interview, is you’re gonna stop being afraid. You’re not going to have a defeatist attitude that causes you to miss out on things. You’re going to seize every day as an opportunity and you’re going to realize that every situation has an upside if you look hard enough. Sayeth Hizzoner:
“You have that drive to look at the bright side. There’s never been a day I haven’t looked forward to going into work- even the days I knew I was going to get beat up, even the day I knew I was going to get fired…I had never been fired before and wondered what it was like-I thought okay, let’s go find out.”
Second, and most importantly, you’re going to put in the time. Now, Mike knows that anyone can spout off vague cliches about working hard and blah, blah, blah. He’s not here to do that. He’s here to tell you to keep your ass glued to that god damn chair and not get up for anything. Not fresh air, not lunch, not to take a leak. Think he’s not speaking literally? Think again! He doesn’t care if you’re about to piss your pants or if you have a family history of kidney failure. You get out of that chair and it’s over. Continue reading »
Bill Gross’s Investment Advice: Don’t Let The US Government Boil Your Frog Legs Or Drown You In A Pitcher Of Milk
By Bess Levin
Just, let him finish. Continue reading »
“I hope something happens before the 2nd of August because if that comes and brinkmanship continues between the Republicans and Democrats, between Congress and the President, that’s a time bomb…You cannot play games with this. This is gambling. This is the United States. You’re leading the whole world, economically-speaking. I hear a lot about China and India. They’re all good run but they’re not the United States. The financial community of all the economies in the world is the United States. This remains for many years to come. You cannot play games with that at all.” Continue reading »
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MBAs
Lovesick Lady Needs Help Deciphering Whether Boyfriend Dumped Her Because Of The CFA Exam
By Bess LevinHere’s what she wrote earlier this week to a relationship columnist with the Boston Globe:
Long time, first time. Back story is that I started dating my best friend of about five years this past September. He is the most kindhearted, gentle, and fun person I know. He has seen me go through my share of bad relationships and heartache. He’s two years older than me and this is his first real relationship and longest relationship. We both started to like each other early last year but didn’t act on it until the summer. We were scared to cross the line and he was studying for Part 2 of the CFA (crazy finance test!) all last winter/spring so I didn’t want to distract him.
He was always the one pushing for us to start dating once it was on the table, and after spending time with him, I grew to love him. It’s by far the best relationship I’ve been in and he treats me so well I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him (I’m 23. I’ve been around the block. I’ve known him for 5 years).
He is in the thick of studying for part 3 of the CFA right now and has been since January. The test is in early June. I have been incredibly understanding about his priority (passing this test!). When his job and the studying became extra stressful last month, he threw a curve ball at me and said that he felt like something was missing in our relationship but that he couldn’t decipher if it was his external stresses or just us. We decided to work on it, but more recently the conversation came back up and he said he still feels something is missing. I’m deeply hurt by this and I really just hope it’s the stress of the CFA that is sucking the life out of him, but I also don’t think it’s fair for me to sit around and wait until after the CFA for my “trial period” to be up.
We called it off last night and I’m just looking for some help on how I should be feeling about this situation and what to do after the CFA is over in June. Reevaluate? Move on? Is he just a commitment-phobe?
– CFA is ruining my life, Boston
Knows what you're talking about.
Two weeks ago a London-based banker wrote to the Financial Times seeking help with a problem related to her hotness.
I know that you will think this problem is mad, but I fear I’m too good looking for corporate life. As a student I used my looks to make money modelling, but now that I’m in the City I feel they are holding me back. Female colleagues distrust me, while male colleagues are drawn to me, but don’t take me very seriously. My boss has told me that I need to network more. But I find networking events are ghastly, with all the eager men dribbling over me. What can I do, short of turning up to work in a bin liner? – Banker, female, 27
Many of you offered her advice. Today the FT has responded with their own, telling the girl 1) shut up 2) get over it 3) it’s true that “women don’t like you, men like you too much” and 4) you won’t be hot forever. Continue reading »
Someone who can relate.
A London-based banker has written to the Financial Times with a problem related to her hotness. She says:
I know that you will think this problem is mad, but I fear I’m too good looking for corporate life. As a student I used my looks to make money modelling, but now that I’m in the City I feel they are holding me back. Female colleagues distrust me, while male colleagues are drawn to me, but don’t take me very seriously. My boss has told me that I need to network more. But I find networking events are ghastly, with all the eager men dribbling over me. What can I do, short of turning up to work in a bin liner?
Banker, female, 27
Morgan Stanley employees should feel free to interpret this as they see fit. Continue reading »
Bloomberg Columnist Counsels Brett Favre To Find A Post-NFL Career That “Fills The Competitive Void”
By Bess Levin
Like some of his colleagues on the field, perhaps Favre should consider a gig on Wall Street. Continue reading »
Analyst Who Fears His “Overly Muscular Stature” Won’t Work For Wall Street Seeks Advice
By Bess LevinEarlier this week, a young financial services employee posed a question to the universe about a problem vis-à-vis size. He wrote:
Continue reading »
Tags: a rather large man (both in stature and in the pants.), advice, college, discrimination towards large muscular guys, football, handshakes, I have honestly never come across anyone even close to the size I am at the office, just kidding about the penis size comment, max 10% body fat, serious question of the day, tips