[via BI]
All of ARS’s jealous colleagues at the Times, the one who think he’s been able to land his sources because he goes easy on them in print, or the New York reporters who imply by way of nonsensical euphemism that he gives them head, can S a D. You people have idea what you’re talking about, and the man himself has set the record straight. He reels in his big fish by “whispering in their ear” and doing that thing with his tongue.
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Andrew Ross Sorkin: “I Whisper In My Sources’ Ears And Hope They’re Going To Whisper Back”
By Bess Levin
Signing books in front of Times headquarters until early Christmas morning.Turns out the banks have found a way to make escaping TARP profitable both for themselves and their bonus-receiving employees. Whoever would have guessed?
None but the intrepid Andrew Ross Sorkin, out to prove that he’s no tool of the Wall Street CEOs who love him so.
Here’s what the post-bailout bonanza means for all the banks that helped find investors for the new shares: Bank of America’s $19.3 billion offering generated $482 million in fees; Citigroup’s $17 billion offering resulted in $425 million in fees; and Wells Fargo’s $12.2 billion offering led to $275.6 million in fees. (The banks paid themselves roughly 2.5 percent of the offering price.)…
Those fees are likely to factor into the bonuses for the investment bankers involved.
FYI, Charlie Gasparino Will Meet Or Beat This Offer (By Signing Your Loved One’s Tits)
By Bess Levin
Also, in case it wasn’t clear to the cheapskates in the group, you still have to buy the book. ARS does not give it away for free.
Do Wall Street Executives “Defecate In Their Pants” When Andrew Ross Sorkin Calls Them
By Bess LevinIn the New York magazine profile earlier this month, Andrew Ross Sorkin said that one of the ways he’s able to land big sources is by not being “adversarial or coming to the table with an ax to grind.” The piece also claimed that many of ARS’s colleagues at the Times think it has to do with the fact that he’s too buddy-buddy with his high-profile pals, and goes way too easy on them in print. Not true, says Joe Scarborough. Not only is it a lie that Sorkin’s reporting process entails calling up CEO’s and asking for their side of the story, scheduling a meeting and suggesting he wait outside while a PR person asks some pre-approved questions, the answers of which are transcribed into a column, but these guys are horrified of ARS. So much so, Scarborough said in a radio show with Sorkin this morning, that just being told Times-boy is on the line causes them to “lose control of their bowels.”
Scarborough also claims that besides literally scaring the shit out of these guys, Sorkin is “so frightening” that they had to come to his book party and “bow down” to him. We didn’t see any head bobbing at the Too Big To Fail soiree but perhaps it went on in a backroom. Anywho, let’s do an informal poll: do Jamie Dimon, John Mack, Ken Griffin, Billy Ackman et al soil themselves at the sound of the letters “A-R-S?” And what are we to infer from the fact that Blankfein was a no show to Sorkin’s big night?
Wells Fargo has become the latest firm to offer a belated “my bad” on auction-rate securities.
The bank’s Wells Fargo Investments today agreed to repay clients who bought the unfortunate securities some $1.3 billion. It’s also paying an additional “I’m sorry” penalty of $1.9 million, for allegedly promising clients that ARS were highly liquid and that nothing could possibly go wrong.
Of course, something did go wrong: The ARS market collapsed in February 2008 and all of those billions–Wells Fargo sold some $2.95 billion in ARS–were frozen.
Charlie Gasparino And Andrew Ross Sorkin Make Nice, Charlie And Lloyd Blankfein Not So Much
By Bess Levin
So Charlie Gasparino and Ken Feinberg had a 20 martini dinner last night, which came after Chaz’s keynote address at the Directorship 100. Gaspo told a captive audience that the Compensation Cop “has Wall Street by the stugats.” Before all that, though, Gasparino had a run in with Andrew Ross Sorkin, who you may have noticed the Jabroni Pony’s had some beef with of late. There’s the fact that the two have competing financial crisis books out, but the thing that’s mostly chapped CG’s hide is the section of Too Big To Fail wherein Sorkin claims Lloyd Blankfein was fed up with Gasparino’s alleged “rumor-mongering” last fall. Presumably trying to head off an awkward confrontation in the men’s room and/or a crowbar beatin’, ARS approached Chaz and told him, “I’m going to shake your hand.” The sensitive side of Chazpo came out and he asked Sorkin, “How would you feel if I wrote that?” Times-boy told CG he was sorry, and sufficiently pleased with the contrition, we’re told Gasparino, feeling particularly close to what he’s affectionately dubbed “my own personal Hymen Roth,” shared some thoughts on Blankfein: “A twerp with half a nut.” (We called Rego Park’s first son to confirm the description this morning– he told us “I’ll neither confirm nor deny” which CG will be the first to tell you is all the proof we need.) Anyway! Here’s a clip of Charlie demonstrating how to grab someone by what GE has required he refers to as their “you know whats.”
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