come on Pookie

  • 29 Jul 2011 at 1:15 PM

How Many Tender Little White Castle Burgers With Those Little, Itty-Bitty Grilled Onions That Just Explode In Your Mouth Like Flavor Crystals Can 3 JPMorgan Interns Eat In 5 Minutes?

By Bess Levin

Three summer interns are about to go head to head. All are said to be of “medium build,” with two standing at about 5’11 and one at 5’5. Continue reading »

  • 22 Jul 2010 at 12:15 PM

What Does The Financial Reform Bill Mean For You? Kumar Patel Knows

By Bess Levin

If you haven’t read the document yet (and only one person has so don’t feel bad), have a looksee at the clip above, produced by the White House, which explains the impetus for the bill (“the careless risk-taking by Wall Street had to be stopped”), makes some references to banks playing craps with other people’s money, confidently states with the passing of Dodd-Frank, “you can rest a little easier knowing your home and family will be protected from the irresponsibility of others,” and never once mentions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Perhaps most genius, however, was having the whole thing narrated by the soothing voice of Kal Penn, though if I had my preference, would rather listen to in this. Continue reading »

  • 26 Apr 2010 at 6:15 PM

Tomorrow, Pour One (White Castle Hamburger) Out For Goldman Sachs

By Bess Levin

Ahead of tomorrow’s hearing, there have been a flurry of stories about Goldman Sachs everywhere you look, including this here site. But it was only Kate Kelly’s Wall Street Journal article that really hit home. For whatever you think about Goldman Sachs and its employees, they’re just people. Just men. Just financial services hacks who, when they’re not coming up with nefarious plots to take over the universe (JK…JK I’m serious), are shoveling food in their mouths as quickly as possible for sport.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s mortgage traders, under the spotlight because of the U.S. government’s fraud lawsuit against the securities firm, made markets in more than just bonds during the real-estate bubble. They also cast bets on a White Castle hamburger-eating contest. In December 2007, after the firm distributed multimillion-dollar bonus checks in part thanks to bets on a mortgage meltdown, about 10 Goldman mortgage traders, surrounded by dozens of cheering colleagues, wolfed down the burgers, according to attendees. Bystanders wagered cash on how many burgers the traders could eat.

If you care about Lloyd and Co at all, and maybe you don’t, tomorrow you’ll step up to the plate and do one of these (but after the hearing so I can provide coverage, otherwise there’s no point). And if not for Lloyd, do it for Pookie. Continue reading »