Unlike the life-changing partnership ritual that takes place every two years, the managing director promotions, announced Wednesday, are more of a light pat on the ass that says, you’re doing a pretty okay job so far, but don’t get cocky. Stay hungry for the reach-around. In even more day-making news, Goldman decided to shine the light on much fewer employees than in prior times (down 19 percent from 2010′s 321), making the chosen feel extra special. Continue reading »
Goldman Sachs
Mr. Kokonas added that during recent visits to Babbo and Del Posto, he noticed many customers were from out of town, as opposed to regulars from Wall Street. “He could probably p— off every bank in the world and still be fine,” Mr. Kokonas said. “Maybe Goldman will cancel their Christmas party at Del Posto, but that’s about it.” Goldman and other Wall Street banks declined to comment. But some bankers say Mr. Batali’s comments may have an upside. Said one Goldman banker: “If fewer bankers go to Babbo, maybe I can finally get a reservation.” [WSJ]
Fuzzy thinking and winging it might not lead to total disaster at a place like Goldman, which eventually worked its way out of the Long-Term Capital mess, but it could, and did, at a place like MF Global, a midsize brokerage firm where the CEO has a free hand. “That’s why the meltdown didn’t really surprise me,” says another former colleague. “What happened is typical Corzine.” [TDB/Charlie Gasparino]
As previously discussed, MF Global needs to sell (at least part of) itself and fast. Who wants to break themselves off a piece of Jon Corzine’s firm? According to the Journal, MF-G “earlier had a roster of up to 10 potential partners, but has narrowed that list in recent days to fewer than five.” Whether those who made the wish list include Goldman Sachs, State Street and Macquarie, who were said to be interested in an acquisition as of this morning, is unclear. Also! There are apparently a few other names who are thinking about considering the idea of maybe or maybe not approaching JSC. Continue reading »
“Goldman could benefit from MF Global’s plight,” Bove said in a note today. “One might argue that Goldman is over capitalized and that it has too much liquidity. Buying some or all of MF Global might create the opportunity to make a windfall profit.” MF Global, run by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Corzine, is exploring strategic options, including a potential sale, after reporting its biggest quarterly loss ever and having its credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service, a person with knowledge of the matter said today. [Bloomberg]
In his most recent Wall Street tome, Money And Power: How Goldman Sachs Came To Rule The World, William Cohan wrote of a GS partner who several years back, sought to teach a group of new employees the values of stick-to-itiveness and having “the right attitude.” To do so, he “summoned a group of i-banking greenhorns to a conference room at 5PM on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend,” showed up at 10PM and fired those who’d left early. Lessons were learned.
Obviously, this little exercise would still hold up as an effective behavioral tool today. Having said that, 1) it’s been done, so people will see it come a mile away and act accordingly and 2) if you’re an employer who’d like to really crank up the heat on your staff, consider the following scenario: Continue reading »
- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
