As you may have noticed, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie doesn’t like a position someone has taken, he generally responds with some variation of telling the person taking it to go fuck themselves. Usually he adds little flourishes, like exaggeratedly rolling his eyes, or storming out of the room, or mocking people for being too sensitive, or letting his adversaries (constituents et al.) know that the decisions he makes are “none of their business,” or telling them things like “you should see me when I’m really pissed” and “get the hell off the beach– you’re done.” Most of the time he gives off the vibe that he would love to punctuate his comment by throwing the contents of a large fountain soda in his sparring partner’s face but sometimes you’ve got to draw a line.
In an interview yesterday, Christie was asked about Warren Buffett’s call to raise taxes on the super rich and, spoiler alert, he thinks the Oracle of Omaha should shut his trap and fast, ’cause the Governor no longer wants to hear it. Christie sent the message via Piers Morgan but rest assured he’d gladly do it in person. Continue reading »
Back in the day, as in 2007, Wall Street compensated its employees in a way that made them feel loved. In a way that allowed them to repress the true passions they would have been going after if the price were not oh so right. Now, obviously, not so much. Combine that with suffocating regulation and you’ve got a bunch of financial services hacks who are saying fuck this shit– I refuse to waste another day here while my dream of opening a line of Russian saunas in New Jersey slips away. So far just one guy– a Goldman trader in Moscow– has said that, but presumably the floodgates are about to open. Continue reading »
Earlier this week, Ken Langone invited 50 hedge fund managers and other financial services employees to his office. The occasion? A sit down with with Chris Christie, who the Home Depot founder apparently forced to discuss the possibility of running for president. Here’s what the New Jersey governor had to say: Continue reading »
Even if he has to dunk the damn balls himself. The billionaire also had this to say: “Do you remember the song of Frank Sinatra? ‘New York, New York.’ If I make it there I will make it anywhere.”
If you were hoping that the slowing economy and credit crunch would stymie private equity firms, you’ll be disappointed to here the news that the latest plan from the buyout kings at Blackstone involves buying debt from private equity deals gone bad. Blackstone is raising $1.5 billion to invest in the debt of troubled distressed companies taken private in leveraged buyouts. So far they have a $100 million commitment from that New Jersey state pension fund, that invested $180 million in Lehman Brothers.
In other news, if Wall Street gets anymore Jerstastic we’re going to start covering London instead. Blackstone’s GSO, Monarch Start Funds to Buy Distressed Debt [Bloomberg]
You’d think strip clubs, steak houses, and Real Doll outfitters would be the only ones feeling the pinch of financial professionals not making/spending any money, but you’d be wrong! In Northern New Jersey, bagels and cheese, items heretofore considered staples in the community, are being cast aside, deemed luxuries too expensive to justify in these hard times. Rick Breistein, proprietor of the Cheese Shop of Ridgewood which sells $60/pound English Stilton and Brillat-Savarin, says that many of his former customers are “bond traders…[who] don’t come in anymore…they are suffering–they are not making the money.”
And according to bagel guy Elliot Cohen, there’s been a dramatic drop in orders from the nearby Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney. “We used to get breakfast and lunch deliveries there, and we’ve seen a lot less,” he said. “One guy used to buy breakfast for the whole group on Friday. He doesn’t come anymore.” I speak for everyone here when I say there’s an almost unbearable sadness about this permeating the DBHQ this morning. So here’s what–our sandwich welfare program is now being extended to include bagels and lox. If you know a deserving individual who can no longer afford his/her own shmear, get in touch. Jews and non-Jews welcome. Any requests for flagels will be sent to spam. Wall Street’s Pain Felt By North Jersey Retailers [The Record]
As you may have noticed, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie doesn’t like a position someone has taken, he generally responds with some variation of telling the person taking it to go fuck themselves. Usually he adds little flourishes, like exaggeratedly rolling his eyes, or storming out of the room, or mocking people for being too sensitive, or letting his adversaries (constituents et al.) know that the decisions he makes are “none of their business,” or telling them things like “you should see me when I’m really pissed” and “get the hell off the beach– you’re done.” Most of the time he gives off the vibe that he would love to punctuate his comment by throwing the contents of a large fountain soda in his sparring partner’s face but sometimes you’ve got to draw a line.
