Yes, we were quite shocked too, to find that Portfolio (yes, that Portfolio) seems to have an occasional penchant for investigative journalism. Or perhaps they are just more tolerant of reading SEC filings and the like than we have been of late. But who can resist a juicy tale of unexplained millions in payments to former Microsoft employees, divorce filings, insider trading, politically motivated SEC coverups and, best of all perhaps, John Mack?
A separate facet of the S.E.C. investigation looked into whether Morgan Stanley C.E.O. John Mack had fed inside information to Samberg about a planned General Electric acquisition of Heller Financial, a lender to businesses. Samberg’s hedge fund had bought Heller shares and shorted G.E. stock in advance of the announcement, and made $18 million on the trading, the S.E.C. said.
The Mack aspect of the case hit the headlines because the S.E.C. fired the government lawyer investigating the allegations, Gary Aguirre. Aguirre claimed he was fired for insisting on subpoenaing Mack, a move which he said higher-ups at the S.E.C. overruled because of Mack’s connections and political clout.
The S.E.C. denied that, but a joint investigation by the Senate judiciary and finance committees in August 2007 sided with Aguirre and sharply faulted the S.E.C. for failing to pursue the case, including the evidence concerning Zilkha and Samberg’s Microsoft trading.
Pequot’s Puzzling Payments [Portfolio]
How’s your PnL looking so far this year? Happy your long dollar position is starting to look good? Or are you annoying your b-school alumni affairs office asking them to post more jobs for experienced grads (Hey, Columbia, are you reading this? Get to work!).
Either way, if you have time to read this, I’ll bet you’re not doing as well as Adam Levinson. No, not that jerk from Maroon 5 — that’s Adam Levine.
Adam Levinson is doing WAY better than Adam Levine. For one, no one’s calling him a no-talent bastard to his face. For another, Fortress Investment Group just gave him $300 million in shares. But that’s not the first time he made more money than you or that weasel Adam Levine.
According to Jeffrey Cane of Portfolio.com (who wrote a piece linking to a lot of other pieces I didn’t read; As a former derivatives trader, I like to think of this as derivative journalism):
“Levinson, whose annual income Trader Monthly estimated a year ago was between $75 million and $100 million, joined Fortress in 2002 from Goldman Sachs. “
Then Cane asks the question we all ask ourselves when we read such things, if only to make ourselves feel better:
“The package shows that even amid a slowdown, firms are still paying out huge sums to star traders and dealmakers. Are they worth it?”
If you’re not Adam Levinson, the answer to that question is usually, “Hell no! Give that money to me!”. However, if you’re Adam Levinson, the answer is inevitably, “Hell yes! I should be paid more!”
Apparently, a Citigroup analyst disagrees with Fortress and Levinson and Cane provides a nifty quote. However, at the rate things are going, Levinson can buy out Citigroup, fire the analyst, and delete Adam Levine’s bank account so we don’t have to read about his dating exploits ever again.
Apropos of nothing, I always think of this site when i think of Adam Levine.
Muffie Benson-Perella (muffie AT dealbreaker.com) was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of a “Bulge Bracket” bank. She holds a B.A. in French and Art from Vassar College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She concentrated in Contemporary French Poetry at prep school where she was awarded the exclusive premiership of the school’s “French Club.” Today, Ms. Benson-Perella is the Founder and Managing Director of “Muffie on Markets” (http://www.muffmarkets.com), a deep dive into capital markets, finance and investment strategy. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Muff Cap, LLC., an invitation only, private investment vehicle for non-existent, prestigious and accredited investors only, employing an actively managed, long-short strategy.
I really don’t think Portfolio is being fair to Cody Willard.
The Fox Business host is mocked in the most condescending of tones by Jeff Bercovici, who given his appearance, should probably not be throwing stones. This is a pity, because he looks a little like Dan Loeb (Danny, I left messages, call me, ok?). Well, all right, Dan Loeb after a some really bad coke and wrong turn somewhere in New Jersey.
The world of finance is very image conscious. Cody understands this implicitly. His Samson-like tendrils are a statement. A strong and powerful message. “I am here,” they silently protest. Financial media is even more image conscious than finance is. So it stands to reason that Cody would be particular about his hair.
Still, Cody, we might have to work on that tie.
FBN’s Willard: ‘I Love My Hairstylist to Death’ [Portfolio]
The bond insurers have all rocketed today on the expectation that a bailout from the banks will be announced any time now. But this has hardly tempered the words of their critics. Everyone from Bill Ackman to Warren Buffett has criticized bond insurers for guaranteeing complex derivatives whose underlying risk they seem not to have understood. Even the core business of the insurers—guaranteeing municipal bonds—has come under fire.
In this month’s Portfolio, writer Jesse Eisinger argues that bond insurance is a racket, basically a tax-payer rip-off carried out by the collusion of bond insurers, Wall Street firms and credit rating agencies. It s a pretty extraordinary claim, for which Eisinger offers no real evidence other than the allegations of a Attorney General who hopes to be the next Eliot Spitzer and a claim that the ratings agencies consistently assign municipal bonds ratings that are too low.
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We deserve some sort of prize for holding out a full five days to post about the nude pictures of Lindsay Lohan in New York Magazine. New York got some twenty million page views in the first two days, according to Jeff Bercovici. So much traffic that it crashed the website.
New York Magazine was started by writers and other disreputable literary types but soon fell into the hands of Rupert Murdoch thanks to a hostile takeover. When it happened, some were scandalized. Now it looks like a practice run for Murdoch’s takeover of the Wall Street Journal. Murdoch sold the magazine in 1990 to to K-III Communications, a partnership controlled by KKR’s Henry Kravis. The magazine did well for several years but Kravis was not exactly a hands-off owner. He reportedly fired an editor over the magazine’s coverage of his friends and Wall Street associates.
In 2003, New York was sold to Bruce Wasserstein, the Cravath attorney turned investment banker turned private equity baron. Wasserstein installed the best magazine editor alive, Adam Moss, to head the magazine. And that guy got Lindsay Lohan to pose naked for all of us, once again confirming his place at the top of the magazine editor heap. In short, we all have private equity to thank for bringing us this historic triumph.
Even better, there is an important tax lesson to be learned from all this. At least, that’s what we’re told by the folks at MainStreet.com, the money blog version of Parade magazine. How exactly are Lindsay’s assets taxable? We’re not quite sure we want to answer that question this early in the afternoon. But here’s how MainStreet.com gets there:
Unlike Hollywood starlets, most people are not stripping for the public, but there is a good chance that their financial records could undergo a shocking undressing. (Yes, we know it’s stretch, but go with it, dearest readers.) According to Surviving an IRS Tax Audit, nearly 50% of all taxpayers will be audited during their lifetime. While the initial notice in the mail can be cause for concern, an audit from the IRS doesn’t mean the worst as long as people know what to expect and are prepared.
At least they admit it’s a stretch. A-plus for effort, kids.
After the jump we bring private equity and Lindsay Lohan together in a much more intimate way. It’s NSFW, which is internet-speak for “totally awesome.”
Editor’s Note: That picture represents Lindsay on Portfolio, which seemed appropriate since Portfolio’s media writer was expounding on Lindsay. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
Lindsay Lohan Nude [New York]
Naked Lindsay a Web Home Run for ‘New York’ [Media Matters, Portfolio.com]
Naked Lohan Makes Us Think of Taxes [MainStreet.com]
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