You wanna play hardball? James Dimon is game. Read more »
threats
Confidential To JP Morgan Shareholders: Jamie Dimon Took His Own Non-Binding Vote And Early Results Indicate You People Might Wanna Be Careful What You Wish For
By Bess Levin“Moody’s Investors Service downgraded six European nations and became the first ratings firm to warn the U.K.’s rating could be at risk, citing the area’s weakening ability to implement measures aimed at reducing debt…Where Moody’s did deviate from recent actions by other ratings firms was in changing the outlook for the U.K. There had been no indication the U.K.’s outlook was necessarily in danger based on how other ratings firms view U.K.’s debt. Both S&P and Fitch have a stable outlook on their U.K. rating.” [WSJ]
Remember Nevin Shapiro? He’s the guy we named the Greatest Ponzi Schemer of All Time last August, over all other Ponzi schemers, Bernie included. While Madoff would have won if we were judging based on size alone, we weren’t. Shapiro took home the title because 1) with his ill-gotten gains, he made a name for himself in the University of Miami community and 2) he subsequently kicked things up a notch after being sent to jail, where he chose to fuck the Hurricanes’ football program raw, detailing the boatloads of prostitutes he bought for players (“I had the boat for prostitution situations”), the lavish meals he would treat them to at Benihanas, the “hit of the game” (Shapiro “put bounties on specific players, including Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and a three-year standing bounty on Seminoles quarterback Chris Rix from 2002 to 2004, offering $5,000 to any player who knocked him out of a game”) and the dancer he gave $500 to have an abortion after she got knocked up by one of the athletes who he kept in the dark about the pregnancy (“I was doing him a favor–that idiot might have wanted to keep [the baby]“). Anyway, Nevs was pretty, pretty, pretty angry that none of his so-called boys stuck by him after the Ponzi charges came out, hence the disclosing of the hookers, etc and, apparently, he’s not finished letting everyone know how he feels. Read more »
High-Level Jefferies Employees Were Ready To Pack It Up And Leave Until They Realized It’s Not 2007
By Bess Levin
Several executives and other employees in Jefferies Group Inc.’s prime-brokerage unit threatened to leave the firm in a dispute over issues including a recent restructuring and year-end compensation, people familiar with the matter said. The dispute led to a series of meetings Tuesday involving Jefferies executives and its global head of prime brokerage, Glen Dailey, the people said. Mr. Dailey, in response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, acknowledged the discussions but said no one was leaving, adding, “family affairs are now in order.” [WSJ, earlier, earlier]
Since When Is Saying “If You Don’t Like The Euro Trade You Repo This [Grabs Crotch] To Maturity” Considered A Threat?
By Bess LevinAsked if he’d threatened to leave MF Global if the board did not trust his judgment on the European trade, Mr. Corzine said no. But he conceded he had “one specific conversation with a lead director which could have been interpreted that way.” [WSJ]
The ultra-rich bankers, hedge fund managers and private equity executives of New York City have long enlisted private security firms to help safeguard them and their wealth. But as the mood on Main Street turns increasingly hostile, New York’s financial titans are cranking their security measures up to 11…One executive contacted Insite requesting help planning his escape from the United States in the event the federal government was overthrown, said Howard A. Shapiro, Insite’s chief technology officer. The executive wanted to know how much gold to keep on hand and how to escape the United States by submarine in the event of a major incident. [NYT via BI, related]
In a recent interview with New York, Lloyd Blankfein said “I’m tired of [Charlie] Gasparino. I wish he would quit.” Chaz apparently caught wind of Blankfein’s wish, and earlier this afternoon, took to Twitter to respond. Read more »
Standard & Poor’s Friday put a broad range of financial firms on negative credit watch, warning they could all be downgraded if the United States has its credit rating cut. The S&P action takes in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, all “AAA”-rated insurers, clearinghouses, fixed-income and exchange-traded funds and hedge funds, some Federal Home Loan Banks and Farm Credit System Banks, among others. S&P characterized its targets as “entities with direct links to, or reliance on, the federal government.” [Reuters]
*Not actually necessary. Corpses are also on notice.
It could also be interpreted as the greatest veiled threat since Angelo Mozilo said Bank of America “will reap the benefits of what [Countrywide] has sowed.” Read more »
Time was, when bonus season rolled around, you could count on the discontent, the grumbling, the “this isn’t fair,” the “fuck you, you overpaid jerks,” and the “I’m going to do something crazy in defiance” coming from places far, far away from Wall Street. Sure, some people might have been upset about their particular numbers but on the whole, there wasn’t a lot of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ going on on the inside. This year, as we’ve discussed at length, bonuses at banks (hedge funds and private equity are doing just fine) will for the most part be fairly crummy (those getting flat numbers year-on-year are among the lucky). Of course, some people will be on the receiving end of enough zeros to make them smile– such as the top earners, who made the firm money– and this time around it’s their colleagues telling them to go to hell.
Annual bonuses at top global banks are causing ructions that could drive a outsized round of defections as weaker profits and tougher rules widen the pay discrepancy between star performers and everybody else. “The differentiation this year between a small number of top-fee earning investment bankers and the bulk of their colleagues will be unlike ever before,” said a top Asia executive at a large investment bank. “The tail end will be significantly hurt.”
What’s the tail end going to do about it? Read more »
If so, someone didn’t tell money manager Vincent McCrudden, who, according to CNBC, was arrested today by the FBI for things of that nature (he allegedly made told a total of 47 “US financial regulatory officials” that he might kill them). Read more »
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