Yesterday we told you that the reason for the Dubya’s visit to Wall Street was two-fold: to create the illusion that he’s done something besides screw up in Iraq and post admirable poll ratings, and to inconvenience those of you in need of caffeine. Apparently there was another reason he hopped on the Acela from Washington Wednesday morning: to shame business leaders for shirking their responsibilities to dole out appropriate salaries and bonuses to C.E.O.s. Though there was no heckling (except from Nardelli, but he always heckles), Bushie’s instructions to “pay attention to the executive compensation packages that you approve” and to make salaries and bonuses commensurate with the “C.E.O.s…success at improving their companies and bringing value to their shareholders” was reportedly met with “silence.” (A point of contention: was the lack of laughter due to bitterness at the idea that the president might be leaving them penniless, or shock over having a guy who’s not yet mastered the riding of a bike or the swallowing of a pretzel, let alone the running of a country, give a lecture on earning one’s keep?) Though he took a shot at the Dems’ plans for legislation that would require shareholder votes on pay packages (saying he didn’t think the government should get involved), he made sure to praise the Securities and Exchange Commission, commenting, “I appreciate the fact that S.E.C. has issued new rules to ensure that there is transparency when it comes to executive pay packages…the print ought to be big and understandable.” Like, you know, the font size and reading level they might use in the Hardy Boys series, or maybe even them See Spot Run books.
Why Did Bush Step Into C.E.O. Pay Debate? [NYT]
Wall Street
Bush’s “State of the Economy” speech is happening rightthissecond at Federal Hall on Wall Street. Unlike the State of the Union, the SE is not an annual party, but one delivered at the whim of the Commander in Chief, whenever he has a premonition that his numbers are bad enough that he needs to book a seat on the Acela from Union Station to Penn and tout something “good” as the work of his own nimble fingers. So far, Bushie-boy has reckoned that “America’s capital markets are the deepest, the broadest and the most efficient in the world,” and has called for changes to Sar-Box, specifically Section 404, stating that we “don’t need to change the law, we need to change the way the law is implemented.” Groundbreaking stuff, eh? Well it wasn’t just a waste of time and $180 for the Dubya. Incidentally, he’s also inconvenienced those of you who actually work on Wall Street, too.
[11:46] ClipperJCM: So President Fool is speaking in the building next door, and as a consequence, I can’t leave the building to get coffee.
[11:48] ohbabyitsbess: that seems like an unusually restrictive security measure
[11:48] ohbabyitsbess: no coffee in the vicinity of the president?
[11:57] ClipperJCM: Starbucks is across the street.
[11:57] ClipperJCM: And of course I dislike Starbucks, but sometimes it serves the purpose
[11:57] ClipperJCM: At the moment, I can’t cross the street.
[11:58] ClipperJCM: Dunkin Donuts is my preferred haunt. It’s down Broad Street, and I can’t walk that way without passing through the phalanx of Secret Service
[11:58] ohbabyitsbess: i suppose a trump building badge does not interest the secret service
[11:59] ClipperJCM: it’ll get me back onto my own block
[11:59] ClipperJCM: and into my building
[11:59] ClipperJCM: but I won’t be able to cross over to blocks with decent coffee
[11:59] ClipperJCM: my only option is the horrible little stand in our building
[11:59] ClipperJCM: or suicide
[12:00] ohbabyitsbess: 6-1, half a dozen to the other
Bush says lawsuits, regulations hurting markets [Reuters]
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Bloomberg
Wall Street: The Rumors Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated. Or Have They?
By Bess Levin
Earlier this week, you’ll recall, if you read this site, we regurgitated the news that Bloomberg and the Schumster had issued a report heralding the death of Wall Street. “60,000 jobs” and “$25 billion” and the need for “looser European-style regulations” and “F Sarbanes-Oxley” was the gist of it (we think—we kind of just glossed over it). Today the New York Times and FT both run “everybody calm down, it’s not going to be that bad” pieces, suggesting that, while New York won’t be the God of All Things Financial anymore, it’s not going to hell in the hand basket Mikey and Chuck would have us believe.
At NYT, Jenny Anderson writes:
Like London’s, all markets can always be improved. And the United States markets are in need of improving. There is near-unanimous agreement that Section 404 has had dire unintended consequences. Global investment banks could lower the high I.P.O. fees they charge in the United States. The federal government could fix immigration issues so that people can flow more easily into and out of New York.
But New York will also have to accept that it will be a leader among global financial centers rather than the leader.
At FT, Richard Beales comments:
Talk of New York’s demise as a financial centre is absurdly premature…
We’re not here to make trouble (that’s a lie) and Anderson and Beales generally sound like they know what’s up, but if New York isn’t in trouble then why did Eliot Spitzer essentially read the report, get up, and jump ship? The guy who, up until a few days ago, could be counted on to nail Wall Street’s inhabitants for J-walking and public urination (we actually agree with the vigor of his prosecution on the latter). Doesn’t his sudden and radical departure mean we really are up to our necks in feces? It’s got to. It’s like if John Carney were to—and this is just a for instance—endlessly go on about the wonders of Jameson then suddenly stopped drinking…
From: John Carney
To: us, among others, who have a vested interest in his drinking habits
[yada, yada, yada]
-C-bombs
PPS: If you really want to know more about what it’s like to be laid-up with lots of broken bones and pain, well it’s no big deal. Really. But there’s no loot, there’s no booze and it’s no fun. But the Tossers said it better than I can. See for yourself below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOVgNIp0EeU”
On second thought, maybe Anderson and Beale are right that Wall Street’s not dead—it’s just got a few broken bones.
About Those Fears of Wall Street’s Decline… [NYT]
On Wall Street: New York’s thicket of complicated rules [FT]
Sunday’s New York Times Magazine carried a story on something that sounds like it came straight out of a Tom Wolfe novel–the church of Wall Street. Okay, it’s not exactly worshipping the stock market. It’s allegedly some sort of Christian outfit. But you judge for yourself exactly what it’s about. Here’s how the Times describes the conversion of church leader Dan Stratton, Yale college, Skull & Bones, Goldman Sachs commodities trader turned pastor of the Faith Exchange Fellowship:
The next stop on Dan Stratton’s Road to Damascus came on April 27, 1987. His official church biography tells the story: “For many months prior to this date, the precious-metals futures markets had been slow, prompting Dan to distribute his résumé. But on this day, God chose to confirm Dan on the Exchanges and launch his ministry by enhancing his reputation. It was on this day that God chose to rain $453,000 into his life.”
What happened next is recounted in “Divine ProVision.” “Just a few months later, Dan became a full member of the New York Futures Exchange. Then again, in May 1989, God blessed him to become a member of the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange. And again, in January 1991, YHWH himself opened the door for Dan to join the membership of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Now that Dan had the power of God’s spirit working with him in his business labors, the increase was no longer just gradual — it was supernatural.”
Stratton began evangelizing among his fellow traders. “During lulls in the action, they would mostly sit around reading betting sheets and porno magazines, or having silly conversations,” Stratton says. To counter this moral sloth, he began publishing a weekly Faith Exchange newsletter. Most copies wound up in the trash. But gradually Stratton found appreciative readers. “The newsletter birthed the church,” he says.
Preaching to Wall Street [New York Times Magazine]
One of our favorite bloggers, Leveraged Sell-Out, today takes a photo tour of the financial district, complete with quotes…er, well, quote bubbles and thought bubbles…from various folks he encounters. The photo above is taken about half a block away from DealBreaker’s Wall Street branch office.
My Midday Stroll [Leveraged Sell-Out]
But now you can do in solidarity with protestors against the most recent race charged police shooting.
Black New Yorkers demanded the police chief’s resignation at a rally today and unveiled plans to shut down Wall Street after police killed a black man on his wedding day when they fired 50 bullets at three unarmed men.
Sean Bell, 23, who was out for a bachelor party, was killed on November 25, hours before he was to marry the mother of his two children. Two friends with him were wounded, one critically.
The Queens District Attorney is investigating the incident.
The December 12th Movement, a human rights group that organised the protest, wants Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to step down and called for a “Day of black outrage” on December 22 that would “shut Wall Street down”.
Black community rallies over police shooting [Courier Mail]
It’s all about Dick Grasso’s head today. If you’re anywhere near the New York Stock Exchange today, you might have noticed a giant, crazy, multicolored portrait of Dick Grasso. The painting is the work of Geoffrey Raymond, the man Eater.com calls “The Mad Portraitist of 7th Avenue” for his paintings of restaurant workers in Chelsea.
“Richard Grasso is either a hero or a villain, plus he has an interesting looking head,” explains Mr. Raymond. “He’s either played he game better than almost anyone in recent history or he’s guilty of massive corporate malfeasance. In either case, he makes a great subject for a painting.”
You see, painting is beyond good and evil. And it’s for sale! You can bid for it on Ebay. The opening bid is $2,500.
After the jump, and even bigger image of the portrait.
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