Opening Bell: 11.04.09
BofA's Legal Counsel Had No Legal Authority In Merrill Deal (NYP)
Brian Moynihan was named general counsel on Dec. 10, 2008, but was not technically allowed to offer crucial legal advice until more than a week later, when he re-activated his status with the Massachusetts Bar Association. Oops! "This is another fact that leads me to believe there could be something rotten in the cotton," Representative Edolphus Towns told The Post.
Societe Generale Q3 profit more than doubles (Forbes)
SocGen said in a statement Wednesday that it made a net profit of euro426 million ($627 million) in the July to September period, compared with euro183 million a year earlier.
In Tax Case, 4 Days Saves Robertson $27 Million (WSJ)
Apparently this an important issue for the billionaire, which is troubling: "The stakes were high for Mr. Robertson. If he could prove he spent half of that 366-day year outside of New York City, often at his estate in the wealthy Long Island suburb of Locust Valley, he wouldn't have to pay the tax. And it was an all-or-nothing case, worth $27 million, an amount important enough to the hedge-fund manager that he and his staff spent hours and developed a complicated calendar system to track his whereabouts."
Raj Rajaratnam Said to Keep Personal Investments in Sri Lanka (Bloomberg)
Raj-Raj's direct interests and stakes on the island held through Galleon won't be affected by the liquidation of the hedge-fund firm following criminal and civil probes.
'Osama' Funding Appeals as U.S. Independent Filmmakers Hurt (Bloomberg)
"Look, I mean if Osama bin Laden gave me money to film I'd take it," he said in a phone interview from Singapore. "It's always difficult for a filmmaker and particularly in these economically troubled times."
Hedge Fund Counsel to Lead SEC's New York Examinations Group (WSJ)
Norm Champ ran the compliance office for Chilton Investment Co. for the last decade. Also, he's a professor and a "thinker": "Norm brings to our inspection program an unusual diversity of experience -- as general counsel of a multibillion-dollar hedge fund complex, as a university lecturer, and as a policy thinker," said George S. Canellos, director of the SEC's New York office.