Opening Bell: 11.12.09
Balyasny Ex-Analyst Under Probe (WSJ)
A complaint was filed last week alleging that an unnamed individual, supposedly Mark Adams, provided material non-public info about EMC Corp, where he once worked, in 2008 and 2009 while he was at Balyasny Asset Management (Adams previously worked at SAC Capital from July 2005 to December 2007).
Bear Stearns Loss Echoes Long Line of U.S. Prosecution Defeats (Bloomberg)
Don't worry, the Matthew Tannin/Ralph Cioffi case wasn't the first time the Justice Department was made to look stupid: "The acquittals of two Bear Stearns Cos. hedge-fund managers in a test trial for prosecutions linked to the subprime crisis echo a long line of high-profile financial cases that blew up in the government's face. The U.S. twice failed to jail ex-Credit Suisse banker Frank Quattrone for obstruction, in 2003 and 2004; HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard Scrushy eluded a fraud conviction in 2005; and many defendants walked free in the most notorious corporate fraud of the decade, the fall of Enron Corp. in 2001."
Bill Gates Says Wall Street Pay Is Too High (Reuters)
But he also doesn't like the government putting caps on salary, getting up in people's business, etc: "I do worry that when the government owns an entity like AIG that you can greatly devalue that entity by having it essentially have to behave as though it part of the government," Gates said. "It's an unnatural situation when the government owns a lot of a private company. Unfortunately there is a view that that should exist for a long term. There's some devaluation of what that asset would have been worth if it hadn't had to go through that kind of management structure. It's unavoidable," he said.
Beijing's Heaviest Snow in 54 Years Strands Thousands (Bloomberg)
The gov wanted a snow day and god damn it, they were going to get one: "The government induced snowfall in the capital on Nov. 10 by seeding clouds with silver iodide, the China Daily newspaper reported yesterday, citing an unidentified official at the Beijing Weather Modification Office."
White House Aims To Cut Deficit With TARP Cash (WSJ)
They're serious about fixing this thing: "The idea is still a matter of debate within the administration and it is unclear how much impact it would have on the nation's mounting deficit levels. Still, the potential move illustrates how the Obama administration is trying to find any way it can to bring down the deficit, which is turning into a political as well as an economic liability."
Ex-Head of Santander Arm Faces Madoff Charges (FT)
Manuel Echeverría, the former head of Optimal, the Geneva-based hedge fund investment arm of Santander, has been charged with criminal mismanagement of client funds that were placed with the Ponzi Master.
Governments could take 7 years to exit bank stakes (Reuters)
Better than ten? Or never?