Opening Bell: 03.29.10
Paulson's $32 Billion-and-Growing Funds Prompt Too-Big-to-Succeed Concerns (Bloomberg)
Haters hate: “There’s no doubt that Paulson is a big draw for investors at the moment,” said Richard Tomlinson, founder of London-based Tomlinson Investment Consulting, which advises clients on hedge funds. “As with all managers that bulk up, there’s always the risk of returns becoming mediocre.”
Morgan Stanley Will Be Citi Stake Underwriter (CNBC)
Morgan Stanley will be responsible for selling the government’s 27 percent stake in Citi in what is known as a “dribble-out” process that could take the rest of the year. The plan is to sell between 8 percent and 10 percent of average daily volume each day. That will likely begin after Citi reports its next earnings on April 19.
New Jersey Nets Owner's Bold Claim (Bloomberg)
“I’ll be the first NBA owner who can dunk,” says Mikhail Prokhorov, who played basketball in high school. (Michael Jordan, who is part of a group that in March agreed to pay $275 million for the Charlotte Bobcats and is a former minority owner of the Washington Wizards, would dispute that claim.) The Russian entrepreneur installed a basketball hoop down the hall from his Moscow office where he sometimes practices his jump shot.
AIG Unit Feels Effects of Pay Limits (WSJ)
Federal pay restrictions played a role in the surprise departure of the head of the aircraft-leasing unit of AIG according to people familiar with the matter. However, the government-controlled insurance giant expects to have little difficulty in filling one of the most influential posts in global aviation, with likely candidates coming from smaller rivals to its International Lease Finance Corp. unit, the people said.
Paul Krugman On Punks And Plutocrats (NYT)
After Boehner gave a talk to bankers in which he encouraged them to balk efforts by Congress to impose stricter regulation, and told them, “Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you, and stand up for yourselves,” Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, promptly had “Little Punk Staffer” buttons made up and distributed to Congressional aides.
How Long Can The Fed Be A Hero? (WSJ)
Looking for actual guesstimates here.
Death of a Loophole, and Swiss Banks Will Mourn (NYT)
Tears for UBS: "With all the hoopla over the health care bill, hardly anybody noticed that a job creation bill that President Obama signed on March 18 makes it much harder for United States citizens to avoid taxes by hiding money in overseas bank accounts."
Goldman Capitulation on Dollar Shows Reversal on U.S. (Bloomberg)
“We’ve moved away from the worst fears,” said Ruskin, the head of currency strategy for RBS Capital Markets in Stamford, Connecticut. “In the U.S., the economy picked itself up off the ground,” he said in an interview. “Compared to what it might have looked like from the view of March 2009, March 2010 looks very good.”