Opening Bell: 04.01.10
Barnier to Review Bank Pay With Geithner (Bloomberg)
Bonuses are “extraordinary, insane in some cases,” Michael Barnier, the European Union’s financial services commissioner, said in an interview in London today. He plans to meet with Timothy Geithner later this year, Barnier said. “It is required to put an end to the discrepancies between remuneration and performance,” Barnier said. “There is a need to work with others to do this, and it’s something we’ll be working on with the U.S.”
Corporate Bosses Paid Less (WSJ)
Burn: "Charles Ergen, CEO and founder of Dish Network Corp., earned the distinction of having the harshest drop in pay. He drew a $623,100 salary that was 92.5% lower than his 2008 total compensation, even though the company's stock doubled."
JPMorgan’s Dimon Regrets Using FDIC Guarantee Program (Bloomberg)
“We didn’t need it,” Dimon, 54, said in his annual letter to shareholders, which was released yesterday. “And it just added to the argument that all banks had been bailed out and fueled the anger directed toward banks.”
UBS broker chief McCann: no plans for split, name change (Reuters)
Crushing the dream of everyone hoping to bust out the old PaineWebber swag.
Ivy Asset Draws Probe Over Roles With Madoff (WSJ)
Ivy Asset Management, which BNY Mellon Asset Management is closing, is under investigation for advice it allegedly gave related to investing with Bernard Madoff, according to a person familiar with the matter. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office has been investigating Ivy, a fund manager that places money with hedge funds, for about a year, and the investigation has come to a head in recent weeks, the person said. At issue among other things is whether Ivy failed to relay concerns it had about Mr. Madoff's firm.
Unpaid Spanish air hostesses strip in protest (NYDN)
Flight attendants owed up to nine months' wages by a grounded Spanish airline have posed nude for a calendar to draw attention to their plight, one of the cabin crew turned models said on Wednesday. "We are just demanding our rights to receive what is ours, we each have eight or nine months of unpaid salaries," attendant Adriana Ricardo said.
Credit Suisse May Buy Minority Stake in York Capital (WSJ)
York Capital Management is in talks with Credit Suisse Group about the bank's interest in buying a minority stake of the $12 billion investment firm.
Looking At The iPad From Two Angles (NYT)
“This device is laughably absurd,” goes a typical remark on a tech blog’s comments board. “How can they expect anyone to get serious computer work done without a mouse?” “This truly is a magical revolution,” goes another. “I can’t imagine why anyone will want to go back to using a mouse and keyboard once they’ve experienced Apple’s visionary user interface!”
Mary Schapiro Some Explaining To Do (Slate)
...says Eliot Spitzer.
SEC may require more details of wrongdoing to be disclosed in settlements (WP)
Something that should be taken into consideration but should certainly not stop anyone considering taking up fraud.