Opening Bell: 04.21.10
Morgan Stanley Tops Estimates (MarketWatch)
MS reported income of $1.8 billion, or $1.03 per diluted share, from continuing operations applicable to Morgan Stanley for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, compared with a loss of $17 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago. Net revenues were $9.1 billion for the current quarter, compared with $2.9 billion a year ago.
Wells Fargo Posts $2.5 Billion Profit (CNN Money)
First-quarter net income of $2.5 billion, or 45 cents per share, for the first three months of 2010. That's down from net income of $3.05 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2009. Analysts had forecast earnings of 42 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Paulson Confronts Goldman Fallout (WSJ)
Paulson held a conference call with about 100 investors late Monday and sent a letter to investors Tuesday night saying that in 2007 his firm wasn't seen as an experienced mortgage investor, and that "many of the most sophisticated investors in the world" were "more than willing to bet against us."
Government Has Testimony From Former Paulson Official That Contradicts Its Case (CNBC)
Steve Liesman: "In an interview with Paolo Pellegrini, a government official asked him about a meeting with ACA CDO manager Laura Schwartz, who he told Paulson and Co was interested in taking a short position in Abacus. The SEC does not mention this information in its complaint."
SEC Weighs Rules On 'Masking' Bank Debt (WSJ)
Ms. Schapiro said the commission is gathering detailed information from large banks, "so that we don't just have them dress up the balance sheet for quarter end and then have dramatic increases during the course of the quarter." She added: "We are considering whether...we need new rules to prevent sort of the masking of debt or liquidity at quarter end, as we saw Lehman do with the Repo 105 transaction."
Largest Hedge Fund Political Donations Go to Democrats (ABC)
With $94,100 in contributions over the past year, Jim Simons is the single largest political donor among hedge fund managers. Simons gave almost all of that total to Democrats, including Senators Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, and Charles Schumer. Eric Mindich gave $89,600, all to Democrats, including Reid, Dodd and Kirsten Gillibrand. Steve Cohen gave $68,400, all but $4,800 of which went to Republicans, including Eric Cantor and John Ensign. Cliff Asness donated $71,600 to Republicans, including $30,400 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Asness gave Dodd $490.
Woman gets Chinese accent after bad migraine: reports (SMH)
A British woman has suddenly started speaking with a Chinese accent after suffering a severe migraine, she said in comments quoted by British media on Tuesday. Sarah Colwill believes she has foreign accent syndrome, which has caused her distinctive West Country drawl to be replaced with a Chinese twang, even though she has never even visited the country.
Deutsche Trader Lippman Steps Down (NYT)
Greg announced in late February that he planned to leave the bank for a hedge fund founded by Fred Brettschneider, Deutsche Bank’s former head of global markets.
Goldman Sachs Says SEC Case Hinges on Actions of One Employee (Bloomberg)
“It’s all going to be a factual dispute about what he remembers and what the other folks remember on the other side,” Greg Palm, Goldman Sachs’s co-general counsel, said in a call with reporters yesterday, without naming Tourre. “If we had evidence that someone here was trying to mislead someone, that’s not something we’d condone at all and we’d be the first one to take action.”
Lagarde: Goldman Case Warrants Full French Probe (Reuters)
May not be as pleasant as it sounds.
Rattner Has Key Role In New Bloomberg Firm (NYT)
Rattner, according to the three people, has told friends that he is “working with the mayor,” and he has repeatedly appeared at the 78th Street office that houses the Bloomberg Family Foundation and the mayor’s new investment office. A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, Stu Loeser, declined to comment on the details of Mr. Rattner’s work with Mr. Bloomberg, but said, “He is a friend whose advice the mayor has and continues to rely on.”