Opening Bell: 05.17.10
Man Group To Buy GLG (WSJ)
The Man has agreed to buy one of its biggest rivals, GLG Partners Inc., in a cash-and-stock deal valuing GLG at $1.6 billion to create a hedge-fund giant managing $63 billion. Shareholders of GLG, which is headquartered in London but listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will receive $4.50 for each of their shares, a 55% premium to Friday's closing price of $2.91. GLG's top executives—Noam Gottesman, Pierre Lagrange and Emmanuel Roman—will receive 1.0856 new Man shares for each of their GLG shares, valuing each GLG share at $3.50.
Dimon Urges Next Generation To Improve Greece (Reuters)
This chick will never wash that ear again: Dimon seemed to win some of the skeptical students over when he said he talked to a student who was leading the protests following his appointment in the spring and he was proud of her for standing up for what she believed in. "It takes courage to be accountable," he said. "Have the fortitude to do the right thing, not the easy thing."
GM Reports First Quarterly Profit Since '07 (WSJ)
The auto maker made an operating profit of $1.2 billion and generated $1 billion in cash. Global revenue grew 40% from a year ago to $31.5 billion, as the auto maker increased production 57% world-wide from a year ago. The results compare to a year earlier, when GM lost $6 billion as it slid into bankruptcy. So this would be better.
Greece Considering Legal Action Against U.S. Banks for Crisis (Bloomberg)
“I wouldn’t rule out that this may be a recourse,” Papandreou said, in response to questions about the role of U.S. banks in the crisis, in an interview on CNN. “Greece will look into the past and see how things went,” Papandreou said. “There are similar investigations going on in other countries and in the United States. This is where I think, yes, the financial sector, I hear the words fraud and lack of transparency. So yes, yes, there is great responsibility here.”
Class Warfare: Hundreds Protest Outside Bankers' Houses In DC (HuffPo)
"Bank of America: bad for America!" shouted community leaders outside the house of Bank of America general counsel Gregory Baer.
Flood of Cash to Congress Is Unabated as Banks Seek Influence (Bloomberg)
At least 20 House and Senate lawmakers have scheduled fundraisers in May targeting the industry or hosted by lobbyists for banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., according to Democratic and Republican party committee schedules sent to prospective donors.
Jay Z's 99 Problems (NYP)
Include the Nets, natch.
Questions For Alan C. Greenberg (NYT)
Do you e-mail your clients?
No. I never use e-mail. The girls use the e-mail.
Are you referring to your secretaries? You should call them women, not girls.
They don’t mind. They’ve been with me 25 years.
Blaabjerg Says Trichet's Reputation `Down The Drain' (Bloomberg)
Is that a bad thing?
SEC Chief's Big Bet On Goldman (WSJ)
Once the enforcement team laid out its recommendation to sue Goldman—arguing that the firm had misled investors about highly complex securities linked to the cratering mortgage market—the commissioners questioned the lawyers on the strength of the evidence. They also debated whether the SEC was essentially sailing into uncharted territory by attacking a relatively new financial product. "I have serious doubts about the evidence of fraud" prevailing in court, said Troy Paredes, one of the two Republican appointees on the commission, according to two people in the room.
Meredith Whitney: The Small Business Credit Crunch (WSJ)
"Unless real focus is afforded to re-engaging small businesses in this country, we will have a tragic and dangerous unemployment level for an extended period of time. Small businesses fund themselves exactly the way consumers do, with credit cards and home equity lines. Over the past two years, more than $1.5 trillion in credit-card lines have been cut, and those cuts are increasing by the day. Due to dramatic declines in home values, home-equity lines as a funding option are effectively off the table. Proposed regulatory reform—specifically interest-rate caps and interchange fees—will merely exacerbate the cycle of credit contraction plaguing small businesses."