Write-Offs: 01.05.12
$$$Barnes & Noble May Separate Nook Business as Losses Mount [WSJ]
$$$The new guy sitting at Steve Cohen’s side [Unstructured Finance]
$$$ "And given that the IPO process is pretty much a commodity transaction, the clout of the research analyst is one of the easiest ways for firms to differentiate themselves. ... And this also, by the way, shines further light on why some analysts like Mahaney become influential: They're good analysts, so investors listen to them. And you don't get respected for being a good analyst by shilling for crappy banking clients." Guess who wrote that? [BI]
$$$ "Mr. Met, the red-stitched Übermensch born without a first name, has experienced so much as the giant head of the Mets: good years, but many bad ones, World Series celebrations and late-season collapses. Jose Reyes but Vince Coleman. Tom Seaver but Aaron Heilman. Gil Hodges but Art Howe. Imagine, then, Mr. Met as Sisyphus, muscling his head up the steep hill of tough Mets history." Now can he attract investors? [NYT]
$$$ Whores endorse Ron Paul because he's a libertarian and a gynecologist [NYO]
$$$Swiss central bank chief rejects calls to quit [FT]
$$$Italian ski resort lays bare tax evasion [Telegraph]
$$$ Regulate Facebook like a bank? [Peter Frase]
$$$ A compensation scheme masquerading as a where are the customers' yachts? [Economist]
$$$ It may surprise you to learn that Trump Street Bar & Grill is not on Trump Street [Eater]