Scotts said Monday its board had unanimously reprimanded Mr. Hagedorn for his use of "inappropriate language," and that three independent directors had resigned following the move...In a statement Monday evening, the 57-year old chief executive said he has "a tendency to use colorful language," and apologized for what he said were "inappropriate" comments. He said he has made "a personal commitment to prevent a future recurrence." Mr. Hagedorn, CEO of Scotts since 2001, is the son of the man who co-founded Miracle-Gro. He is well known among analysts, reporters and people who do business with the company for his candid and often profane language. He is typically more restrained during investor calls, according to analysts. But at the company's analyst and investor day in December, four of Mr. Hagedorn's comments were edited for profanity, according to a transcript of the event from S&P Capital IQ. In describing the fragile mood of consumers during that event, Mr. Hagedorn said: "Whether it's fuel prices, stock market, or the bulls— in Washington, when consumers get stressed today, they shut down," according to the transcript. At the same event, Mr. Hagedorn also said that during better times for the lawn products business, the company was "making s— pots of money." [WSJ]
Guy Tasked With Getting Citigroup Passing Grade On Stress Tests Has History Of Not Taking Sh*t
Particularly from traders fond of making arguments along the lines of "You can't tell us what to do! You're not our real dad!"
Moore Capital Co-CIO Retiring Because Trading Just Doesn't Get Him Jacked Up Like It Used To
Make millions, lose millions, who cares, what's the point of it all? Greg Coffey, co-chief investment officer of Moore Capital Management LLC’s European business, is leaving the hedge-fund industry after a 20-year trading career, according to a letter sent to investors...Assets in Coffey’s macro fund have slumped to about $100 million from as much as $1.6 billion in 2010. The fund had fallen about 10 percent this year through August before rebounding almost 9 percent last month, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private. The fund lost 5 percent last year. Coffey realized that after he had recovered most of this year’s losses in one week in September, he wasn’t as excited about his gains as he might have been in the past, two people who know him said. Coffey then decided it was time to end his 20-year career trading, the people said. Moore Capital’s Coffey to Retire From Hedge-Fund Industry [Bloomberg]
Attention Would-Be Insider Traders: SEC Undaunted By Fancy Foreign Languages, Use Of Email Outside Of Continental United States
Back in May 2010, a Wells Fargo employee named Waldyr Da Silva Prado Neto got a hot tip that Burger King was going to be bought by private equity firm 3G Capital Partners. Realizing he was in possession of some valuable information, Da Silva Prado Neto did what any rational person with an elastic view of securities laws would, and shared the material non-public information with some clients and friends, making about $175,000 and also putting himself in the good graces of pal he tipped off, who probably promised to return the favor. DSPN used Portuguese to communicate the message that he had information that might be of interest ("If you are around call me at the hotel," he emailed one customer. "I have some info…you have to hear this"), which seems pretty standard, given that he's Brazilian, though at least one person at the SEC is pretty sure it was an attempt to throw regulators off the trail, not realizing the lengths the Commission will go to to fight crime. "Prado's emails and other communications may have been sent from Brazil and written in Portuguese, but our commitment to prosecute illegal insider trading on U.S. markets knows no geographic or language barrier," said Sanjay Wadhwa, deputy chief of the SEC enforcement division's market abuse unit. Will they pony up the money for Rosetta Stone tapes? Probably not. But they sure as hell will take the time to put words into Google Translate and then nail you to the wall. SEC sues ex-broker for insider trading ahead of Burger King deal [Reuters]
HSBC Told To Get Its Sh*t Together On Compliance
The bank is reportedly not doing enough to avoid money laundering types, among other things.
Barclays Pledges To Be Quick About Getting Its Sh*t Together
New CEO John "Mack the Knife" McFarlane has is machete out and is ready to hack through not only employees but all the red tape gumming up the works at the British bank.