- Galleon paid banks millions for edge
- Pay Czar Tells House Panel He Wants No Wider Authority
- Not Running Against Wall St.
- Future of Lazard remains uncertain
- Judge delays decision on bail for Madoff aide DiPascali
- Goldman Sachs Sees 30% Gain for China Stocks Through End-2010
- Ravitch Says States Face Total Deficits of $500 Billion in 2011
- K1 Hedge Fund Said to Be Linked to FBI Money-Laundering Sting
- GM to Draw Down More U.S. Funds
- Government report expected to mark end to recession
- Yahoo Returns To Make Its Case To Wall Street
- Versace to Cut 26% of Workforce, Aims for 2011 Profit
Galleon paid banks millions for ‘edge’ – Financial Times
The Galleon hedge fund at the centre of an insider trading scandal paid hundreds of millions of dollars a year to its Wall Street banks and in return regularly received market information that would not have been disclosed to most investors, executives familiar with the matter say.
A person familiar with Galleon, whose founder, Raj Rajaratnam, was charged with insider trading this month, said it paid about $250m to its banks last year. Executives who dealt with the fund said it paid more in fees and other charges during the boom years of this decade…..
Pay Czar Tells House Panel He Wants No Wider Authority – Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration’s pay czar told lawmakers Wednesday he doesn’t want to expand his authority beyond the seven firms he now oversees, resisting entreaties from some lawmakers to more broadly rein in Wall Street pay.
Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department’s special master for executive compensation, told the House Oversight and Government Reform committee he wanted the pay structures he has devised to “guide others in the private marketplace. But that is where my authority should end.”…
Not Running Against Wall St. – NY Times
So one might expect now that he is running for attorney general himself, Mr. Dinallo, 46, would take up the role as scourge of Wall Street. But along with the obvious problem — being one of Spitzer’s men does not have the cachet it once did — Mr. Dinallo does not want to be mistaken for the second coming of Mr. Spitzer.
He envisions a less combative relationship with Wall Street and thinks that systemic reforms are best handled in Washington. Since declaring his candidacy in August, Mr. Dinallo has won support from some of Mr. Spitzer’s most fervent foes, including Richard A. Grasso, the former head of the New York Stock Exchange, and Kenneth G. Langone, a founder of Home Depot who sat on the stock exchange’s board. He even expresses reservations about his old boss’s case against Mr. Grasso over his lofty pay…..
Future of Lazard remains uncertain – FInancial Times
….Steven Golub, who was named Lazard’s interim chief executive and was seen as a strong candidate for the job, told the Financial Times that “business goes on as usual” at the firm in spite of Mr Wasserstein’s unexpected death earlier this month .
But speculation has continued to swirl around the bank over when it will name a permanent successor and whether the family trusts that now control Mr Wasserstein’s significant ownership in the firm will be motivated to sell. There has also been speculation in and out of Lazard over whether that could prompt Natixis, another stakeholder, to consider the same…..
Judge delays decision on bail for Madoff aide DiPascali - USA Today
Ponzi scheme architect Bernard Madoff’s former top financial aide will remain behind bars at least until prosecutors and defense lawyers provide more details about the information he’s giving investigators, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Delaying a ruling on Frank DiPascali’s bail application for a second time, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan said he needs more assurance that the confessed Madoff accomplice won’t flee to escape the prospect of an “astronomical” 125-year prison term. “I’m skeptical, and I think I have a right to be,” said Sullivan, who questioned whether DiPascali’s cooperation might ultimately amount to “the last scam” in the financial fraud that victimized celebrities, charities and average investors worldwide…..
Goldman Sachs Sees 30% Gain for China Stocks Through End-2010 – Bloomberg
China stocks remain “a bright spot” and are set to rise by about 30 percent through next year as the country’s domestic demand increases, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
Banks, insurers, internet businesses, health-care services and equipment providers are industries that will benefit most from the rising spending power of Chinese, Goldman Sachs said….
Ravitch Says States Face Total Deficits of $500 Billion in 2011 – Bloomberg
New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch predicted states across the U.S. would face deficits totaling as much as $500 billion in 2011 after the federal government stops paying them economic stimulus grants.
Ravitch, 76, a real estate developer and former chairman of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the looming nationwide fiscal crisis would first become apparent as states’ credit ratings falter, making it more expensive to borrow money…..
K1 Hedge Fund Said to Be Linked to FBI Money-Laundering Sting – Bloomberg
A Federal Bureau of Investigation money-laundering sting targeting two financial professionals in Florida and Nebraska is tied to an international probe of German hedge-fund firm K1 Group, people familiar with the matter said.
U.S. prosecutors in Philadelphia unsealed indictments yesterday against Stefan Seuss and Thomas Meyer, saying the pair agreed in 2007 to help an undercover agent move about $500,000 offshore. Before his arrest on that matter yesterday, Seuss was helping authorities unravel K1 Group’s international money transfers, of which he had knowledge, a person familiar with the case said, declining to be identified because that part of the inquiry isn’t public…..
GM to Draw Down More U.S. Funds – Wall Street Journal
General Motors Co. by the end of the week will outline plans to draw down more U.S. government money it will use to aid Delphi Automotive LLP and also give an update on a closely watched escrow account of its bailout funds, according to several people familiar with the matter.
GM’s additional borrowing will mostly be limited to Delphi’s funding needs and is expected to be north of $2.5 billion, based on prior announcements…..
Government report expected to mark end to recession – LA Times
In what would mark the end to the worst recession since World War II, the government is expected to report Thursday that the U.S. economy turned a corner and resumed growth in the third quarter…..
“We’re on the start of a recovery track and one that is sustainable,” said Lynn Reaser, an economist and president of the National Assn. for Business Economics.
But it may not feel that way for struggling business owners and millions of unemployed Americans…..
Yahoo Returns To Make Its Case To Wall Street - Wall Street Journal
Yahoo Inc. held its first official event with Wall Street analysts in over three years on Wednesday, and sought to reinforce the notion that it’s on its way to a recovery.
“I hope we have earned the right for you to be impressed,” Chief Executive Carol Bartz told analysts, after a series of presentations by company executives designed to illustrate the company’s technological prowess and plans for increasing sales and profitability….
Versace to Cut 26% of Workforce, Aims for 2011 Profit – Bloomberg
Gianni Versace SpA said it will cut its workforce by more than a quarter and scale down investments as the Milan-based fashion house aims for profitability in 2011.
Versace expects a loss this year and has a “flat” outlook for 2010, it said in a statement today. The company will eliminate about 350 positions worldwide from a total of 1,360…..
Tags: Bernie Madoff, Compensation, Eric Dinallo, Galleon, Hedge funds, Insider Trading, Pay czar, Raj Rajaratnam
