- UBS’s U.S. Brokerage Unit Said to Fire Almost 200 Workers
- Lehman Examiner’s Report Misleading, Lawyers Say
- Bernanke says Fed is receptive to selling security holdings
- Greek aid plan wins backing
- Euro Rises From 10-Month Low as Trichet Welcomes Greek Solution
- JPMorgan, Lehman, UBS Named as Conspirators in Muni Bid-Rigging
- Ex-Cazenove, UBS Workers Said to Face Charges in Trading Probe
- Radioshack search
- London Times to Charge for Web Access
UBS’s U.S. Brokerage Unit Said to Fire Almost 200 Workers – Bloomberg
UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank by assets, is firing almost 200 employees in its wealth management Americas division, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
The cuts include about 25 managing directors and affect employees in areas such as product development, according to the person, who declined to be identified because the firings aren’t public. The cuts represent about 1.2 percent of the unit’s 16,925 employees as of Dec. 31…..
Lehman Examiner’s Report Misleading, Lawyers Say – Bloomberg
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. lawyers said the examiner who reviewed the firm’s collapse included misleading statements in his report about Barclays Plc’s purchase of the Lehman brokerage.
Examiner Anton Valukas’s March 11 report quoted a Lehman lawyer, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP partner Thomas Roberts, as saying Barclays’s purchase of the brokerage unit was intended to be a “wash,” with neither gains nor losses for the buyer, according to letters filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
The law firm wrote that Valukas omitted statements that “the wash” was merely theoretical and there was no provision for a break-even deal in the sale agreement…..
Bernanke says Fed is receptive to selling security holdings – Washington Post
The Federal Reserve is open to selling some of the securities now on its books as part of its withdrawal from its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Thursday, in a change of tone on how the Fed will execute its exit strategy from crisis-era interventions…..
Greek aid plan wins backing – Wall Street Journal
The nations of the euro zone backed a deal under which they and the International Monetary Fund would play a joint role in any bailout of Greece…..
The Franco-German compromise gives Greece long-sought specific assurances of European aid—but also preserves for Ms. Merkel the ability to have the final say on whether to pull the trigger: Euro-area countries must agree unanimously before dispensing any aid, according to the agreement…..
Euro Rises From 10-Month Low as Trichet Welcomes Greek Solution - Bloomberg
The euro rose from a 10-month low against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet toned down his opposition to the International Monetary Fund’s involvement in a Greek rescue plan. Europe’s currency rose versus 13 of its 16 most-active counterparts on speculation European leaders will announce an agreement on a Greek rescue package before the end of a two-day summit in Brussels today. The yen rose from an 11-week low against the dollar on speculation Japanese exporters took advantage of its largest weekly loss this year to buy the currency before the fiscal year ends next week…..
JPMorgan, Lehman, UBS Named as Conspirators in Muni Bid-Rigging – Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and UBS AG were among more than a dozen Wall Street firms involved in a conspiracy to pay below-market interest rates to U.S. state and local governments on investments, according to documents filed in a U.S. Justice Department criminal antitrust case.
A government list of previously unidentified “co- conspirators” contains more than two dozen bankers at firms also including Bank of America Corp., Bear Stearns Cos., Societe Generale, two of General Electric Co.’s financial businesses and Salomon Smith Barney, the former unit of Citigroup Inc., according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on March 24. ….
Ex-Cazenove, UBS Workers Said to Face Charges in Trading Probe – Bloomberg
As many as 11 people may be charged next week over an insider-trading ring that began at the London printers for UBS AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Cazenove unit, four people with direct knowledge of the case said.
The Financial Services Authority is preparing to file criminal charges after a two-year investigation, the people said on condition of anonymity because the defendants haven’t been formally accused of a crime. The FSA says that the north-west London operation, involving accountants and spread-betters, used leaked data from deal prospectuses being printed for the banks, according to the people……
Radioshack search – NY Post
RadioShack is looking to shack up with a deep-pocketed investor.
The Texas-based electronics chain is exploring strategic alternatives including a possible sale of the company that could fetch more than $3 billion, sources told The Post.
Investment bankers have already begun pitching their private-equity clients about a leveraged buyout of RadioShack, notifying them of the retailer’s willingness to sell, according to people close to the situation…..
London Times to Charge for Web Access – Wall Street Journal
The Times and the Sunday Times will form the vanguard of parent company News Corp.’s subscription plans for general news, as the U.K. newspapers move behind a paywall for the first time in June.
News International Ltd., News Corp.’s European division, said Friday the newspapers will launch separate Web sites in early May to replace the existing Times Online site. The two new sites will be available for a free trial period to registered customers, but from June will charge £1 ($1.48) for a day’s access or £2 for a week. Payment will give customers access to both sites…..
Tags: Bankruptcy, Barclays, Cazenove, Euro, Greece, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Municipal Bonds, Newspapers, Radioshack, Revolving Door, Sovereign debt, UBS
