- Traders Beat Wall Street CEOs in Pay
- Now to Explain the Party Favors
- Fannie, Freddie Touch Off Swaps Scrap
- SEC faces setbacks, skepticism in trying to reform its enforcement image
- Moody’s and S&P reproached
- A grim assessment of L.A.’s finances
- Shortfall Awaits California’s Big Pension Funds
- Apartment Rents Rise as Sector Stabilizes
Traders Beat Wall Street CEOs in Pay – WSJ
Many Wall Street chief executives took a big pay cut for 2009. But their real value may have been in deflecting attention from their troops—who enjoyed the largest collective payday on record…..
Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack received no bonus for the third consecutive year in 2009, his last as CEO before handing over the reins Jan 1. Barclays PLC’s CEO John Varley, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC’s CEO Stephen Hester and Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit also waived bonuses.
There is less reluctance to pay traders and bankers who directly produce revenues. Mr. Mack recently said at a conference that a trader who made $11 million at Morgan Stanley left recently for a bigger pay package at a hedge fund…..
Now to Explain the Party Favors – NY Times
On Thursday, two of the biggest — and among the most tarnished — names on Wall Street will testify in front of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in Washington: Charles O. Prince III, the former chairman and chief executive of Citigroup, and Robert E. Rubin, a former top adviser and director of the bank. On the watch of these men, Citigroup lost more money than almost any company in history, requiring an extraordinary government bailout…..
Citigroup’s Chief Shrinks Company, Eyeing Growth – NY Times
Just 13 months ago, Citigroup’s chief executive, Vikram S. Pandit, was facing the unthinkable. After bailouts worth $45 billion, the federal government had become the largest shareholder of a bank that was once among the biggest on the planet.
Some of Mr. Pandit’s most trusted advisers notice a new bounce in his step and say he is more energetic at meetings.
“Vikram is looking and sounding a lot more confident and secure,” said one top lieutenant. “He has a smile on his face. He sees the day when he is going to earn more than a $1 a year.”….
Fannie, Freddie Touch Off Swaps Scrap – WSJ
The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is on the cusp of making big changes to the market for interest-rate swaps, in a move that could potentially cut into Wall Street firms’ revenues and generate new business for some firms that run exchanges.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the government-owned mortgage giants, expects them to start using a clearinghouse to trade the swaps by year’s end, according to people familiar with the matter…..
SEC faces setbacks, skepticism in trying to reform its enforcement image – Washington Post
A year-long effort by the Securities and Exchange Commission to overhaul its enforcement of laws against corporate crime has run into courtroom setbacks and internal skepticism, underlining how difficult it is for the agency to remake itself as a get-tough cop.
Top SEC officials have undertaken what they describe as the most significant reform of the agency’s enforcement operations in nearly 40 years, pledging to bring big cases as never before. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and her hand-picked enforcement director, Robert Khuzami, have trumpeted measures designed to rapidly file major cases, send more lawyers to the front lines of investigations and set up teams specializing in specific areas of financial crime……
Moody’s and S&P reproached – FT
The US private equity industry has hit back at its critics, taking a shot at Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the rating agencies, for allegedly exaggerating the default rate of companies owned by buy-out groups, writes Martin Arnold . The Private Equity Council, representing 13 of the biggest US buy-out groups including Blackstone, TPG, Carlyle and Apax, analysed 4,700 US companies bought by private equity groups between 2000 and 2009.
A grim assessment of L.A.’s finances – LA Times
The city’s top financial official issued a grim assessment of the escalating budget crisis Monday, warning that Los Angeles could be unable to pay its bills in just over four weeks. City Controller Wendy Greuel declared an “urgent financial crisis” and said the only way to continue paying bills in the short term was to begin to drain the city’s already limited emergency reserve.
Shortfall Awaits California’s Big Pension Funds – WSJ
A study released Monday by Stanford University estimates that California’s three largest state-operated, public-employee pension funds—the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, California State Teachers’ Retirement System and University of California Retirement System—currently face a total shortfall of more than $500 billion….
Gov. Schwarzenegger warned Monday that pension-fund shortfalls could lead California, which faces a $20 billion budget gap in the coming fiscal year, to divert more funds from other state programs to cover pension costs…..
Apartment Rents Rise as Sector Stabilizes – WSJ
Apartment rents rose during the first quarter, ending five straight quarters of declines and signaling the worst may be over for the hard-hit sector.
Nationally, the apartment vacancy rate stayed flat at 8%, the highest level since Reis Inc., a New York research firm, began its tally in 1980…..
Tags: Bonuses, California, Casinos, Compensation, Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac, Financial Crisis, Financial Distress, Mary Schapiro, Moody's, Morgan Stanley, rating agencies, Rental market, SEC, Standard & Poors
