Wall Street Folly

• JP Morgan’s Dimon Regrets Using FDIC Guarantee Program
• Fed Opens the Books on Bear, AIG Toxic Assets
• Jobless Rate Will Stay ‘Unacceptably’ High: Geithner
• Ivy Asset Draws Probe Over Roles With Madoff
• Seven Charged in Inside-Trade Ring at Banks’ Printers
• General Growth Files $6.55 Billion Plan to Exit Bankruptcy
• Amazon Gives Way On E-Book Pricing Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Amazon, Andrew Cuomo, Apple, Bear Stearns, Bernie Madoff, FDIC, Insider Trading, iPad, Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan, Kindle, NY Fed, Tim Geithner, Toxic assets, U.S.. Treasury, unemployment

• FDIC Stands Between J.P. Morgan and a WaMu Payoff
• M. Stanley to underwrite US’s Citi stock sale-CNBC
• Greece to Issue Seven-Year Bond
• Dubai World guarantees revealed
• AIG Unit Feels Effects of Pay Limits
• Junk bonds sell in record volumes Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Bonuses, Citigroup, Compensation, Dubai, FDIC, Greece, JP Morgan, Junk Bonds, Morgan Stanley, Politics, Revolving Door, Sovereign debt, Sovereign wealth funds, TARP, tax refunds

Tags: Antitrust, Autos, Bank failures, Banks, Bonuses, Compensation, Consumer Reports, Credit Suisse, FDIC, GM, Goldman Sachs, Google, recalls, SEC, Short selling, Toyota

• Geithner to Testify Jan. 27 About AIG E-Mail Exchange
• U.S. financial crisis panel to call Greenspan, Cox
• Citigroup plans to cap cash bonuses
• JPMorgan fourth-quarter profits soar
• FDIC blames Federal Reserve for severity of financial crisis
• Bankers’ fury at levy on US subsidiaries
• Dodd Said to Weigh Dropping Consumer Agency From Overhaul Plan Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Alan Greenspan, Barack Obama, Bonuses, Chris Cox, Compensation, FDIC, Intel, JP Morgan, Politics, retailers, SEC, Sheila Bair, Taxes, Tim Geithner, U.S.. Treasury

• Geithner’s New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure
• Congress Has Hedge Funds, Buyout Firms in Tax Sights
• Citi hit by legal action in bankers’ pay battle
• Top banks invited to Basel risk talks
• Kumar set to appear in court in Galleon case
• Buffett’s Mars bar
• FDIC Weighs Tying Fees to Banks’ Pay Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Antitrust, Carried Interest, FDIC, Galleon, GM, Healthcare, Hedge funds, Insider Trading, Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein, NY Fed, Raj Rajaratnam, Taxes, Tim Geithner, Warren Buffett

• Deutsche Bank Boosts Banker Pay After Record Sales and Trading Share Business Exchange
• Citadel Securities Head D’Souza Leaves After a Year
• F.D.I.C. Chief Criticizes Reform Plan
• Tanking Gov. Paterson may ‘reassess’ his election bid
• Sex show host Robin Byrd forks over $500 to Sen. Schumer’s campaign Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bonuses, Citadel, Compensation, Deutsche Bank, FDIC, New York, Political Contributions, Politics, Porn, Revolving Door

• Goldman to be paid $1bn if CIT fails
• Goldman purchase puts CDS in focus
• Bair Says Secured Creditors Should Help Pay for Bank Failure
• U.S. Lost Credibility by Saying Banks Were Healthy, Audit Says
• Roubini Says Stocks Have Risen ‘Too Much, Too Soon, Too Fast’
• HSBC chief fears a second downturn
• Saudi prince urges U.S. to sell Citigroup stake: report
• BofA to Select Emergency CEO
• Lewis departure sparks BofA internal clash Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bank of America, CDS, CIT, Citigroup, Credit Crunch, FDIC, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Ken Lewis, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Nouriel Roubini, PPIP, Prince Alwaleed, Retail sales, Sheila Bair, TARP

• Morgan Stanley’s Mack Proposes Single Global Bank Regulator
• In Harsh Reports on S.E.C.’s Fraud Failures, a Watchdog Urges Sweeping Changes
• Bank-Bailout Fund Faces Years in Red as Failures Jolt System
• Fed’s Plosser: Not time yet to shift policy
• Hedge funds find new sweet spot in sugar
• J.P. Morgan Shuffles Executives
• CIT in Last-Ditch Rescue Bid
• Citi, Barclays offer financing to CIT Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Autos, Bank of America, Barclays, CIT, Citigroup, Commodities, Ebay, FDIC, Fed, GM, Hedge funds, John Mack, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, SEC, Taxes

• Bank of America to Pay for Merrill Backstop, Faces SEC Trial
• SEC Gets Tougher With Bank of America
• Amaranth Advisors Seeks at Least $350 Million From Touradji
• F.D.I.C. May Borrow Funds From Banks
• Fed to Miss Review Deadline
• AIG banks that Hank gets it out of the tank
• Gender bender at RBC
• Venezuela says to pay $5 bln oil service debts Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Amaranth, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Discrimination, FDIC, Fed, Hedge funds, high yield bonds, Merrill Lynch, Oil, RBC, Real Estate, retail, SEC

• Cuomo Said to Subpoena Five Bank of America Directors
• Ex-Brokerage Chief: Pressured to Forgo Bonus by Thain
• Citi CEO Pandit Has ‘Little Doubt’ of Profit Return
• Pandering Pandit
• SEC to Consider Flash-Order Ban, Rules for Credit-Rating Firms
• California Will Investigate Rating Firms, Attorney General Says
• Citi’s Levkovich sees 5-10 pct pullback in US stocks Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, Bank of America, California, Citigroup, credit ratings, Economy, FDIC, Paul Volcker, SEC, Vikram Pandit

• SEC Warns Brokerage CEOs on Pay
• AIG Chief Benmosche Says Cuomo ‘Unbelievably Wrong’
• Sheila Bair op ed: The Case Against a Super-Regulator
• Hypocrite Charlie: Punish tax slip-ups
• Spitzer comeback?: You Can’t Keep a Bad Man Down
• Obama Cuts 2010 Pay Increase for Federal Employees to 2 Percent
• BofA Seeks to Repay a Portion of Bailout
• Madoff Liquidator May ‘Claw Back’ Charities’ Profits Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Barack Obama, Carl Icahn, Charlie Rangel, Compensation Bernie Madoff, Eliot Spitzer, FDIC, Jerome Kerviel, Politics, SEC, Sheila Bair, tax cheaters, UBS, Yahoo

• McCann in Bank of America Talks, Setting Up UBS Move
• Goldman Subpoenaed on Huddles
• Hedge funds hiring again after downturn
• FDIC insurance fund may need a hand itself
• Hedgie Paulson Mad About Citi
• Blackstone Gem
• US thrifts earn $4M in 2Q; 40 on ‘problem’ list
• Rules Eased on Bank Buyouts Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bank of ABS, Blackstone Group, Debt restructurings, FDIC, Gaming, Goldman Sachs, Hedge funds, John Paulson, Revolving Door

• Obama to Reappoint Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
• Regulators to Examine Goldman’s Trade Tips
• Ex-Merrill executive sues BofA over departure
• McCann files lawsuit against BofA
• Giuliani, Seeing Opening, Mulls a Governor Bid
• BofA Denies Misleading Its Investors on Bonuses
• Appellate court keeps Stanford behind bars
• Sarkozy Will Urge BNP, SocGen to Curb Bonus Payouts for Bankers
• FDIC to Ease Entry for Private-Equity Firms Buying Failed Banks
• Citadel Files Lehman Claim to Recover $470.5 Million Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Allen Stanford, Apple, Bank of America, Bankruptcy, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Bonuses, California, Citadel, Compensation, FDIC, Fed, Goldman Sachs, lawsuits, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Noncompetes, Private equity, Revolving Door, Steve Jobs, Yahoo

• Morgan Stanley In Hiring Push To Jump-Start Trading
• F.D.I.C. Seeks to Attract More Buyers of Banks
• Fed Assets Increase 2.3% on Buying of MBS, Treasuries
• Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall
• Biovail Suit Against SAC Capital Thrown Out by Judge
• AIG Says Madoff Suit Without Merit
• Switzerland Sells Stake in UBS for a Profit Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Autos, Bernie Madoff, FDIC, Fed, GM, IPOs, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Revolving Door, SAC Capital, Sports, Starbucks, UBS, We're Hiring, Wealth

• U.S. pay czar says he can “claw back” exec compensation
• Citigroup May Shift Phibro Trader Hall’s Pay to Stock From Cash
• Chances Dim for a Public Plan
• Barclays £30 million offer sparks City pay row
• JPMorgan calls for BarCap scrutiny
• France Seeking Ban on Guaranteed Bonuses for Bankers
• Failed Banks Weighing on FDIC
• UBS to name 5,000 accounts under U.S. deal: paper
• UBS Tax Crackdown Widens to Hong Kong Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Autos, Barack Obama, Barclays, Bonuses, Chrysler, Citigroup, Compensation, FDIC, Health, JP Morgan, Politics, UBS

Oh to have been a fly on the wall at this meeting:  Apparently frustrated over resistance to the Obama administration’s plans to revamp financial regulations, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner treated an all-star cast of regulators attending a Treasury Department meeting last Friday to  an expletive deleted laced rant  according to the Wall Street Journal.  It’s not exactly clear what naughty words the potty mouthed Geithner spewed at the meeting, but they were apparently plentiful  — although supposedly not pointed at anyone specific (uh huh) –  that included Ben Bernanke, Sheila Bair, Mary Schapiro and Gary Gensler among others. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ben Bernanke, CFTC, Did he really say that?, FDIC, Fed, Mary Schapiro, Politics, SEC, Sheila Bair, Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury

• Goldman Princes Told: Spend Like Paupers
• AIG Selects Ex-Chief of MetLife as CEO
• FDIC warns banks may need more home equity reserves
• TARP profit claim bugs skeptics
• Pump prices are on the rise
• Bank of America Pays $33 Million to Settle Merrill Bonus Charges
• Bank of America Hires Former Top Citigroup Executive
• Bank of America CEO Scrum Begins as Lewis Revamps Management Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Autos, Bank of America, Bernie Madoff, Casinos, Donald Trump, Ebay, FDIC, GM, Goldman Sachs, Google, TARP, UBS

Is Vikram Pandit closer to getting the boot? According to the WSJ, the FDIC is pushing for yet another Citigroup top management shake-up, “imperiling” CEO Vikram Pandit according to their report.  There’s apparently no love lost between Pandit and Sheila Bair, dating back to last fall when Bair endorsed the Wells Fargo higher bid for Wachovia after Citigroup had agreed to take over the firm in a government arranged hookup.  That led to late night conference call where Pandit is said to have waged an expletive deleted filled tirade against Bair.  We wonder what Pandit might be saying about his nemesis this morning.   (We can guess, and it’s probably not pretty.)

Sounds like new Citi board member, Jerry Grundhofer, who’s the former U.S. Bancorp CEO, might be in line for Pandit’s job.  But not all regulators are apparently on board with Bair’s position…. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Citigroup, FDIC, Politics, Revolving Door, Sheila Bair, TARP, Vikram Pandit

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Banks, Barack Obama, FDIC, GMAC, Politics, Sheila Bair, Stress Tests, Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury, Wells Fargo

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Citadel, Credit Crunch, Enron, FDIC, Hedge funds, Lehman Brothers

Tags: Charlie Rose, Credit Crunch, FDIC

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ben Bernanke, Credit Crunch, FDIC, Fed, Henry Paulson

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ben Bernanke, Credit Crunch, FDIC, Fed, Henry Paulson

The U.S. Government is said to be on a buying spree, taking a page out of Warren Buffett’s playbook, scarfing up preferred shares (designed to be nondilutive to the common stock) of the nations biggest banks — including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup — in exchange for big wads of cash.  The institutions apparently didn’t have any choice in the matter, and each of the banks will have to adhere to the compensation restrictions imposed by Congress.  Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and FDIC Chairman Sheila Blair will hold an 8:30 am press conference tomorrow morning to discuss the investments  as well as “a series of comprehensive actions to strengthen public confidence in our financial institutions and restore functioning of our credit markets.”.  According to Bloomberg:

The cash injections in exchange for
preferred shares are part of a $700 billion rescue approved by Congress and
follow similar moves by European leaders to unfreeze global credit markets by
helping beleaguered banks. The other companies are Wells Fargo & Co.,
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan
Stanley, State Street Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., said people
briefed on the plan.

“It’s a good thing, it’s what needs to happen, it will allow the markets to
start functioning again,” said Ralph Cole, a vice president for research at
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. in Portland, Oregon, which oversees
$2.7 billion including shares in JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bank of America, Citigroup, FDIC, Fed, Goldman Sachs, JPM Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley

Sounds like a huge fight is brewing: Fox Business News is reporting that Citigroup believes it has exclusive rights to the banking operations at Wachovia.  If we were a Wachovia shareholder, we’d fight for the Wells Fargo deal. The Citi deal sucked for Wachovia holders. 

Also, per Briefing.com:

10:12      WB Wachovia: Statement by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency  (6.88 +2.97)  -Update-
    A new proposal to acquire Wachovia has emerged from Wells Fargo (WFC). The Citigroup (C) proposal has undergone extensive review by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. We have not yet reviewed the new Wells Fargo proposal and the issues that it raises. The regulators will be working with the parties to achieve an outcome that protects all Wachovia creditors, including depositors, insured and uninsured, and promotes market stability.

10:09      WB Wachovia: FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair Comments on Agreement to Merge by Wells Fargo and Wachovia (6.90 +3.00) -Update-
    "Since the close of our bidding process, Wells has apparently re-assessed its position and come forth with this new offer that does not require FDIC assistance. It should be emphasized that both the Citigroup proposal as well as the new Wells proposal would stand behind all creditors including depositors, insured and uninsured. Under either proposal, all banking customers of the merged institutions would be fully covered with no disruptions in service. "The FDIC stands behind its previously announced agreement with Citigroup. The FDIC will be reviewing all proposals and working with the primary regulators of all three institutions to pursue a resolution that serves the public interest." (WFC, C)

Tags: Citigroup, FDIC, Fed