Tags: Activists, Appaloosa, Bernie Madoff, Bonuses, Compensation, David Tepper, Hedge funds, John Mack, Morgan Stanley, Real Estate
Tags: Alexis Glick, Bad Legislation, Barack Obama, Barclays, Bob Diamond, Citigroup, FBN, Goldman Sachs, Health Care, Jamie Dimon, John Mack, JP Morgan, Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley, National Debt, Politics, Warren Buffett
Tags: Autos, Bank of America, Barclays, CIT, Citigroup, Commodities, Ebay, FDIC, Fed, GM, Hedge funds, John Mack, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, SEC, Taxes
Tags: Allen Stanford, Bernie Madoff, Bloomberg, Bonuses, Compensation, Endowments, Harvard, James Gorman, John Mack, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, SEC, Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury, UBS, Wells Fargo, Yahoo, Yale
Briefing.com had the following comment on Morgan Stanley’s earnings:
08:17 MS Morgan Stanley misses by $0.88, beats on revs (27.13 ) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Earnings, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
Last night Charlie Rose interviewed his college buddy, Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack. Rose introduced Mack to his wife Christy (who’s the sister of his first wife).
The interview is well worth watching.
Tags: Charlie Rose, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
No $10 million bonus: John Thain will be forgoing his bonus this year, although that decision was probably prompted by Attorney General Andew Cuomo's suggestion that it wouldn't be such a hot idea if he were paid a one. Four other executives also won't get bonuses, including President Greg Fleming, Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai, General Counsel Rosemary Berkery, and Robert McCann, head of Merrill’s brokerage division.
And for the second year, Morgan Stanley's John Mack won't be getting a bonus. Nor will Co- Presidents Walid Chammah and James Gorman. In the future, there's gonna be a clawback feature in bonus payouts at Morgan Stanley:
Tags: Andrew Cuomo, Bonuses, Compensation, John Mack, John Thain, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley
You should read the fascinating WSJ article on Morgan Stanley that details what what happened days after Lehman Brothers collapsed. It explores the massive piling on on all fronts that caused the almost fatal death spiral in its stock.
It details who was trading the firm's CDS - including JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, UBS and Deutsche Bank on the banking side, and King Street Capital, Owl Street Capital on the hedge fund side. There were those who were shorting the stock — including Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC and Millennium Partners. There were those making pitches to hedge funds, to steal prime broker business
away, including JP Morgan (which drew a rebuke from John Mack to Jamie
Dimon), Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and UBS. There were those who were bailing on Morgan's prime brokerage business – including Millenium Partners, Third Point, Owl Creek. And there was the breakdown in the 20 year relationship between famed short seller Jim Chanos after John Mack groused to the SEC and employees, blaming the shorts (many of them MS clients) for attacking his stock. Chanos pulled over $1 billion out of Morgan….
Tags: Credit Crunch, Credit Suisse, Dan Loeb, Izzy Englander, Jamie Dimon, Jim Chanos, John Mack, JPM Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley
So why did Jimmy Cayne spend so much time on the golf course last year while his now departed Bear Stearns was sinking into the briny abyss? This might help to explain it: The quest for eternal (or at least longer) life. Turns out that those who play a lot of golf (and especially those with low handicaps) have a 40% lower death rate than others of the same sex, age and
socio-economic status according to a new study published in the
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. Cayne’s handicap is 15.9 according to figures compiled by Bespoke Investment Group. Others angling for a longer life include former Merrill CEO Stan O’Neal (handicap 9.9), Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld (10.3) and Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack (17). Interestingly, Merrill’s John Thain isn’t a golfer — according to an interview with the Financial Times last year: "I can’t play at all," "I never learnt.". Perhaps he should take up the game.
This equates to a five-year increase in
life expectancy, scientists led by Anders Ahlbom and Bahman Farahmand at the
Stockholm-based Karolinska Institutet said. Golfers with a low handicap – a
measure of a player’s ability – are the best protected, they said.“A round of golf means being outside for 4
or 5 hours, walking at a fast pace for 6 to 7 kilometers (3.7 to 4.4 miles),
something which is known to be good for health,” Ahlbom said in an e-mailed
statement. “People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social
and psychological aspects to the game that can be of help.”
Tags: Bear Stearns, Dick Fuld, Golf, Jim Cayne, John Mack
This week’s fascinating New York Magazine cover story chronicles the rise and fall of former John Mack protege (and for a short time his first choice as his successor) Zoe Cruz. With a focus on why no women have made it to the top of a Wall Street firm, it’s an excellent read highlighting her relationship with Mack and others within Morgan Stanley — many of whome she rubbed the wrong way — like Vikram Pandit, now the CEO of Citigroup, especially during the hostilities surrounding the ouster of former CEO Phil Purcell and ultimate return to the firm of the by-then departed John Mack….
Of all the recent firings on Wall Street,
Cruz’s is the one that’s still vehemently debated. It’s not just because a
top executive was forced to take the fall for her boss, though that does seem to
be the case. The fascination comes from the fact that Cruz is a woman, and that
she had climbed further up the Wall Street food chain than any other woman ever
had. She was fired at a time when women on Wall Street were starting to
wonder—after more than a quarter-century of getting M.B.A.’s and slugging it
out in the firms’ trenches—when one of them was finally going to make it to
the CEO’s office. And she was fired at a time when the first serious female
candidate is running for the presidency and women’s anxieties about competing
in a man’s world are playing out on the national stage. Cruz, of course, would
prefer to be seen as an executive rather than a female executive. But it’s
impossible, at this point, to make the distinction….
Tags: Credit Crunch, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
In spite of some pre-meeting vocal opposition that tried to sink his re-election, John Mack and 10 additional director will live to serve another term with over 90% voting in favor.
Mack received support from 94.5 percent of
Morgan Stanley shareholders, according to a preliminary report released today at
the company’s annual meeting in Purchase, New York. Other directors got vote
tallies from 90.1 percent to 97.9 percent.“It’s a huge vote of confidence” for Mack, said Douglas Ciocca, a portfolio
manager at Renaissance Financial Corp. in Leawood, Kansas, which oversees $1.7
billion, including Morgan Stanley shares. Investors “are looking to his
experience, which is going to be very valuable,” said Ciocca, who voted in
favor of all of the directors.Mack, 63, faced opposition from some pension funds after bets on subprime
mortgage-related securities led to Morgan Stanley’s first quarterly loss as a
publicly traded company. The firm also raised $5 billion by selling convertible
securities to China Investment Corp., the state-owned investment fund.
The company apparently didn’t get a clean sweep on beating all of the investor proposals though. With an 85.4% shareholder approval, now a simple majority can vote to amend the bylaws vs the 80% previously required.
Tags: Credit Crunch, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
According to ABC News, Hillary Clinton would have everyone believe that Wall Streeters don’t do "real work": The presidential hopeful got all uppity about the comments that she and Bill were pimping daughter Chelsea out for the benefit of her campaign. (For the record, we think the ‘pimp’ comment was just fine — the ‘pimping’ expression has become part of the vernacular) .
Now Hill is talking smack about the Wall Streeters that she has so freely crawled into bed with, like Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who have so generously fed her now dwindling cash coffers. And more pointedly she’s dissing her dutiful daughter’s chosen profession — as everyone knows, she works for hedge fund Avenue Capital (part owned by Morgan Stanley). Marc Lasry is one of her largest donors. We find the smack talk pretty shameful.
It’s always seemed to us like Hillary will do and say anything for a buck. What do they call people like that? Hmmmmm. It has something to do with the "oldest profession"…..
ABC News’ Jennifer Parker and Eloise Harper Report: Sen. Hillary Clinton took a swipe at her daughter’s profession today at an economic roundtable discussion at a restaurant in Parma, Ohio, suggesting wealthy investment bankers and hedge fund managers on Wall Street aren’t doing real ‘work.’
Tags: Goldman Sachs, John Mack, Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley, Political Contributions, Politics
Just as news emerged that the senior execs at Bear Stearns, including CEO Jimmy Cayne, would forgo their bonuses this year, Morgan Stanley’s John Mack will do likewise. Morgan reported a whopper of a loss this morning, including a larger than expected write down of $9.4 billion. But not to worry. The Chinese are riding to the rescue, plugging half the value of that hole with a $5 billion infusion….
Tags: Bonuses, Compensation, Credit Crunch, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
Here’s the Morgan Stanley press release detailing the shake-up, including the ‘resignation’ of co-president Zoe Cruz:
Tags: Credit Crunch, John Mack, Morgan Stanley, Revolving Door
Some had been calling Morgan Stanley Co-President Zoe Cruz John Mack’s heir apparent. But instead, the woman dubbed the "Cruz Missile" who was paid $30 million in 2006, is the latest high profile banking executive to fall under the sub-prime ax in another big Wall Street shake up. Bob Scully, the other Co-President, will join a new office of the chairman. Walid A. Chammah and James P. Gorman were named as Co-Presidents of the firm succeeding Cruz and Scully. According to the Wall Street Journal:
Apparently, Ms. Cruz suffered not only from
the mortgage losses but from criticism of her leadership style, which many
colleagues said could be difficult, and from lingering wounds from a bruising
2005 battle for control of the firm. During that struggle, she played a
polarizing role, remaining loyal to Philip Purcell, an unpopular chief executive
who later was ousted. John Mack, who succeeded Mr. Purcell, stood by Ms. Cruz,
but the trading losses gave him a reason to question her leadership.Some bankers and traders at Morgan Stanley have long resented Ms. Cruz’s rise within the firm. Her ascent after Mr. Mack was installed as CEO was remarkable, given the polarizing role she played in 2005, when Mr. Purcell was pressured to resign by investors and Morgan Stanley alumni.
She was so unpopular with a number of high-profile Morgan exiles that they refused to return after Mr. Mack became CEO if she remained co-president. They included Vikram Pandit, now a candidate to lead Citigroup Inc., and star banker Joseph Perella.
Tags: Credit Crunch, John Mack, Morgan Stanley, Revolving Door
Today it was Morgan Stanley’s turn to confess its sub-prime exposure and the size of any expected write-down. During a conference call held late Wednesday afternoon, the company announced that fourth quarter earnings could take a $2.5 billion after tax hit, substantially less than the rumors swirling around the street. Of course, that amount could change — it was the company’s best guess as of today. The after hours trading showed relief, with the stock actually popping to $51.99 after having a dismal day where it was down $3.32, closing regular hours trading at $51.19.
Here’s Morgan Stanley’s press release:
Tags: Charts, Credit Crunch, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
While quant funds were up to their eyeballs in losses in August, Morgan Stanley quants were right up there with them. They managed to lose $390 million on a single day in August, according to their 10Q filed today. (It’s on page 88 for those who care).
To put it into perspective, $390 million is equivalent to:
(Thanks to the reader who corrected our big red-faced GDP error earlier!)
Tags: Credit Crunch, Dan Loeb, John Mack, Morgan Stanley
(Warren’s not officially supporting HIllary — he thinks Obama would also make a fine president, and has offered to host a party for him too.)
The event is in two parts. First, there is an “intimate” dinner with Mrs Clinton and Mr Buffett for 50 guests paying $4,600 each – the maximum allowed, people involved in the planning said. Later, more donors – smaller contributors – will go to the Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan for what was billed as “a conversation” with the Democratic New York senator and the world’s second richest man.
Bankers helping Mrs Clinton include Roger Altman, the former deputy Treasury secretary who runs
Evercore, a boutique bank, and Blair Effron of Centerview, another boutique, who is advising Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp in its $5bn bid for Dow Jones.
Tags: DE Shaw, Evercore, Farallon, Hedge funds, Jim Simons, John Mack, Perry Capital, Private equity, Renaissance Technologies, Rupert Murdoch
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Tags: John Mack, Morgan Stanley, Private equity
John Mack, who’s a registered Republican been a big fund-raiser for that party, has picked his political horse, and she’s a Democrat whose name is Hillary Clinton according to BusinessWeek:
Mack previously reached Ranger status in Republican campaign finance circles by raising at least $200,000 for President George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004. (Former Goldman Sachs (GS ) CEO Hank Paulson, now U.S. Treasury Secretary, raised a Pioneer-worthy $100,000.) Mack, who says he’ll stay a registered Republican, was also considered a possible candidate for various Bush Administration posts over the years.
SEC whistleblower Gary Aguirre takes the Wall Street Journal to task in that paper for their criticism of him, proclaiming his charges against the SEC are justified. From the WSJ:
Over three weeks, your paper published a column and an editorial portraying me as a former SEC attorney who makes groundless charges against the Wall Street elite and SEC officials.
The column attacks one of two Pulitzer-prize winning reporters who co-authored the first New York Times article about the SEC’s Pequot investigation. You accuse the Times and the reporter of "airing allegations that [Morgan Stanley CEO John] Mack … helped a hedge fund engage in insider trading." You toss in that I "brainstormed up the Mack allegations." Your editorial also accuses me of making groundless allegations, but now against Mr. Mack and the SEC….
…it is not my practice to make empty allegations. Former Enforcement Director Steven Cutler made this point when the SEC hired me as a "superior qualifications appointment." He cited my track record: "substantial recoveries" in more than 90 "consecutive complex cases."
Equally mystifying is your reference to my "long held sweeping grievances against hedge funds." Before the Pequot investigation, I had no experience with hedge funds — good or bad, never invested in one, never knew anyone who did. Before the Pequot assignment, it is unlikely that I used the term more than 20 times in my life.
Finally, you proclaim your own credibility in coming to the rescue of the SEC: "We have no affection for the SEC." That is surely true. But how often would you come to the rescue of an SEC that treated the Wall Street elite just like everybody else, as required by law?
My Charges Against SEC Are Justified – Wall Street Journal
Tags: Gary Aguirre, John Mack, Morgan Stanley, Pequot Capital
Morgan Stanley’s John Mack for the moment has bragging rights for the largest bonus ever bestowed upon a Wall Street CEO. He was awarded a $40 million package of stock and options:
Mack, 62, was granted 461,821 shares valued at $36.2 million as of Dec. 12, the company said today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also received 178,945 options to buy Morgan Stanley shares, which the New York-based firm valued at about $4 million.
The payout, 44 percent more than what Morgan Stanley awarded Mack last year, eclipses the $38.3 million in total compensation Henry Paulson received in 2005 as CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Morgan Stanley’s stock is having its best year since 2003 after Mack put the firm on course for record earnings.
Tags: John Mack, Morgan Stanley
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