Wall Street Folly

• 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 Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bankruptcy, Barclays, Cazenove, Euro, Greece, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Municipal Bonds, Newspapers, Radioshack, Revolving Door, Sovereign debt, UBS

One area on Wall Street will reap benefits from the stimulus plan:  Sellers of muni bonds….

Obama Showers Wall Street Fees With Muni Stimulus – Bloomberg

Tags: Barack Obama, Fees, Municipal Bonds, Politics

Hedge fund problems continue to spread.  The Financial Times reports that three more funds are either closing their doors or suffering to the point where they’ve halted investor withdrawals:

Drake Management, a $12bn New York
manager, wrote to investors in its three hedge funds on Wednesday offering them
the choice of winding up the funds after about half asked for their money back.

Global Opportunities (GO) Capital, a €560m ($870m) Amsterdam hedge fund,
said it would block withdrawals until the end of the year to prevent firesales
of shares in  small Benelux and German companies.

It also emerged that Blue River Asset Management, a Colorado-based hedge
fund manager specialising in municipal bonds, was to shut its main fund after
nearly 80 per cent losses, even after raising $110m for a fresh fund.

Blue River, the most highly leveraged, is said to be having the most difficulty…

Credit squeeze hits three more hedge funds – Financial Times

Tags: Credit Crunch, Hedge funds, Municipal Bonds

Merrill Lynch, blamed in part for the 1994 bankruptcy of Orange County, California and banned from underwritings there since then, may soon be back in business there.

With little public discussion, Merrill Lynch & Co. on Thursday joined 23 other financial services firms approved by a county finance committee for a four-year stint on its "business list" of available underwriters.

"There’s a point where you have to say, ‘OK, let’s move on,’ " said Treasurer-Tax Collector John Moorlach, who sits on the panel. …

The Board of Supervisors will vote on the committee’s recommendation Nov. 14.

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Tags: Merrill Lynch, Municipal Bonds

Welcome back: The Lebenthals are returning to the business of municipal bonds.  Last year Merrill Lynch acquired the venerable Lebenthal name in its purchase of Advest, but  chose not to use it.   So father and daughter — Alexandra and James — left Merrill.

Blocked from using the Lebenthal brand name still held by Merrill, the father-and-daughter team will call the new venture simply Alexandra & James. The plan is expected to be announced this week.

Alexandra Lebenthal, age 42, will become the chief executive of the broker-dealer unit of Israel Discount Bank of New York, a subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank, where an investor group led by Matthew Bronfman and Rubin Schron recently acquired a controlling stake.

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Tags: Municipal Bonds

A book launch party for muni bond king Jim Lebenthal’s "Confessions of a Municipal Bond Salesman", held at the Rainbow Room, brought out former fed chief Paul Volcker, Bear Stearns’ CEO (and newly  revealed  billionaire) Jimmy Cayne, former mayor Ed Koch, and of course, Lebenthal’s daughter Alexandra.  Lebenthal’s firm was bought out late last year by Merrill Lynch and the venerable Lebenthal corporate name was merged into extinction…

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Tags: Books, Municipal Bonds

Like the Wall Street names Salomon Brothers, Kidder, EF Hutton, Shearson etc., another venerable name has been merged into extinction.  The name of Lebenthal, the seemingly ubiquitous, at least in New York, 80 year old municipal bond firm, purchased by Advest in 2001, will fade into oblivion as Merrill Lynch completes its $400 million purchase of Advest. 

Alexandra Lebenthal, the president of Lebenthal and executive vice president of Advest, will move on, the last of three generations to run the business.

"At age 41, I have come to the rather astonishing realization that I am my dad and I am my grandmother," Ms. Lebenthal said in an interview. "My next chapter, while not yet written, will allow me to continue to be a strong voice and guiding hand for investors."

Her father, James A. Lebenthal, the former chairman of Lebenthal, is also leaving his job as a consultant to Advest.

"When I think of the Lebenthal brand, I think of New York," said former Mayor David N. Dinkins, who was a client of Mr. Lebenthal. "It’s like losing the Brooklyn Dodgers."…

Robert J. McCann, vice chairman and president of the global private client group at Merrill Lynch, said the firm would not use the Lebenthal name in advertising campaigns, as Advest had, or in any corporate capacity.

New York Story Closes With a Deal – New York Times

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Tags: Municipal Bonds