You’ve Got To Be Kidding Us...
Article :
November 2008
Only the Federal Reserve could possibly come up with a program (in this case, one that backs not only banks, but also the $1 trillion asset-backed commercial paper market) boasting an acronym like ABCPMMMFLF. Just a tip, fellas: acronyms were invented to make references easier – not entirely inconceivable. Now, for how deep-pocketed players are finding ways to take advantage.
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We Can Work it Out
Posting :
Rich Blake
:
11/13/2008
While a cavalcade of billion-dollar hedge fund earners (George Soros, John Paulson, Ken Griffin) marched up to Capitol Hill Thursday to get a grilling from Henry Waxman's House Oversight Committee, there was a hearing simultaneously taking place on the Senate side.
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TRADER MONTHLY COVER STORY: After the Fall
Article :
November 2008
With all due respect to 1929 and 1987, the weeks between mid-September and mid-October 2008 could well go down as the most frighteningly turbulent period ever endured by the financial world. Not since the Great Depression had the securities industry endured such chaos at once, or with such severity. The cascading crisis of confidence transfixed the nation, affected the course of the presidential election, forced the interventionist hand of governments around the world and blasted away at the financial ¬industry's foundations, erasing trillions of dollars of wealth. Here, Trader Monthly sifts through the wreckage of a Wall Street blown to hell.
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JPMorgan Mothballs Prop Desk
Article :
November 2008
By now, we think it’s safe to say that JPMorgan fared darn well in the fallout from the subprime crisis. Especially when compared with its banking counterparts – both on Wall Street and beyond. So, why is it now shuttering its proprietary trading desk? Let’s just put it this way: it’s not because Jamie Dimon doesn’t have the money.
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Distress Signals
Article :
November/December 2008
How dire is the situation facing the financial system and the larger economy? A roundtable of distressed-securities experts share their outlook.
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Bonus Watch: More Riveting Than The Election?
Article :
October 2008
From regulators to lawmakers to ordinary citizens, everyone’s got an opinion these days about whether executives at top banks deserve extra pay after an excruciating year. But in the end, here’s why it won’t really matter what anybody thinks – except for them.
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Losing Lehman
Article :
November/December 2008
Whether you blame short sellers, toxic credit instruments, Hank Paulson or Dick Fuld, the loss of one of Wall Street's most prestigious firms was a painful episode few in the industry will ever forget. We take a look back at those final tragic days.
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Survivor: Wall Street Edition
Article :
November/December 2008
What doesn't kill some securities firms only makes them stronger. Here's a closer look at which players COULD emerge from the great financial crisis of 2008 in better shape than before.
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After the Fall
Article :
November/December 2008
Sifting through the wreckage of a Wall Street blown to hell.
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Sorry State
Posting :
Rich Blake
:
10/27/2008
With the whole world seemingly ready to tar/feather/urinate on/mutilate Wall Street traders and hedge fund "fat cats," I can no longer keep my head in the sand. There are a myriad of burning questions that cry out for continued exploration. As executive editor of Trader Monthly, I am in a position to ask my readers: Who, specifically, is to blame for this train wreck? What more, if anything, can be done to slow down the destruction? Where does the industry go from here? Does Wall Street owe Main Street an apology?
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FBI Unearths Tapes In Probe Of JPMorgan
Article :
October 2008
While JPMorgan has been one of the big winners in the subprime debacle, the long arm of the law seems hell-bent on nailing it for something. Here, the story out today that divulges the contents of a tape recording from Feb. 19, 2003, in which a now-deceased bond lawyer tells Philadelphia treasurer that JPMorgan is pushing swaps to generate fees. (Or, as he puts it, “they don't watch your back...If there was an issue between whether to do a bond deal or a swap, they gonna take the swap, even though it may not be the best thing…'')
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India Takes Rate-Cutting Plunge
Article :
October 2008
The take-away from this? Clearly, India’s Reserve Bank governor Duvvuri Subbarao believes that growth prospects are now more alarming than the threat of inflation – and, unlike most of the rest of the world, actually has the stones to do something about it. Now that he’s cast the die, will anyone follow?
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Pandit: Can’t Get No Respect
Article :
October 2008
Pardon our French, but Citigroup’s CEO is clearly up against it: the bank’s fourth quarterly loss in a row, $61 billion of losses tied to the housing market and a failed bid for Wachovia. As our Merrill friend delicately put it, "It’s like getting thrown down a flight of stairs and then getting p!$$ed on." And he should know.
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Why Bail A Few, When You Can Bail Them All?
Article :
October 2008
Stocks in Europe and Asia are again charging higher on news that the U.S will be taking “drastic” action to shore up the global banking system today – apparently, in the belief that so far it has not been drastic enough. (Or, in any case, swift enough.) So, which banks are jostling to the front of the breadline for a handout? Pretty much all of them. But will disbursing billions finally kill this pernicious cancer? Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, seems to think so.
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Lehman Slams JPMorgan In Court
Article :
October 2008
In another legal tussle coming to the fore, the creditors committee of Lehman Brothers charge that JPMorgan played an instrumental role in the bank’s downfall. How these two banks are rather unlike Bank of America today, which just announced a landmark legal settlement.
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How Citi Nailed Wachovia For $1 A Share
Article :
September 2008
Good on Citi for finding a way to leap into the magic circle on the cheap (and by that we mean the group that also includes Bank of America and J.P. Morgan, which will no doubt be enjoying unrivaled sway over the price of goods and services in the banking sector for years to come). But can Citi overcome its poor track record when it comes to handling mergers – not to mention Wach’s tens of billions of dollars in loan losses?
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Top Traders, Dealmakers Left In Lurch
Article :
September 2008
What do Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon and Vikram Pandit all have in common? They may very well be the “most flummoxed” people in the investment community today. Here’s why.
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After Worst US Stock Drop Ever, Global Stocks Rise
Article :
September 2008
Given the fact that we went to bed watching riled-up Asian traders with their fingers glued to their red “sell” buttons, count us as pleasantly surprised. Here’s the latest on why Asian and European shares, not to mention U.S. stock futures, are (somewhat miraculously) getting a boost so far today. Could the market be so lowly rated as to be underrated? We’ll know for sure after George Bush gives his pep-talk speech today at 8:45 a.m. ET, potentially messing it all up.
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JPMorgan to Buy WaMu
Article :
September 2008
JPMorgan Chase & Co is expected to acquire the deposits of Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, in a government-brokered bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
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NY, London: Tale Of Two Cities
Article :
September 2008
How these endlessly dueling rivals, which, just a few months ago, were contentedly crashing antlers over who laid claim to global financial primacy, are now locked in a race to the bottom.
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Guess What The Chinese/Russians Got That We Haven’t?
Article :
September 2008
Other than toxic chemicals in their dairy (well, China, anyway…).While gold may be undergoing its worst pukefest in 28 years, these distant locales are enjoying their heftiest emerging-market stock rally in two decades. How to get in on the action.
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Hedge Fund Clients Exit Stage Left
Article :
September 2008
Morgan Stanley (now in merger talks with beleaguered Wachovia) may be doing better than most, but that doesn’t mean its stock isn’t falling prey to certain guilt by association. Why hedge fund clients are yanking their money and going elsewhere – for example to the following save-haven institutions.
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Braining WaMu
Article :
September 2008
If nobody will buy WaMu, there are banks offering to give it the “Lehman” (rip it apart and scurry off with the best candy from this piñata). So who’s holding the biggest baseball bats? Basically all those left standing. Which aren’t too many, but we’re naming ‘em.
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Without Fed Financing, AIG May Declare Bankruptcy by Wednesday
Article :
September 2008
The fate of the American International Group now lies with Federal Reserve, as the likelihood of a $75 billion credit line financed by a bank syndicate appears unlikely, people briefed on the matter said Tuesday afternoon.
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Why Do You Care About AIG’s Downgrades?
Article :
September 2008
Because it’s a major insurance company, piker, and its cash-flow issues are hammering global insurance stocks today. But, you ask, what hold has another boneheaded, wrongheaded, muleheaded, dunderheaded U.S. company got over worldwide markets? How about an estimated $13 billion of systemic risk, if these dual downgrades, as predicted, cause investors to pull the trigger on an equal amount of collateral calls? (Among them, we are hearing, Pimco’s Bill Gross.) Read on for the full explainer.
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Libor Explodes
Article :
September 2008
On the heels of the absolute worst market pummeling since the Sept. 11 attacks, here’s how the cost of borrowing in dollars overnight more than doubled in a record leap as our strong, mature, global banks hit the panic button in a worldwide, cash-hoarding freakout.
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Fed Extends Definition Of ‘Collateral’
Article :
September 2008
In addition to stocks, they now will be accepting, in exchange for loans to securities firms, such sundry miscellany as empty oil drums, paint cans, septic tanks, liquorice bootlaces, hubcaps and Popsicle sticks.
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‘Strategic Arrangement,’ Anyone?
Article :
September 2008
We don’t care, Lehman is now moving to the No. 2 spot on our daily line-up of stories until something huge happens. It cannot be scene-stealing the headlines all the time. But don’t make the mistake of thinking we won’t be continuing to talk about it with the glee of a sewing circle. It’s no surprise the bank is looking for a buyer (not HSBC or Deutsche Bank, we’re hearing, but possibly Bank of America). Still, we do find it startling that U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed chief Ben Bernanke are helping make sure the CEO does his job. Are they also dressing him, too?
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...Much Love, Hank
Article :
September 2008
In another major newsbreak today, Long or Short Capital gets this advance copy of a letter to the American people from our august and hallowed Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
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New Day Rising
Article :
September 2008
The golden era of day trading may be ancient history, but the industry is far from extinct. Examining the unlikely, unheralded second act of the professional proprietary equity trader.
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JPMorgan Under Fire
Article :
September 2008
How at least seven former JPMorgan execs became the target of a U.S. Justice Department probe examining whether Wall Street banks conspired to charge extortionate prices to local governments for swaps and other derivatives.
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Even the Best Lose Their Shirts
Article :
August 2008
JP Morgan has been one of the more adept at skirting the credit crisis. While their peers have had their hand out for billions of petrodollars in the last year, Jamie Dimon’s crew stayed relatively above the fray. So much for that. On the brink of potential nationalization for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, JP Morgan is feeling the pain on the preferreds to the tune of $600M.
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What Merrill Finds Poachworthy
Article :
August 2008
Merrill Lynch has not been able to keep its hands off mortgage traders lately. And the resulting furor is making waves at top investment banks, not excluding Goldman, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. But who’s the guy behind all this newfound grabbiness?
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30 Under 30
Article :
September 2008
Any trader who survives these current markets -- among the most
turbulent ever -- will surely be stronger for the experience.
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JP: Best Broker Ever?
Article :
August 2008
The votes have been cast and the tally is in: here’s why JPMorgan Chase reigns supreme as the most effective broker at getting top-notch order fills for its traders (according to data compiled by a firm that monitors trading costs in 57 countries). If you’re sick of getting nothing but sass from your broker, this is the news you’ve been waiting for.
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New Day Rising
Article :
September 2008
The golden era of day trading may be ancient history, but the industry is far from extinct. Examining the unlikely, unheralded second act of the professional proprietary equity trader.
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UBS: A Little Experiment?
Article :
August 2008
Science has proven that splitting the right and left hemispheres of the brain in seizure patients doesn’t really much change their behavior – but then again, that’s not really the same thing as a bank dividing its investment banking and wealth-management divisions…Is it?
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Former Bear Investors Sue for $2.5 Billion in Damages
Article :
August 2008
Bear Stearns Cos Inc failed to negotiate hard enough to get the best deal before its frantic fire sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co., a lawyer for former Bear shareholders seeking about $2.5 billion in damages told a judge on Monday.
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NYS AG Seeks Auction-Rate Pacts With 3 Banks
Article :
August 2008
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, which is investigating Wall Street's sales practices in auction-rate securities, told JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia Corp on Monday that it wants to begin settlement talks immediately.
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Schwartz Moving On
Article :
July 2008
After falling from atop the house of cards that was Bear Stearns, Alan Schwartz will be moving on from Bear's new home, JP Morgan. Word on the street is that he might end up at KKR, which announced earlier this week that is going public.
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Insider Trading Scandals Rock London
Article :
July 2008
Always cool: being an insider. Never cool: insider trading. The list of those acting, well, not very cool in Old Blighty is growing apace, with the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority taking swings at a Swiss bank (three guesses and the first two don’t count which one that is) and one of London’s oldest trading firms, which, incidentally, it already targeted less than a week ago. As office premises are duly raided and nearly a dozen traders are arrested, here are a few more reasons why it’s important to consider that just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not after you.
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Banks Are Sound, Trust Us
Posting :
Larry Levin
:
07/28/2008
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Penthouse: A Bear’s Lair
Article :
July 2008
One lesson Jimmy Cayne seems to have learned from the stunning downfall of his beloved Bear Stearns: Stay away from mortgages.
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Citi: Over The Hump?
Article :
July 2008
Sometimes, the best you can hope for is a giant avalanche of net income. Other times, it’s a smaller avalanche of net income. Then there are the derivative forms: better-than-expected income, better-than-a-year-ago income, better-than-the-last-quarter income and, finally, narrower-than-a-year-ago (or-last-quarter) income. Whew. Unfortunately, none of these things are actually happening right now for many banks. That’s OK. You know what? We’re the glass-half-full-type. At this stage, we’ll take a smaller-than-expected loss anytime. Just as long as it happens between the second half of 2007 and the last half of 2008. Hey, we’re forgiving, but we never said we were flexible. Now for the details of Citigroup’s 2Q, which, given our revised standards, did not disappoint.
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China Paces Itself
Article :
July 2008
After years of overheating, China looks like it’s finally cooling off, as data indicates its economy grew at the weakest pace since the second quarter of 2005. Ergo, guess what dollar-like move the yuan made?
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Snap! Goldman Finally Pushed Into Subprime Snake Pit?
Article :
July 2008
We've gotta' hand it to them, the G-men have done a fantastic job of keeping their noses clean throughout the sordid subprime ordeal. They even managed to dodge the bullet that Wall Street's other reigning clean-noser, JPMorgan, couldn’t avoid: being strong-armed by the Fed into buying Bear Stearns. But as the gossip machine that preceded Bear’s collapse now threatens Lehman, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein and the bank’s traders are increasingly being pressured to explain whether they played any role in the alleged hijinks. As the SEC issues more subpoenas than the queen has teas, the Wall Street Journal takes an in-depth look at who's being asked what -- and what, so far, are the answers.
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We’re on the Hook for Bear
Article :
July 2008
To an astute observer, this cannot be news. It does not take a report from an anonymous hedge fund to tell us it is. As part of its deal to buy Bear Stearns, JP Morgan is only on the hook for the first billion or so in losses. The rest? The American taxpayer.
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Wall Street’s Newest Distressed Asset: Traders
Article :
June 2008
For Citadel, Tudor and at least 20 other top hedge funds, bottom-feeding is no longer limited to just asset classes – it’s also increasingly coming in the form of human capital. With even trading superstars getting scooped up for a song (hello, SPQR Capital founder Bertrand des Pallieres telling The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday "You benchmark yourself against the firms that started two or three years ago, and you get depressed") you have to wonder, how much do you really need to watch your back?
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Nearly Half Of Wall Street Bank Profits Vaporize
Article :
June 2008
Got your Xanax all fired up? This week is bank-earnings week. And, as such, we feel it only fair to duly warn you that the carnage you are about to see may not be suitable for all viewers. You can’t say we didn’t try. So, without further adieu, an in-depth look at what’s expected and what’s to come. And yes, it’s all bahhhhd.
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Make Sure to Invite Everyone
Article :
June 2008
Every now and then you have to tweak the system. Include more players, include more time zones and make things more transparent. Shifting to a more amenable model, the BBA is changing the way LIBOR is calculated for the first time in ten years.
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