Friday Night Links:
May 1, 2009
Go-Go Again? If you believe the pundits at Slate, we may be in store for another round of cheerleading. We aren’t popping open the Champaign just yet, but we’re always pleased to see an up-tick in deal flow, even if it does turn out to be short-lived. Hold on to your party hats. See story. As If Wall Street Wasn’t Jittery Enough Already… Life got a bit more exciting in lower Manhattan early this week when a 747 crept along the backdrop of lower Manhattan. Assuming that the low-flying plane was about to become a terror attack, thousands of spooked employees flooded into the streets. It turns out the plane was one of the planes that functions as Air Force One when President Obama is aboard – and he wasn’t. The plane was just conducting a lovely little photo op that involved the Statue of Liberty, a Boeing 747, and two F-16s to escort the plane. Cute one. See story. Kravis To TARP Banks: Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You. Despite the Obama administration’s best efforts at encouraging private investors to support TARP banks, KKR founding partner founding partner Henry Kravis seems more than a little skittish about investing in the government-supported institutions. Deal Journal reported that Kravis said, “Are you now ensnared in government action and going to be called into Congress because you are making money?” See story. Wall Street To New MBAs: Stay Home, Forever. It looks like Stanford professor Paul Oyer has borrowed a page from Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book. In a recent study, the Stanford Graduate School of Business economics professor found that MBAs who graduate during bear markets are unlikely to ever start an investment banking, supporting the premise that timing is often everything. Almost. The missed opportunity of working for a Wall Street investment bank obviously affects the MBA’s long- and short-term earning potential. See story. Barney Frank: Yes, We Love Twisting Lewis’ Arm. Frank , the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, was not particularly concerned by the discussion that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis may have been more than a little strong-armed into okaying the Merrill Lynch sale. Reuters reported that Frank commented that “there was no right answer” in how to proceed with the transaction discussion. See story. Blame Edsparr. As if the populist fury surrounding finance executive’s pay packages wasn’t bad enough already, Patrick Edsparr, a former JPMorgan exec, has decided to sue his TARP-receiving former employer over his $2.3 million unpaid bonus. Edsparr left the New York-based investment bank to become Citadel’s European chief executive and global head of fixed income. Bloomberg reported that Edsparr’s complaint notes “an unparticularized allegation of violation of nonsolicitation agreements contained in unidentified agreements.” See story. Sir Allen Stanford Tires Of Freedom. The knighted former chairman of Stanford Financial Group and alleged fraudster made an appearance at the a federal courthouse in Texas in an apparent attempt to turn himself in… or to pull a pr coup. The billionaire cricket player asked the authorities to arrest him if they had a warrant. Authorities refused to take Stanford into custody, as they did not have a warrant for his arrest. See story. Hedge Funds: Fail. I-Banking: Hmm, Maybe. Citadel Investment Group, the hedge fund that was founded by Ken Griffin in 1990, is still nursing its wounds from the massive losses last year of Kensington Global Strategies Fund Ltd. and Wellington Fund LLC, the firm’s two largest funds, which together lost 55%. The firm has now happened upon a safer and more profitable investment strategy. Get ready; this wild innovation is called… investment banking. The new unit will be led by three former Merrill Lynch pros, Todd Kaplan, Brian Maier, and Carl Mayer. See story.
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