Wednesday, November 30

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Bad News Banks: About one of every three banks cut their work force last quarter, leading to the smallest industry growth in a year and a half. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded 37 banks worldwide, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo here at home. The downgrades were the result of revised rating criteria. The Times noted that of the eight largest U.S. banks under review by S&P, only State Street escaped a downgrade.

Eurozone finance ministers agreed to release their share of an 8 billion Euro loan to Greece and strengthened the European Financial Stability Facility. The Journal reported that while the ministers expanded the fund, they "acknowledged it would have less capacity to help troubled nations than once hoped, and suggested future efforts to resolve the worsening crisis would depend on the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund coming to their aid." Wall Street Journal, New York Times

Wall Street Journal

While he may not have gone as far as "defriending" Wall Street, Facebook finance chief David Ebersman has said he may not need them for his company's $10 billion IPO next year. Not everyone believes Facebook will go its own way; some think the bravado is merely a negotiating ploy to cut fees.

Goldman Sachs has raised $600 million from clients to invest in start-up hedge funds, a less risky strategy than investing in its own hedge funds — though potentially less lucrative, too.

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff's rejection of the SEC's $285 million settlement with Citigroup prodded SEC Chair Mary Schapiro to write Congress asking for permission to triple the maximum amount the SEC can fine firms. And repeat offenders, under the SEC's request, would pay nine times their ill-gotten gains.

An investigation of the collapsed MF Global has so far left regulators "flummoxed by a tangled money trail that crosses borders and different parts of the securities firm."

New York Times

The paper looks at the expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. (Geared more toward consumers, there's nothing here you didn't already know.)

Securities and investment firms, who appreciated his "command of arcane areas of finance," contributed heavily to Rep. Barney Frank's campaign. Now that he has decided to not seek re-election, they can ask for a refund.

John A, Paulson has apologized to investors for "his hedge fund's disastrous slide this year" and reaffirmed his commitment to "producing above average returns."

Whose ticket is it anyway? Timothy C. Davidson, Brandon E. Lacoff and Gregory H. Skidmore, executives at Greewich-based Belpointe Asset Management, turned in a Powerball lottery ticket worth $254.2 million. But rumors say the men are not the true winners and that they are acting on behalf of a client.