The Bedford even has a restaurant and a lounge in its 1926 vault. Location: Wicker Park, Chicago, US.
Tag Archives: Bank
No ’flashy jewellery or skirts that are too tight behind’ allowed
Men are banned from wearing “loud socks”
Tattoos, piercing and ankle-chains “not desirable”
Vanity Fair: Michael Lewis On Irish Banking
6 Feb
Image by centralasian via Flickr
In the latest Vanity Fair Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Poker and The Big Short, did a fascinating piece on the Irish econopocalypse:
«A banking system is an act of faith: it survives only for as long as people believe it will. Two weeks earlier the collapse of Lehman Brothers had cast doubt on banks everywhere. Ireland’s banks had not been managed to withstand doubt; they had been managed to exploit blind faith. Now the Irish people finally caught a glimpse of the guy meant to be safeguarding them: the crazy uncle had been sprung from the family cellar. Here he was, on their televisions, insisting that the Irish banks were “resilient” and “more than adequately capitalized” … when everyone in Ireland could see, in the vacant skyscrapers and empty housing developments around them, evidence of bank loans that were not merely bad but insane. “What happened was that everyone in Ireland had the idea that somewhere in Ireland there was a little wise old man who was in charge of the money, and this was the first time they’d ever seen this little man,” says McCarthy. “And then they saw him and said, Who the fuck was that??? Is that the fucking guy who is in charge of the money??? That’s when everyone panicked.” »
The rest here [via Paul Kedrosky]
UK Move To Allow Unlimited Bonuses
11 Jan
Royal Bank of Scotland via Wikipedia
«After months in which a series of government ministers of all parties have threatened a toughening in the stance over City bonuses, Downing Street said the government did not intend to intervene in the pay of the UK’s top bankers.»
Read the full story from The Guardian here.
UBS Wants The Staff To Act & Dress «Conservative»
15 Dec
Via Wikipedia
According to the Daily Mail the female staff at UBS have been instructed to wear flesh-coloured underwear and loose fitting skirts to boost the company’s conservative image. In addition:
Full story here.
The UBS Dress Code: Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
For women:
- Wear your jacket buttoned.
- When sitting, the buttons should be unfastened.
- Make sure to touch up hair regrowth regularly if you color your hair.
For men:
- Store your suit on a large hanger with rounded shoulders to preserve the shape of the garment.
- Schedule barber appointments every four weeks to maintain your haircut shape.
Don’ts
- Eating garlic and onions
- Smoking or spending time in smoke-filled places
- Wearing short-sleeved shirts or cuff links
- Wearing socks that are too short, showing your skin while sitting
- Allowing underwear to be seen
- Touching up perfume during or after lunch break
- Using tie knots that don’t match your face shape and/or body shape
More [via The Wall Street Journal].
Financial Highlights
11 Nov
Barron’s: Liquidity Still Propping Up Stocks. Stocks remain in a rising trend despite recent moves in gold, silver and the dollar.
By David Paul Ohmer via Flickr.
BBC: Europe approves hedge fund rules. Hedge funds are to be subject to EU-wide regulation for the first time after the European Parliament approved new rules for the sector.
Bloomberg: Goldman Tells Investors to Exit China Stock Bet With 11.3% Gain. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended clients exit a bet that Hong Kong-listed companies in China will gain on concern the central bank will raise borrowing costs to tame inflation.
BusinessWeek:U.S. Stocks Drop After Cisco’s Forecast Misses Estimates. U.S. stocks fell, with benchmark indexes retreating for a third day this week, after Cisco Systems Inc. projected sales and profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates.
CNBC: Highlights from the Playboy Art Auction. Playboy and Christie’s are coming together in Chicago on December 8 to auction off more than 125 works from the corporate collection of Playboy Enterprises.
Forbes: The Bulls Are Back In Town. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney strategists say market is in multi-year uptrend.
MarketWatch: Thursday’s biggest gaining and declining stocks. Shares of the following companies were making notable moves in the U.S. stock market Thursday.
Reuters: Wary investors go exotic. Inflation-wary investors worried about low returns are piling money into specialized ETFs focused on precious metals, Indonesian stocks and other far-flung products.
The Business Insider: The really worrying part about Chinese inflation: It’s being driven by food prices . Chinese CPI data last night pointed to a sharp increase in inflation in the country, up 4.4% year-over-year.
The Economist: Cartography - The map and the territory . The true size of Africa, tweaked.
The Financial Times: Food price fears as US warns on crop yields.
The Guardian: Cartoon: Bill payers to ‘gamble on energy prices’. Government bill allows consumers to shift the upfront costs of energy efficiency measures to suppliers.
The New York Times: Top 10 Must-Have Apps for the iPhone, and Some Runners-Up. Not enough time to sift through 300,000 apps to find the good ones?
The Telegraph: Biggest drop in Britain’s wealth for 60 years. Worst recession on record eliminated jobs and curbed spending, the Office for National Statistics said.
The Wall Street Journal: Iraq’s Oil Patch Opens the Spigot. Some of the world’s largest energy companies are ramping up drilling in Iraq, as the government attempts an expansion of output that could help moderate world energy prices for years to come.
Intraday Intermezzo
10 Nov
Barron’s: An Options Trade With a 500% Return. Wall Street gets drunk on QE2 as traders pile into so-called call flys.
Wall Street, Manhattan via Wikipedia
BBC: Cameron warning over China trade. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has stepped into the row over “currency wars” with a warning that China should act to correct its trade imbalance.
Bloomberg: Kiss Your Assets Goodbye If Certainty Reigns. In rare instances, when there is a near-total lack of uncertainty in the market, the outcome is usually a spectacular disaster.
BusinessWeek:Macy’s Third-Quarter Earnings Beat Estimates as Sales Advance. Macy’s Inc., the second-biggest U.S. department-store chain, reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates as sales advanced 6.6 percent.
Forbes: Choosing The Right Tablet For You. Selecting the tablet best suited for your lifestyle depends on size, operating system and price.
MarketWatch: Seven reasons to buy bank stocks now. While the broader market has cobbled together a nice run since Sept. 1, major financial stocks have largely been sitting out the rally.
Reuters: Cisco to report earnings. Network equipment heavyweight Cisco is expected to announce upbeat earnings on Wednesday, following executive comments last quarter that spooked Wall Street.
The Business Insider: The Best Startups Are Founded By Entrepreneurs Who Built The Product Themselves. There is good reason to weave your bio into a story of why you’re starting this company.
The Economist: The laboratory of the world. Britain’s spending cuts may play a big role in determining who the next occupant of the White House is
The Financial Times: Luke Johnson Banking isn’t sexy any more, thank heaven.
The Guardian: Cartoon: Economic stimulus in time for Christmas.
The New York Times: The Enduring Myth of Gold’s Record High. Despite many news reports that gold has reached a “record high,” it’s not true, at least not in any meaningful sense
The Telegraph: Questor Share Tips - Special: Morgan Stanley’s pick of China growth stocks.
The Wall Street Journal: The Copper Conundrum. Copper is likely to be at new record highs before the week is out, but cries of “bubble” are already starting to be heard.
Low-Hanging Fruit Rally
9 Nov
Barron’s: Bank Stocks Finally Arrive at Rally Party. With the Fed committed to goosing the economy, Citigroup and other bank stocks are showing that they have catch-up potential.
Image by occupantproductions via Flickr
BBC: Slow quarter saps Barclays profit. Barclays Plc, Britain’s third-largest bank, said its capital ratio remained “strong” as quarterly profit fell 76 percent on lower revenue at the investment banking unit.
Bloomberg: High-Frequency Traders Lobby, Donate to Head Off U.S. Rules. Closely held companies with undisclosed profits and obscure names like Getco LLC, Hard Eight Futures LLC and Quantlab Financial LLC, are beginning to act more like Wall Street banks, cutting checks to politicians, forming trade groups and hiring lobbyists and ex-regulators.
BusinessWeek: Tax Uncertainty Hastens Property Sales. Shades of “Cash for Clunkers” as the prospect of higher taxes if Bush-era tax cuts expire in January spurs owners to put more real estate on the market.
Forbes: How To Be A Leader At Hello. Coming off as a leader can help you get ahead–whether you’re vying for a job, trying to make business connections or looking for love.
MarketWatch: Stock investors: put on your rally cap. Growth stocks and small stocks are fueling the U.S. stock market rally, reversing the trends that prevailed in the April-June correction. While it might not be time for champagne yet, it is heartening on many levels.
Reuters: Is a farm bubble growing? Even with a stagnant national economy, the price of farmland in the Midwest is rising at rates that some find disturbing. What’s behind the growth and could it create a bubble?
The Business Insider: IEA: Chinese Energy Demand Will Soon Equal Two-Thirds Of The Entire Developed World. Soon to dominate oil and coal demand growth.
The Economist: Most commented - The European summit: The bully in the room?
The Financial Times: Philip Stephens Cameron keeps a rendezvous with reality.
The Guardian: Cable rows with bank bosses during Chinese trade mission. Business secretary disagrees with RBS and Standard Chartered chiefs after they warned a bonus crackdown could trigger a staff exodus to Asia.
The New York Times: The Return of the Risk Arbs. The most telling sign that mergers are poised for a revival? Risk arbitrage has come back from the dead. Hedge funds are now pouring money into the strategy of betting on the outcomes of deals.
The Telegraph: Why is Bush ‘comfortable’ with his legacy? The contrarian thing to say about Bush’s remarks is that he’s right, and I certainly toyed with the idea of trying to string together some sort of defence of his presidency. But in the end, you cannot ignore the evidence in front of your eyes.
The Wall Street Journal: Science Behind Our Love of Ice Cream. Why people prefer certain foods depends largely on a combination of taste and texture. Researchers have found that an enzyme in saliva could play a key role in determining the appeal of foods.
Mercredi Merchant Mélodie
6 Oct
Barron’s: A Cure for Microsoft’s Dead-Money Blues. Here’s a way to get the most out of the stalled software giant with a simple options trading strategy.
Dollar Bills by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
BBC: Tax break hint amid benefit row. The government has indicated it plans a tax break for married couples by 2015, amid anger over plans to cut child benefit for top rate taxpayers.
Bloomberg: BOJ May Have Fired First Shot in New Round of Global Action. The Bank of Japan may have acted first in a new round of central bank action to prop up the global economy as recoveries in industrial nations falter.
BusinessWeek: The Road To Recovery: Dividend Payouts Increase $18.5 Billion YTD. The bleeding has stopped, but the dividend recovery is going to be a long, slow trip. The top line dividend news is good, and we can sure use it.
CNBC: Lower Payouts for Wall Street Traders Looking More Likely. Banks facing dwindling trading volumes may find that they have just one option left to boost profits: paying less of their revenue to many of their employees.
Forbes: Why The PC Is Not Dead. Each new, disruptive innovation underscores the benefits of personal computing.
MarketWatch: U.S. stocks rally along with recovery hopes. U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, with the Dow industrials closing within striking distance of 11,000 and at its highest level since May, as U.S. economic data and Japan’s bid to spur its economy energized Wall Street.
Reuters: Just say no to gold: bankers. Gold is all the rage these days as investors flee uncertain markets and fret about inflation, but some bankers are firing warning shots against the precious metal.
The Business Insider: Pro Investors Have Suddenly Placed A Huge Short Bet On The NASDAQ. In the past, this has been a good sign of a market top.
The Financial Times: Financial health – What treatment have policy makers got left?
The Guardian: G7 to meet over ‘currency war’ fearss. Finance ministers will hold an informal talks in US amid growing concerns over manipulation of currencies
The New York Times: Sun Co-Founder Uses Capitalism to Help Poor. Vinod Khosla invested heavily in a microfinance company, expecting it to profit poor people — and himself.
The Telegraph: Bernanke: No to austerity. Fed chairman says recovery too fragile to cope with deficit cuts.
The Wall Street Journal: A Buyer’s Guide to France. While buying real estate in France may conjure up idyllic visions, there are issues particular to the country that could throw a wrench in a Gallic property quest. We reveal the potential pitfalls.
Friday Fiscal Fédération
1 Oct
Barron’s: Locking In Gold’s Gains. Here are a few strategies to book profits on the surging price of a popular gold ETF.
NYSE - by brian glanz via Flickr
BBC: Japan readies new stimulus moves. The Japanese parliament is to debate a supplementary budget expected to contain a further 4.6tn yen ($55bn, £35bn) of stimulus measures.
Bloomberg: H&M, Zara Fast Fashion Pressures Luxury Labels to Speed Up. Fast-fashion retailers often get inspiration from the catwalks of Paris and Milan. Now, luxury companies like Cavalli Group say they must take their lead from cheaper and speedier rivals.
BusinessWeek: The World’s Leading Cities. Where to set up or expand overseas operations and where to locate key executives and ranking them on such criteria as trade, education, political influence, and cultural life.
CNBC: Markets Will Continue Rallying. The market does tend to rise before the mid-term election and that’s part of what we’re seeing here – there’s more information.
Forbes: The Three Big Dangers For China’s Real Estate Sector. Expert claim that some real estate markets in China is going to drop 90% and that overall real estate is priced at twice its actual worth.
MarketWatch: TUI cut at Morgan Stanley as freight rates peak. Morgan Stanley on Friday cut its rating on German travel group TUI AG to equal-weight from overweight.
Reuters: New financial risk council meets Friday. A new council of U.S. regulators charged with identifying risks to the financial system holds it first meeting later on Friday with an agenda that includes risky trading and how to pick which non-bank financial institutions need special scrutiny.
The Business Insider: Uh-Oh: Let’s Hope Tomorrow’s “Golden Cross” On The Dow Isn’t The Opposite Of The Death Cross. Could this be a sign of an immanent collapse?
The Financial Times: Goldman warns Europe on regulation.
The Guardian: Job market recession could trigger social unrest, UN agency warns. The International Labour Organization (ILO) sees the recovery in global employment delayed until 2015, two years later than it originally predicted.
The New York Times: EU Finance Ministers Meet to Settle Bank Taxes Row.
The Telegraph: Bank of England: tougher curbs on mortgage lending. Banks impose tougher rules because of fears that higher unemployment will result in more home owners defaulting.
The Wall Street Journal: Searching for Perfection. There are many magical names in the world of wine but few can rival that of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. A rare look inside the Burgundian estate with director and winemaker Aubert de Villaine.
Hiring Frenzy Among City Investment Banks
16 Sep
Ahead of what is expected to be a busy year a push to hire bankers accelerates as they scamble to get their M&A departments in order – The movers and shakers of finance according to NYTimes DealBook:
“Bank of America Merrill Lynch in particular is adding senior bankers in an effort to rebuild the franchise after many Merrill Lynch bankers left the firm following the acquisition. Bankers, who stayed put during the financial downturn, are now willing to move as many expect bonuses.
Nomura’s top M&A banker in Europe, Adrian Mee, went to Bank of America earlier this month. He will be joining Christian Meissner, who moved to Bank of America from Nomura in the summer to lead investment banking in Europe.
Goldman Sachs hired Brett Olsher from Deutsche Bank as a partner in London this week. Mr. Olsher, who was global co-head of M&A, was recently promoted to Deutsche Bank’s executive committee and put in charge of building the bank’s emerging market coverage.
The French bank, Société Générale, lost its head of M&A in Britain, Dan Clague, to the boutique advisory firm Hawkpoint. Bank of America hired four investment bankers from rivals, including Citigroup and HSBC, on Tuesday to strengthen its advisory services for banks and other financial institutions in Europe.”
HSBC May Double Dividend
16 Sep
HSBC via Wikipedia
“We think the rebound in profitability and confirmation of Basel capital requirements will allow the bank to step up its dividend materially,” said Michael Helsby, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“Investor perception of HSBC is dominated by the outlook for interest rates. Consensus suggests that HSBC cannot turn around its operating performance without an [interest] rates increase. We are more bullish,” said Mr Helsby, as he raised his target price on the stock to 905p and reiterated his “buy” rating.
He concluded: “The bank’s risk appetite has recovered and in our view top line growth will respond.”
[Quote via MarketWatch]
Ultra-High-Net-Worth Clients – Not The Best Costumers
9 Sep
Patrick Bateman via Wikipedia
“According to a Bloomberg article, Mr. Aquilina of Barclays Wealth Management’s private-banking unit warned of “the complexities of dealing with ultra-high-net-worth.” He said the rich make “demanding and often unreasonable requests” that can create “impossible demands on an organization.” They want special discounts on services. They ask for loans that don’t generate any banking fees. And on top of all that, they want help getting their children into certain schools and getting last-minute concert tickets, he said.
Some have taken Mr. Aquilina’s comments to suggest that rich are a “nasty bunch of people who are only getting nastier.”
My take is that the rich got rich by extracting maximum value from their business relationships. That includes banks and any other company trying to sell them stuff. The rich never pay list price. As one billionaire told me recently, “the best part about being rich is all the free stuff you can demand.””
You find the rest of the story on WSJ Wealth Report: Why the Rich Are Bad Customers.
Like this:
European Banks Playing Moral Hazard?
23 AugImage by phault via Flickr
“Eurobulls would say it that the stress tests gave the banking system a clean bill of health. Perhaps. It also seems likely that having once once stood at the edge of the abyss, we now now what Euro leaders/ECB will do (perform a bailout). That theory is not airtight, since it would seem reasonable to counter-argue that if the market were totally under the spell of moral hazard, then the PIIG bond yields wouldn’t be blowing out.
Maybe. But it’s clear that while the freakout is coming back to Greek and Irish debt, the contagion fears appear minimal.”
Read more on The Business Insider here.
Greek debt via PragCap.
Yet, Deutshe Bank say: No risk of a recession just yet:
The Australian Patient
12 Aug
“Because of that debt level, bank profits have gone through the roof as a share of GDP. Back before we had a financial crisis—when debt levels were far lower than today—so too were bank profits as a share of GDP. A sustainable level of bank profits appears to be about 1% of GDP.”
Read the rest of Steve Keen’s comments the graphs: Bank Profits a sign of economic sickness, not health.
Photos by Daniel Cheong
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