$$$ As previously mentioned, Choo Beng Lee has admitted to insider trading while at SAC. Now the WSJ has more today. [WSJ]
$$$ Want a bailout? There’s an app for that. [The Deal]
$$$ Stamford police seize $1 million in cash, 37 kilos of cocaine [TA]
$$$ Harvard Derivatives Whistleblower: Larry Summers Got Me Fired [BI]
$$$ The Reading Habits Of Wall Street CEOs [NYM]
$$$ Will an ex-Bear guy win the World Series of Poker? Will Jimmy Cayne be named “Most Improved” at bridge camp? Stay tuned.
John Reed, who played kind of a big role in cobbling together the world’s largest diversified whorehouse, has something to get off his chest:
“I’m sorry,” Reed, 70, said in an interview yesterday. “These are people I love and care about. You could imagine emotionally it’s not easy to see what’s happened.”John S. Reed, who helped engineer the merger that created Citigroup Inc., was apologizing for his role in building a company that has taken $45 billion in direct U.S. aid and said banks that big should be divided into separate parts.
Is he really sorry? Or was this just an attempt to get Vikram to hold him close and insist “it’s not your fault” over and over? Unclear (though we wouldn’t fault him if it were the latter). In any event, does anyone else have something they want to apologize for today? Related to Citi or not? Throw it out there. We’re all listening.
Reed Says I’m Sorry For Role In Creating Citigroup [Bloomberg]
When Zvi “Octopussy” Goffer decided to dip one of his tentacles in the sweetness of insider trading, do you think he realized all that he’d be forced to give up if caught? Obviously we’re not talking about his wife, child, and freedom to wear tracksuits here, but rather the chance to wake up with his brother and a bunch of other dudes the morning after what appears to have been quite the rager?
For the good of the market, encourage your MBA-candidate friends in Cambridge to pursue careers in the cross-dressing and law enforcement fields.
2009 Harvard MBA Indicator Shifts to ‘Neutral’ [PDF]
A Contrary Indicator On MBA’s And Stocks [DealBook]
Actually, that’s not entirely true: CG’s first choice of venue to have a roundtable discussion of the definitive take on the crisis, When Mooks Fail: The Goddamn Beatin’ That Bear Stearns Took, is his local Gold’s Gym (the last stop on the tour, late December). But this is at least preferable to doing it in that place with all the books. Will he step into the ring and regale the crowd with a quick demo from a guy who, little known fact, was a Golden Gloves hopeful? I think you know the answer to that. If you, too, would like to wow clients with a celebrity appearance at your annual investor dinner, get in touch.
From: Strategas Research PartnersSubject: Strategas - Boxing Night 2009 at the NYAC
It’s time for the 3rd Annual Strategas Boxing Night at the New York Athletic Club. As a way to socially say ‘thank you’ for the support we’ve received all year, Jason Trennert and I want to invite you to join us for a great night of steaks and boxing. This year the event will take place on Monday, November 23rd at the New York Athletic Club with dinner & drinks to start at 5:30PM / intercollegiate bouts starting at 7:30PM. Charlie Gasparino will also be on hand to discuss his new book, “The Sellout.”
Please let me know if you’d like to attend.
October performance for Tudor’s Tensor Fund (does not spell fried chicken):
October 2009: (4.32%)
YTD: 0.98%
$$$ Rajaratnam’s Travel Restrictions Are Loosened [Dealbook]
$$$ Gladwell For Dummies [The Nation]
$$$ Fannie Mae Requests Another $15B From Govt [WSJ]
$$$ Carlyle Group Looks Outside The Beltway [Fins]
From Matthew Goldstein:
Ali Far and Choo Beng Lee, the former hedge fund traders turned government informants in the Galleon insider trading case, have admitted to engaging in illegal insider trading for many years, according to their cooperation agreements.In the case of Lee, the agreements suggest that he engaged in illegal insider trading while working at Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital, the Connecticut-based hedge fund.
In the case of Lee, the alleged wrongful conduct dates back as far as 1994. In both cases, this would suggest the men engaged in insider trading while working at other hedge funds before setting up their own fund, Spherix Capital, in 2007.
Here is the relevant section of Lee’s agreement (which, oddly, sounds like something we might write in referring to the mothership— “a certain hedge fund located in Connecticut.” Also, and this is surely a coincidence, we’ve been told SAC’s president is out of the country until Monday. So, it falls to someone else— YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE— to call us and defend a certain someone’s honor):
Yes, he’s been accused of being the ringleader of the latest alleged insider trading scam, and could conceivably go to prison, but on the bright side a) he’s been recognized as a leader in the field and b) for his achievements, been given a pretty great nickname:
SEC says it has caught “Octopussy.” SEC enforcement boss Khuzami says that’s what people called Zvi Goffer because “he had his arms in so many insider” trading schemes.
Live-Blog: Insider Trading Arrests/’Galloping’ Defendants [WSJ
Just going to throw out some Facebook Status Updates Of Greatness, from one of today’s accused criminals:
