Schottenfeld Draws Scrutiny After Goffer Arrest in Insider Case (Bloomberg)
Zvi “Octopussy” Goffer’s employer has stated on previous occasions that this sort of thing is not cool but apparently no one was listening when he laid down the law. “There is no place at our firm for individuals who violate the securities laws,” Schottenfeld’s chairman, Richard Schottenfeld, said in an April 2008 statement.

Citi To Relaunch Troubled Hedge Fund Unit (FT)
Oh but don’t worry about people with good memories. C’s got a plan to throw them off the trail: “People close to the situation said that the company wanted to change the name of the unit - which has $14bn under management and also includes private equity operations - from Citi Alternative Investments (CAI) to Citi Capital Advisors.”

AIG Swings To Third-Quarter Profit After Write-Downs (WSJ)
AIG posted a profit of $455 million, or 68 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $24.47 billion, or $181.02 a share. The latest results included $1.8 billion in capital losses, while the previous year’s results included billions in write-downs from credit-default swaps and $15.06 billion in capital losses.

SEC Appoints Hedge Fund Veteran As Adviser (NYT)
Mr. Bookstaber, a former risk manager at banks like Salomon Brothers and Morgan Stanley and hedge funds like Ziff Brothers International and Moore Capital Management, is one of three new advisers to help the S.E.C. identify risks and trends in the financial markets. Also, he wrote a book! 2007’s “A Demon of Our Own Design.”

Banks Thwarting Feinberg Pay Model By Changing Bonus Formula (Bloomberg)
Suck it, Comp Cop.

Final Arguments Against 2 In Bear Stearns Fraud Case (NYT)
Mr. Cioffi, whose wife and children have attended the proceedings nearly every day, seemed confident he would be exonerated as he chatted with family members and friends before closing statements. “You can listen to the government call me a bum for three hours, and then my lawyers will get up and set the record straight,” he told a friend.

Big Bonuses Are Back For Many On Wall Street (WSJ)
A survey by Johnson Associates “projects that the biggest increases in year-end cash bonuses and equity awards will go to employees in rebounding businesses such as fixed income and equities. Those incentive-based payouts likely will surge by as much as 60% from last year, the survey found. In contrast, declines of 15% to 30% are projected at hedge funds, private-equity firms and prime-brokerage operations.”

Countrywide ex-CEO Mozilo must face SEC fraud case (Reuters)
Orange’s request for a dismissal has been denied, despite this awesome endorsement by his lawyer: “Angelo Mozilo is an innocent man who helped millions of people find a home for more than 40 years,” David Siegel said in a statement.

Goldman Benefits From Trading Bonanza (FT)
Goldman made more than $100m in profits on 36 of the 65 days in the three months to September and recorded more than $50m in profit on more than eight out of 10 trading days, a filing shows today.

ValueLine Pays $45 Million To Settle Fraud Case (NYT)
And chief executive Jean Buttner is out.

UBS Gets Fewest ‘Buys’ as Analysts Fret Over Fleeing Clients (Bloomberg)
Sad trombones in Switzerland: “Of course UBS has done a lot, but outflows at the private bank continue,” said Patrick Lemmens, who helps manage about $14 billion at Robeco Group in Rotterdam, including UBS shares. “I don’t think a restructuring story on its own is enough. UBS is going to be range-bound” until outflows reverse.

State Oversight Of Some Hedge Funds Raises Red Flags (WSJ)
Because it might undermine Congress. CT AG Richard Blumenthal: “This may surprise you to hear my strong preference is for uniform national standards administered by a federal agency rather than state registration or oversight. There is clearly a need for equal treatment of hedge funds residing in different states.”

BofA’s Legal Counsel Had No Legal Authority In Merrill Deal (NYP)
Brian Moynihan was named general counsel on Dec. 10, 2008, but was not technically allowed to offer crucial legal advice until more than a week later, when he re-activated his status with the Massachusetts Bar Association. Oops! “This is another fact that leads me to believe there could be something rotten in the cotton,” Representative Edolphus Towns told The Post.

Societe Generale Q3 profit more than doubles (Forbes)
SocGen said in a statement Wednesday that it made a net profit of euro426 million ($627 million) in the July to September period, compared with euro183 million a year earlier.

In Tax Case, 4 Days Saves Robertson $27 Million (WSJ)
Apparently this an important issue for the billionaire, which is troubling: “The stakes were high for Mr. Robertson. If he could prove he spent half of that 366-day year outside of New York City, often at his estate in the wealthy Long Island suburb of Locust Valley, he wouldn’t have to pay the tax. And it was an all-or-nothing case, worth $27 million, an amount important enough to the hedge-fund manager that he and his staff spent hours and developed a complicated calendar system to track his whereabouts.”

Raj Rajaratnam Said to Keep Personal Investments in Sri Lanka (Bloomberg)
Raj-Raj’s direct interests and stakes on the island held through Galleon won’t be affected by the liquidation of the hedge-fund firm following criminal and civil probes.

‘Osama’ Funding Appeals as U.S. Independent Filmmakers Hurt (Bloomberg)
“Look, I mean if Osama bin Laden gave me money to film I’d take it,” he said in a phone interview from Singapore. “It’s always difficult for a filmmaker and particularly in these economically troubled times.”

Hedge Fund Counsel to Lead SEC’s New York Examinations Group (WSJ)
Norm Champ ran the compliance office for Chilton Investment Co. for the last decade. Also, he’s a professor and a “thinker”: “Norm brings to our inspection program an unusual diversity of experience — as general counsel of a multibillion-dollar hedge fund complex, as a university lecturer, and as a policy thinker,” said George S. Canellos, director of the SEC’s New York office.

UBS Swings To A Loss On Charges (WSJ)
Net loss of 564 million Swiss francs ($552.9 million), compared with a net profit of 283 million francs a year earlier. But the tax evaders are not defeated: Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel was cautiously optimistic about the bank’s prospects next year. “Having stabilized the bank’s financial condition and resized the business, I expect to see further progress in future quarters, particularly in 2010,” he said.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to Acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation for $100 Per Share in Cash and Stock (BusinessWire)
It’s not just about having a well-maintained rail system and women with huge cans operating it: “Most important of all, however, it’s an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States,” said Mr. Buffett. “I love these bets.”

Bank of America’s Next Chief Executive May Be Based In New York (Bloomberg)
Now that they’ve taken “living in Charlotte” out of the job requirement, will someone take this gig?

Fed Tells Bank To Adopt Pay Rules Early (FT)
The Beard suggests everyone get in line NOW: “The Federal Reserve told big US banks on Monday that draft pay guidelines aimed at curbing excessive risk-taking will have to be followed in this year’s round of bonus payments, even though the rules do not officially come into force until 2010. In meetings at the regional offices of the Fed, regulators told chief executives of the nation’s 28 top banks that they had until February 1 to prepare a written analysis of how their compensation practices meet the guidelines, according to some of the attendees.”

Julian Robertson, Emil Henry Announce Formation of Infrastructure Private Equity Firm (Reuters)
Henry explained, “There are many small and medium-sized infrastructure businesses that are outside the focus of larger infrastructure investors and strategic buyers. With the credit market dislocation and diminished role of debt capital providers, we believe many of these businesses` growth prospects are constrained by their capital needs. We seek to fill that gap.”

RBS, Lloyds Get $51 Billion In Second Bailout (Bloomberg)
BREAKING NEWS: “There is now a very fine line between RBS being nationalized,” said Danny Gabay, director of Fathom Consulting in London and a former Bank of England economist.

Goldman Looks To Buy Fannie Tax Credits (WSJ)
Not so fast says Fannie’s keeper: “A sale would bring some needed financial respite to Fannie Mae. But the administration is leery about approving a deal that would help Goldman reduce its tax bill, given the animus held by many lawmakers toward big Wall Street firms in general and Goldman in particular. The Obama administration is looking at the deal with a critical eye and could block it. Goldman, meanwhile, is hopeful it could win approval this week.”

Pandit ‘Near Death’ Cash Hoard Signals Lower U.S. Bank Profits (Bloomberg)
Citigroup has almost doubled its cash to $244.2 billion in the year since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, the biggest such stockpile of any U.S. bank.

Delaware Beats Switzerland As Most Secretive Financial Center (Reuters)
“While the U.S. has been jumping up and down and saying ‘Aha, bad, wicked Swiss banks,’ the U.S. is doing exactly the same things as far as non-resident bank account holders,” said Sarah Lewis, executive director of Tax Justice Network, based in the U.K.

Can Citigroup Carry Its Own Weight? (NYT)
Vikram Pandit says yes. And more of this talk: “Our distinctiveness is we connect the world better than anyone else,” he said, noting Citigroup’s global reach. “We have a great capability of building a business around that. And we are in the process of building a culture around that.”

Tyrus Fund Raises More Than $800 Million (FT)
Former Deephaven manager Tony Chedraoui’s shop launches today with more initial money raised than the expected $500 million (and is predicted to pick up another $300 million this month, ending the year with $1.4bn under management).

Former Fund Exec Charged With Insider Trades (DB)
Ronald Yee, who had been ValueAct Capital’s chief financial officer until June 2008, was named in a civil suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, against seven people charged with trading on inside information in Acxiom.

RBS To Consider Further Asset Sales (FT)
Anything to get the Queen off their ass.

Galleon Fears Raised In 2001 (FT)
An analyst in JPMorgan’s alternative asset management arm said the unit “should reduce our allocation” in Galleon’s flagship technology fund, citing what he described as “more negative news about Raj and his cohorts.”

Bankers Expect Rising Bonus Pay To Break Records (Bloomberg)
And some people don’t seem to be very happy about that: “If we were looking for a sense of Wall Street to be, ‘we’re hit hard, I’m going to make less money,’ these results don’t show it,” said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., the Des Moines, Iowa-based public-opinion research firm that conducted the survey.

FBI Lets Barred Tycoon Oleg Deripaska Visit US (WSJ)
He needed to take some meetings with Goldman and Morgan Stanley.

Rajaratnam Started Side Venture With Ex-McKinsey Chief in 2006 (Bloomberg)
The investment firm would like to downplay the whole matter of the accused criminal’s involvement: Rajaratnam “has no management role in New Silk Route nor any ownership in the firm,” Rupa Ranganathan, a spokeswoman for the firm, said in an e-mail. “Neither New Silk Route nor any of its owners have any investment in Galleon.” Rajaratnam has a stake of “well under” 5 percent in the firm’s fund, she said.

Receiver Sets $1.5 Billion Target For Stanford Investors (AP)
John Little, a lawyer appointed to represent investors, said the recovery goal is ”something of a fantasy” and that investors should prepare to get back as little as 2 cents on the dollar.

Hedge Fund Healthcare Analyst, New York, NY:

Top global multi-billion dollar healthcare investment firm seeks hedge fund analyst. 1+ years investment banking/equity research experience preferred.

Pay Czar Wants No Wider Authority (WSJ)
Great news! Kenneth Feinberg does not want to oversea the pay of any firms beyond the 7 special ones he’s already policing, despite some Congressmen urging the Compensation Cop to go crazy one everyone’s asses. (Vikula et al still loose.)

Buffett Beats Gross in Global Poll as Investor With Most Wisdom (Bloomberg)
When your need advice on insurance companies or sex, the Oracle is apparently where most people go to get it. If he’s got his hands tied with some buxom prosties: “The closest runner-up, Bill Gross, the founder and co- chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., is chosen by 16 percent. Billionaire investor George Soros gets 10 percent, followed by Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who in 2006 predicted the financial crisis, and Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report. Fewer than 1 in 10 cited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, despite high marks for his performance as a central banker. Only 3 percent pick Alan Greenspan, the former Fed chairman.”

Galleon Paid Banks Millions For ‘Edge’ (FT)
One executive who dealt with Galleon said: “They wanted anything the public did not have. They got various pieces and put them together and that was their edge.” A former Goldman executive who provided services to funds including Galleon said: “They were tough and aggressive. They cared about short-term returns and cared a lot about the impact of their trading and the costs. They expected a lot of market information.” Serious question: since when is this a crime?

Accountant Sentenced To House Arrest In UBS Tax Case (NYT)
The real kicker here is that apparently the authorities aren’t going to tolerate this kind of thing anymore, because they know you know it’s illegal: “Thousands, if not millions, of taxpayers now know what the legal landscape is,” Judge Cooke said. “Now, we will not tolerate offshore tax evasion.”

K1 Hedge Fund Said to Be Linked to FBI Money-Laundering Sting (Bloomberg)
Homes and offices raided.

Pay Czar Increased Base Pay At Firms (WSJ)
On average, base salaries climbed to $437,896 a year as a result of Mr. Feinberg’s review, compared with $383,409 previously, a 14% increase, according to a Journal analysis of Treasury data. Of the 136 employees under Mr. Feinberg’s review, 89 saw their base salaries increase.

Ex-AMD Chief Ruiz Tied To Galleon (WSJ)
Apparently Hector Ruiz gave Newcastle’s Danielle Chiesi her info about a 2008 reorganization of AMD. He’s not technically in any trouble himself, yet.

Ruiz’s Rise To Prominence Said To Culminate In Link To Galleon Case (Bloomberg)
Little more info about Danielle Chiesi’s buddy: he doesn’t take shit from anyone and people look (looked?) up to him. “Hector is one of the most respected figures in the industry,” said Dan Hutcheson, head of VLSI Research, a semiconductor research company in Santa Clara, California. “He’s a very quiet person and very methodical, and tends to be pretty analytical.” According to Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates in Wayland, Massachusetts, “He fought the underdog fight for years against Intel. He was a hard-charging executive, take-no-prisoners type.”

Lazard Reports Higher Than Expected Profit (Reuters)
It’s how Bruce would’ve wanted it: The investment bank reported net income of $37.4 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $77 million, or $1.17 per share.

Treasury, GMAC In Talks For 3rd Round Of Aid (AP)
Just asking for a little cash to tide us over, maybe like $2.8 billion to $5.6 billion. It’s not so much that we need the money, we just want to set the record as the U.S. company to receive three rounds of bailout aid, you know?

Irish Pubs Cut Beer Prices After Pound Slide Leaves Economy `High and Dry’ (Bloomberg)
3.50 euros for a Guinness.

Ex-A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm (NYT)
Wanna work at the next big thing, by which we mean the next too big to fail firm? Step right up! Hank Greenberg is said to be staring AIG: The Sequel, and it’s gonna be huge. “Basically, he’s just starting ‘A.I.G. Two’ and raiding people out of ‘A.I.G. One,’ ” said Douglas A. Love, an insurance executive who has also hired A.I.G. talent for his company, Investors Guaranty Fund of Pembroke, Bermuda. “To me, it’s just going to be a matter of time before the valuation of what he’s building is greater than the valuation of A.I.G.,” said Andrew J. Barile, an insurance consultant in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

UBS Taps Bob McCann For US Brokerage (WSJ)
The former Merrill Lynch exec swears the unit will turn a profit on his watch.

Galleon Judge Pushes SEC (WSJ)
In his ruling Monday, Judge Rakoff said he wanted the first conference in the civil insider-trading case on Nov. 4 and that the SEC should prepare for an April 2010 trial “absent extraordinary circumstances.” The case is being heard in a New York federal court.

George Soros: Crisis To Have “Lasting” Impact (Reuters)
When asked if he was afraid that this will not happen once the crisis is over, he said: “Very much so because … one year after the crisis, now that the financial framework has been successfully held together and money markets start to recover, people would like to forget this (crisis) just as a bad dream,” Soros said.

Angry & Sor(kin) (NYP)
Apparently some biz reporters at the Times don’t think ARS is a “team player” and supposedly that the waivers Hank Paulson got to talk to Lloyd Blankfein, discussed in the book, were ripped off from Gretchen Morgenson and Don Van Natta Jr. Awkward! (Sorkin say he got the info first but nobody knew about it because he was on leave from the paper at the time but that he’s “spoken to Don” and is “happy to include a citation in the 40 pages of end notes as a courtesy in the next printing.”)