national-global

Liberty Reserve Definitely Not Too Big to Jail

05/29/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Laundering Charged: The creators of Liberty Reserve, a cross-border virtual currency exchange, have been arrested and charged with laundering $6 billion. That's "what prosecutors believe to be the largest online money-laundering case in history," the Times reports, with the word "online" being key. $6 billion is 0.9% of what HSBC allegedly failed to control the transmission of between 2006 and 2009, leading to a $1.9 billion fine. …

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Dimon Postscript; Eurozone Turmoil Sparks U.S. M&A

05/28/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

A Little Something for Dimon Withdrawal: Feeling bereft now that the shooting has died down in the tabloid war over the House of JPMorgan Chase? Jamie Dimon may not really "want any more press," but the press isn't quite cooperating. In "Current Account" in the Journal, Francesco Guerrera offered a homily about how Dimon should think about succession and board expertise after his victory in retaining the chairmanship. In "Fair Game" in...

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Goldman's Subdued Shareholder Meeting; Another SAC Update; Possible CFTC Chairman Successor

05/24/13

Editor's Note: Morning Scan will not publish on Monday, May 27, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Goldman's Reforms: The highlight of Goldman Sachs' "otherwise muted" shareholders meeting was news that the investment firm has implemented 39 initiatives designed to strengthen its business practices — and reputation — in the wake of the scandals following the financial crisis. These initiatives include "greater balance-sheet transparency" and "a more rigorous system for ensuring employees...

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Fed Sends Mixed Message on QE; Dimon Vote Postscript and Another Fine for JPM

05/23/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Fed's Mixed Message: The Federal Reserve sent a "garbled message" about the fate of its QE3 program on Wednesday. First, Chairman Ben Bernanke endorsed ongoing stimulus efforts while testifying at a congressional hearing, though he did reveal the central bank could begin to slow down bond-buying in its "next few meetings," labor market conditions permitting. Then, just hours later, April meeting minutes revealed some Fed officials were hoping to pare down the...

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Dimon Wins Chance to Solve All of JPM's Lingering Problems; Lloyds, RBS Plan to Close Capital Gap

05/22/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Dimon's Big Day: The votes are in and it's Jamie Dimon by a landslide. After all the hoopla, the still chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase won the support of 68% of shareholders who rejected a proposal to strip him of the dual roles. For those keeping score, that means 32% voted in favor of separating the titles, a decrease from the 40% of shareholders who supported a similar proposal last year....

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Judgment Day at JPM; SAC Update; DOJ Asks Judge to Allow Case Against S&P

05/21/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... National News: A devastating tornado swept through Oklahoma yesterday. Full news coverage: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times D-Day for Dimon: Today is the day JPMorgan Chase shareholders will vote on a proposal to strip Jamie Dimon of his dual title as chairman and CEO. Bad news for Dimon detractors: Shareholder activists pushing for the proposal were "talking down the prospects of winning" the vote after regaining access to preliminary tallies…

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JPM ... Again; Subpoenas at SAC; Banks Behind on Mortgage Settlement Payments

05/20/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

JPM … Again: News outlet continue to closely monitor JPMorgan Chase ahead of Tuesday's shareholder vote on a proposal that could see Jamie Dimon stripped of his dual title as chairman and CEO. Dealbook reports the Council of Institutional Investors has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission "to intervene" after Broadridge, the firm that provides tabulations on these types of votes, stopped giving updates to the investors sponsoring the proposal, though the...

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Dodd-Frank Rollback, Pandit's Return, as JPM Turns

05/17/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Deriving Pleasure: Too many price quotes will increase trading costs and reduce liquidity. That is the curious (if not spurious) story megabanks successfully stuck to in lobbying financial regulators to water down a key provision of the Dodd-Frank Act aimed at governing derivatives trading. The result was a 4-to-1 vote by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday in favor of reducing the number of price quotes buyers must seek before conducting...

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JPMorgan Gets an Information Edge Over Activist Shareholders

05/16/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Aw Mom, JPMorgan Again? Yes, kids, but today's meatloaf is spicy. Broadridge, the firm counting JPMorgan shareholder votes on the resolution to sever the CEO and chairman jobs, has stopped providing running tallies to the investors sponsoring the proposal, the Times reports. Broadridge says it did so at the behest of SIFMA, the Wall Street trade group, whose members are the firm's clients. SIFMA told the Times that "one of its working...

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When Dinosaurs Roamed the JPMorgan Boardroom; More Job Cuts at HSBC

05/15/13

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Sick of JPMorgan Yet? The Times' "Deal Professor," Steven Davidoff, calls the fight over the upcoming JPMorgan shareholder vote "silly." Though severing the chairman and CEO roles has improved governance at many companies, he writes, "not all companies are alike," and he finds the benefits of the independent-chair model for a large, complex bank dubious. "No study to my knowledge has ever found that companies that do such a split are better…

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