national-global

Four More Years, Sins of JPM/Bear

11/07/12

Receiving Wide Coverage: Well, that's that. Despite a few seats changing hands, both the executive and legislative branches are going to look the same as they did before the election, plus one Elizabeth Warren. How we got there involves a feisty Republican primary, plenty of vitriol over basic facts and statistics, and a broad win for the president that was shallower than the one four years ago. ...

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Election Day Overview; Taubman Out at Morgan Stanley; AIA's Tucker in at Goldman

11/06/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Election Day Has Arrived: It seems remiss not to at least mention the story set to dominate today's news cycle. That is, of course, the presidential election, which appears virtually deadlocked as polls open today throughout the U.S. Some notable (and arguably left-leaning) pundits are predicting President Barack Obama will maintain the electoral edge exhibited in key swing state poll results and keep the presidency, while other (arguably right-leaning) pundits are arguing...

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Banking Goes Sandy Basic, HSBC Prepares to Pay Up

11/05/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Banks Take Back Seat: Well, wide coverage...that'd be the election and the hurricane, of course. The only banking story covered by more than one major paper is HSBC's $800 million additional reserve for its U.S. money laundering case. That brings the tab to $1.5 billion, and it could rise "significantly higher." CEO Stuart Gulliver acknowledged the rising tab and correlated reputational damage. The bank lost money in its European and North American...

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Citigroup, JPM on TBTF List; FERC Gets Tough

11/02/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Intergalactically Systemic: The list of really, really, waywayway too-big-to-fail banks is out, and Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are on it. The Financial Stability Board, which is coordinating the international regulatory reform effort for the G20 economies, said Thursday that it had put the two New York banks in an echelon that would subject them to a 2.5% capital surcharge. That means that they would have to maintain common equity equal to 9.5%...

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Post-Sandy, NYSE Is Running Smoothly, JPMorgan Sues Whale Boss

11/01/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Back to Business: The East Coast continues along its long road to recovery post-Sandy with some subways and airports set to resume (albeit limited) service today in the tri-state area. Also back in business is the New York Stock Exchange, which reopened its doors yesterday amid much criticism that a two-day shutdown signaled insufficient disaster preparedness. Both the Journal and the Times have pretty detailed play-by-plays of how the exchange's first day...

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Markets and Banks Reopen, But It's Hardly Business as Usual After Sandy

10/31/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Sandy, Day Three: "Power Outages May Last More Than a Week" along the East Coast, says the Journal. "New York City’s subways could take between 21 days and several months to be restored," reports the website Quartz. But the stock market is reopening today, as critics continue to fault the exchanges for insufficient disaster preparedness. (By the way, if you heard rumors yesterday about the New York Stock Exchange trading floor being...

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Sandy's Destruction Inspires Deep Thoughts About Bank Risk Management, Economics

10/30/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

'Water, Fire, Darkness': Hurricane Sandy is wreaking havoc on the East Coast. Streets are flooded, millions are without power, dozens of homes have been destroyed by a fire and a nuclear plant in New Jersey is on, well, low-to-medium alert. The New York Stock Exchange will be closed for a second straight day Tuesday, a decision that the Journal says is raising questions about the market's disaster preparedness. NYSE and other exchange...

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Hurricane Sandy Shuts Down N.Y., D.C.; UBS Firing 10,000

10/29/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ... A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall: U.S. stock markets are closed today as Hurricane Sandy approaches the Northeast. The financial district in lower Manhattan (including American Banker's office) has been evacuated, the transit system has been shut down and flights are being canceled. Federal offices and the Metro in D.C. are also closed. So if you're in California and someone in New York or Washington doesn't return your call today, don't take it...

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Libor Probe Widens; When Acquisitions Turn Rotten; Pandit Was Pushed

10/26/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Libor Probe Widens: You can add nine more big banks to the already too-long list of financial institutions being investigated for alleged attempts to rig the London interbank offered rate. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (we're sure that name sounds familiar) and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen have issued subpoenas to Societe Generale, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Norinchukin Bank, Rabobank,...

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B of A Has Countrywide Problems; QE3 Continues; Barclays Board May Be Overhauled

10/25/12

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

A Countrywide Haunting: Bank of America found itself on the receiving end of a $1 billion mortgage lawsuit filed by the federal government on Wednesday. Federal prosecutors are accusing the bank of carrying out a scheme ("called the 'Hustle' and 'High Speed Swim Lane'") started by its Countrywide unit that defrauded government-backed mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "by churning out loans at a rapid pace without proper controls." B of...

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