Wall $treet Folly

Bank of America to its employees: NO SOUP (OR SOAP) FOR YOU!!!

Is this really gonna save money in the long run?:  A memo that was forwarded to CNBC's Charlie Gasparino might make you think twice about shaking hands with anyone from Bank of America.  Seems like the grinchy belt tightening bank is cutting out some of those little civilized kitchenette items that employees at many firms have grown to enjoy:  Gratis teas, crackers, soups, cocoa, and yes.....hand soap.  At least that's what the document said.  What's this action gonna do?  More time will be wasted with employees taking breaks to forage for snacks.  It's not exactly a morale booster either.  And given the guffaws coming out of all ends of Wall Street, it's a sure public relations embarrassment.  Way to go B of A!!!

WSF Headline Roundup - 12/31/07 - Merrill dialing for more $$$; Taiwan Exchange selling 25% of itself; Buy European stocks in '08?; Tracinda takes 35% Delta Petroleum stake; 9 Macys closing; Baidu CFO dies

•    Merrill Lynch sniffing around for even more funding
•    Taiwan Exchange selling as much as a 25% stake in itself
•    Citigroup predicts double digit gains for European stocks in '08
•    Tracinda is taking a 35% stake in Delta Petroleum
•    Sucky results at Macys lead to 9 store closings
•    Baidu CFO dies in a vacation accident

WSF Headline Roundup - 12/28/07 - New home sales suck; Buffett opening bond insurer & buys ING reinsurance unit; Citi & Goldman offer loan discounts; Court rules against Finish Line; Luminent Mortgage losses; Dubai World ups MGM %; Amazon Warner MP3 deal

•    Dismal new home sales hit a 12 year low
•    Warren Buffett looks to make lemonade out of bond insurer lemons by starting    up his own
•    Busy Christmas: Add ING's reinsurance unit to Buffett's holiday buying spree
•    Citigroup and Goldman are trying to cut their LBO debt overhang with    discounts up to 10%
•    Court rules that Finish Line must complete Genesco buy
•    Luminent Mortgage posts $520.6 million mortgage related loss
•    Dubai World ups MGM Mirage stake to 6.5%
•    Amazon makes deal to offer Warner music downloads

WSF Headline Roundup - 12/27/07 - Bhutto assassinated; Goldman cuts broker estimates, says C to slash dividend; SLM to sell $2.5B in stock; More Wells Fargo losses in the future?; CV bond sales soared in '07; AVNX warns; MAXJet equity said to be a wipe

•    Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto assassinated at an election rally
•    Goldman says Citigroup, JPM Chase and Merrill may have more writedowns and    now expects Citi to slash its dividend by 40%
•    Sallie Mae plans to do public offerings of $2.5 billion of common and    convertible preferred stock
•    More losses ahead for Wells Fargo?
•    2007 set a record for convertible bond sales
•    Avanex warns
•    MAXJet equity holders won't get bupkus for their bankrupt shares

WSF Headline Roundup - 12/26/07 - Retail sales fell short; Internet sales tax coming?; Buffett buying 60% of Pritzker's Marmon; Goldman buys 230 Park; Toyota & Honda in higher demand; MAXJet files CH11; Harrah's deal has all reg approvals

•    Retail sales disappointed
•    Congress reviving plans to tax internet sales
•    Warren Buffett buying 60% stake in Pritzker's Marmon Holdings & will buy    the rest by 2015
•    Cerberus to pay $100M breakup fee to United Rentals
•    Goldman buys 230 Park Avenue building
•    Higher demand at Toyota and Honda caused them to increase November production
•    MAXJet filed CH11 after canceling all flights early this week
•    Harrah's finally has all of the regulatory approvals it needs for its buyout

WSF Headline Roundup - 12/24/07 - Chrysler says its finances not as dire as WSJ claims; Goldman is buying Cheyne SIV assets; UBS scrutiny by Swiss regulators?; Cisco plans to network entire cities; News Corp sells 8 stations

• Chrysler says it has ample liquidity, disputing a negative WSJ report
• Cheyne Finance SIV receivers in agreement to sell assets to Goldman    Sachs
• Swiss regulators looking into UBS losses according to FT, but Bloomberg    report cites no evidence the company broke rules
• Traders hit by ‘triple whammy’
• Cisco to network whole cities
• News Corp selling 8 Fox stations to private equity firm Oak Hill Capital

Cerberus wins their case against United Rentals

At least reclusive Cerberus CEO Steve Feinberg's public court appearance wasn't in vain.  Cerberus won their case against United Rentals.  A judge said that they don't have to follow through with their buyout of the firm: 

Delaware Chancery Court Judge William B. Chandler III ruled today that United Rentals officials should have known that Cerberus executives believed they had a right to pull out of the deal at any time as long as they paid a $100 million fee.

``There's some clarity here for the private-equity firms that if you have an agreement, you're protected,'' Steven Kaplan, a professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, said in a phone interview. ``For United Rentals, part of this can't be recovered because it was predicated on debt markets that no longer exist.''

United alleged Cerberus's RAM Holdings buyout entities agreed in July to pay $34.50 per share for United Rentals' stock, and reneged on the deal in November amid weakened U.S. credit markets.

United Rentals Can't Force $4 Billion Cerberus Buyout - Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs: Lloyd Blankfein banks $67.9 million

It may not be the $75 million package first speculated, or even the more recent $70 million guess, but with a record $67.9 million pay package, Lloyd Blankfein still didn't do too badly.

Blankfein, 53, will receive $26.8 million in cash, and $41.1 million in restricted stock and options, the New York- based firm said in a regulatory filing. Co-Presidents Gary Cohn, 47, and Jon Winkelried, 48, will each receive restricted shares and options valued at about $40.5 million, up from $25.7 million last year. Cash payments weren't disclosed for anyone other than Blankfein, who reaped a record-setting $53.4 million last year.

Goldman shattered Wall Street profit records for the fourth-consecutive year even as banks and securities firms including Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. were forced to take at least $96 billion of writedowns. Goldman set aside $20.2 billion to pay employee salaries, benefits and bonuses, 23 percent more than last year.

``There are successful people and then there's extraordinary success, and they're trying to show as a firm that they're really extraordinary,'' said Jeanne Branthover, managing director of Boyden World Corp., an executive recruiter in New York. ``They're rewarding him for leading such a fabulously successful ship.''

  Goldman Awards Blankfein a Record $67.9 Million Bonus - Bloomberg

WSF Headline Roundup - 12/21/07 - Gross' recession talk; Chocolate industry pricing gets antitrust scrutiny; CSCO #2 guy leaves; RIMM earnings soar; Philips buying Respironics; NetSuite sweet IPO surge; Financial squeeze at Chrysler

•    Pimco's Bill Gross says we're in a recession
•    Justice department probing chocolate industry practices for possible price   fixing
•    Cisco's #2 guy seen as John Chambers' heir apparent leaves for private   equity world
•    Blackberry maker earnings soar
•    Micron reports more sucky earnings
•    Philips buying Respironics
•    NetSuite surges in IPO debut
•    Financial squeeze at Chrysler may force asset sales

Merrill Lynch may get a $5 billion Asian Injection

Going the way of some of its competitors like Morgan Stanley, UBS and Citigroup, Mother Merrill may be the next to get an injection of the Asian green stuff: 

Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., a Singapore state-owned investment company, is in advanced talks to inject as much as $5 billion into Merrill, a person familiar with the situation said.

The news comes amid analyst predictions that mortgage write-downs at Merrill may double with another $8 billion or more in the fourth quarter -- the latest sign that Wall Street isn't out of the subprime woods yet. Temasek's board has given preliminary approval to the investment in Merrill, although pricing, timing and regulatory issues remain to be negotiated, the person familiar with the situation said. As such, a deal may still not materialize.