Wall Street Folly

More banking gloom: Meredith Whitney says $44 billion in additional writedowns may be on the way

Oppenheimer Banking seeress Meredith Whitney has more lumps of holiday coal for the banking industry.  She's projecting that the U.S. banks, including Citigroup, could see another $44 billion in writedowns and charges in the fourth quarter.

WSF Headline Roundup - 11/26/08 - Consumer bailout; China slashes interest rates; AIG limits top exec pay; prosecutors probe AIG exec statements; Consumer spending tanks; MER forecasts $50 oil for '09; Rambus victory; Rio Tinto downgrade?; More Porsche/VW

• U.S. Moves to Revive Consumer Lending
• China takes axe to interest rates to prop up growth
• AIG Limits Pay of Its Top Executives
• Cassano's Statements on AIG Probed by Prosecutors, People Say
• Consumer Spending in U.S. Probably Dropped by Most in 7 Years
• Merrill Lynch Cuts 2009 Oil Forecast to $50 a Barrel
• Rambus Wins Pretrial Patent Ruling Against Chipmakers
• Rio Tinto’s $5 Billion Debt May Be Cut by Moody’s
• Porsche Sales Fall on Recession; VW Deal Faces Delay
• Home Prices Continue to Drop
• Borders Group No Longer Considering Sale, Posts Wider Net Loss

SNL does the Senate hearing with the Big 3 auto CEOs

This is a MUST WATCH!:  If you missed Saturday Night Live this weekend, you missed an hilarious spot on skit on the Senate hearings where the auto CEOs, fresh off of their corporate jets, begged hat in hand for a bailout.  It's about 8 minutes long.

Unlike auto execs, no private jet for Hank Paulson; first class commercial is just fine

NY Post Page Six sightings: "TREASURY Secretary Hank Paulson - unlike automotive moguls who fly on corporate jets - in first class on an LA-DC American Airlines red-eye"

Yesterday we wondered why Citigroup's Bob Rubin still has a job; today the NY Post unleashes and is all over it

We apparently weren't alone in our amazement that Bob Rubin still had a job at Citigroup.  This morning the NY Post wonders the same and also takes aim at the board of directors in a pointed cover and editorial entitled:  "Negligent Bank board must quit".  There's a nice graphic of how  the directors have been richly compensated:

WSF Headline Roundup - 11/25/08 - Scrutiny over Citi exec pay; Fitch cuts C's rating; Pakistan gets $7.6B bailout loan; BHP scraps Rio bid; GM & Tiger Woods end endorsement deal; VW 3 wk plant close; No Detroit, Chicago shows for Nissan; Charities hurting

• Executive pay at Citigroup draws scrutiny amid rescue
• Fitch cuts Citigroup's long-term rating
• Questions remain over Citi’s ultimate direction
• Pakistan Obtains $7.6 Billion Bailout Loan From IMF
• BHP Abandons $66 Billion Rio Bid as Commodities Slump 
• Treasury, Fed continue extensive bailout efforts
• A Market-Oriented Economic Team
• GM, Tiger Woods to End Nine-Year Endorsement Deal
• Nissan Pulling Out of Detroit, Chicago Auto Shows
• VW Planning Three-Week Shutdown at Its Biggest Plant
• Big Players Scale Back Charitable Donations

New Yorker: Ben Bernanke and "The Anatomy of a Meltdown"; He was "mistaken early on in saying that the subprime crisis would be contained"

In addition to our WSJ anatomy lesson on the Morgan Stanley panic shortly after the Lehman Brothers implosion, we're treated to another one:  The New Yorker gives us "The Anatomy of a Meltdown".  It's a loooooooooong article.  We learn a lot more about Ben Bernanke in the piece in which he also admits mistakes during the crisis:

Maria Bartiromo interview: Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and his worry beads

Just asking:  We're watching Maria Bartiromo interview Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Citigroup's largest investor.  The first thing we were struck by was that the Prince was that he was fidgeting with worry beads.   Does the Prince normally do that or is he a bit more nervous about his Citigroup investment that he's letting on (despite reaffirming that it's a core investment and his strong support for current management)?  He blames the ills on the company squarely on former CEO Chuck Prince.  What a swipe he took at him.

13F Hedge Fund Chart Study: Pequot Capital

Here are charts for the stocks in the recently released 13F for Art Samberg's Pequot Capital 

13F Hedge Fund Chart Study: OZ Management (Och Ziff)

Here are charts for the stocks in the recently released 13F for Dan Och's OZ Management.