Wall Street Folly

Bernie soon to join the ranks of the homeless?

This should make his put upon neighbors (including Matt Lauer) very happy: Today's NY Post "exclusive" on Bernie Madoff tells us that he's possibly gonna have to vacate his 133 E. 64th St penthouse.  That's if the trustee handling his case has anything to say about it.  The trustee has apparently asked brokers to value the apartment in contemplation of putting the place up for sale (The above Sean Delonas cartoon was on Page Six of this morning's Post referring to yesterday's story about Park Avenue prisoner Bernie) :

Meredith Whitney doesn't like BARF

Per CNBC: She's dubbing the "Bad Bank" part of the good bank / bad bank idea being floated the

"Bank Asset Repository Fund", or BARF for short.  Catchy name.  LOL

More pink slips might be coming at Morgan Stanley and Goldman $GS $MS

The WSJ is reporting that Morgan Stanley may be looking to lay off another 5% or so of its employees and Goldman also may be considering more job cuts:

WSF Headline Roundup - 1/30/09 - Good Bank / Bad Bank; "Shameful Bonuses; Past bonuses might not be recoverable; Cuomo going after early Merrill bonus pmts?; SEC boss banking?; $AMZN beats; More job losses

• U.S. Eyes Two-Part Bailout for Banks
• President Decries 'Shameful' Bonuses For Wall St. CEOs
• Few Ways to Recover Bonuses to Bankers
• Cuomo May Seek Return of $4 Billion in Early Merrill Bonuses
• Big Bucks For SEC Boss
• 'Naked' Swaps Targeted
• GE given chance to justify its triple A rating
• Ford sees no large-scale aid for former parts unit
• Amazon.com Tops Profit, Sales Estimates; Shares Surge
• Juniper’s Sales Fall Short; Japan Revenue Questioned
• NEC Will Cut More Than 20,000 Workers, Forecasts Loss
• Hitachi Forecasts 700 Billion Yen Loss, May Slash 7,000 Jobs
• Kodak May Need to Sell Assets, Trim Dividend to Preserve Cash
• Roche goes hostile, cuts Genentech bid to $42 bln

Apparently too cheap to pony up for individual online subscriptions, FT sues Blackstone for sharing one account $BX

Those naughty folks at Blackstone got caught with their pants down.  Apparently a senior executive at the firm subscribed to the online version of the Financial Times, but shared the password with many at the firm.   That caused an abnormally large number of stories for one itty bitty subscriber to be accessed -- thousands per day all the way back to 2002.   The FT caught on and sued the firm for copyright infringement and violation of the computer fraud and abuse act.  Cityfile has the lawsuit.

High profile victims: Some big former names from Merrill Lynch were scammed by Bernie Madoff

The list of victims that Bernie Madoff screwed continues to grow, and now includes some very prominent former Merrill Lynch execs, including former CEOs Dan Tully and David Komansky, as well as former investment banking chief Barry Friedberg:

Bernie Madoff update: JP Morgan exposure "pretty close to zero"; Paper stash found in Queens; Bernie the action figure; The WSJ details the Lipstick Building scene of the crime; Employee hooked on lease deal

JPMorgan Exited Madoff-Linked Funds Last Fall Stash of Bernie Madoff papers found tucked away in Queens warehouse Bernie Madoff action figure flashes bling Painting the Scene of Madoff's Operation Madoff's car deal leaves associate on the hook for $58K Madoff ‘Red Flags’ Could Have Been Raised by Software

"I'm a prisoner in my own house!": Bernie should be thankful he's out on bail instead of whining that he's a prisoner of his $7 million co-op

Poor, poor Bernie: The NY Post is reporting disturbing sounds coming out of Bernie Madoff's $7 million Park Avenue co-op where he's holed up: the sounds of whining.  It's not enough that the megathief is out on bail, much to the chagrin of those whose lives he's ruined, but Bernie is said to be lamenting his home captivity.  "I'm a prisoner in my own house!" Madoff supposedly said.  "I can't go anywhere! I'm stuck here all day!"

Cue the violins.

Madoff: I'm Weakened At Bernies - NY Post

Don't look to Jamie Dimon to ride to the rescue of more failing firms anytime soon (but never say never) $JPM

After riding to the rescue of failing financial firms Bear Stearns and WaMu last year, Jamie Dimon says he's probably done for now with new deals. Speaking at Davos he said:

For Dick Parsons' pilgrimage to meet Obama in DC, it was Amtrak, not a private jet $C

Page Six is giving Citigroup's new Chairman, Dick Parsons, a big pat on the back for not taking one of the corporate jets to his meeting with President Obama and other business heads in D.C. yesterday.  He reportedly took Amtrak instead.

Rides the Rails - NY Post Page Six