Wall $treet Folly

Bear Stearns chief vs Fed chief: Barbara Walters seems to have never met an Alan she didn't like

According to Page Six, Barbara Walters, who recently published her kiss and tell memoirs, may be stinging from some of the criticisms over her affair with then-married Senator Edward Brooke.  But more interestingly is what a playa she was, also carrying on simultaneously with Bear Stearns CEO Alan "Ace" Greenberg, and then-future Fed chief Alan Greenpan. And her housekeeper couldn't tell the two Alans apart:

"Audition" also reveals that after breaking up with Brooke, Walters continued seeing Greenberg while also dating Alan Greenspan, the future Federal Reserve chairman.

Her Latina housekeeper couldn't keep the two Alans straight. "When they gave me the message, I could only ask, which one talked louder?" Walters wrote. "Alan Greenberg . . . talked in a normal tone of voice. Alan Greenspan was very soft-spoken. He almost whispered. And that's how I would know whether it was Greenspan or Greenberg."

Barbara Starts To Feel Heat - Page Six NY Post

Bad blood at the Bear: Ace Greenberg vs Jimmy Cayne; We can't wait for the book....

Both yesterday and today we had major internet problems that have prevented  us from posting. As a result, this one, on the nasty feud between Ace Greenberg and Jimmy Cayne goes up a day late.  But we already had the artwork ready to go, so.... 

By now you all must have read  the great article in yesterday morning's NY Times on the icy relations between Bear Stearns' Ace Greenberg and Jimmy Cayne. A telling contrast between two men. Even after the Bear Stearns implosion, Ace still command a tremendous amount of respect and loyalty from current and former Bear Stearns employees; And he's "very happy" that he's got a nice new job with new parent JP Morgan as vice chairman emeritus (and no doubt, chief resident magician). Jimmy on the other hand, only commands contempt and disdain these days, for his fiddle-with-his-golf-clubs and bridge tournaments while Bear burned attitude.  And as for a job, got bupkus. He's keeping a low profile  these days.

“I walk around with a horrible, horrible heavy heart each day,” Mr. Cayne has told friends. “It’s a severity of pain that cannot be measured, because you can’t measure the pain of 14,000 families.”

Good Karma: Alan "Ace" Greenberg is helping out some of the lowest paid Bear Stearns workers with cash gifts

As thousands of Bear Stearns workers have gotten or will soon get pink slips as the firm merges with JP Morgan, former CEO Ace Greenberg is giving 25 of the firms lowest paid workers at least a small helping hand.  According to the New York Times, he's giving them a total of $360K --  $200 a month over a six year period.  Those getting the dough include some from the mailroom as well as clerical employee.  Several have physical or mental handicaps.  In a letter to the employees, he said:

"This is a personal gift, from me to you, and with it, I give my personal thanks."

Gift to the Mailroom, From the Boardroom - NY Times

Former Bear Stearns CEO Ace Greenberg expects to stay with JP Morgan

He may not have been able to pull a rabbit out of his hat to save his beloved Bear Stearns, but the company's former long time CEO, trading legend and resident magician, Alan "Ace" Greenberg expects that he'll be with JP Morgan after the merger is done.

"I expect to stay at JPMorgan," said Greenberg, who joined the firm in 1949 as a clerk.

As to what role he will play at the combined company, the 80-year-old executive expects to learn more during a lunch meeting with JPMorgan executives on Thursday.

Ace Greenberg responds to Bear Stearns liquidity rumors: they're "ridiculous"

Bear Stearns stock has been rocked by liquidity related rumors since 10:25 when news broke that Moodys downgraded the firm's Alt-A deals.  Ace Greenberg is calling the rumors "ridiculous".  The stock, which was down as low as $60.26 has bounced back to  over $64.  Per Briefing.com

12:10	BSC Bear Stearns' Ace Greenberg says liquidity rumors are "totally ridiculous" - CNBC             (63.60 -6.38)           -Update-
	CNBC reports that former BSC head Ace Greenberg says there was an erroneous headline out earlier regarding the Moody's downgrade of some of their securities, and that liquidity rumors are "totally ridiculous."
12:08	BSC Bear Stearns debt protection costs surge, stock and put options active on rumor of liquidity concerns, according to traders - Reuters             (61.13 -8.95)           -Update-
	Bear Stearns was not immediately available for comment

Citigroup: No wonder Chuck Prince publicly dissed Sandy Weill at lunch; "Meddling" and a visit to Riyadh

Yesterday we noted the Page Six report of former Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince's lunchtime Four Seasons outing with the boys (former Bear CEO Ace Greenberg and Blackstone founder Pete Peterson).  Prince worked the room greeting the many luminaries present, but noticeably avoided one of them -- his Citigroup predecessor, Sandy Weill.  Now we have a better understanding about why the frostiness, and it's front page news in the Wall Street Journal in a story chronicling Chuck Prince's downfall.

For years, Mr. Weill had refrained from speaking ill of his hand-picked successor. Yet the former Wall Street titan, obsessed with holding down costs when he was in charge, steamed as Citigroup's expenses and employee counts surged. Known for his loyal lieutenants, he was dismayed as his top executives, including his president Robert Willumstad, fled the financial giant. Known for a healthy ego, Mr. Weill even bit his tongue as Mr. Prince repeatedly blamed his slow start on dealing with overhanging regulatory issues and investigations.

"Sandy was uncharacteristically quiet through all the turmoil," says one former Citigroup executive. "He wanted to stay loyal to Chuck. Of course bad-mouthing Chuck would amount to admitting Sandy had made a mistake by anointing him."

On Oct. 15, when Citigroup officially announced larger-than-expected third-quarter losses, Mr. Weill was beside himself. He complained about the growth of the balance sheet and expense structure, two of his hallmarks of financial discipline. As for the low stock prices, he said, people were "voting with their pocketbook."

Dining out: Bad blood between former Citigroup CEOs Chuck Prince and Sandy Weill?

Chuck Prince isn't letting his newly unemployed status get him down.  The recently deposed Citigroup CEO was seen out and about, lunching at the Grill Room at the Four Seasons with former Bear Stearns CEO Ace Greenberg and Blackstone Group founder Pete Peterson.... 

Seated right in Prince's path was his predecessor at the financial giant, Sandy Weill. All eyes watched Prince make his way around the room, greeting titans Leonard Lauder, Bruce Ratner, David Martinez, Bill Rudin, Richard Holbrooke, Strauss Zelnick, Walter Cronkite and James Wolfensohn. But he avoided Weill, leading to speculation of bad blood.

Hot Entrance - Page Six New York Post

Ace Greenberg up to his old tricks

Have you ever seen former Bear Stearns CEO Alan "Ace" Greenberg performing magic tricks?  Well if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing his award winning work, you can see his show on May 17 at the Parkinson's Disease Foundation gala.

Ace has been doing his magic tricks for years, at benefits and for Bear Stearns employees....