Wall $treet Folly

Not that the DJIA is even that relevant these days, but Altria and Honeywell are out, B of A and Chevron are in

Bank of America, Chevron to Join Dow Industrials - Bloomberg

Bank of America is cutting 650 jobs and selling its prime brokerage business

More pink slips are going out in investment banking at Bank of America;  they're firing 650.  They've also announced plans to sell their prime broker business....

Thanks to Bank of America for making their new 'No soup, no soap' policy just too easy to ridicule....

A reader sent us a link (thanks!) to a recently created site that makes more hay with Bank of America's recently introduced belt tightening campaign....

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!!!

Citadel said NOT to be looking at B of A's prime brokerage business

So much for the NY Post's report this morning that they were looking at buying Bank of America's prime broker business.  Sources close to Citadel say it's not true:

"There have been no conversations about it and Citadel has not looked at the books," said the source, who is close to the situation but not authorized to speak about it.

Citadel spokeswoman Katie Spring declined to comment. 

Citadel not eyeing BoA unit: source - Reuters

Citadel discussing buy of Bank of America prime brokerage business? Glad we don't prime through them...

How would you like all sorts of private information that you share with your prime broker to fall into the hands of your hedge fund competitors at Citadel?  Ya, we know...Goldman has hedge funds and they're prime brokers too.  But there's something unsettling about Citadel doing a deal like this......

Bloodletting at B of A continues as several senior execs depart

Investment-grade bond-trading chief Michael J. Meyer announced his departure from BofA yesterday, one day after the first of 500 firings took place as the parent struggles with the future role of its investment bank, known as BAS.

Meyer was unable to be reached and a spokeswoman declined to comment.

Also leaving BofA yesterday was the four-man European credit strategy team and Christopher Pesce, head of prime brokerage.....

Meyer, Others Resign From BOA - New York Post

Pink slip wielding grim reaper visits Bear and Bank of America

The grim reaper's job cut ax has fallen yet again at both Bear Stearns and Bank of America. Bear is cutting 300 jobs:

The cuts will be made in ``various business units at all levels of the organization,'' the New York-based firm said in an e-mailed statement today. It didn't specify the units affected.

Bear Stearns announced two previous rounds of job cuts this year affecting 600 people at mortgage units. The new reduction targets the core of the investment bank, such as bond trading.

We here that some of the option guys at Bear were cut as well.

Bank of America also started letting people go this morning, on its way to ultimately letting around 3000 go companywide.  45-50 were reportedly let go on the mortgage desk, but we hear that the cuts were also being starting in other areas.  Up to 700 wholesale mortgage positions are said to be getting the ax, with cuts also coming in corporate and investment banking.  In addition, the bank's base and precious metals desk in both London and New York are said to be winding down:

Bank of America axing 3,000 as its investment banking head is shown the door

Bank of America announced that the ax is falling in a big way, slashing 3,000 jobs -- roughly 15% of its staff -- mostly from the company's global corporate and investment bank.  One of the rolling heads includes the head of investment banking, Gene Taylor.

The bank said the cuts are spread throughout the unit, which includes commercial banking and treasury services in addition to capital markets and investment banking. Bank of America, known colloquially as BofA, announced the shake-up late yesterday.

The top-to-bottom assessment of the investment bank, coming less than a week after the company reported $1.45 billion in third-quarter trading losses that caused its overall profit to tumble 32%, is the strongest indication yet that the nation's largest consumer bank may face insurmountable hurdles in its quest to compete against giants such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. on Wall Street.

Citi, JP Morgan and B of A to back a $75 billion mortgage-linked securities buyout fund

The big banks are stepping up:  The competition for bargain priced mortgage-linked securities is about to get a lot hotter with Citigroup, JP Morgan and Bank of America banding together in a $75 - $100 billion fund to buoy the market and prevent the spread of the sub-prime flu.  Some of their competitors may not be so enthusiastic about the new fund:

A person familiar with the discussions said that US banks collectively were expected to put up credit guarantees worth about $75bn for the fund, named the Single-Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit (SMLEC).

But bankers said the scheme would evolve with the market and may only be as large as demand requires. The SMLEC would be temporary and capped in value, and would not be backed by any state guarantee. A person familiar with the proposals said it was hoped that other banks would join the syndicate.

The concept of an SMLEC first emerged three weeks ago when the US Treasury summoned leading bankers to discuss ways of reviving the mortgage-linked securities market and dealing with the threat posed by structured investment vehicles (SIVs) and conduits.

The Treasury acted as a neutral “third party” in the discussions, and Hank Paulson,Treasury secretary, was strongly in support of the initiative.