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By Patrick Clark 10/04/12 8:40am

Morning Read

Elliot Capital Seizes Ship From Argentinean Navy; ESM Weighs Plan to Guarantee New Spanish Debt: Roundup

Paul Singer’s Elliot Capital Management seized a training ship owned by the Argentinean navy after the hedge fund won a court decision ruling that the South American nation still owes on a 2001 bond offering.

The European Stability Mechanism may guarantee the first 20 to 30 percent of potential losses on new Spanish debt, according to Reuters. The plan would be aimed at saving Spain without depleting Europe’s rescue funds. Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/03/12 8:50am

Morning Read

Damages May Reach Billions As NYAG Files More Suits; Large Firms Positioned for New Marketing Rules: Roundup

Wall Street firms face billions in potential damages after New York State AG Eric Schneiderman brought civil charges against JPMorgan this week for mortgage-packaging standards at Bear Stearns, which JPMorgan acquired in 2008. The lawsuit, which has been criticized for offering little new information, is the first tort filed by a federal-state task force formed by President Barack Obama earlier this year. Mr. Schneiderman said yesterday that other suits would follow.

From engineering financial instruments to building the world’s biggest Ferris wheel, climb aboard with Matt Chaban for former Bear Stearns Asset Management CEO Richard Marin’s wild ride.

Former Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich will not abide arguments that the U.S. government bailed out his bank, especially not in his country club’s men’s dining room.

Large firms such as BlackRock are best positioned to take advantage of JOBS Act provisions that would lift the ban on advertising by private investment firms, Bloomberg reports. One reason: bigger money managers already have marketers on staff to work on products such as mutual funds. Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/01/12 6:25am

Morning Read

Glencore, Xstrata One Step Closer; British Banks Face Heat From Labour Party, Church of England: Roundup

The proposed merger between mining giant Xstrata and commodities firm Glencore International is coming to a shareholder vote, finally, after Glencore upped its offer and Xstrata separated the merger and approval retention bonuses for key executives into two shareholder proposals. How Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns 12 percent of Xstrata, feels about the merger is seen as key to the success of the deal. Where else is the oil-rich nation investing?

British lawmaker Ed Miliband said the next Labour Party government would break up the nation’s banks if the financial firms don’t do a better job separating retail and investment banking operations. Meanwhile, a bishop in the Church of England is asking existential questions about the future of British banking. “It’s about why the banking industry is here,” he said, according to The Journal. Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/28/12 7:52am

Morning Read

FSA to Announce New Libor Plan; Ex-Credit Suisse CDO Chief to Fight Extradition: Roundup

The British Financial Services Authority is wresting oversight of the London interbank lending rate from the British Bankers Association as part of an overhaul of the process by which Libor is set. The British government will take a more hands on role, and submissions will be delayed for three months, perhaps diminishing the temptation to rig rates for the purpose of managing perception of a bank’s health.

Right on time, The Wall Street Journal has an “analysis” that shows Libor doesn’t actually reflect banks’ borrowing costs.

Kareem Serageldin, the former head of Credit Suisse’s CDO business arrested in London on Wednesday, said he will fight extradition to the U.S. When Mr. Serageldin was charges in February for running a scheme to falsify trading positions, he expressed surprise over the indictment, noting through lawyers that he was cooperating with attorneys. When he was nabbed outside the U.S. embassy in London this week, he said through a lawyer that he was working on a plea deal, and that his capture was the result of “miscommunication.” Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/27/12 7:41am

Morning Read

Spain to Announce New Budget Amid Violent Protests; More Banks Targeted in Cyber Attacks: Roundup

Investors will be watching Spain’s 2013 budget plan, to be announced today, for indications that the government is laying the ground for a bailout request. If it makes investors happy, it’s likely to make Spaniards mad, as demonstrations turned violent yesterday outside the Spanish parliament building in Madrid. In either case, Prime Minister Mariano Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/26/12 8:49am

Morning Read

Greece, Spain Come Apart Over Austerity Measures; “Libor Fixing Can Make You That Much Money”: Roundup

More than 50,000 Greeks marched on the nation’s parliament to protest austerity measures required by bailout agreements, according to Reuters: ”‘We can’t just sit by idly and do nothing while the troika and the government destroy our lives,’ said Dimitra Kontouli, a 49-year-old local government employee whose salary was cut to 1,100 euros a month from 1,600 euros previously.”

Spain is moving towards accepting European bailouts, even as protests in Madrid turned violent and politicians in the Catalonia region called for secession.

“It’s just amazing how Libor fixing can make you that much money or lose if opposite.” So said Tan Chi Min, a former Royal Bank of Scotland trader in a conversation with traders at other banks, in an affidavit reviewed by Bloomberg. “It’s a cartel now in London.” Tan is suing RBS in Singapore for wrongful dismissal after being fired for attempting to manipulate Libor. Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/25/12 5:51am

Morning Read

RBS Libor Rigging May Have Extended Beyond Fired Traders; Smith Barney Brand Too Old Fashioned For This World: Roundup

Royal Bank of Scotland managers and traders routinely sought to influence interbank lending rates between 2007 and 2010, and the wrongdoings extend beyond the four traders fired last year, according to Bloomberg. Manipulating the bank’s submissions for Libor and other interbank lending rates would have allowed traders to boost the value of  derivatives positions held by RBS, which is 81 percent owned by the British government.

Goodbye Smith Barney: Morgan Stanley is rolling out a name-change for the 75-year-old brand, according to The New York Post. The brokerage, jointly-owned with Citigroup, will be called Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. In its heyday, Smith Barney was known for its advertising slogan: “They make money the old fashioned way: They earn it.” Read More

By Patrick Clark 6:08am

Morning Read

Former Gov. Pawlenty Puts Snout in Wall Street Trough; Senate Holds HFT Hearings: Roundup

When former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty was campaigning to be the Republican presidential nominee, he told reporters that his “truth message to Wall Street is going to be, ‘Get your snout out of the trough.’” Which, maybe that’s still his truth message? But instead of delivering it as co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s campaign, Governor Pawlenty will be speaking it as head of the Financial Services Roundtable, a banking industry lobby.

Somewhere, an algorithm read the coverage of yesterday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing on high-frequency trading, and figured it will take years for the government to hammer out reforms to fix market structure issues. Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/20/12 7:56am

Morning Read

Critics of High-Frequency Trading Take to Capitol Hill; Hedge Funder Asks, ‘What’s Wrong With Nimbyism?’ Roundup

The Senate Banking Committee will hold hearings on high-frequency trading today, and the Wall Street Journal meets the star witnesses: Dave Lauer, a former trader at Citadel and Allston Capital who plans to tell lawmakers that high-speed trading has made markets less fair for many participants; and Andy Brooks, head of U.S. trading for T. Rowe Price, who will say that rules governing high-frequency trading generally favor bodies with short-term profit incentives. Read More