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

By Patrick Clark 9/04/12 7:45am

Morning Read

New York AG Probes Private Equity Tax Practice; Pointing the Finger at Facebook Exec: Roundup

If you missed it over the weekend, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the tax practices of private equity firms. At the center of the inquiry is the practice of converting management fees into investments that are taxed at more favorable rates. The private equity industry says such conversions are widely practiced and accepted; here’s a tax lawyer who says they’re illegal. Read More

By Patrick Clark 7/26/12 7:33am

Morning Read

‘Curse of Dick Fuld’ Grabs Nomura CEO Watanabe; Sandy Weill’s Simple Life: Roundup

‘Curse of Dick Fuld’: Ken Watanabe, chief executive officer of Nomura Holdings and the driving force behind the bank’s purchase of Lehman Brothers European and Asian operations, resigned as the company indicated that insider-trading offenses committed within the company go beyond those identified by Japanese regulators. Mr. Watanabe leaves Nomura three weeks after Read More

By Patrick Clark 6/19/12 7:44am

Morning Read

Greek Parties Still Negotiating Coalition, Wall Street Still Girding for European Crisis: Roundup

Whither Europe: Greece’s leading pro-bailout party—conservative New Democracy, which won Sunday’s elections, and socialist Pasok—are still negotiating to form a coalition to govern the teetering nation. Assuming a deal gets done, the first task will be to convince Europe to rewrite the Greek rescue agreement to provide more time—and financing—to meet Read More

By Patrick Clark 7:38am

Morning Read

Pro-Bailout Party Prevails in Greek Election, Bond Markets Move Against Spain: Wall Street Roundup

Whither Europe: Greece’s center-right New Democracy party won 29.7 of the vote in parliamentary elections yesterday, claiming the 50-seat bonus for winning the most votes and positioning the party to form a coalition that would keep the country in the bailout-for-austerity agreement signed with European rescuers. Alex Tsipras’ Syriza party, which had promised Read More

By Patrick Clark 6/14/12 7:44am

Morning Read

Moody’s Cuts Spain to Near-Junk Status as Europe Awaits Greek Elections: Wall Street Roundup

Whither Europe: “The Spanish government has very limited financial market access,” Moody’s said in a statement yesterday to announce the ratings company had cut Spain’s grade three levels to Baaa3, one level above junk. Spain’s borrowing cost on 10-year bonds hovered near 7 percent, up from 5.1 percent at the beginning of the year. Moody’s also cut Cyprus’s grade on fears of contagion following the results of the Greece’s June 17 elections.

The downgrade didn’t prevent Spain’s Amancio Ortega, founder of retail giant Inditex, from becoming Europe’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

“We have no sense that European partners will follow this tactic of blackmail heard from some quarters and stop funding,” Alex Tsipras, leader of Greece’s anti-bailout Syriza party told Bloomberg Television. Rather, Mr. Tsipras thinks that Greece can break the terms of the European rescue agreement signed by a previous Greek government without being forced to exit the eurozone. Read More