Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's Syriza coalition

Europe reckoned with Greek elections and the Spanish government took a controlling stake in the country's third-largest lender. Phil Falcone kept cool at a hedge fund conference, despite turmoil facing LightSquared. Green Mountain founder Robert Stiller talked about the sale of company stock that led to his ouster as chairman. That and more, in this morning's Wall Street roundup.

Europe simmers: European governments held back a part of rescue funds promised to Greece after weekend elections raised the specter that the country's new governing coalition might shred an existing bailout agreement. As in, literally. With the Greek government unformed, and leftist Syriza coalition talking tough, the Journal reports that German and Finnish made a stink before agreeing to release $5.5 billion in bailout funds.

Spain said it would take over Bankia SA yesterday, converting $5.8 billion in preferred equity into voting shares, good enough to control a 45 percent stake in the nation's third-largest lender. The country's banking system is looking more and more like an Ireland-sized catastrophe, according to Bloomberg: While the government has ordered banks to post additional capital to cover losses on construction and property loans, the prescribed collateral-raise would leave nothing in the tank for trillions more in home loans and corporate debt.

Calm before: Storm clouds may gather over Phil Falcone, but when Dealbook went to see the Harbinger Capital founder speak at the SALT conference in Vegas, the hedge fund manager was the epitome of calm, or at least, he spoke thoughtfully and in mellifluous tones. On the other hand, no one asked about LightSquared.

Bad documents: The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case that could undo hundreds of thousands of foreclosures, as the court decides whether banks that used fraudulent paperwork to file foreclosures can dismiss the suits and refile with new documents. Reuters has the story of how a 35-year-old drywall hanger initiated the case, and potential implications in Florida and across the country.

Stiller spills: Robert Stiller told his side of the story to the Wall Street Journal. The Green Mountain founder was stripped of his role as company chairman after selling $123 million in stock last week in a margin call as Green Mountain's share price plummeted following the release of second-quarter results. Stiller, often described as the richest man in Vermont, wore sweaters to work, practiced yoga...and took out hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for charitable donations and real estate transactions, including a $17.5 million Time Warner Center apartment previously owned by Tom Brady. "Lavish is relative," Stiller told the Journal.

When, not if: The FDIC will announce its M.O. for the next crisis that brings a financial institution to its knees: Regulators will seize the parent company and allow units to operate; Shareholders will be wiped out and bond owners would likely suffer losses as their holdings are swapped for equity in a new entity.

Expense account: Wendy's offered the president of its international division a lump sum payment of $850,000 if he moves to the company's new headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, and stays for at least two yeas, Footnoted reports. Word of that payment, buried in the supporting exhibits of the company's quarterly report, comes after Wendy's paid millions of dollars in severance costs when its CEO opted to resign over moving from Atlanta to Dublin last year.

Kryptonite: Facebook updated its S-1 to explain that growth in active users is outpacing the number of ad delivered, and it's all about mobile.

[Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP]

Scissor season: Moody's is expected to begin cutting ratings on banks any day now, and Bloomberg notes the consequences: Higher funding costs, curbed lending and another thorn in the side of economic growth. According to a Moody's note last month, Italian lenders are first on the chopping block, to be followed by banks in other European countries. U.S. banks will also come in for potential downgrades, but are unlikely to see ratings changes until June.

Banks in trouble: Spain is likely to require lenders to post an additional $45 billion in collateral against loans to the construction sector, Reuters reports, raising the likelihood of another injection of public cash. The Spanish government is expected to announce new demands after a cabinet meeting on Friday.

Meanwhile, Spanish banks are pushing their debt and equity on retail customers as larger investors pull back. The Journal worries that a vicious circle may be emerging: Fearing that losses would spook individual investors, banks have put off recognizing losses, exacerbating the tenuous position of Spanish banks, and the eventual reckoning for mom and pop.

Margin-roasted: Robert Stiller was relieved of his position as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters chairman after he sold 5 million shares in the company, worth $125.5 million, in a margin call. Green Mountain's stock lost nearly half its value last week after the company reported disappointing earnings and amid calls by short sellers such as Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn, and Deutsche Bank forced Mr. Stiller to sell shares to satisfy loans secured against his Green Mountain holdings.

BofA meets: The great unwashed are expected to descend on Charlotte, North Carolina today to protest Bank of America's annual meeting, though it may be a toss-up as to whether the protestors bear the lender the most ill will. Other candidates: Recently jettisoned employees, refi applicants, holders of the company's basement-dwelling stock. In case you were worried, city officials passed an ordinance in January prohibiting items "ranging from backpacks to crowbars" at large events. Hecklers interrupted a Bank of America presentation at the Citi Financial Services conference in New York in March, chanting "bust up Bank of America before it busts up America," and at least 24 protestors were arrested at Wells Fargo's annual meeting in San Francisco last month.

Americans not wanted: Wealth managers around the world are closing the door on American clients as the start date for rules to prevent tax evasion approaches. Beginning next year, foreign financial institutions must report information about income and interest accrued to the accounts of U.S. clients, raising compliance costs and limiting the options of Americans living abroad, according to Bloomberg. The IRS is holding a May 15 hearing, which could soften the implementation of the rules.

Tech banker: Michael Grimes, the banker who managed LinkedIn, Zynga and Groupon IPOs, spent years laying the ground work for Morgan Stanley's lead role in the Facebook offering, and made his career winning over Silicon Valley with a more flexible approach to investment banking.

Red tape: And it still takes a long time to refinance a mortgage.

[Stan Honda/AFP]

Mr. Brady earned a few yards on the deal, selling the 74th floor spread for $17.5 million, city records show. That is a good bit more than what he paid in 2006, $14 million--or as The Observer likes to think of it, a pair of million-dollar touchdowns . The difference between the two prices is about what the Patriots pay Mr. Brady to play two football games. (Last month, The Journal reported that the unit had gone to contract, but not how much or to whom.)

The buyer of the 3,000-square-foot pentagonal spread is, according to city records, Robert Stiller, the richest man in Burlington, Vt., and the entire state for that matter. 

The purchase is a homecoming of sorts. Mr. Stiller made his first fortune right here in Manhattan, where he and a fellow ad exec endeared themselves to an entire generation of hippies through the creation in 1971 of E-Z Wider rolling papers, the first double-wide papers designed explicitly for smoking dope. They sold the company a decade later to a British tobacconist and split the $6.2 million. 

His next success came through another drug, caffeine. While hitting the slopes in Vermont, Mr. Stiller had his first taste of Green Mountain Roasters coffee. Addicted, he took over the company and saw it through a not-quite-Starbucks-sized expansion. (Full disclosure: The Observer stocks rather despicable Hazelnut-flavored Green Mountain Roasters coffee in its pantry.)

Should Mr. Stiller be bringing his coffeemaker to his new Central Park redoubt, there is certainly plenty of room for it. "The impeccably-designed 3bd 3.5 bath home that awaits atop this soaring 5 star residence will captivate even the most discerning NYC luxury-seeker with its sweeping Central Park & River to River views," declares top-selling Douglas Elliman broker Raphael DeNiro in his listing. "Its gracious 7-room layout affords ultimate style & comfort, while its ambiance is flooded with in-pouring light from a generosity of 10ft floor-to-ceiling windows."

The northeast-facing great room alone measures more than 700 square feet--almost big enough to play football in or set up a roasting plant.

Read past Manhattan Transfers here. >>

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo