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December 2008
- GM, Chrysler Revive Merger Talks
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 18, 08 1:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - General Motors and Chrysler are back in merger talks, reports the Wall Street Journal . Negotiations fizzled weeks ago as both companies viewed a merger as impractical and a potential distraction from federal bailout talks. Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management took the initiative to restart talks, and has signaled a willingness to give up some of its stake in the automaker. The move may be viewed by federal lawmakers as a sign that the companies are willing to go the distance to help save themselves. More »
- Ex SEC Official's Marriage to Madoff Niece Investigated
  
  ABC News | Dec 17, 08 5:15 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - An SEC official dated and later married the niece of confessed fraudster Bernard Madoff, and the agency is investigating the link, reports the Wall Street Journal . Eric Swanson, an SEC director of compliance who left the agency, married Shana Madoff, a compliance lawyer at Madoff's firm, last year, but began dating her in 2006. Madoff bragged of his "very close" relationship with an SEC regulator last year, crowing that "my niece even married one," reports ABC News. More »
- SEC Under Fire for Flubbing Madoff Warnings
  
  Washington Post | Dec 16, 08 10:09 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The SEC is coming under fire for failing to spot what may be the biggest securities fraud in history, the Washington Pos t reports. The regulator received repeated warnings from 1999 onwards that Bernard Madoff's investment fund was fishy, but failed to conduct even a routine examination until Madoff blew the whistle on himself last week. Madoff may have avoided scrutiny because he also ran a high-profile, legitimate business, helped create Nasdaq, and advised the SEC on electronic trading. More »
- Red Flags Didn't Stop Colossal Madoff Fraud
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 13, 08 10:58 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Bernard Madoff's investment operation—found this week to be a massive Ponzi scheme that lost as much as $50 billion—raised plenty of red flags over the last decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. As far back as 1999, Madoff’s steady returns in wide-ranging markets seemed unrealistic to some observers, and at least one tried to blow the whistle. “Madoff Securities is the world's largest Ponzi Scheme,” a rival wrote to the SEC that year. More »
- Big Names Bilked in $50B Madoff Fraud
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 13, 08 5:59 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Some of America's wealthiest people are finding themselves a lot poorer in the wake of the Bernard Madoff fund scandal, the Wall Street Journal reports. Madoff strived to become known as the investor of choice in elite circles, and counted New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and GMAC chairman Ezra Wilkin among the clients he swindled out of a total that could reach $50 billion. More »
- Madoff Fraud Will Hit Hedge Funds Hard
  
  Bloomberg | Dec 12, 08 10:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Even as hedge funds face their worst yearly returns ever, they may take another collective $10 billion hit on money invested in Bernard Madoff’s namesake firm, which was revealed to be a giant Ponzi scheme yesterday, Bloomberg reports. Madoff was arrested and charged with fraud after admitting that his investment business was “one big lie” that lost up to $50 billion in clients' money. More »
November 2008
- Hedge Fund Selloffs Behind Swooning Dow
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 7, 08 9:25 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hedge funds are increasingly to blame for the swooning Dow, the Wall Street Journal reports, as demands from investors to withdraw funds have sparked a securities selling frenzy in recent days. The rush to withdraw comes as investors—endowments and pension funds as well as wealthy individuals—see other investments shrink and need cash to cover their obligations. More »
- Schwarzman Weighs In on Market Reforms
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 4, 08 10:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - With the world in “the worst financial crisis in recent memory,” private-equity billionaire Stephen Schwarzman advocates seizing the opportunity to prevent a repeat. In an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal , the Blackstone CEO, who pocketed $677 million from the firm’s IPO last year, calls for global accounting principles, more cooperation between regulatory regimes worldwide and, of all things, more transparency at financial firms. More »
- Credit Crisis Spells Disaster for Private Equity Firms
  
  New York Times | Nov 3, 08 11:30 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - After a nearly 3-year buyout spree, private equity firms are facing tightened credit conditions just as slumping consumer spending squeezes many of their acquisitions, the New York Times reports. The leveraged-buyout bubble that culminated in $796 billion in deals in 2007 is bursting, leading to a grim reckoning as firms saddled with the debt used to buy them are unable to secure fresh credit to weather the downturn. More »
October 2008
- Times Tough for I-Bankers, in 'Marie Antoinette' Kind of Way
  
  New York | Oct 20, 08 3:26 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With Wall Street in free fall, many of its elite I-bankers are seeing the status quo turned upside-down, Vanessa Grigoriadis writes in New York . Once at the top of the heap, working for companies that praised them as smartest people out there, some are fighting to survive on the Street, while others have reversed course, taking jobs with—gasp!—the government. More »
- Credit Markets Show Signs of Thaw
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 15, 08 7:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The government’s move to take stakes in major banks has finally succeeded in easing some of the panic that’s locked up credit markets, reports the Wall Street Journal. Corporate-bond values rose and commercial paper began trading at lower rates, giving hope that the intervention is working, though experts say there’s a long way to go before business gets back to normal . More »
- Buffett Grabs $3B Chunk of GE
  
  Reuters | Oct 2, 08 3:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mega-pockets investor Warren Buffett is sinking $3 billion into General Electric, whose share prices have slumped a third amid the financial chaos on Wall Street, Reuters reports. Buffet, 78, negotiated a 10% dividend, which could generate $300 million income a year. The move comes a week after he invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs. More »
September 2008
- Lehman's Asset Management Arm Sold on Cheap for $2B
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Sep 30, 08 6:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two private equity firms will acquire Neuberger Berman, the largest and most prestigious component of Lehman Brothers, for $2.15 billion. Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman will pay in cash for the wealth management firm—an indication of just how stultified credit markets have become. Only a month before Lehman collapsed several potential buyers were considering paying three times as much, reports the Financial Times . More »
- WaMu Looks to Private Equity as Bank Teeters
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 25, 08 8:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Washington Mutual is hoping private equity will save the bank after its efforts to broker a sale to another financial institution came to nothing. Both the Carlyle Group and Blackstone are considering a takeover of WaMu, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal , although a deal is not yet assured. Many banks, from Santander in Spain to JPMorgan Chase and Citibank, have been reluctant to take on WaMu's troubled loans. More »
- Hedge Funds Poised to Profit as Banks Shun Risk
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 23, 08 1:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With the last two large US investment banks going commercial in an effort to stay afloat, private-equity and hedge funds are stepping into the void, the Wall Street Journal reports. Taking on roles previously filled by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, hedge funds like Citadel and private-equity groups like Blackstone are "stepping further into the risk-taking fold," the Journal notes, and are positioned to profit handsomely. More »
- Fed Loosens Reins on Private Funds Buying Into Banks
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 23, 08 5:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Fed has loosened the rules that curtailed private investments in banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move may inject more cash into the financial system—if private equity chooses to invest—but will raise fears of profit-hungry investors snapping up stakes in banks to make quick cash with risky loans. More »
- Hedge Funds in Panic on Volatility, Short-Selling Ban
  
  New York Times | Sep 22, 08 11:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hedge funds have been caught flatfooted as the stock market’s volatility and a ban on short selling has made it more difficult to predict swings, the New York Times reports. Many funds, which generally have flourished amid market turbulence, are reporting their worst year ever, fueling speculation that some of the highest rollers might not survive. More »
- Morgan Stanley, WaMu Edge Closer to Deals
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 19, 08 3:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two of the biggest financial institutions in the midst of the market turmoil are moving closer to hammering out deals. Washington Mutual's suitors are believed to include Citibank, JP Morgan and Bank of America, insiders tell Bloomberg, while Morgan Stanley and Wachovia have stepped up merger talks, reports the New York Times . Morgan is also in separate talks with the China Investment Corporation. More »
- Wall Street's Falling Stars Burn Hollywood
  
  Time | Sep 18, 08 1:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - When Steven Spielberg is feeling a budget pinch, you know the financial crisis is bad. His hunt for financing on a new studio deal gets tougher with each day of bad news from Wall Street, Time reports. With credit as tough to come by in Hollywood as everywhere else, many studios are “making a conscious decision to slow it down,” one exec says. More »
- WaMu Gets OK to Raise Capital as It Seeks Sale
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 18, 08 7:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Washington Mutual is attempting to raise capital or sell itself, the Wall Street Journal reports, and it got a big boost in that effort yesterday from TPG. The private equity firm, which sunk $7 billion into WaMu in April, waived a clause that would have effectively prevented the thrift from issuing new stock. WaMu has instructed its adviser, Goldman Sachs, to assess strategic options, including a possible sale. More »