Membership in Dark Pool Club Exposed

Wondering how many dark pools there are? 32. SEC released a list of ATSs. In addition to ITG's POSIT, Liquidnet and Pipeline, the big pools are from GS, CS, UBS, MS.

Short-Selling on States Pays Off; Net Captial revisited

Trading records suggest that in the panicked days when exotic derivatives were bringing the AIG to its knees, traders were using the same kinds of derivatives, called credit-default swaps, to profit from New Jersey's rising tide of red ink.

If you think you are the first to determine that New York’s budget is going to suffer because of the financial crisis, then you, too, can wager on it.

History: S.E.C. 2004 Ruling Let Banks Pile Up New Risk

How the SEC (And Media) Failed Abysmally: The Times a blow-by-blow account of how the SEC knuckled under to pressure from major investment banks and threw capital requirements out the window -- planting the seeds for the ongoing financial meltdown. An unanswered question, only briefly dealt with in the article, is this: where was the financial press?

CJR Audit asks that same question: "Where was this story years ago?" The answer is "right in front of us." After all, the Times article was based on the public record, including open SEC meetings that were not covered by the media.

April 2004 - Five SEC members met in a basement hearing room to consider an urgent plea by big investment banks. The unanimous decision, changing what was known as the net capital rule, was completed and published in The Federal Register a few months later. I-banks asked for exemption from regulations that limited the amount of debt they could take on. One commissioner questioned the staff about the consequences of the proposed exemption and was told this would be only available for the largest firms—those with assets greater than $5 billion. None of the major media outlets covered this 2004 Proceeding. Last Friday, SEC ended the 2004 program acknowledging that it had failed to anticipate the problems at Bear and other major investment banks. Discussion can now be heard on SEC and NYT Web sites.

Who Owns Your Money? DTCC?

This is a primer on DTCC - if you need - it via Seeking Alpha. Biggest bank in the world that many have never heard of. Registered owner of 99% of all paper (stocks, bonds, securities, etc.). Scary? Perfectly good reason for it - with electronic trading, it is impossible to make timely changes to registered ownership of paper.

SEC Ends Voluntary Regulation Program

SEC Ends Voluntary Regulation Program for Inv Bks
After Bailout Deal, the Focus Will Shift to Regulation

Housing collapse often cited as having caused the crisis, but for AIG which first waded into derivatives it sold interest rate swaps and this was the beginning of its end. Then, JPM Derivatives specialists proposed that AIG should try writing insurance on packages Collateralized Debt Obligations aka CDOs."

Director Operations - Risk and Control needed for a large Broker-Dealer.

Rescue Plan Stirs Calls for Deeper Regulation

"regulatory hole that must be immediately addressed" WSJ article says, the spate of bailouts and takeovers is pushing Washington into unfamiliar turf.

Wall St. Era Ends; Death of I-Banks

The Death of the Investment Bank Street.com
Scraping Wall Street Model - WSJ
Wall St. Era Ends Fed, GS, MS press releases
Both banks may have to shed some assets to come into compliance with the rules that govern bank holding companies. For instance, they may have to sell commodity production facilities like power plants that they have owned in the past. But they will have up to five years to dispose of the assets and may be able to keep them in private equity subsidiaries.


How?Why? Merrill Was Saved and Lehman Lost

SEC Halts Shorting Financials and is Bashed

'Mind Blowing Stupidity' Update: Whither the Uptick Rule? Journalist Gary Weiss usually gets the right perspective as he probes the underside of the Street. "What makes the SEC action mind-blowingly stupid is that this: if there was abusive shorting of the financials--and there's no evidence of any, not that it matters--it was because the SEC allowed it, by revoking the uptick rule." More at The idiocy of the US Fed, the SEC and the rest of them
9/23 NYPost: HFs considering legal challenge.

In concert with U.K. FSA SEC took temporary action to prohibit shorting to 'protect the integrity and quality of the market and strengthen investor confidence.' Applies to 799 financials effective immediately. SEC bashed over short-selling ban Managed Funds Association seeking exemptions and a rewrite of the shorting ban. Hasn't ruled out legal action.

Asia Rethinks / Fed: Investor of Last Resort / Morgan Stanley Weighs Deal

Tremors leading many to question the wisdom of investing in the US to
the tune of trillions of dollars: Asian investors were starting to show
hesitation even before last week. Now...


Even Morgan Stanley and Goldman, the two left standing no
longer immune. MS considering possibility of merger with Wachovia
or another. Links to CNBC and the rest

New Role for the Fed: Investor of Last Resort
Federal Reserve is being stretched to its limits, both in the range of
problems it is being asked to fix and in its financial firepower. The
central bank has also transformed itself almost overnight into the Fed
Inc. by essentially taking over AIG

SEC New Short-Sale Rules

Traders Mag Early reviews are in

MER, LEH, BoA AIG Weekend Aftermath

Lawyering/Dealing Merrill/BoA, Lehman, AIG More Financial Blogs with the latest

Anniversary

Annual Tribute in Light at 7:11pm
NJ-based writer recalls in Esquire

Job Security: Bulge Bracket, Largest Hedgies, Insurance and PE players

Mack Retools Morgan Stanley CEO in an office near research analysts is a sign of the many places the Street is looking to make money with times so tough.

Long-Term Capital shocked and could've been replete with lessons, but these were ignored. NYT Essay for more

Lehman: Blackstone & KKR Looking To Buy Assets If needed you should just keep a list of who isn't buying Lehman Click here for All LEH News All The Time KKR IPO:What Does Henry Kravis Want?

AIG's Greenberg Faces Fine Maurice R. "Hank" could be fined at least $100 million.

Tracing the Misfortunes of Citadel’s Russell Do you have job security? Citadel Investment Group executive, who helped lead the $2.55 billion investment in E*Trade, has given notice at the firm. The 37 % drop in E*Trade shares since November may be a factor: E*Trade play is one of many attempts at what Wall Street calls “catching a falling knife,” or the act of investing in a troubled company in the hopes that its bad luck has stopped. Many foreign and PE firms that have invested in US financials ranging from Citi to WAMU, for example, have been wounded.

Regulators lock horns w/ MFs re: Credit Ratings

SEC plan is to scrap requirements that money market funds hold investment-grade securities.

FLOOR BROKER USE OF PORTABLE PHONES

Information Memos 8-40 and 41 are about NYSE approval of cell phones on the floor for off-floor communications.

More Cuts, Blood on the Street, Blatant plagiarism

Lehman Cuts May Presage More Bloodletting MORE »
Commerzbank Close to Dresdner Deal FT
NYT on Lehman plagiarism. Lifted directly from Sanford Bernstein. More

Fidelity incentives from Goldman to peddle ARS?

Relationship is probed in connection with the discount broker's sales of auction-rate securities. All GS-Fido news