Bankrupt Banker

Ex-Liverpool owner Gillett sued by hedge fund | Reuters

Ex-Liverpool owner Gillett sued by hedge fund | Reuters

Ex-Liverpool owner Gillett sued by hedge fund | Reuters : "George Gillett, the former owner of the Liverpool soccer club in the English...

U.S. Pursues Sweeping Insider-Trading Probe - WSJ.com

<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704170404575624831742191288.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">U.S. Pursues Sweeping Insider-Trading Probe - WSJ.com</a>: "Federal authorities, capping a three-year investigation, are preparing insider-trading charges that could ensnare consultants, investment bankers, hedge-fund and mutual-fund traders and analysts across the nation, according to people familiar with the matter. The criminal and civil probes, which authorities say could eclipse the impact on the financial industry of any previous such investigation, are examining whether multiple insider-trading rings reaped illegal profits totaling tens of millions of dollars, the people say. Some charges could be brought before year-end, they say. The investigations, if they bear fruit, have the potential to expose a culture of pervasive insider trading in U.S. financial markets, including new ways non-public information is passed to traders through experts tied to specific industries or companies, federal authorities say. One focus of the criminal investigation is examining whether nonpublic information was passed along by independent analysts and consultants who work for companies that provide 'expert network' services to hedge funds and mutual funds. These companies set up meetings and calls with current and former managers from hundreds of companies for traders seeking an investing edge"

U.S. Pursues Sweeping Insider-Trading Probe - WSJ.com

U.S. Pursues Sweeping Insider-Trading Probe - WSJ.com : "Federal authorities, capping a three-year investigation, are preparing insider...

SEC Moves Closer To Forcing Most Hedge Funds To Register - Focus on Funds - Barrons.com

SEC Moves Closer To Forcing Most Hedge Funds To Register - Focus on Funds - Barrons.com : "Securities and Exchange Commission today vot...

Don't blame bond vigilantes for wanting their money back

<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/dont-blame-bond-vigilantes-for-wanting-their-money-back-20101119-180yu.html">Don't blame bond vigilantes for wanting their money back</a>: "CONTRARY to what many people think, the investors who have pushed Ireland to the edge of the precipice are not evil speculators trying to grab more money. They are undoubtedly highly paid but they are cautious professionals who tend to work for big financial institutions that manage assets around the world and in whom people trust billions from their pension funds. These investors - often dubbed the ''bond vigilantes'' for their activism - are traditionally more conservative than those who put their money in shares. Unlike shares, bonds repay a fixed interest at the end of their life, and their value does not swing as dramatically as the sharemarket does. Bonds are for widows, orphans and the financially conservative, while shares are for young people with time to overcome any losses. (Or so the thinking goes.) This makes the bond market many times bigger than the sharemarket."

Don't blame bond vigilantes for wanting their money back

Don't blame bond vigilantes for wanting their money back : "CONTRARY to what many people think, the investors who have pushed Irela...

Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral a family fluke or sign of times?

<a href="http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5895/9/">Associated Baptist Press - Opinion: Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral a family fluke or sign of times?</a>: "Earlier this month the Crystal Cathedral declared bankruptcy, acknowledging that it is some $55 million in debt. This was no big surprise since it was no secret that the church, founded 55 years ago by Robert Schuller, was in serious trouble. Yet the bankruptcy of the congregation originally known as the Garden Grove Community Church, one of America’s most prominent megachurches, promises to send shock waves across the religious landscape. After all, Robert Schuller is one of the country’s best-known and most publicly identifiable preachers. His sermons resounded for years across the nation and around the world through the “Hour of Power,” a syndicated program that The New York Times calls the country’s “longest-running religious television broadcast.” The church and the broadcast will continue -- but with major cutbacks in staff and ministry programs."

Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral a family fluke or sign of times?

Associated Baptist Press - Opinion: Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral a family fluke or sign of times? : "Earlier this month the Crystal Cathe...

Lehman to Settle ‘Saphir’ Derivatives Dispute With Perpetual - BusinessWeek

Lehman to Settle ‘Saphir’ Derivatives Dispute With Perpetual - BusinessWeek : "Bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. reached a settlem...

Bankrupt Owner of Lipstick Building Can Use Cash Collateral - BusinessWeek

Bankrupt Owner of Lipstick Building Can Use Cash Collateral - BusinessWeek : "The owner of Lipstick Building, the midtown Manhattan tow...

Foreclosure Foul-up: Tracking Down Those 'Lost' Mortgages - TIME

<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2032110,00.html?xid=rss-mostpopular">Foreclosure Foul-up: Tracking Down Those 'Lost' Mortgages - TIME</a>: "Trevor Douglas, 54, may soon lose his Orlando house. Sure, Douglas hasn't paid his mortgage in more than two years, which is what a Bank of America spokesperson tells me 'is important to remember.' It is. Still, if it happens, I will feel partially responsible. I helped push Douglas closer to eviction. Like many other home loans, Douglas' IOU was bought and sold numerous times and finally packed into a bond. So when his foreclosure notice finally arrived, the entity trying to kick him out was one he had never heard of, something called GSAMP 2005-HE3. Worse, GSAMP said it had lost the original document — called a promissory note — to prove they owned his loan. Douglas hired a lawyer, who got the foreclosure put on hold. And that's when I showed up. Much of the ire focused on the banks recently has been on their use of robo-signers — low-wage workers hired by banks to witness and sign hundreds of thousands of foreclosure notices without verifying that the grounds for the evictions were valid"

Foreclosure Foul-up: Tracking Down Those 'Lost' Mortgages - TIME

Foreclosure Foul-up: Tracking Down Those 'Lost' Mortgages - TIME : "Trevor Douglas, 54, may soon lose his Orlando house. Sure, ...

Banks Cut Back on Trading With Embassies: Report - ABC News

<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12197215">Banks Cut Back on Trading With Embassies: Report - ABC News</a>: "U.S. banks are cutting back their dealings with embassies and other foreign institutions in the United States because of the difficulty of complying with money-laundering rules, the Wall Street Journal reported. Banks have been under pressure to comply with money laundering rules implemented after the September 11 attacks that require them to track the source and purpose of transactions, according to the newspaper. The U.S. State Department told the Journal that the banks' actions have affected about 40 countries, of which 16 are African. JPMorgan Chase & Co told ambassadors in letters dated September 30 that it is closing its division serving diplomatic and foreign government entities, the newspaper reported. Citigroup Inc is also considering cutting some business with embassies, and Bank of America Corp and HSBC Holdings have already done this, the Wall Street Journal reported."

Banks Cut Back on Trading With Embassies: Report - ABC News

Banks Cut Back on Trading With Embassies: Report - ABC News : "U.S. banks are cutting back their dealings with embassies and other fore...

Ireland's Cowen Says Talks With EU 'Going Well' - WSJ.com

Ireland's Cowen Says Talks With EU 'Going Well' - WSJ.com : "As European officials raced to pull together an international ...

The secret clause in your mortgage contract

The secret clause in your mortgage contract : "How would you feel if you failed to pay your credit card bill and, as a result, your mor...

Europe financiers still fear euro zone contagion: poll | Reuters

Europe financiers still fear euro zone contagion: poll | Reuters : "rescue package for Ireland would not be enough to prevent contagion...

Lottery firm Camelot has record sales for the half-year

BBC News - Lottery firm Camelot has record sales for the half-year : "National Lottery operator Camelot saw a record £2.72bn spent on i...

Ireland: AIB crisis shows UK must help bailout to save its own banks | Business | The Guardian

<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/18/irish-bailout-banking-crisis-dominoes">Ireland: AIB crisis shows UK must help bailout to save its own banks | Business | The Guardian</a>: "€10bn (£8.5bn) has been withdrawn from Bank of Ireland and €600m from Irish Life in recent months. Bank analysts say the outflow of deposits reflects anxiety that even an Irish government guarantee is not enough to reassure customers and explains why the government is being pushed into accepting a bailout to restore confidence in the system. With £140bn of loans linking the former Celtic Tiger's banks to their still-recovering British counterparts, the lack of confidence in Ireland's system is why some analysts believe the British chancellor, George Osborne, is ready to use taxpayers' money to bail out Ireland. The Irish crisis has flared up despite action taken by Dublin since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 to bolster the banking system. After controversially guaranteeing savings, the government took stakes in the major players: full control of Anglo Irish Bank, 36% of Bank of Ireland and soon to be 90% of AIB. It also created a so-called bad bank, the National Asset Management Agency, to cushion the losses of the banks' disastrous lending spree to property developers."

Ireland: AIB crisis shows UK must help bailout to save its own banks | Business | The Guardian

Ireland: AIB crisis shows UK must help bailout to save its own banks | Business | The Guardian : "€10bn (£8.5bn) has been withdrawn fro...

Irish Bailout May Unleash Vigilantes on Portugal: Euro Credit - BusinessWeek

<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-19/irish-bailout-may-unleash-vigilantes-on-portugal-euro-credit.html">Irish Bailout May Unleash Vigilantes on Portugal: Euro Credit - BusinessWeek</a>: "resolution of the Irish debt crisis may shift the burden of speculation to Portugal. While officials such as European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio predict a bailout of Ireland will reduce financial pressures in the euro region, analysts from Citigroup Inc. and Nomura International Plc say any relief would be short-lived as investors turn their focus to the next-weakest peripheral nation. The markets indicate that country is Portugal with 10-year bond yields of 6.88 percent, compared with 8.26 percent in Ireland and 11.62 percent in Greece, which received rescue funds in May from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said Nov. 15 that while “there is a risk of contagion,” that doesn’t mean the country will seek financial aid. “Portugal isn’t in the situation that it is now because of Ireland,” said Steven Mansell, director of interest-rate strategy at Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. in London. “If Ireland reaches an agreement to tap the European Financial Stability Facility or some other mechanism to support its banking sector, I don’t think that will alleviate the pressure on Portugal.”"

Irish Bailout May Unleash Vigilantes on Portugal: Euro Credit - BusinessWeek

Irish Bailout May Unleash Vigilantes on Portugal: Euro Credit - BusinessWeek : "resolution of the Irish debt crisis may shift the burde...

Bailout talks start in crisis-hit Ireland

<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iD5XoMMmt3si6EEq4m3EVRmGOT1g?docId=CNG.019256bfe6ccb3a315e27f0faf7bcd07.191">AFP: Bailout talks start in crisis-hit Ireland</a>: "International financial experts and Irish officials began tough negotiations on Friday on a possible bailout for a debt-ridden economy at the heart of fears about the future of the eurozone. Reports said the talks would focus on shoring up the crisis-hit banks and, in an indication that a deal was edging closer, the euro rose against the dollar. The mission from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will subject Ireland's books to forensic analysis, looking at the reasons for the collapse of the one-time 'Celtic Tiger' economy. The Irish press focused on fears that a bailout that would lead to a loss of sovereignty for this country of 4.5 million people. The Irish Daily Mail said it was about to be 'humiliated', while the Irish Times said the nation's destiny was no longer in its own hands as the EU pushed one of the smaller members of the 16-country eurozone to accept support. The 'potentially enormous decisions' to be taken in the days ahead would have effects that will be 'felt far into the future', the newspaper said. Prime Minister Brian Cowen's government is determined that any deal will not require compromise on Ireland's long-cherished 12.5-percent rate of corporation tax, which has helped it to encourage companies to re-locate to the republic."

Bailout talks start in crisis-hit Ireland

AFP: Bailout talks start in crisis-hit Ireland : "International financial experts and Irish officials began tough negotiations on Frida...

GM's Bailout Is a Financial Disaster

<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/11/18/gms-bailout-financial-disaster/">FoxNews.com - GM's Bailout Is a Financial Disaster</a>: "Only the government would consider it a success to buy stock at $43.84 a share and sell it at $33. -- But President Obama and those who supported his bailout of General Motors and Chrysler are claiming just that today. First, the alternative to the government bailout wasn't to 'give up' as Obama claimed on Thursday at his press conference. Bankruptcy didn't mean that all jobs were going to be lost. It didn't mean that all the factories producing cars would be closed. Yet, the president made that claim in his announcement again today and he continually misstates what would have happened in a normal bankruptcy. Courts don't just close down bankrupt companies. In fact, that rarely occurs. Any part of a company that can continue operating profitably continues to do so. Some are pointing out that just a year and a half ago GM stock was trading at just $1 a share and claim that today's closing price of $34.19 is proof of the bailout's success. It simply doesn't account for the over $50 billion in direct bailout funds and the tens of billions of dollars in other breaks President Obama gave the company and its unions."

GM's Bailout Is a Financial Disaster

FoxNews.com - GM's Bailout Is a Financial Disaster : "Only the government would consider it a success to buy stock at $43.84 a shar...

Ireland's Cowen losing support amid financial crisis

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111806372.html">Ireland's Cowen losing support amid financial crisis</a>: "Ireland, whose economic woes are riling global markets, may be facing the prospect of yet another problem: a political crisis. Prime Minister Brian Cowen's rapidly draining support at home comes as Ireland is closing in on a multibillion-euro bailout with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. Amid signs that its hard-hit banks are losing deposits and may need a fresh lifeline that the cash-strapped government cannot afford, Irish officials began rescue talks in Dublin on Thursday with an emergency team of IMF, E.U. and European Central Bank negotiators. At the same time, Cowen is sustaining blistering attacks from the opposition, as well as from some of his own backers, who are charging him with mishandling the crisis and misleading the nation about pending international aid. Observers said it was uncertain whether his governing coalition, with the slimmest of majorities in parliament, could muster enough support to win a key vote on new austerity measures over the next two weeks. Its failure, analysts say, could bring down the government and complicate any bailout deal."

Ireland's Cowen losing support amid financial crisis

Ireland's Cowen losing support amid financial crisis : "Ireland, whose economic woes are riling global markets, may be facing the p...

Creditors accept deal for fraction of $490m owed by Craig Gore | News.com.au

$Creditors accept deal for fraction of $490m owed by Craig Gore | News.com.au$ Creditors accept deal for fraction of $490m owed by Craig Gore | News.com.au

Creditors accept deal for fraction of $490m owed by Craig Gore | News.com.au : "FALLEN Gold Coast businessman Craig Gore has avoided an...

: Massachusetts Fines UBS $100,000 In Hedge-Fund Hotel Case - WSJ.com

UPDATE: Massachusetts Fines UBS $100,000 In Hedge-Fund Hotel Case - WSJ.com : ")--Massachusetts fined UBS Securities LLC $100,000 to se...

decision may end up bankrupting Ireland.

In Irish Bank Crisis, a Texas-Style Solution Is Unlikely - NYTimes.com : "Texas may not look much like Ireland. But at different times,...

Irish Finance Minister Lenihan Admits Country's Banks Need Bailout

Irish Finance Minister Lenihan Admits Country's Banks Need Bailout : "Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has all but admitted that ...

Florida Bank Hit With Rare Verdict in Securities-Fraud Trial - Law Blog - WSJ

<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/11/18/florida-bank-hith-with-rare-verdict-in-securities-fraud-trial/">Florida Bank Hit With Rare Verdict in Securities-Fraud Trial - Law Blog - WSJ</a>: "Miami jury issued a verdict in a securities-fraud suit against BankAtlantic Bancorp. The jury concluded that officers of the Florida bank misrepresented the risks that the bank faced with a 2007 real estate loan portfolio. The jury further found that some investors who bought stock in in 2007 overpaid by $2.41 per share, according to the winning plaintiffs’ lawyers at Labaton Sucharow. (The plaintiffs were also represented by the Barroway Topaz firm.) The ruling represents one of the first jury verdicts arising out of the financial crisis and, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers, underscores the potential risks faced by banks that issued mortgages and loans that are now underwater. In an interview, Labaton partner Mark Arisohn said the verdict could equal “millions” in damages, depending on how many shareholders come forward to claim their share of the winnings. “The verdict means that a federal jury was willing to hold a bank and its management liable for misrepresenting to shareholders the lending risk it was taking,” he said."

Florida Bank Hit With Rare Verdict in Securities-Fraud Trial - Law Blog - WSJ

Florida Bank Hit With Rare Verdict in Securities-Fraud Trial - Law Blog - WSJ : "Miami jury issued a verdict in a securities-fraud suit...

Irish banks' debt maturing in 2010/2011 | Reuters

<a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AH48M20101118">Factbox - Irish banks' debt maturing in 2010/2011 | Reuters</a>: "Following are details on Irish banks' corporate bonds maturing in the remainder of this year and 2011. BANK OF IRELAND PLC: Debt whose original term is greater than one year maturing in 2011: 5 billion euros Around 100 million euros of debt is maturing before the end of 2010. ALLIED IRISH BANKS PLC: Term funding maturing in 2011: 4.5 billion euros Of which 2.5 billion euros in covered bonds. ANGLO IRISH BANK No data on the full year 2011 is available but the bank has around 3 billion euros maturing between now and June 2011. IRISH LIFE & PERMANENT PLC: Debt maturing 2011: less than 2 billion euros Has 1 billion euros in debt maturing in February. IRISH NATIONWIDE Debt maturing in 2011: 4 billion euros due in March and a further 0.6 billion in June. No further debt due to mature in 2010. EBS BUILDING SOCIETY"

Irish banks' debt maturing in 2010/2011 | Reuters

Factbox - Irish banks' debt maturing in 2010/2011 | Reuters : "Following are details on Irish banks' corporate bonds maturing i...