Wall Street & Technology: Blog http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/ Copyright 2010 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:01:04 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.14 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Michael Lewis’ “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” If you ranked the people who are the most disliked by Wall Street executives, Michael Lewis is probably at the top of the list (along New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and probably U.S. Congressman Barney Frank). First Lewis writes “Liar’s Poker” about the excessive culture he witnessed while he was at Solomon Brothers, and now he follows it up with “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine,” a scathing critique of Wall Street and its actions before, during and after the credit crisis. Here is Lewis’ “60 Minutes” interview from Sunday’s episode, in two parts:

Inside the Collapse, Part I:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

For Part II, click below:

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/03/michael_lewis_t.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/03/michael_lewis_t.html Risk Management Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:01:04 -0500 Why Government Regulators Seem Unprepared The global financial crisis and Toyota's current mess have something in common -- government watchdogs didn't fully understand the complex systems they were supposed to be regulating. This is true with the SEC, as well as the NTHSA, which oversees the auto industry. Part of the problem is that they are severely underfunded and can’t hire the scientists and experts to oversee the industries they regulate. Consider this: if the SEC wants to oversee complex derivatives — you know, the ones that partially caused the financial crisis — it must hire financial experts who understand the products. However, the SEC is in competition with Wall Street firms which have the resources to pay top dollar for financial engineers with experience. How can the SEC compete? Certainly, it can’t compete with its current budget. American Public Media’s Bob Moon reports.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/why_government.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/why_government.html Compliance Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:29:27 -0500 Obama's Controversial Stimulus Did Help Growth Marking the first anniversary of President Barack Obama's controversial stimulus, WSJ's Gerald Seib discusses how the package, along with interest-rate moves and a shoring-up of bank balance sheets has allowed the U.S. to outstrip European economic growth. Seib credits the Fed’s fast moves to pump money into the economy and to lower interest rates quickly, as well as the regulator’s push to have the banks clean up their balance sheets. And the much maligned stimulus package did add growth last year and will help this year, as the slow-to-spend package is doled out through the remainder of 2010.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/obamas_controve.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/obamas_controve.html News Analysis Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:14:55 -0500 Bernie Madoff's Family May Face Charges It has become clear that authorities may be getting closer to pressing charges against other members of Bernie Madoff's familiy, including brother Peter and sons Mark and Andrew. Peter Madoff's lawyers have admitted that he is under criminal investigation, but declined to say for what he is being investigated. The attorney for Mark and Andrew says that the sons continue to cooperate with investigators and that they had no prior knowledge to their father's crimes. This video clip from MSNBC has more details.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/bernie_madoffs_1.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/bernie_madoffs_1.html Asset Management Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:41:09 -0500 AIG Plans to Revamp Compensation Model AIG CEO Bob Benmosche plans to revamp the compensation model at the troubled insurer. The new model will rate employees on a 1 through 4 scale, with the top employees ranked as 1. The catch: only 10 percent of the bonus-eligible employees can be categorized as a 1, so expect a lot of anxiety at AIG as the new plan is rolled out. WSJ's Dennis Berman tells Simon Constable about a plan by insurer AIG to introduce four tiers of compensation for employees in this video clip.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/aig_plans_to_re.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/aig_plans_to_re.html News Analysis Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:02:24 -0500 Using the Super Bowl to Predict Markets Strange as it may sound, there are some who say the Super Bowl winner may be a good indicator of where the stock market is headed. But also remember, one economist drew a correlation between the amount of butter being produced in Bangladesh and the performance of the markets. My take? There probably isn’t any truth to it. More likely, these correlations just give us journalists something to blog about. Mark Hulbert of Dow Jones MarketWatch discusses the correlations.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/using_the_super.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/using_the_super.html Asset Management Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:14:50 -0500 Low-Latency Not Required: Trading Stock for Food The famous New York steakhouse Smith & Wollensky's is allowing patrons to trade stock for food. A stock certificate for a share of Goldman Sachs will likely get you a juicy porterhouse or two. A share of Citi? Maybe a half a baked potato, according to this amusing audio clip from American Public Media

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/lowlatency_not.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/02/lowlatency_not.html Trading Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:12:32 -0500 iPad: Will It Become a Must-Have Tool for the Capital Markets? After months of hype, the world has finally been able to check out Apple’s new iPad, a 9.7-inch touch-screen tablet, which will let users play games, check email and read books, and is basically a cross between an iPhone and a laptop computer.

While Apple is of course marketing its tablet as the latest “must-have” gadget, should business users – and in particular, the capital markets industry, be paying attention?

Yes, say the experts.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/ipad_will_it_be.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/ipad_will_it_be.html News Analysis Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:35:44 -0500 What They're Really Doing in Davos Some of the world's most high-powered people are meeting in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) not to make decisions, but to get to know each other and face the problems together. But critics say the WEF is more about having political leaders bloat their egos than actually accomplishing anything meaningful. American Public Media’s Steve Chiotakis gets a brief overview of Davos from Marketplace's Stephen Beard, who is at the event. The main focus of the event is economic and financial reform. One interesting note: bankers, who stayed away from Davos 2009, have returned and will be lobbying against bank reform.

High Stakes, Pressure in Davos

So, What’s Really Happening?


]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/what_theyre_rea.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/what_theyre_rea.html News Analysis Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:51:17 -0500 SEC Debates Sponsored Access Ban (video) Regulators are examining sponsored access, which allows high-speed traders and others to trade directly on exchanges. Larry Tabb, CEO and founder of TABB Group, talks to Advanced Trading Editor-in-Chief Kerry Massaro about the implications of the SEC's proposed ban of sponsored, or naked, access.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/sec_debates_spo.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/sec_debates_spo.html News Analysis Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:08:09 -0500 What's Driving Goldman's Earnings and Bonus Plans? American Public Media’s New York bureau chief Amy Scott talks with Kai Ryssdal about how Goldman Sachs made around $5 billion in profits last quarter, and what's going on with its executive compensation in this audio clip. Chances are the reduction in bonuses this year are a short term adjustment that may be designed to avoid a populist and political backlash against excessive compensation. If Goldman’s profit continues to soar in 2010 and beyond, it would be safe to bet that future bonuses return to the levels of 2007.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/whats_driving_g.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/whats_driving_g.html News Analysis Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:35:03 -0500 What’s Next For Wall Street? President Obama’s new banking regulation will not be about bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act, although it will give regulators the authority to limit risky activity by banks. William Rudin vice chairman & CEO at Rudin Management, and Alan Greenberg, JP Morgan vice chairman emeritus, discuss upcoming new regulations in this CNBC video.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/whats_next_for.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/whats_next_for.html News Analysis Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:33:27 -0500 New Fees Could Take a Swipe at Bank Profits The Obama administration is likely to slap banks with a fee designed to recoup losses associated with TARP, in a move that could help lower the deficit and reduce risk-taking by big banks. However, there are a number of problems with the proposed fees. WSJ's Deborah Solomon reports.

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/new_fees_could.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/new_fees_could.html Compliance Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:25:59 -0500 How Dodd's Retirement Affects Wall Street Reform Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd will not seek re-election. He was leading the Senate's work on Wall Street reform, so what happens now? American Public Media’s John Dimsdale reports.

With Dodd retiring, some advocates for stronger financial oversight are hoping that Dodd can be more independent when it comes to drafting the final financial services reform bill. During the past few years, Dodd has been seen as too close to certain large financial and insurance companies, some of which are headquartered in his home state of Connecticut.


]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/how_dodds_retir.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/how_dodds_retir.html News Analysis Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:42:39 -0500 Will Tomorrow’s Job Report be Positive? Data is indicating that Friday’s weekly job report may actually be show positive job growth for the first time in, well, a very long time. Hear more in this clip from MSNBC.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

]]> http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/will_tomorrows.html http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2010/01/will_tomorrows.html News Analysis Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:37:18 -0500