Wall Street & Technology: Blog

Michael Lewis� �The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine�

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:01:04 -0500

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:

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For Part II, click below:

Bernie Madoff's Family May Face Charges

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:41:09 -0500

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.

Need Stock Advice? Some Investors Are Turning to Psychics

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:28:34 -0500

With Wall Street so up and down, it's hard for any expert to get a sharp reading into where the markets are heading. So some investors are looking into other options to find out about future financial fortunes. American Public Media�s Cash Peters has the story. Obviously, I�m sure many of financial advisors, brokers and wealth managers would object to this type of advice.

Optimism Fades Heading Into 2010

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:07:41 -0500

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll tells that the economic crisis is taking its toll on the national psyche. WSJ's Jerry Seib explains what this declining optimism could mean for the economy and the Obama administration and incumbents running for re-election in 2010. But the broader question is how long the economic hangover will impact society.

New SEC Rules for Financial Advisers

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:04:35 -0500

The SEC has taken a lot of heat for not catching Bernie Madoff earlier during his Ponzi scheme. Now the Commission has announced new rules it hopes will prevent another Bernie Madoff-like scandal from happening again. Ashley Milne-Tyte from American Public Media reports in this audio clip.

Bank of America's Rosy 2010 Forecast Based on Strong Emerging Markets, Low Inflation

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:45:50 -0500

Despite the 10% unemployment and 3.9 million foreclosures in the U.S. this year, Bank of America Merrill Lynch's global research group are highly optimistic about economic growth for the U.S. and the world for the coming year, economists in the group said at a press conference today. These economists forecast global domestic product will grow 4.4% in 2010, led by China at 10%. Inflation will be low, U.S. equities will perform well, and the dollar will strengthen against some other currencies, these number-crunchers say.

Bernie Madoff's Life Behind Bars

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:49:47 -0500

Bernie Madoff, the architect of the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, has served about five months of his 150-year prison sentence. While in prison, he is spending time with other white collar criminals, as well has hanging out with crime boss Carmine Persico and Jonathan Pollard, the Israeli spy, according to this report from the Wall Street Journal.

Techy "Brains" Behind Madoff Ponzi Scheme Arrested

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:29:30 -0500

One of the unanswered questions surrounding the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme was how did Madoff fool so many people for so long? Well, in addition to a lot of charm, charisma and leveraging his good reputation in the industry, Madoff also had help from a couple of programmers who allegedly falsified records to fool SEC inspectors. In fact, it�s playing out just like a Hollywood movie script. The face of the operation (Madoff) supposedly had help from a couple behind the scenes programmers who helped make the entire fraud possible. Slaving away in a back room somewhere on the 17th floor of the Lipstick building (the home of the Madoff firm at 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue), the duo created a false paper trail that helped fool regulators and calm investors. I wonder if they had pocket protectors, short sleeve dress shirts and wore big glasses? They probably didn�t, but I�m sure the movie director will have them wearing the stereotypical computer nerd attire when the blockbuster Hollywood film is made.

Hedge Fund Copycats Show Promise

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:50:37 -0500

Reuters columnist Christopher Swann says that hedge fund replication could make hedge fund-style strategies available to Joe Public � reducing retail investors� almost total dependence on stocks. Hedge fund replicators� fees are much lower (around 1 percent) and they don�t lock up capital for long periods of time. However, the replicator funds are relatively new and it�s hard to gauge how they will perform in the long term.

Investment Managers Remain Bullish

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:58:40 -0500

The portfolio managers surveyed in Barron's latest Big Money Poll think stocks could move 10 percent higher by June 2010, but the danger signals are rising. Barron�s video correspondent Clare McKeen reports that 60 percent of investment managers are bullish or very bullish about the prospects of the market through the middle of 2010.

Investors Take Aim at Brokers

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:44:34 -0500

Thousands of investors hit with losses last year are filing arbitration claims against their financial advisors -- and their odds of winning look to be rising, according to Clare McKeen, a video correspondent for Barrons. Since the market meltdown a year ago, nearly 5,000 arbitration cases have been filed this year, up 65 percent from a year ago. So far this year, investors have won 45 percent of cases against advisors. Moreover, post Madoff, Congress is considering letting disgruntled investors take their claims straight to court, which may increase the number of cases that investors win.

BNY Mellon�s Successful Integration

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:28:40 -0500

In case you missed it, here is a video featuring Donald Monks, Vice Chairman and Head of Integration at BNY Mellon, that focuses on the complexities � and costs � of mergers in financial services. M&A is hardly a new topic for financial services firms. However, much of a merger�s success depends on how quickly and efficiently the new bank can combine two organizations into one. Often, firms struggle to streamline information technology, resulting is duplicate systems, extra personnel and higher costs.

Monks, who headed the integration of The Bank of New York and Mellon Financial, shares his views on BNY Mellon�s successful integration. I caught up with Monks in Hong Kong this past September while at the Sibos 2009 financial services conference and he discusses where the largest cost savings can be found (infrastructure), how to control access to applications (identity management), how banks can satisfy the cost savings demands driven by shareholders, and more.

Is It Time to Retire the 401(k)?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:26:25 -0500

The 401(k) is not working for millions of Americans. According to Richard Stengel, managing editor at Time Magazine, the 401(k) was originally created by Congress as a tax dodge for executives, not as the primary investment retirement vehicle for most of the country�s workers. Time�s article, �Why It�s Time to Retire the 401(k)� explores the dangers of the primary retirement fund for about 73 million Americans. In fact, rank-and-file workers weren�t even eligible for the 401(k) when it was first introduced 30 years ago. Over the past five years, workers who had a standard alignment of investments in their retirement portfolio have actually seen their savings decrease. Financial experts propose an �insurance pension plan� that reduces the risk associated with wild market swings that decimated 401(k)s over the past few years.

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Trustee to Sue Madoff Kin

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:02:05 -0500

The trustee charged with recovering money for Bernard Madoff's victims says he plans to sue Bernard Madoff�s brother Peter; his sons, Andrew and Mark, and niece Shana for negligence and breach of fiduciary responsibility.

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And there's more ...

Brokerage Statement Leaders & Best Practices

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:19:09 -0500

Monthly statements are often the primary form of communication between a firm and its clients, allowing brokerages to show each customer � clearly and simply � what they own and what they�ve done with their account recently. Given the challenging market environment, now more than ever it is essential for brokerage firms to provide a clear and complete account review to their clients via the account statement. Every year, Corporate Insight reviews the statements we receive through our client accounts by running them through our rigorous benchmarking audit criteria. Our analysis focuses on a number of different categories including design, content, customization and �green� issues such as e-delivery.