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Dave’s gonna hit someone

Gluskin Sheff’s David Rosenberg hit out at Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Managment in his Monday missive. Why?

Here’s an extract from Paulsen’s latest monthly newsletter:

We believe the recession has ended, More…

Deep 2010 downturn could yet trigger trade war and yuan devaluation

The perfect riposte to Monday’s equity market rally has arrived: the latest Global Strategy Weekly from Soc Gen’s Albert Edwards.

And while the headline rather gives things away, here are some selected highlights for all the bears out there. More…

BofA may go for stop-gap chief executive

Bank of America may appoint an interim chief executive, or even delay the retirement of Ken Lewis, if the bank cannot settle on a candidate by November 26, Bloomberg reports.  At least four external candidates have rebuffed approaches, More…

Ex-FSA chief joins debate over financial reform

Demands for higher capital at financial companies and a growing risk of national protectionism will act as a drag on the real economy, warns John Tiner, former head of the Financial Services Authority. More…

It’s a financial blogwar!

The pixels are flying: Felix Salmon at Reuters on Thursday took a gratuitous swipe at The Business Insider’s Henry Blodget, over the latter’s alleged failure to disclose the details of his past wrangles with the SEC and Eliot Spitzer, More…

‘Verify borrower income’, and other blindingly obvious proposals for mortgage reform

Alright, blindingly obvious is a tad harsh. But it surprised us that the proposals for improving mortgage underwriting standards made by John Dugan, US comptroller of the currency, were not already in force. More…

Are we witnessing contagion of outrage?

On Thursday, the Federal Reserve became the latest institution to feel a sudden, aggressive backdraft.

A joint ambush by Republicans and Democrats of the House Financial Services Committee left America’s central bank facing a comprehensive audit of its activities for the first time, More…

Further reading

Elsewhere on Friday,

- Investing fads and themes by year, 1996 to present.

- Unintended consequences on Wall Street.

- Chart of the day: How the old gold bugs lost control.

- Analyst date night: More…

Goldman promotes 272 to MD

Goldman Sachs said it would promote 272 employees to managing director, a title that brings them closer to the coveted partnership and, for many, a bigger slice of the bank’s prized compensation pool. The new class of MDs, More…

Cadbury chews over dual-listing idea

A solution to facilitate a Cadbury-Hershey merger and repel Kraft’s $16.6bn hostile bid for the UK confectioner has been outlined in a letter to Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer from the special situations team at brokerage GFI, More…

Van Rompuy takes EU presidency

European Union leaders on Thursday night awarded two of its top jobs to politicians relatively unknown on the international stage, ending weeks of deadlock over the key positions among the EU’s 27 national leaders. More…

A Minskian roadmap to the next gold mania

It’s making headlines, so here’s what all the gold at $6,300 fuss is about.

Selected highlights of the latest  ‘Popular Delusions’ note from Société Générale’s Dylan Grice:

Central bank hoarding of gold in 1970 ushered in the famous gold bull market. More…

Further reading

Elsewhere on Thursday,

- SocGen on how to prepare for the global economic collapse.

- “Is gold going to $6,300?”

- 2009 vs 1982 stock market rallies.

- Kass on the quant bubble.

- Krugman on the unintended consequences of the AIG bailout. More…

Forex bankers warn on clearing plans

Foreign exchange bankers reacted with alarm on Wednesday to proposals from Barney Frank, chairman of the House financial services committee, that would require trades in currency derivatives to be processed through a centralised clearing system. More…

Former Deutsche chief faces charges

State prosecutors in Germany have levelled charges against Rolf Breuer, the former chief executive of Deutsche Bank, marking the  latest phase of a protracted legal battle with Leo Kirch, the media entrepreneur. More…

‘Billion dollar man’ to head M&S

Marks and Spencer has filled one of the highest-profile jobs in UK retailing by poaching Marc Bolland, who revived Wm Morrison, the supermarket, as its new chief executive. The appointment ends the search for a successor to Sir Stuart Rose, More…

Hands warns governments on banks

Guy Hands, head of UK buy-out group Terra Firma, has warned that unless governments push banks to restructure $7,000bn of leveraged loans due to mature by 2014, the US and Europe could face the “Japanese problem” of zero growth. More…

Then and now at William Morrison - updated

September 10, 2009.

Questioned on whether he was among the candidates to replace Sir Stuart Rose as chief executive of Marks and Spencer, Marc Bolland said: “I love Morrisons. I am happy where I am.” More…

Further reading

Elsewhere on Wednesday,

- The madness of the inflation hawks.

- IPOs are back.

- Adam Smith in 10 minutes.

- Can options spikes be a coincidence?

- Faber on gold, and just about everything else. More…

Snap news

Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,

- KBC asks for its shares to be suspended, European Commission expected to decide on asset sale 12pm CET Wednesday - statement.

- ITV appoints Archie Norman as chief executive officer - statement. More…

Goldman, Buffett, to help small businesses

Goldman Sachs apologised for its role in the financial crisis on Tuesday pledged $500m over five years – or about 2.3% of its estimated bonus and salary pool for 2009 – to help 10,000 US small businesses recover from the recession. More…

Lazard names Kenneth Jacobs

Lazard on Tuesday said it has appointed veteran banker Kenneth Jacobs as its new chairman and successor to Bruce Wasserstein, whose unexpected death last month left a void atop the investment bank. Jacobs, More…

Apollo plans NYSE listing

Apollo Management, the US buy-out firm headed by former Drexel Burnham Lambert executive Leon Black, plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange in coming weeks. Apollo, which has $38.3bn in assets under management, More…

Fiscal bill central to Queen’s Speech

Gordon Brown will on Wednesday put fiscal discipline at the heart of the annual Queen’s speech to force ministers to accept budget cuts and boost his own credibility on public spending ahead of an election battle with the Tories. More…

Barclays retail chief warns entrants

The new head of global retail banking at Barclays has joined the backlash among bankers against the entry into banking of supermarkets and other consumer companies. Antony Jenkins said that new competitors may be underestimating the difficulties of breaking into the market. More…

BofA director: Merrill deal a ‘mistake’

One of Bank of America’s leading directors described the acquisition of Merrill Lynch as a “bad mistake” that the bank was “pressured” into completing by the government, according to an email turned over to a congressional committee. More…

Icap predicts surge in swaps, CDS

Trading in some of the OTC derivatives widely blamed for aggravating the financial crisis is likely to surge if legislators press ahead with proposed reforms, according to Icap, the world’s largest interdealer broker. More…

America’s Next Top Capitalist: Magic Johnson vs Goldman vs Wal-Mart

On Tuesday, Bloomberg scooped its rivals with a story that Goldman “cuddly squid” Sachs would be teaming up with Warren Buffett to provide assistance — ranging from counseling to help in obtaining funding — to 10,000 small US businesses. More…

Goldman and Buffett team up to bail-out small US businesses, Bbrg says

Breaking news on Tuesday: Goldman Sachs and the Sage of Omaha are planning to save Christmas (and 2010) for small businesses across America, according to Bloomberg.

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc., More…

‘Brangelina’ cash-in on gold mania (for charity of course)

From the World Gold Council’s website on Tuesday:

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to launch gold jewellery range

Monday, 16th November 2009 (145 views) Luxury jeweller Asprey is teaming up with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to launch a new range of gold and other jewellery and accessories.  According to Women’s Wear Daily, More…