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’Things that don’t get reported any more…
We’ve pinged an email to the site administrator, but we can report that the SEC’s search function on their website doesn’t work properly.
Try it yourself. Go here and type the word “ponzi” into the search box to the right.
The real Madoff auction
There was a bit of a brouhaha recently when various auctioneers in the US started attaching words like “Madoff” and “ponzi victim” to their sales in a bid to generate publicity.
But here’s the real thing – slated for this coming Saturday in New Y0rk:
This year’s Halloween favourites
This Saturday is Halloween. If you’re in finance and fancy making an ironic statement — or just want to deflect from being part of ye most hated of trade guilds — then perhaps you might consider some of the following outfits we at FT Alphaville have cherry-picked as favourites for this year’s festivities.
Why not 666 years?
Capital Chronicle makes the point, on the back of the Madoff sentencing, that either the US Justice system knows more than the rest of us about the demographic time bomb threatening pensions or its sentencing system may be a touch detached from reality.
“Restoring the dreams back for the clients of Bernard Madoff”
One for the “Lessons for Bernie” file:
“Any entity can be formed, without capital, is just another dream going no where [sic]. Any entity cannot dream, only an entrepreneur can dream and possess the vision.
[The Bidens, Paradigm and Ponta] There are no safe harbours in Austin, Texas
From Reuters (via hedge fund implode-o-meter) comes a snippet about a Madoff-linked collapse: Austin Capital Management is closing its $900m Safe Harbor Fund, which is understood to have sustained around $186m in losses from investments in the Madoff ponzi.
The beautiful and the damned, Madoff feeder fund edition
Attention is turning to the family of Walter Noel, he of Madoff feeder-fund, Fairfield Greenwich Group.
His daughters, you see, were something of high society fixtures before Madoff’s Ponzi scheme came to light.
Man Group makeover
Man Group has called in the re-branding experts.
The RMF and Glenwood fund of fund businesses are being crunched together to form a “new” integrated hedge fund management division, which does not appear to have a name.
Restitution, Madoff style
One of the more peculiar elements to the New York attorney general’s detailing of the charges being levelled against Bernie Madoff – as if 150 years wasn’t enough – is this:
Yes - a restitution claim for $170bn.
A financial black hole in Geneva
Geneva is home to one of the world’s largest private wealth industries and preferred tax-efficient base for hundreds of European finance and trading firms. In this Swiss lake-side city even a croissant can set you back a small fortune. Finding somewhere to shop that is not a luxury outlet selling watches or designer-ware,
Madoff, Finra, and the woman who would be SEC chair
Mary Schapiro is Barack Obama’s nominated candidate for the post of SEC Chair. Today she faced a grilling from the Senate, which by all appearances, should have been a tough one.
Why? Primarily because of the Obama camp’s pointed recent criticism of SEC incumbent Chris Cox.
Madoff-ici
As the implications of the Madoff scandal intensify for Austria’s Bank Medici, the New York Times reports that the bank’s founder Sonja Kohn – known for her red bouffant wig apparently – has dropped out of sight (possibly to hide from some disgruntled investors).
Madoff loser eyes legal move on PwC
Fairfield Greenwich, believed to be the biggest single loser in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn “Ponzi” scheme, is considering suing PwC, its own accountants, for failing to detect the fraud, as victims search for sources of compensation for their losses.
Irony of the day
Add Eliot Spitzer, former New York governer and sheriff of Wall Street, to the list of Madoff victims.
From NPR:
Add the name Eliot Spitzer to the list of prominent people allegedly ripped off by Wall Street trader Bernard L.
Madoff to Holland: that’s €51-€60 each please
The Madoff loss by the nationalised Dutch arm of Fortis could be €850m-€1n, Fortis Bank Nederland said yesterday.
The bank had been lending to funds which invested with Madoff, the bank said in a statement.
Madof-fees
Oops.
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by OppenheimerFunds Inc., had $3.3 billion, or more than half its total assets, invested with Bernard Madoff, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Madoff fallout spreads worldwide
The fallout from Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn fraud spread on Monday as more banks revealed exposures to his firm and hedge funds braced for withdrawals from anxious clients. Potential losses among
Lex on Madoff: Who is to blame?
The Madoff affair does indeed “raise questions”, as Nicola Horlick of Bramdean Alternatives (which had an 8.5% allocation to Madoff’s firm) said in a swipe on Monday at the “systemic failure” of US regulators.
Madoff: “In today’s regulatory environment, it’s virtually impossible to violate rules”
For this and other amazing-in-hindsight statements, click on the image below for a video of Bernard Madoff (and others) speaking at a conference in October 2007 on the “Future of the Stock Market.”
Not-to-be missed gems include Justin Fox asking Madoff,
Madoff…Santander…¿Qué?
We think Sunday’s statement from Spanish super bank Santander regarding the Madoff affair stands out as a piece of modern “non-communication.” It’s quite brilliant in how little it says.
Here’s it is in full,
The Madoff-o-Meter
Much in the Madoff scandal remains a mystery. We still don’t know, for example, whether Bernie really lost a full $50bn as the court documents claim, or precisely how much money was under management when he made THAT confession.
The perfect performance of Bernie Madoff
Can you spot what’s missing? Volatility, of course!
Here’s a graphical representation of Fairfield Sentry, the main Madoff fund. HT James Mackintosh. Click to enlarge.
Full numbers/Excel file in the Long Room here.
He Madoff with how much???
(“Sorry, I’ll get my coat.”)
More to come on Bernard Madoff’s $50bn Ponzi scheme, we think. But in the meantime, here are the early names being touted as likely losers in this extraordinary tale:
Fairfield Greenwich
Kingate Management
Fix Asset Management
Of these,