The Wall Street bull gets a handmade sweater.
Because it’s got to be an especially cold January if you’re in Manhattan and made of metal.
Posts Tagged ‘Wall Street’
Sweater Weather
Thursday, January 6th, 2011U.S. Taxpayers Actually Profit From TARP
Friday, October 22nd, 2010The mere mention of TARP sends many people into grumble-mode, but the emergency measure to bail out large financial institutions has actually turned the government a profit.
- The Troubled Asset Relief Program traded banks much-needed capital in exchange for partial government ownership.
- Now that two-thirds of TARP recipients have paid the money back, the government has seen a profit of about 8.2%. That’s more than the return on any U.S. Treasury bond, high-yield savings account, money-market fund, or CD.
- Despite the return on investment, the public is not happy about TARP. Several politicians have lost primary elections this year because they voted in favor of the program, and authorities say the return rate is misleading because it doesn’t take into account the other costs of the bailouts.
Facts & Figures
- The government has earned about $25.2 billion so far on $309 billion in TARP investments.
- The return rate on 30-year Treasury bonds averaged 4.1% during the last two years.
- Over the same period of time, high-yield savings rates averaged 0.36% – 0.92%.
Best Quote
“From the perspective of the taxpayers getting their money back, TARP has been a great success. But there are other costs as the government made it possible for the banks to pay back TARP. Those costs can turn out to be larger, and their legacy could last longer.” – Todd Petzel, Chief Investment Officer at Offit Capital Advisors LLC
Wall Street An Unlikely Aid To Homeowners
Friday, August 20th, 2010Wall Street firms are stepping in to help some homeowners pay off their loans.
- When Wall Street companies purchase loans, they have an advantage over banks and other lenders: because they don’t have to go through as much red tape, it’s often easier for them to reduce monthly payments and interest rates for homeowners.
- These firms buy loans at a reduced price, so even if the homeowners pay a reduced sum, the firm still profits. The loans are also generally worth more if they get paid off than they are if the houses get foreclosed.
- The only problem is that Wall Street is offering these services to a very small fraction of homeowners.
Facts & Figures
- Approximately 90% of the loan reductions offered by Selene, one of these Wall Street companies, includes a reduction in the principal amount owed; less than 2% of the reductions offered by federal banks.
- These firms have only covered an estimated 0.25% of outstanding US home loans.
- Selene reports that 50% of the customers whose loans it buys are able to keep their homes. 20% are able to sell their homes in a short sale without a foreclosure, and the remaining 30% are foreclosed on.
Best Quote
“There are obvious inconsistencies in treatment [of borrowers] depending on who owns and services the loan. It’s the luck of the draw.” –Edward Delgado, Chief Executive, Five Star Institute
Financial Regulation Shifts The Focus Of Wall Street’s Leaders
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010It’s a new world on Wall Street and banks are looking for leaders who can handle the unfamiliar territory.
- The new financial regulation measures deter banks from trading simply for their own benefit and push them to focus on riskier investments that directly serve customers.
- As a result, choosing the head of an investment bank can no longer be based solely upon a person’s level of financial success and leadership skills.
- Chief executives of banks must also be astute risk managers who can handle varying business lines.
Facts & Figures
- Citi is scaling back trading and expanding advisory business.
Two-Thirds of 1,010 Americans Resent Wall-Streeters: Cause For Concern?
Thursday, April 8th, 2010New poll shows that most Americans have a… complicated relationship with Wall Street bigwigs.
- A Harris telephone survey conducted February 16-21 seems to indicate that 82% of Americans want the government to “clamp down” on Wall Street.
- The desired regulation is mostly about the exorbitant executive pay at large, underperforming Wall Street firms.
- Most Americans believe that Wall Street does offer some value to America overall, but that many of the companies are run by a bunch of depraved, money-grubbing misers who would just as soon slight their fellow man in the name of an extra buck as they would pick up a loose quarter on the side of the street.
Facts & Figures
- The poll surveyed 1,010 adults via telephone.
- Of those 1,010 adults, 82% want tighter regulations, 67% view people who work on Wall Street negatively, 66% think that the Wall Street workers would engage in illicit activity if it provided a satisfactory payoff, and a similar percentage believe that most people who work on Wall Street are unscrupulous liars.
- Approximately 60% of the polled people think Wall Street benefits the US.
Best Quote
“[Americans agree that] most people on Wall Street would be willing to break the law if they believed that they could make a lot of money and get away with it.” – Anonymous Harris Pollster
Wall Street Hurt Just As Much As Everyone Else
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010In terms of job creation for the mid-level managing types, yes, they too are hurting.
- While the market has somewhat recovered and stabilized in the past year or so, and big banks have begun to bounce back, former mid-level executives of banks and financial firms have had a hard time finding work.
- Many banks and finance companies fear that the stock market boon that helped catalyze the recovery in 2009 may not last, and, to make matters worst, that pending trading regulations will inhibit profitability.
- It may take months for banks and financial companies to start hiring mid-level executives, but there are currently a plethora of opportunities for senior-level bankers and executives.
Facts & Figures
- Financial companies have cut nearly 80,000 securities, commodities and investment jobs in the United States since mid-2008.
- During the recession, New York’s financial services sector shed 44,200 jobs (a 6.1 percent reduction).
- All told, Goldman Sachs cut 4,800 jobs, Citigroup, 75,000, Bank of America, 45,500, JPMorgan Chase, 23,700, and Morgan Stanley, 8,600.
Best Quote
“The reality is that you get used to a certain level of compensation that is hard to match elsewhere.” – Matt Prendergast, Former Managing Director at Bear Stearns
NYSE Executive Lawrence Leibowitz Talks Wall Street
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Lawrence Leibowitz has one of the longest job titles you’ll hear. He’s the NYSE Euronext Group Executive Vice President & Head of U.S. Execution and Global Technology. Sound like a big job? It is. Larry kindly answered a few of TILE’s questions about what life is like on Wall Street.
TILE: So what do you do at the New York Stock Exchange?
Larry: I am responsible for running the New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis. That includes making sure our trading day runs smoothly, our technology is the best it can be, and helping the companies that list on NYSE reach investors around the world.
TILE: How has Wall Street changed since you started in the business?
Larry: In the 25 years I have been on Wall Street, the biggest change is the fact that technology has reinvented the business from top to bottom, from executing trades in less than an eyeblink, to running financial models to value complex derivatives. It has changed the business, and it has changed the way we think about the world.
The second biggest change is probably the democratization of Wall Street – in 1980 retail trading customers got most of their information from brokers, placed orders by phone, and read the newspaper to see how their portfolios were performing. Now, people get information from the web and 24 hour news coverage of the markets, place trades directly, and manage their money online.
Finally, Wall Street has gone global. As technology, information, and capital flows have interconnected our world, Wall Street firms and investors have turned their attention from the narrow U.S.-centric view to one which spans countries and continents.
TILE: What do you see in the future of the NYSE?
Larry: NYSE is now part of a larger company, NYSE Euronext, which owns exchanges around the world, including Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, Paris, and the London Futures Exchange. We trade stocks, bonds, and derivatives all around the world, connecting traders, investors, and companies trying to raise capital to grow their businesses. NYSE Euronext will continue to grow and innovate in this globalized economy, never losing its reputation for the integrity and high standards that our listed companies and clients have come to expect.
>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.
Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!
Record Pay For Recession Bankers
Thursday, October 15th, 2009Thinking about a job on Wall Street? If you don’t already, you should know they take their compensation and benefits very seriously…
- Despite increased regulation and public outrage over Wall Street salaries and bonuses, financial firms are about to break a record for total compensation this year.
- Some of these companies are feeling free to shell out for top talent after paying off their TARP debt to the government. Others are made confident by the rallying stock market and easier credit. This is all despite a national unemployment rate that is almost at 10%.
- Not all banks are increasing the percentage of their revenue that goes toward compensation; some increases are simply a result of larger banks absorbing smaller ones, and some firms have actually decreased their corporate compensation.
Facts & Figures
- According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of 23 financial firms, the average employee will earn $143,400, which is $2,000 more than the average salary in 2007.
- These firms will pay a total of approximately $140 billion to their employees in 2009.
- The typical compensation rate at large investment banks is about 50% of every dollar of revenue.
Best Quote
“Compensation played a role in the financial crisis, and yet nothing has changed.” – J. Robert Brown, Professor at University of Denver Law School
Kenneth Polcari Describes What’s Changed On Wall Street
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009Kenneth Polcari is the Managing Director at ICAP and has a knack for storytelling. He agreed to take take some time with TILE to answer a few of our burning questions.
>>TILE brings you exclusive interviews from people doing great things in SPEND, GROW, and GIVE. To view more, click on TILEcasts in the TILE Library.
Have a burning question or someone you’d like to see interviewed? Let us know – just Ask TILE!
Wall Street is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Wall Street is literally a street in New York City where the New York Stock Exchange and many major financial institutions are located. The term “Wall Street” is often used to refer to the investment community in general.