Archive for March 24th, 2010
Busted Insider-Traders Talked In Code Like Bud Fox In Wall Street: “Blue Horseshoe!” “Frequent Flier Miles!”
Two recently accused insider traders used special codewords when communicating with each other, just like Bud Fox in the movie.
This was presumably smarter than NOT using code words and instead going on in emails about trading on inside information.
Alas, same outcome.
The NYT’s Michael de la Merced has the details…
While the sequel to “Wall Street” will finally hit theaters in a few months, it appears other elements of the movie — like the catchy “Blue Horseshoe Loves Anacott Steel” phrase used to abet insider trading — haven’t gone away.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday arrested two men, one a UBS investment banker, in connection with an insider trading scheme that purportedly earned about $870,000 in profits… The amount may pale in comparison to other recent insider trading cases, but the two men, Igor Poteroba and Alexei P. Koval, used amusingly cryptic messages to communicate with each other, including discussions of frequent-flyer miles and wedding registries at Macy’s.
And here’s the criminal complaint:
Criminal Complaint Against 2 Insider Traders With Shades of ‘Wall Street’
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See Also:
- The 10 Best Quotes From Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
- Check Out The Awesome New Trailer For Wall Street 2
- Here’s The REAL Reason Wall Street 2 Got Pushed Back
Senegalese Journalist Who Covered Millicom Scandal Booted Out Of Presidential Event In DC
A Senegalese journalist says he was accosted by a member of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade’s security team at an event in Washington Monday evening for previously writing about our report on the Millicom scandal — a report that painted the Senegalese government in a negative light.
The Millicom scandal, for those who have not followed it, was an alleged attempt by the Senegalese government to shake down telecom provider Millicom for $200 million for a new license to operate in the country. Millicom sued Senegal’s government in a World Bank court, a legal filing for which was the basis for the events described in our story.
The article caused a stir in Senegal, leading to denials of corruption by Senegal’s president and other high-level officials. The story was also covered widely in the Senegalese press.
On Monday, Baba Aidara, the Washington correspondent for Radio Futur-Média, a private Dakar-based station, was covering a film screening hosted by The National Summit on Africa and the Travel Channel at the World Bank.
Senegalese President Wade flew from Dakar to attend the event, which was produced to boost tourism and whose launch featured media personality and former football star Tiki Barber and U.S. Rep. Donald Payne.
Aidara, the journalist, says he was pushed and forced out of the event because of his earlier writing referencing our reporting on Millicom. According to Aidara, a member of the president’s personal security detail singled him out from other attending journalists and was told to leave “for security reasons.”
“Why do I have to leave, what happened?” Aidara says he asked. “Did I do something wrong?”
According to Aidara, the response from the security agent was: “I don’t have anything to say, but you need to leave.”
Aidara says he then tried to explain that he was permitted to attend the event, showing his credentials, including a temporary World Bank ID and his press pass from the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Press Center (which the FPC confirmed to us is active and valid).
The security agent then pushed Aidara with both hands on the chest and said “you have got to leave,” according to Aidara. He was then walked from the auditorium, out the doors, and into the hallway.
Doudou Dieng, a friend of Aidara’s but a spokesman for the President’s political party in Washington (PDS), confirmed Aidara’s account of arguing with the security detail and being escorted out “by force.” (Dieng says he could not directly see if Aidara had been pushed, but said the confrontation was partially out of view.)
Aidara says he then presented his credentials to the U.S. Secret Service in the hallway, who said he was indeed allowed to cover the event. But a second member of President Wade’s security detail intervened, according to Aidara, and was overheard saying, in Wolof, “He’s the one who interviewed the liar from Business Insider who wrote the Tigo article.” (Tigo is Millicom’s brand in Senegal).
Aidara says he then turned over his World Bank ID pass and left the building, not wanting to create more of a scene.
Mamadou Mountaga Gueye, Counselor Minister at Senegal’s embassy in Washington, says Aidara was not invited to the “private” event.
Gueye, who was also in attendance, further says Aidara was escorted out because he was specifically not authorized to cover the film screening due to his irresponsible journalism.
“He found a way to get in without getting the invitation,” says Gueye. “It’s our right to say exactly who is supposed to be in the room.”
Gueye confirmed that Aidara was escorted out of the event, but said he could not speak to other details, including about Aidara being pushed, because he did not directly see it.
There’s disagreement about whether Aidara was explicitly given permission to attend.
Gueye says he was not. The National Summit on Africa, the organizers, also say he was not on the general RSVP or press list for the event.
Aidara says he called the National Summit on Africa two days before the event and was told all he needed to do to attend was to come with proper press credentials. Aidara says he was screened by World Bank security and then a staff member from the Summit personally escorted him into the event from the H Street entrance. (Bernadette Paolo, President & CEO, says she is not aware of a staffer letting Aidara in and notes security tensions were high with anti-Wade protesters outside).
Michaé Godwin, a publicist for the Travel Channel, a co-organizer and host, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regardless, it’s clear that other media were in attendance and the Senegalese government did not want Aidara, an accredited journalist, there.
“He’s always attacking our regime,” Gueye adds, claiming Aidara often gives voice to lies by the opposition in his reporting. “You have to do politics or you have to be a journalist.”
While Senegal has a free press often critical of the Wade regime, including RFM, there have been “numerous long-standing censorship and intimidation practices,” according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Dieng, the PDS official, says Aidara should have been allowed to report the event.
“I don’t see any problem with Baba there and covering the event,” he says. “He’s doing his job…they’re promoting democracy in Senegal, and democracy is freedom of speech.”
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See Also:
- Senegalese Officials Blast Business Insider Again, Refuse To Answer Questions About Millicom Scandal
- The Joy Of Doing Business In Africa: How Senegalese Politicians Tried To Shake Down Millicom For $200 Million
- Officials Say Senegal’s $540 Million In U.S. Aid Is Safe For Now Despite Corruption Concerns
CNBC, FOX, Bloomberg Finally Stop Airing Ad For Scammy “Wall Street Investment Bankers Inc.”
An advertisement for Wall Street Investment Bankers Inc. — a shady real estate investment business that promises between $20,000 and $200,000 a month with “no upfront or investment cost” — is finally off major financial networks in New York.
Maureen Huff, a spokesperson for Time Warner Cable, sent us this statement:
To confirm, the ads ran on CNBC, Fox Business and Bloomberg. They ran for one week only about 3-4 weeks ago. They are off the air and we do not anticipate that they will run again.
The company’s ad describes what sounds like a “straw man” mortgage fraud. In response to our reporting, the company would not comment on the record, but used their website to post an unconvincing rebuttal.
We asked TWC if the ads were pulled because of the nature of the business, or simply because the amount of airtime Wall Street Investment Bankers Inc. purchased ran out.
“We generally don’t discuss the terms of any such agreements,” says Huff.
Regardless, the business may have been squashed before it began in earnest.
The New York Attorney General’s office was unable to comment about whether or not there was an investigation or any complaints, but Flora Beal, Communications Director for the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (the firm was incorporated in Miami in January 2010) says the agency’s investigative unit didn’t pursue the case because there have been no victim complaints — and no evidence of actually doing business in Florida.
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to hear how to make between $20,000 and $200,000 a month with no money down.
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See Also:
- That Scammy CNBC Advertiser Wall Street Investment Bankers Inc. Isn’t Licensed To Do Much Of Anything
- Shady CNBC Advertiser Attacks Us…And Still Seems As Scammy As Ever
- Beware The Seriously Shady Investment Firm Called "Wall Street Investment Bankers"
In Desperate Move To Cool The Bubble, China Just Halted The Sale Of All Land!
Big news out from China Daily. We’re not exactly sure what it means, except that the central government is desperate to slam the brakes on the real estate market and looking to call a time out:
—-
China Daily
Sale of residential land temporarily halted
By WANG QIAN (China Daily)
BEIJING – The Ministry of Land and Resources has ordered a temporary ban on the sale of land for housing in a renewed measure to ease soaring real estate prices.
Yun Xiaosu, vice-minister of land and resources, said local authorities should not sell land for residential purposes until this year’s housing land supply plan is released in early April.
“Residential land supply will increase and low-income housing projects will top local governments’ agendas,” Yun said during a video-conference on Monday.
In his government work report early this month, Premier Wen Jiabao said China will build 3 million housing units for low-income families and renovate 2.8 million shanty units with a total of 63.2 billion yuan ($9.25 billion) allocated this year, a year-on-year increase of about 15 percent.
“The low-income houses and shanty units must be included in this year’s land supply, while large-sized housing projects must be controlled in big cities,” Yun said.
He emphasized that land used for low-income housing, for rebuilding shanty areas and for self-occupied small- or medium-sized houses must account for more than 70 percent of the overall supply this year.
“The ministry encourages local governments in second and third tier cities to explore new policies and measures to curb the escalating housing prices,” Yun said.
On March 11, the Ministry of Land and Resources issued a directive ordering developers to take a 50 percent down payment on all land put up for auction within one month of signing the contract, or they will lose the land along with their deposit.
Shortly after the directive, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council ordered 78 central State-owned enterprises to quit the housing market on March 18. Only China Ocean Shipping Company, China’s largest group in modern logistics, said it will quit the sector within six months.
On Monday, the administration said that the 78 companies must work out their quitting plans within 15 days.
Since March, a five-month campaign across the country is under way to crack down on illegal land use and land hoarding.
Cao Jianhai, director of the investment and market research office in the Institute of Industrial Economics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the soaring prices cannot be controlled unless the ministry makes clear the percentage of low-income houses among the overall supply.
“The ministry only guarantees 70 percent of the overall supply will be used for low-income housing, rebuilding shanty areas and self-occupied small- or medium-sized houses, but doesn’t elaborate the percentage of low-income houses,” Cao said.
“The government is trying to ignore the key point for its own profits,” he added.
Land transfer fees are a major part of the local governments’ annual revenues.
Xie Xuren, minister of finance, said on March 6 that land transfer fees across the country reached about 1,424 billion yuan in 2009, a year-on-year increase of nearly 27 percent.
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Quotes Of The Day: Supreme Court Gets Feisty
It seems like we’re always talking about Supreme Court quotes these days — whether its Roberts speaking to students or Alito mouthing things at the State of the Union.
Frankly it’s just fun for all of us when the justices get out in the real world and loosen their tongues a bit.
An AP report (broken down here by Ashby Jones at the WSJ Law Blog) provides choice quotes from Justices Stephen Breyer, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Breyer and Scalia participated in a talk hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society and debated their disparate approaches to interpreting the Constitution. (Short form: Scalia is an “originalist” while Breyer is more the “living document” type.)
The exchange of the night, from the AP: “I never heard that before and I certainly don’t agree with it,” Scalia said in response to one point from Breyer.
“If I did make an argument you hadn’t thought of before, I wish you’d think about it,” Breyer replied a few minutes later.
The same article discusses a jab Ginsburg took at Republican Senator Jim Bunning. After Ginsburg has surgery for pancreatic cancer in February 2009, Bunning said she probably would not live for more than nine months.
Ginsburg told the crowd she was in good health, “contrary to Sen. Bunning’s prediction.”
It was not all joking around, however — Ginsburg said she was “unsettled, indeed alarmed” by the criticism of Justice Department lawyers who represented terrorist suspects.
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See Also:
- Rosen: In An Obama/Roberts Battle, The President Wins Hands Down
- John Roberts Says State Of The Union Has "Degenerated To A Political Pep Rally"
- Supreme Court Gets Political As Justice Alito Becomes This Year’s Joe Wilson