Don’t be!

U.S. investment banks want staff to focus on business opportunities in Japan as the nation turns to rebuilding areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear accident, analysts said. Goldman Sachs has hosted three nuclear specialists and held sessions on emergency preparedness and family welfare, said Hiroko Matsumoto, a spokeswoman in Tokyo. Morgan Stanley asked two scientists to speak to staff and their families over the coming week and is importing water from Hong Kong, said Mika Watanabe, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman…Global banks “want to avoid lowering their presence and losing market share in Japan as the economy is still the third largest and it was picking up,” said Takehito Yamanaka, a Tokyo-based analyst at MF Global FXA Securities Ltd. “There will also be new demand for loans and fund raising from companies whose factories were damaged, as well as mergers and capital alliances.”

[Bloomberg]

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But remind it it could be doing better.

Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy is “getting better month by month,” aided by government stimulus and the strength of capitalism. “The most important factor is the really underlying resilience of capitalism,” Buffett said today at a press conference in Bangalore. There are more than 300 million Americans “thinking about how to do something better tomorrow than they’ve done today.”

“The U.S. economy has been improving fairly steadily, but not at a great rate” since mid-2009, Buffett said.

Buffett Says US Economy Is Getting Better Month By Month [Bloomberg]

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Mitt Romney says that if he runs for president, “I won’t be asking Tim Geithner how the economy works—or Larry Summers how to start a business.” Have you ever talked business strategy with Governor Romney? He was very interested in what Harvard and I could do to help during the time when he was governor of Massachusetts. Are you surprised to hear him attacking your business acumen? No. You shouldn’t work in Washington if you are not prepared to become an object of symbolic attack. My recollection is that in his highly successful business career, Governor Romney did a fair amount of job-destroying at a number of companies that his firm purchased. [Newsweek]

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Warren Buffett to CNBC: ‘Elephants’ Hard to Find, Let ‘Zebra’ Get Away (CNBC)
Appearing live from Omaha on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning, Buffett told Becky Quick he doesn’t have any “high probability” deals in the works now. While he’s not necessarily scared away by higher stock prices, they do make it harder to find a deal now than two years ago. Buffett said that of the 50 or so large companies that qualify as “elephants,” we would not want to pay a 20 percent premium for most of them. He also pointed out its easier to buy private companies. He doesn’t rule out an international acquisition, but said a purchase in the United States is more likely. Buffett also revealed to Becky that Berkshire had an “iron in the fire” within the last few days, but lost out to another buyer. Was it an “elephant” on the scale of Burlington Northern Santa Fe? No, said Buffett, more like a “zebra.”

Warren Buffett Sees Uneven Recovery (Reuters)
Buffett said that despite his “enormous respect” for the efforts of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to move the economy forward, more stimulus is not the answer now. “In the end, I don’t think we need more of that,” Buffett said in an interview on CNBC. Buffett said improvements in the business environment is likely in future months to be reflected by a decline in the unemployment rate, likely to the low 7 percent range by the November 2012 elections from 9 percent now. Activity is “probably closer to inching in most businesses” at Berkshire and in much of the economy, while others are “moving forward” and others are “stuck,” Buffett said.

Muni-Default Estimate: $100 Billion (WSJ)
The report, by David Nowakowski and Prajakta Bhide at Roubini Global Economics and released to clients Monday, says state and local debt problems aren’t “systemic” in nature, nor will they “infect the financial system.” Most of the defaults will occur among special government projects and revenue-generating entities that aren’t considered viable, it says. “Defaults will continue to be isolated events.”

Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets Orders Up to 120 Bombardier Business Jets (Bloomberg)
The agreement, worth more than $6.7 billion at list prices, comprises 50 firm orders and 70 options, according to a statement carried today by Business Wire. It didn’t say how much Columbus, Ohio-based NetJets would pay for the aircraft, which will be delivered starting in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Harvard Cubs With $43 Billion Dwarf Their Former Endowment Home (Bloomberg)
Adage Capital Management LP, Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC, Convexity Capital Management LP, Highfields Capital Management LP and Regiment Capital Advisors LLC are all Boston- based investment firms run by former endowment managers at Harvard University. Since leaving the world’s richest school, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, they have climbed into the top ranks of hedge funds and private equity. Altogether the firms oversee more than $43 billion, exceeding Harvard’s $27.6 billion fund. All have beaten their investment benchmarks since inception.

Threezy Does It For Charlie Sheen (NYP)
Sheen’s “goddesses” yesterday gave The Post an exclusive look into their steamy triple-decker sex life — disclosing they all sleep together in one big bed, where they take turns in the middle…Asked if they have sex together, Rachel Oberlin purred, “We do whatever Charlie wants us to do. This is the type of lifestyle I’ve always wanted, and I’m thrilled with it.” Natalie Kenly cooed, “Our bed is big enough for all three of us, and we take turns sleeping in the middle.” She did note that there’s a second bed in the room so, “if someone’s really tired, there’s always a place for them to sleep in peace.”

Investing Stars Lead Bumper Year For Hedge Funds (FT)
George Soros, whose Quantum fund has made $35bn after fees for investors since it was set up in 1973, is ranked as the man who has done most for clients in dollar terms. He is closely followed by John Paulson- after that comes Ray Dalio with Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha.

Highbridge Capital Said to Shut Asia Fund After Huttenlocher’s Resignation (Bloomberg)
Highbridge Capital Management LLC, the hedge-fund firm owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co., is liquidating its $1.4 billion Asia Opportunities Fund after manager Carl Huttenlocher resigned, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Apple Set To Unveil New iPad, With Or Without Jobs (Reuters)
The show must go on.

Pressure Spurred Disclosure (WSJ)
Goldman Sachs said it may face $3.4 billion in litigation losses above what it has already planned for partly because of investor lawsuits trying to recover losses or to force the investment bank to repurchase securities it packaged and sold. What forced Goldman to make the new disclosure? Regulatory pressure on big banks, as well as a desire to head off more-stringent accounting rules, pushed the firm and other companies to better disclose their potential legal losses.

Charlie Sheen’s Inaugural Tweets (Twitter)
The above chocolate milk ad, “Just got invited to do the Nancy Grace show… I’d rather go on a long road trip with [Two and a Half creator] Chuck Lorre in a ’75 Pacer,” “Winning!” “Questions..? I’m here for my people..! Bring it!!” and, in response to a tweet from P. Diddy (“can u please send me the address to ur house? Ive been dreamin about a party like this all my life! See u soon! Lol”), “Get dressed my man… sending the driver..!”

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$$$ Buffett’s Trust in Goldman Sachs Betrayed by Leak, SEC Says [Bloomberg]

$$$ Rajat Gupta: Bigger Than Madoff? [NetNet]

$$$ Charlie Sheen v Muammar Gaddafi: whose line is it anyway? [Guardian]

$$$ Madoff Trustee Seeks $2.1 Billion From Tremont [WSJ]

$$$ Bernanke Says Costly Oil No Threat To US Economy [Reuters]

$$$ CHARLIE SHEEN IS NOW ON TWITTER [Twitter]

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The good news: the economy is improving slightly! The even better news: you’re getting even more stimulus up in this piece!

The Federal Reserve gave a lukewarm economic assessment on Wednesday despite recent signs the recovery was strengthening, saying high unemployment still justified its $600 billion bond-buying program. In a statement following its policy-setting meeting, the central bank also said measures of underlying inflation were “somewhat low” although it acknowledged rising commodity prices that have fueled global inflation worries. It left its benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero, as was widely expected, and reiterated that rates would likely stay ultra-low for an extended period. None of the Fed officials dissented.

“The economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring about a significant improvement in labor market conditions,” the Fed said.

[CNBC]

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Guess correctly and you’ve got the answer to today’s Page Six blind item which asks, “Which well-known moneyman had sex with four young and attractive Asian women within five hours at his New Year’s Eve bacchanal?”

Given his bachelor status and established love of throwing holiday parties and “scantily-clad nymphs,” the signs do seem to point to a certain Goldman Sachs partner but we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It could be anyone. The term ‘moneyman’ may have been been loosely used to include ‘money creator,’ in which case Ben Bernanke could be in the running, as could a certain doctor of the economy, known to always be down for a good time. Swap ‘attractive young Asian women’ for ‘cartons of cigarettes’ and Jim Simons is a suspect.

Interested to hear your educated guesses.

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As we’ve discussed at length, bonus expectations this year are not very good, should you be employed by a bank. Even those at hedge funds and private equity firms, where numbers aren’t expected to be nearly as bad, will likely have something to complain about, given that that’s just what people do when it comes to bonuses (rail against whoever came up with the figure and know in your heart you deserve more). A week or so ahead of numbers being officially communicated, Bloomberg has whipped up a chart comparing the pay of traders and M&A bankers to those of some totally randomly selected professions (brain surgeons, cancer researchers, aerospace engineers, 4-star generals with thirty-four years experience) where employees make less and told the former group to “take solace” in the disparity. It almost seems as though some sort of message is being sent!

“I don’t think it’s healthy for the economy to be this skewed,” Stephen Rose, a 63-year-old professor at Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, commented. “I believe there’s some sort of connection between value added to the economy and pay.

But lest you get any idea, no one’s here to pass judgment. They just want to leave you with a few things to marinate on, like this:

An oil trader with 10 years in the business is likely to earn at least $1 million this year, while a neurosurgeon with similar time on the job makes less than $600,000, recruiters estimated. After a decade of deal-making, merger bankers take home about $2 million, more than 10 times what a similarly seasoned cancer researcher gets (see table below).

And this:

A four-star general with more than 34 years in the military makes almost $185,000 a year, according to the Department of Defense’s accounting office. That’s less than half the $498,246 average compensation and benefits package that New York-based Goldman Sachs paid employees for 2009.

And some of this:

* ”

Traders’ Smaller Bonuses Still Top Pay For Brain Surgeons, 4-Star Generals [Bloomberg]

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Facing WikiLeaks Threat, Bank Of America Plays Defense (NYT)
In addition to the internal team drawn from departments like finance, technology, legal and communications, the bank has brought in Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting firm, to help manage the review. It has also sought advice from several top law firms about legal problems that could arise from a disclosure, including the bank’s potential liability if private information was disclosed about clients.

Bank Of America Settles Mortgage Dispute (MarketWatch)
Bank of America said Monday it’s reached a settlement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of outstanding repurchase claims arising from certain home loans sold to them by Countrywide Financial Corp…As a result of the settlement, Bank of America said its home loans and insurance business is expected to record a $2 billion, non-cash goodwill impairment that the company can’t deduct for tax purposes.

White House: US Debt Limit Fight Would Be ‘Catastrophic’ (Reuters)
“This is not a game. You know, the debt ceiling … is not something to toy with,” Austan Goolsbee told the ABC News program “This Week.” “If we hit the debt ceiling, that’s … essentially defaulting on our obligations, which is totally unprecedented in American history.” “The impact on the economy would be catastrophic. I mean, that would be a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008,” he said.

Goldman Invests In Facebook At $50 Billion Valuation (NYT)
Under the terms of the deal, Goldman has invested $450 million, and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm that has already sunk about half a billion dollars into Facebook, invested $50 million, people involved in the talks said.

Investments Boost For Paulson And Co (FT)
Paulson’s flagship $9bn Advantage Plus Fund, which in September was down 11 per cent for the year, has staged the most dramatic recovery. According to an investor, the fund was up 10.2 per cent for the month as of December 10. It is now up 14.3 per cent for the year. The fund is understood to have continued its strong performance this week. The Advantage Plus Fund trades around corporate events, such as mergers and acquisitions or bankruptcies. The firm’s Credit Opportunities Fund is up 4 per cent so far this month, bringing its performance to 16.5 per cent for the year so far. Mr Paulson’s Recovery Fund, which is focused on the US economy and its prospects, also returned 10.2 per cent over the first 10 days of December. The Recovery Fund is now up 19.4 per cent so far this year.

More Than 1,000 Dead Birds Drop From The Sky (AP)
Environmental service workers finished picking up the carcasses on Sunday of about 2,000 red-winged blackbirds that fell dead from the sky in a central Arkansas town Sunday.

Bet Again On AIG? Count Me In (Politico)
Op-ed: “I lost $2.5 million on American International Group stock in 2008. But I still want to be among the first to purchase new company shares in the next few weeks. That’s when the Treasury is aiming to sell at least $15 billion of its AIG holdings at the beginning of a series of stock offerings. Am I crazy? I don’t think so.”

Obama Studies Regan Years For Guidance On Pushing Agenda (Bloomberg)
Before leaving for a year-end vacation, Obama sought advice from Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein and David Gergen, an image adviser to both Reagan and Clinton, said an Obama aide. On his Hawaii trip, Obama brought along journalist Lou Cannon’s Reagan biography, “The Role of a Lifetime,” a selection his press secretary announced over Twitter.

Woman Sues Chase, Claims She Was Fired For Blogging (NYP)
Business analyst Marilyn Tagocon, 50, was canned after telling her bosses about her spare-time blogging and self-publishing of historical fiction, a lawsuit alleges. When a coworker told her the company’s code of conduct restricted employees from posting personal political speech, Tagocon went to the Human Resources Department to make sure she wasn’t doing anything wrong.

Man, 110, Ready To Wed Wife Number 6 (Herald)
“It doesn’t matter who she is, as long as she can cook for me,” Sanah Ahmad said.

Hero Group Executive Held In Citi Fraud Case (WSJ)
A senior Hero Group executive has been arrested for allegedly receiving a part of more than 3 billion rupees ($67 million) believed to have been misappropriated at a Citigroup Inc. bank branch on the outskirts of New Delhi, a police officer said Monday. The executive, Sanjay Gupta, allegedly got about 200 million rupees, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Dalbir Singh.

Singapore Avoids Recession (Reuters)
The economy grew 14.7 percent in 2010 to become one of Asia’s fastest growing economy, rebounding from a contraction in the previous year. It grew at a pace of 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. The government expects 2011 economic growth to be in the region of 4-6 percent, a projection first made in November.

Investors’ Forecast: Sunny With A Chance Of Overheating (WSJ)
“The big risk we run is that the economy recovers and the Fed is slow to raise rates,” said Ed Peters, co-director of global macro strategies at First Quadrant LP, an investment-management firm.

iPhone Alarm Glitch Leaves Some Asleep (WSJ)
“Dreaded iPhone alarm problem,” wrote someone who identified himself as a pastor. “I guess [I] didn’t need to be on time for church?”

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The team at MKM Partners are upbeat about 2011, they write today, with the economy rebounding by 3% to 4% in real GDP terms (5% to 6% nominally), and S&P earnings of $95 for the year.
The firm’s top picks in technology for 2011 are Motorola (MOT), SolarWinds (SWI), and, as [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily