Buffett Says Todd Combs Is ‘100% Fit’ With Berkshire Culture (WSJ)
Mr. Buffett says he and Mr. Munger were sold on Mr. Combs not only because of his ability and intelligence but also because they were convinced he would fit in to Berkshire’s no-fuss culture. Mr. Combs, a Sarasota, Fla., native who is still partial to his alma mater Florida State Seminoles football team, struck a lasting impression, Mr. Buffett says. He and Mr. Munger arrived at the decision based on the same kind of “gut check” they make with acquisitions of companies. “He is a 100% fit for our culture,” Mr. Buffett says. “I can define the culture while I am here, but we want a culture that is so embedded that it doesn’t get tested when the founder of it isn’t around. Todd is perfect in that respect.” “He is smart, and he can adapt,” says Sheryl Lucante, who was the maid of honor at his wedding to wife April.

Deutsche Bank posts net loss on Postbank charge (MarketWatch)
The bank lost 1.21 billion euros ($1.7 billion), or €1.75 a share. In the same period a year ago, it earned €1.38 billion, or €1.92 a share. The loss did not come as a surprise to investors, however, as Germany’s largest bank had warned in September that it would slip in the red in the third quarter because of a €2.3 billion Postbank charge.

Deutsche Bank Pays Investment Bankers More Than Goldman Sachs (Bloomberg)
If you look at how much they can pay, on average, which obviously means nothing for top performers but nice try!

Moody’s: US Companies Hoarding Almost $1 Trillion In Cash (Reuters)
Nonfinancial U.S. companies are sitting on $943 billion of cash and short-term investments, as of mid-year 2010, compared with $775 billion at the end of 2008, Moody’s said. This would be enough to cover a year’s worth of capital spending and dividends and still have $121 billion left over, it said. However, “we believe companies are looking for greater certainty about the economy and signs of a permanent increase in sales before they let go of their cash hoards, which they suffered so much to build,” Moody’s said in a report.

Europe Moves To Ease Rules On Hedge Funds (NYT)
European Union finance ministers agreed Tuesday on rules to allow foreign hedge funds to do business across the 27-nation bloc — a deal that came as a relief to Britain, home of the European hedge fund industry. The agreement, which still needs final approval of the European Parliament, also came as a relief to senior E.U. officials, who were seeking a show of unity ahead of a meeting of finance ministers of the Group of 20 nations. Britain was opposed to an earlier version of the rules backed by France that could have forced foreign funds to register in each member state of the Union. That had raised fears that firms could leave London, diminishing its importance as a financial hub.

Paul Singer to reap $1.5B on Delphi auto stake (NYP)
Singer’s fund, Elliott Management, and partner Silver Point Capital still hold an 18 percent stake in Delphi, which emerged from bankruptcy in October of last year. The firms acquired that stake as payment from other lenders for selling off their stakes in the business. That stake, which was worth $640 million at the time Delphi exited bankruptcy, has now more than doubled in value to $1.54 billion based on Delphi stock that is traded on secondary exchanges. Moreover, Elliott Management, which bought up Delphi debt for pennies on the dollar, reaped a windfall last year when it and Silver Point unloaded billions of Delphi loans by converting them into equity and selling them off to other investors.

US Seeks To Shield Goldman Secrets (WSJ)
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan this week asked a federal district judge to seal the courtroom at the forthcoming trial of former Goldman computer programmer Sergey Aleynikov, who is accused of stealing the firm’s computer code.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Warren’s Son Howard Buffett Says Don’t Expect Third Generation At Berkshire (Bloomberg)
Also, there’s this: “I checked with Howie; he told me CTB was an absolute first-class company,” Warren Buffett said in remarks posted on CTB’s website. “Howie would rather spend an evening on a tractor in the field than a date with Angelina Jolie, which is not true of all members of the family, but that’s true of Howie.”

Bankers Ignored Signs Of Foreclosure Trouble (NYT)
At Citigroup and GMAC, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on home foreclosures was outsourced to frazzled workers who sometimes tossed the paperwork into the garbage. At JPMorgan Chase, they were derided as “Burger King kids” — walk-in hires who were so inexperienced they barely knew what a mortgage was. And at Litton Loan Servicing, an arm of Goldman Sachs, employees processed foreclosure documents so quickly that they barely had time to see what they were signing. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the loan,” a Litton employee said in a deposition last year. “I’m not a loan officer.”

6 Women Accuse Citi Of Gender Bias (Dealbook)
“The outdated ‘boys club’ is alive and well at Citigroup, where women are denied equal terms and conditions of employment that are provided to similarly situated male employees,” the lawsuit said. “As a result of this ‘boys club,’ men dominate the senior ranks of Citigroup’s management and executive positions.” Five of the six women who brought the suit worked in the public finance department within the bank’s municipal securities division and were among those laid off in November 2008, when Citigroup cut more than a tenth of its work force in the midst of the financial crisis.

Dividend Rock: Firms Reward Buyout Bosses (WSJ)
So far in October, private-equity owned companies paid out nearly $1.7 billion in dividends while adding about $4.6 billion of new debt, according to Standard & Poor’s LCD. That is on pace to top the $2.3 billion monthly record in April 2007. This month’s activity comes on the heels of nearly $2 billion of such dividends in each of the last two months, S&P LCD said.

JPMorgan Slashes Investment Bank Bonus Pool as Revenue Drops (Bloomberg)
For the first nine months of the year, JPMorgan set aside 39 percent of the investment-bank’s revenue to pay employees, compared with 38 percent a year ago. “These people will be compensated and compensated well but it’s not going to be the amounts it would be if they generated more revenue,” Branthover said.

UBS Won’t Act Against Ex-Bosses (WSJ)
The banks said it made mistakes during the financial crisis, particularly in the investment-banking area, but said it won’t take legal proceedings against its previous management. “What happened shouldn’t have been allowed to happen, and with our decision to refrain from legal proceedings, we don’t want to gloss over the mistakes made by UBS or absolve those involved of their corporate responsibility,” said Chairman Kaspar Villiger. In its review of the events during the financial market crisis, UBS said its investment banking growth strategy wasn’t properly planned, and this was a “significant” contributor to its losses.

U.S. tip-off sparks $159 million cocaine seizure (AP)
“If we want to dismantle organized crime we must attack the money flow, we must attack their income source,” Home Affairs and Justice Minister Brendan O’Connor told reporters. “This is a great blow landed today, landed this week, by our law enforcement agencies.”

EU Diplomats Mull Compromise In Hedge Fund Deadlock (Reuters)
EU diplomats met for a last-ditch attempt to reach agreement on hedge fund controls, but Britain and France remained at loggerheads, putting their finance ministers on course for a clash when they meet next week. Central to the row is whether or not to grant a licence to foreign funds that want to work across the European Union’s 27 countries. French economy chief Christine Lagarde had opposed this on the grounds that controls on foreign firms would be lax.

Financier Is Said to Accept a Ban in Pension Case (NYT)
That concession was made with the possibility of his facing a criminal charge related to whether he was truthful in his testimony years ago about his role in helping to distribute a low-budget comedy movie for the benefit of a public official.

Report Finds No Political Motivation in S.E.C.’s Goldman Suit (NYT)
The inspector general did not find evidence that the Goldman suit was filed on the same day that he released a critical report of the S.E.C.’s actions in the R. Allen Stanford case to deflect attention from that news. Mr. Kotz did criticize the S.E.C. enforcement division for failing to notify Goldman of its lawsuit until after the papers were filed in federal court, a violation of administrative regulations. The agency’s failure to notify the New York Stock Exchange of the pending news also contributed to increased volatility in the markets on the day of the filing, the inspector general said.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Signing Bonuses Haunt Wall Street (WSJ)
In September, a Finra arbitration panel ruled that former Wells Fargo & Co. broker Ivan Pulido had to repay about $1 million he received when he moved to the bank from Merrill Lynch & Co. in 2008…UBS AG executives are trying to squeeze more production out of several hundred brokers in the U.S. who received bonuses to join the company but haven’t brought in enough clients or other revenue to become profitable for the Swiss bank. UBS has about 6,700 brokers in the U.S. Senior managers in the division such as its chief executive, Robert McCann, have been pushing some new brokers for about six months to “win back” their old clients. Mr. McCann, a former Merrill brokerage chief who arrived at UBS last year, also has been meeting with clients of longtime brokers at the firm.

CEO’s Gather For Group Think (WSJ)
The best place to test the pulse of corporate America will be downtown Chicago on Thursday and Friday as The Business Council swaps the usual country-club setting of its fall meetings for the self-styled risk-management capital of the world. Caterpillar Inc.’s Jim Owens, the group’s chairman, Jamie Dimon from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Boeing Co.’s James McNerney will be among the leaders attending what has developed into an annual “group think” for the U.S. business elite, supported by presentations from policy makers and financiers.

‘Animal Instincts’ Dominate Euro Zone Bond Market (FT)
Hans Blommestein, head of bond markets and public debt management at the OECD, told the Financial Times: “The psychology of the markets is very negative and not necessarily based on facts, but rather on animal instincts and spirits that trigger far greater selling in bond markets than is often justified by the data.”

Banks Voice Resistance as Regulators Say Basel Is Just a Start (Bloomberg)
Central bankers told executives at weekend meetings in Washington to expect more financial rules, especially for the largest firms, after international regulators set minimum standards in Basel last month. If countries surpass that accord, they will deny banks a level playing field and impede growth, chief executive officers including Deutsche Bank AG’s Josef Ackermann and Standard Chartered Plc’s Peter Sands warned at the event, hosted by the Institute of International Finance.

Pimco’s El-Erian Says Industrial Economies Risk `Lost Decade’ (Bloomberg)
El-Erian said governments and central banks haven’t detected the “ongoing paradigm shift” in their economies that will require remedies beyond stimulus programs. Among the fault lines he spots are strained balanced sheets, persistently high unemployment and a misunderstanding of financial markets.

Cigar Guy Unmasked (Daily Mail)
Guy is golf fan Rupesh Shingadia, a 30-year-old investment analyst in the City – and a very reluctant star. ‘I am embarrassed and overwhelmed,’ he said in an exclusive interview. ‘Never in a million years could I have expected anything like this. It is truly surreal.’ Rupesh said his costume was a ‘tribute’ to Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez.

UK And France Poised For EU Hedge Fund Deal (Reuters)
France is ready to drop objections to a key part of a law to tighten rules on hedge funds in exchange for concessions from London, a senior diplomat said, moving to end a row that threatened to harm relations with Washington.

White House Aide Doubts Need To Halt Foreclosures (NYT)
“It is a serious problem,” said David Axelrod, who said that the flawed paperwork was hurting the nation’s housing market as well as lending institutions. But he added, “I’m not sure about a national moratorium because there are in fact valid foreclosures that probably should go forward” because their documents are accurate.

‘CHiPs’ TV cop Wilcox to plead guilty (LATimes)
Larry Wilcox, the former “CHiPs” TV star accused by federal regulators of securities fraud, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges in the stock manipulation case. Wilcox, 63, could face five years in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud under a plea bargain reached with the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami on July 2 and released publicly this week.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Oppenheimer analyst Gary Hsueh this morning cut his ratings on both Yingli Green Energy (YGE) and JinkoSolar (JKS) to Perform from Outperform.
Hsueh notes that in early September, the bullish view on the solar stocks turned on the ability of Italy and France to offset a slowdown in Germany, as well [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

AIG, US Agree On Terms Of Exit Plan (WSJ)
As part of the plan, the U.S. Treasury Department would convert $49.1 billion of preferred shares it holds in AIG into common shares and increase the government’s ownership stake in the company to 92.1% from 79.8% currently. The conversion, which could take place by early 2011 if AIG can meet certain conditions by then, would position the government to sell off its stake in AIG over time through a series of share sales in the open market. Before the conversion of Treasury’s shares can occur, AIG will have to repay a $20 billion secured credit facility from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in full. AIG said it plans to use proceeds from major asset sales and the upcoming initial public offering of its pan-Asian life insurance unit to pay down its taxpayer debt and terminate the credit facility well before it is scheduled to expire in 2013.

Touree Says SEC Can’t Sue Him Overseas For CDO Deal (Bloomberg)
The defense for His Fabulousness rests.

Democrats Finding Many Big Donors Cutting Support (NYT)
Democratic donors like George Soros and his fellow billionaire Peter B. Lewis, who each gave more than $20 million to Democratic-oriented groups in the 2004 election, appear to be holding back so far. “Mr. Soros believes that he can be most effective by funding groups that promote progressive policy outcomes in areas such as health care, the environment and foreign policy,” said an adviser, Michael Vachon. “So he has opted to fund those activities.” The attention of Mr. Lewis, chairman of Progressive Insurance, also appears to be elsewhere this year. Jennifer Frutchy, who advises Mr. Lewis on his philanthropy, said he was focused at the moment on building progressive infrastructure and marijuana reform. “That’s just where his head is right now,” Ms. Frutchy said.

France Blocks EU Hedge Fund Rules (Reuters)
France’s refusal to back a scheme to give foreign funds a licence to do business across all of the EU’s 27 states will scupper any chances of a deal between ministers on a new regime for the industry.

UBS May Resume Dividends in 2013-14, Depending on Swiss Rules (BW)
“The dividend commencement date is a little uncertain,” Cryan told investors at a conference in London today. “Sometime in the period of Basel III introduction we’ll be able to resume our returns to shareholders in the form of a dividend or even share buyback. I’d be expecting by 2013-14 to be in a position where we’re comfortably on track” to meet requirements “unless something extraordinary comes out on Monday.”

Spain loses AAA status, stands firm on austerity (Reuters)
Moody’s become the third and last rating agency to cut Spain out of the highest AAA category which has helped it finance its debt relatively cheaply. The one-notch cut had been expected and the agency said it hoped not to have to cut again soon, bolstering Spanish debt markets. But the agency also said a poor growth outlook meant Madrid would have to take further steps to meet its deficit targets in years to come.

Teesside Man Dies After Drowning In Pint Of Vodka (BBC)
In a statement read out by deputy Teesside coroner Tony Eastwood, he said: “Richard drank a pint of vodka in four seconds or so. “I did try to take the glass off him, but he turned his back on me, pushed me away, and drank it all.”

Asian central banks act to stem rises (FT)
“Just look at how many central banks intervened,” said Maurice Pomery of Strategic Alpha. “If central banks adopt a policy to buy their neighbours’ bonds to keep them less competitive, all hell could break loose.”

Infighting Besets Financial Overhaul Council (WSJ)
T. Geith v. She-Bair.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

As the Wall Street Journal notes, Vodafone (VOD) yesterday announced a management shake-up that pulls all of its minority investments into a single unit that will be managed separately from the company’s core business. The unit includes the company’s holdings in phone companies in France, Poland and India, along with [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

France Telecom (FTE) says it has no plans to merge with Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY.PK), Reuters reports.
On Monday, the French trade union CFE-CGC/UNSA raised the possibility of a merger between the two companies after Deutsche Bank boosts its stake in France Telecom to over 5%.

“There is no plan to bring together [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Will France Telecom (FTE) merge with Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY.PK)?
Neither side is going to tell me, of course. But here’s what we know:

Deutsche Bank has increased its stake in France Telecom above 5%.
The French labor union CFE-CGC/UNSA read about that, and concluded that the German bank’s move represents a “profound change [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Paris-based WiThings, the company behind the popular Wi-Fi-enabled body scale, has raised 3 million euros, or roughly $3.8 million, from France’s Ventech, the venture-capital firm said on its website.

The body scale, WiThings’ first product, started shipping June last year and retails for $159 on Amazon.com. Once you weigh yourself, the scale transmits the data over to its servers, enabling you to track your weight overtime using its Web interface or iPhone app, with an option to broadcast it on Twitter for those inclined.

Many people are intensely private about their weight, especially if they struggle with it. But Facebook and Twitter have gotten others accustomed to sharing previously private details. The practice of sharing one’s weight is a component of what some call the “public humiliation diet,” a weight-loss program which enlists one’s friends and sometimes the public at large in keeping a dieter on track. The WiThings scale saves its users the trouble of consciously broadcasting their weight by automating the process.

So far, it’s been a hit with press and users alike. On Amazon, it ranks #514 in the health and personal care category, with 122 customer reviews and an average of 4.5/5. Tech industry veterans Jason Calacanis and Leo Laporte have used the product to announce their weights, as have many others.

The 20-person company, based entirely in Paris, plans to use the financing for the development of two new products, both of which are due in the next six months and likely to be similarly health and technology-related.

Tags: body scale, oversharing, public humiliation diets, Wi-Fi

Companies: Twitter, Ventech, WiThings

People: Jason Calacanis, Leo Laporte

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » Deals & More

Ex-H-P CEO Receives Job Ideas (WSJ)
Hurd told acquaintances this week that he has been approached with suggestions of new jobs, including a call about a new job the day after he left H-P. Mr. Hurd told acquaintances that he next wants to do something that he’s “passionate” about. He didn’t indicate who had approached him, but a person familiar with the situation said the calls have been from a range of companies, from publicly traded to private equity firms. Mr. Hurd, 53, also told these people that he’s in a period of “mourning” about leaving H-P, likening his departure from the Palo Alto, Calif., technology giant to the end of a marriage or the death of a family member. “It’s an emotional issue,” he told these people.

London Finance Job Vacancies Climb 7% (Bloomberg)
The number of openings in the City, as London’s main financial district is known, rose to 6,048 in July from 5,645 in June, U.K. recruitment consultant Morgan McKinley said in a statement today. The number of people looking for work fell 16 percent in July, according to the survey.

George Soros Slashes Exposure To US Equities (Telegraph)
Gone are Soros’s investments in Petrobras, Brazil’s oil giant, with investments in bellwether stocks such as Wal-Mart, JP Morgan Chase and Pfizer drastically reduced, cut by 99pc, 97pc and 95pc respectively. Of those equities that do remain, the fund’s holding in a gold exchange traded fund constitutes his largest investment, some 13pc of the equity portfolio, worth $638m.

Barclays Follows Citigroup With Court Rejection of U.S. Accord (Bloomberg)
A federal judge refused to endorse a settlement between the U.S. and a bank for a third time in a year, calling a proposed $298 million fine of Barclays Plc for trading with Iran, Cuba and Sudan “a sweetheart deal.”

‘Vultures’ Saved Troubled Homeowners (WSJ)
Anna and Charlie Reynolds of St. George, Utah, were worried about losing their home to foreclosure last year. Then they got a lucky break—from an unlikely savior. Selene Residential Mortgage Opportunity Fund, an investment fund managed by veteran mortgage-bond trader Lewis Ranieri, acquired the loan at a deep discount and renegotiated the terms with the Reynolds. The balance due was cut to $243,182 from $421,731, and the interest rate was lowered. That reduced the monthly payment to $1,573 from $3,464, allowing the family to stay in their home despite a drop in Mr. Reynolds’ income as a real-estate agent. “It was a miracle,” says Ms. Reynolds.

Dutch City Wants Pot Sold Only to Dutch Citizens (NYT)
City officials say they have watched with horror as a drug tolerance policy intended to keep Dutch youth safe — and established long before Europe’s borders became so porous — has morphed into something else entirely. Municipalities like Maastricht, in easy driving distance from Belgium, France and Germany, have become regional drug supply hubs.

‘Economic Benefits’ From Tighter Bank Regulation (WSJ)
“The analysis shows that the macroeconomic costs of implementing stronger standards are manageable, especially with appropriate phase-in arrangements, while the longer-term benefits to financial stability and more stable economic growth are substantial,” FSB head Mario Draghi said in an accompanying press release.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker