Morning Coffee: London vs. New York at Morgan Stanley
As ever in banking rivalries, geography can play as big a role as personalities. And so it goes at Morgan Stanley, where the firm’s investment bankers are now upset that one of their own, Paul Taubman, was passed over for a bigger job, which went to his co-head Colm Kelleher.
Taubman, who will leave the firm at the end of the year, is based in New York while Kelleher, 55, and his new banking lieutenant, Franck Petitgas, are based in London. Such was the distress at U.S. headquarters that the two newly promoted execs flew to New York this week to reassure the bankers of their commitment.
“People are upset," one senior person inside the company told The Wall Street Journal of the decision to push aside Taubman, 51, Morgan Stanley’s current investment-banking chief.
Beyond the geographic power shift, the rumblings of disappointment from Morgan’s i-banking team come as no surprise considering the respect Taubman commanded and the rocky relationship he has had with Kelleher, their new boss. Part of Kelleher’s strategy will see bankers push trading services and other business on the back of capital- markets deals, something Taubman was reluctant to do.
Goldman Sachs made money on 61 of its 63 trading days during the third quarter, including seven days when it made over $100 million.
Initial jobless claims dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 355,000, although the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy may have skewed the numbers.
Mortgage Settlement (Fox Business)
J.P. Morgan has agreed to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over charges that its Bear Stearns unit failed to disclose weaknesses in mortgage securities sold to investors.
Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard University law professor who Wall Streeters and their Republican allies forced out of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that she championed, is back to haunt Wall Street again, this time as a senator with her eye on a seat of the Senate Banking Committee.
A German subsidiary of UBS is being investigated for allegedly helping banking clients evade paying domestic taxes.
Bounce Back (eFinancialCareers)
The U.S. “remains the powerhouse of the global economy” and will “bounce back sooner than elsewhere,” said global recruiter Robert Walters, who expects hiring in finance to pick up in 2013.
Finding no luck on Wall Street? Try looking for work in Shanghai, which is facing a major talent shortage and is actively seeking western candidates.
Buzz Around the Office
The now former head of Barclays FX strategy in Asia had a tough day last month, and unfortunately for him it was all caught on camera. Frustrated with the noise generated by an early-morning construction crew, Olivier Desbarres put on an expletive-filled verbal display that would make Howard Stern blush. Click here for a link to the video.
List of the Day: Internal Interview
Applying for a different role within your company requires tact. Here’s how to pull it off.
- Ask for permission, not forgiveness.
- Talk to colleagues to get an inside track on the role and the boss.
- Dress for an interview, not another day at work.
