Official: Brian Benczkowski

Official, People

Brian Allen Benczkowski (born October 5, 1969) is an American lawyer who served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice. Prior to assuming that role, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

Benczkowski received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1991. He attended the Washington University School of Law, where he was an associate editor of the Washington University Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law. He received his Juris Doctor in 1994. Continue reading “Official: Brian Benczkowski”

Cartoonist: Ben Garrison

Cartoonist, People

Ben Garrison  is an American alt-right political cartoonist. His cartoons have been promoted among the alt-right for various depictions of alt-right ideology and QAnon conspiracy theories. He has produced controversial cartoons that have been widely characterized as sexist, racist, Islamophobic, anti-vaccine and antisemitic by media commentators, the Anti-Defamation League, and others.

They have also been criticized for attempting to deny climate change, and promoting conspiracy theories. His cartoons often lionize conservative figures and politicians such as former President Donald Trump. Some alt-right activists have edited his comics to incorporate antisemitic content, including the antisemitic “Happy Merchant” caricature. Continue reading “Cartoonist: Ben Garrison”

Politician: Eliot Spitzer

People, Politician

Eliot Laurence Spitzer  (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician, attorney, educator, and real estate developer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 54th Governor of New York.

After serving for six years as a prosecutor with the office of the Manhattan District Attorney, Spitzer worked as an attorney in private practice with several New York law firms. He was then elected to two four-year terms as the Attorney General of New York, serving from 1999 to 2006; during this period, Spitzer became known as the “Sheriff of Wall Street” for his efforts to curb corruption in the financial services industry. Spitzer was elected Governor of New York in 2006 and served as the 54th Governor of New York from January 1, 2007, until his resignation on March 17, 2008, in the midst of a prostitution scandal. Continue reading “Politician: Eliot Spitzer”

Lawyer: Ferdinand Pecora

Lawyer, People

Ferdinand Pecora  (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971) was an American lawyer and New York State Supreme Court judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its investigation of Wall Street banking and stock brokerage practices

Ferdinand Pecora was born in Nicosia, Sicily, the son of Louis Pecora and Rosa Messina, who emigrated to the United States in 1886. He grew up in Chelsea, Manhattan. After briefly studying for the Episcopal ministry, Pecora attended St. Stephen’s College (now Bard College) and the City University of New York before he was forced to leave school when his father was injured in an industrial accident. Continue reading “Lawyer: Ferdinand Pecora”

Official: Mary Schapiro

Official, People

Mary Lovelace Schapiro  (born June 19, 1955) served as the 29th Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She was appointed by President Barack Obama, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and assumed the Chairship on January 27, 2009. She is the first woman to be the permanent Chair of the SEC.

In 2009, Forbes ranked her the 56th most powerful woman in the world.[4] Continue reading “Official: Mary Schapiro”

CEO: Jeff Bezos

CEO, People

Jeffrey Preston Bezos  (/ˈbeɪzoʊs/; né Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American internet entrepreneur, industrialist, media proprietor, and investor. He is the founder and CEO of the multi-national technology company Amazon. He is the richest person in the world according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires ranking.

Born in Albuquerque and raised in Houston and later Miami, Bezos graduated from Princeton University in 1986. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He worked on Wall Street in a variety of related fields from 1986 to early 1994. Bezos founded Amazon in late 1994, on a cross-country road trip from New York City to Seattle. Continue reading “CEO: Jeff Bezos”

Hedge Fund Manager: Daniel S. Loeb

People

Daniel Seth Loeb  born December 18, 1961) is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chief executive of Third Point, a New York-based hedge fund focused on event-driven, value-oriented investing with $10.8 billion in assets under management, as of March 2016.

New York magazine noted that Loeb’s “preferred strategy” is to buy into troubled companies, replace inefficient management, and return the companies to profitability, which “is the key to his success.” Loeb was described as “one of the most successful activists” in 2014. Continue reading “Hedge Fund Manager: Daniel S. Loeb”

Author: Michael Lewis

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Michael Monroe Lewis  (born October 15, 1960) is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to Vanity Fair since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He is known for his non-fiction work, particularly his coverage of financial crises and behavioral finance.

Lewis was born in New Orleans and attended Princeton University where he graduated with a degree in art history. After attending the London School of Economics, he began a career on Wall Street during the 1980s as a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers. The experience prompted him to write his first book, Liar’s Poker (1989). Continue reading “Author: Michael Lewis”

Journalist: Matt Levine

Journalist, People

Matt Levine  is a columnist for Bloomberg News covering finance and business. Levine has previously been a lawyer, investment banker, law clerk, and has written for a number of newspapers and financial sites. His newsletter, Money Stuff, is one of the most popular on Wall Street with over 150k subscribers.

After graduating Levine was a mergers and acquisitions lawyer for the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He later went on to become an investment banker for Goldman Sachs, where he structured and marketed corporate equity derivatives for four years. Levine was also a high school Latin teacher and a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.[ Continue reading “Journalist: Matt Levine”

Senator: Chuck Grassley

People, Senator

Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa. He is in his seventh term in the Senate, having first been elected in 1980.

A member of the Republican Party, Grassley served eight terms in the Iowa House of Representatives (1959–1975) and three terms in the United States House of Representatives (1975–1981). He has served three stints as Senate Finance Committee chairman during periods of Republican Senate majority.[ Continue reading “Senator: Chuck Grassley”

Advisor: Michael Flynn

Advisor, People

Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 25th United States National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration until his resignation. Flynn’s military career included a key role in shaping U.S. counterterrorism strategy and dismantling insurgent networks in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, and he was given numerous combat arms, conventional, and special operations senior intelligence assignments.

e became the 18th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in July 2012 until his forced retirement from the military in August 2014. During his tenure he gave a lecture on leadership at the Moscow headquarters of the Russian military intelligence directorate GRU, the first American official to be admitted entry to the headquarters. Continue reading “Advisor: Michael Flynn”

Article: Robinhood Is In Talks With FINRA To Settle March 2020 Probe Into Options And Outages

Article - Media, Publications

Robinhood Is In Talks With FINRA To Settle March 2020 Probe Into Options And Outages

Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge,  26 February 2021
At the center of the investigation was how Robinhood displays cash balances and buying power to its customers and the process that it undertakes to vet and approve traders for options trading. Continue reading “Article: Robinhood Is In Talks With FINRA To Settle March 2020 Probe Into Options And Outages”

Article: SEC Suspends Trading In 15 Companies Due To “Questionable Trading And Social Media Activity”

Article - Media, Publications

SEC Suspends Trading In 15 Companies Due To “Questionable Trading And Social Media Activity”

TYLER DURDEN, 26 February 2021

Two weeks ago we said that the regulatory crackdown against WallStreetBets had begun when the SEC suspended trading in pennystock Spectra Science (SCIE). Well, today we got the clearest confirmation yet that the SEC will do everything in its power to make sure that are no more Melvin Capitals and will seek to put a resolute end to the reddit bull raids when it announced that it “suspended trading in the securities of 15 companies because of questionable trading and social media activity.”

Today’s order states that trading is being suspended because of “questions about recent increased activity and volatility in the trading of these issuers, as well as the influence of certain social media accounts on that trading activity.” In enforcing the suspension, the SEC referred to federal securities laws, according to which “the SEC can suspend trading in a stock for 10 days and generally prohibit a broker-dealer from soliciting investors to buy or sell the stock again until certain reporting requirements are met.”
Continue reading “Article: SEC Suspends Trading In 15 Companies Due To “Questionable Trading And Social Media Activity””

Article: War Of Words: Robinhood Responds To “Disappointing, Elitist” Charlie Munger Bemoaning “Speculative Orgies”

Article - Media, Publications

War Of Words: Robinhood Responds To “Disappointing, Elitist” Charlie Munger Bemoaning “Speculative Orgies”

TYLER DURDEN, 26 February 2021

Investing legend Charlie Munger didn’t pull any punches when talking about Robinhood and the gamification that is driving new investments in the stock market over the last few years. In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 97 year old Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway sounded off about the “wild speculation” created by the budding brokerage.

“I hate this luring of people into engaging in speculative orgies. [Robinhood] may call it investing, but that’s all bullshit,” Munger said on Thursday.

“It’s really just wild speculation, like casino gambling or racetrack betting. There’s a long history of destructive capitalism, these trading orgies whooped up by the people who profit from them.”
Continue reading “Article: War Of Words: Robinhood Responds To “Disappointing, Elitist” Charlie Munger Bemoaning “Speculative Orgies””

Entrepreneur: Mark Cuban

entrepreneur, People

Gary J. Aguirre  (born July 31, 1958)[3] is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, media proprietor, and investor, whose net worth is an estimated $4.3 billion, according to Forbes and ranked #177 on the 2020 Forbes 400 list..

He is a named inventor of two utility patents and two ornamental designs associated with two failed ventures. He is the owner of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Dallas Mavericks, co-owner of 2929 Entertainment, and chairman of AXS TV. Continue reading “Entrepreneur: Mark Cuban”

THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?