This past Tuesday SumZero, an invite-only investment buyside analyst community, held their first social get-together at the Bryant Park Cafe that featured a smorgasbord of investment professionals, portfolio managers, and MBA types.  And believe it or not it wasn’t just male quant jocks, there were some finance gals there too!  Perhaps this group will make the Soho House second guess their anti-Finance guy eugenics?  Ok maybe not… More»

[Party's over byutEdward Liddy s still smiling...Where are Mr. Pink Elephant and Julia Allison when we need them and their very pink wardrobes most?!]

Code Pink protesters hold up signs as Edward Liddy, chairman and CEO of the American International Group arrives at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill March 18, 2009 in Washington, DC. The committee is hearing testimony on America International Group’s (AIG) bonus plan that has caused a uproar from the American public and members of Congress. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image) More photos below…. More»

[Miami-Dade County Criminal Court Record for Samuel Piedrahita.  Click to enlarge]

Back in February, we did a post on Fairfield Greenwich Group jet-set salesman Andres Piedrahita’s previous investment track record, which was anything but stellar.  Piedrahita is a son-in-law of FGG’s co-founder Walter Noel (and brother-in-law of socialite Marisa Noel Brown), and despite failures in the past was able to fail upward to “success” at FGG selling Bernard Madoff products to investors around the world.

Today we received a comment tip on Piedrahita’s father Samuel’s past criminal record in Miami.

Andres piedrahita’s father Samuel–fled the american justice system.He killed a man in miami driving under the influence of alcohol and fled to colombia.  You can bet that like father like son

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It’s a hard time for many adults out there.  And, sometimes, stressful situations lead grown men and women to exhibit less than mature behaviors.  Case in point: Madoff’s home in Palm Beach seemed to have been TP’d (that’s covered in toilet paper) over the weekend by children of parents that lost money in the scandal.  More importantly , their parents told them to do it!  [Palm Beach Post].  For what it’s worth, they did a half ass job, a true artiste would have left the house barely visible.

Note: Sometimes we need to stray from NYC’s hottest people, parties & nightlife to share something truly enlightening or apropos to the times…

Peter Schiff was right.  He called the economic crisis of 2008.  Congratulations, he probably is a very wealthy man right now.  But the most interesting part of this collection of video, however, is the aggressive and scornful posture most of the other talking heads have towards Schiff and his views.  At the time no one could have truly been sure who was right or wrong, but Schiff at the least conducted himself like a gentleman. More»

More bailout and financial humor after the jump… More»

[Steve Cohen says NO to Porsche, YES to coal]

If you’ve been following the markets recently, you’ve probably been hearing all about “bailouts” and banks crumbling.  You’ve also probably heard Jim Cramer inside every New York cab bellowing “Beware of companies that pay ultra high dividends!  In this economy a defense could be your best offense!“  But you may not have heard that hedge fund managers would rather have coal in their stocking this year than a brand new Porsche.

The reason has nothing to do with a paradigm shift in luxury tastes, rather one of the most spectacular wrong hedge fund bets that occurred just weeks ago, a bet that has led to losses of close to $12 billion dollars.  Funds including Steve Cohen’s renowned SAC capital tried to “short” Volkswagen, unaware that Porsche had a massive option and planned to purchase a majority stake because of looser German disclosure requirements.

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Apparently this skit was pulled from the web because of the potential problems it might have caused NBC.  SNL reposted an edited version, however, we have the unedited version here.  A tipster writes:

They have pulled the video and apparently gone after anyone who put the video out there, because the video has all but disappeared off the internet. It was up on multiple sites and virtually all the copies are gone now. There are a few new “edited” copies on the net.

Anyway, here it is for all you to enjoy!

Unemployed Banker’s Take Note:

Many of you have probably heard the many Banker tales of analysts who can solve Rubik’s cubes in several minutes if not seconds?  In fact some of you might even know an analyst who put it on their resume, only to be tested later during their interview (FYI, if you put it on your resume, you WILL be tested, it’s a fact).  Well you probably only know the guys who passed, cause the ones who fudged it, well they are out of a job.  Then again, given the climate on Wall Street these days, you too are probably out of a job!

Moreover, you are probably desperately searching for that new job, and need a competitive advantage!  No need to worry, help is on the way.  We’re going to give you that razor sharp edge and show you how to solve a Rubik’s cube so you can dazzle that future employer.

Instructional video after the jump… More»

^{Oakmont Manor $21,000}

We have all been witness to the the devastating effects this recession has taken on Wall Street, but soon, we fear, it will carry on to Main Street, and then even on to Toddler Town.  It’s going to be a tough year ahead folks, and, the suffering will be felt across the board.  One such company to feel a drop in sales is sure to be PoshTots, the leading designer of Luxury Playhouses. Posh Tots specializes in “furnishing your child’s world” and has earned a reputation as the designer of choice for the Hollywood mom set, as well as upscale mommies all across the globe.

More story and photos below:

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Some recent investment advice came over the wire and we just had to share.  In the current state of the markets, this seems to be the most prudent strategy, and it happens to also be good fun!  So it goes like this:

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of AIG stock one year ago you would have $44.34 left.

With Wachovia, you would have had $54.74 left of the original $1,000.00.

With Lehman, you would have had $0.00 left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago…

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