Remember when besuited money-Gollum and CEO of Lehman Brothers Dick Fuld denied knowing that his bank was headed for a ditch in 2008? Well, internal emails and documents released by the law firm who performed the "post-mortem" on Lehman reveal that the bank's executives were repeatedly warned about the risks the company was taken, and willfully ignored them. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg isn't running for president this year (we don't think) so instead he's having meals with the 2012 candidates. In February, Bloomberg had lunch with President Obama and, today, he had breakfast with Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Isn't it great that Bloomberg Businessweek spiked that "battered Mitt" cover? more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] An NYCLU legal observer was arrested during an OWS march in front of an MTA building in Lower Manhattan yesterday. This reporter was standing 20 yards north of the incident and didn't witness the arrest, but videographer Tim Pool captured Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona speaking forcefully to the legal observer, then pulling her into the street by her arm to be arrested. Cardona is best known for punching protester Felix Rivera-Pitre in the face for seemingly no reason at a demonstration on October 14 of last year. more ›

To commemorate the organization's 25th anniversary, members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) chained themselves together across Broadway at Wall Street this morning. Activists demanded a Financial Speculation Tax (FST) on Wall Street affecting all transactions and speculative trades in order to raise the money to end the global AIDS epidemic and provide universal healthcare in the Unites States. Police arrived with chain cutters and nine protesters were promptly arrested for obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct—to the sounds of jeering New York Stock Exchange workers. Later, approximately 1,500 demonstrators from organizations like Occupy Wall Street, Housing Works, Vocal NY, and National Nurses United marched from City Hall to the Department of Social Services at 180 Water Street before finally gathering again in front of Trinity Church on Broadway, chanting "Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!" more ›

Eleven Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested near the New York Stock Exchange yesterday as the demonstrators continue to occupy a segregated "First Amendment Rights Area" on the stairs of Federal Hall. Shortly after the arrests, the U.S. Park Police released a six-page set of regulations for the protesters sitting on federal property. more ›

Since Occupy Wall Street protesters were removed from their sidewalk sleeping space across the street from the NYSE, they have relocated themselves to the steps of Federal Hall several feet away. The situation has devolved into a strained tug-of-war between the demonstrators and the NYPD and the U.S. Parks Police, with each side at odds over the right to protest, the residents nearby, and Federal Hall, which sits on federal property. According to a Parks Police officer standing in front of Federal Hall, the barricades now bisecting the steps belong to the NYPD and were placed there with the permission of the Parks Police. more ›

At least 10 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested last night during a large demonstration across the street from the New York Stock Exchange. Forced off the sidewalk on Broad Street earlier in the day, Occupiers sought refuge on the steps of Federal Hall, which is U.S. government property. For the most part, U.S. Park Police tolerated their presence, provided they didn't violate a "no sleeping or camping" rule. But as day turned to night, the NYPD continued to make arrests, frequently singling out protesters who seemingly did nothing wrong, and in some cases violently detaining them. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The tolerance shown by the NYPD last week towards the group of Occupy Wall Street protesters sleeping across the street from the NYSE evaporated this morning, as police cleared the sidewalk on Broad Street. According to the Times' Colin Moynihan, the order to vacate was given at 6 a.m., and for the next few hours police corralled the 100 or so protesters up the street so the sidewalk could be power washed. Four were arrested in the process, and one protester was punched in the face by an officer after he swung a bag at an NYPD camera documenting the action. more ›

Self-excommunicating Goldman Sachs survivor Greg Smith's book may be worth as much as $1 million, a "top editor" in the publishing industry tells the Post. Smith is apparently being represented by N.S. Bienstock, a firm whose speciality is repping "reality TV shows and news personalities." Can we finally get a @GSElevator sitcom? And can that guy from Princess Bride play Lloyd Blankfein? more ›

Not satisfied with the $150 paid to him by the New York Times for his scathing editorial/resignation letter, former Goldman Sachs employee Greg Smith is reportedly shopping a memoir to "prominent" publishing houses in New York. According to the Times' sources, Smith pitched his book "as a coming-of-age story, the tale of someone who came into the business with good intentions and sky-high ideals that were ultimately pierced by Goldman’s obsessive focus on making money." We're looking forward to the accompanying children's book, "Go The F*ck To The Trading Floor & Make Us Some F*cking Money." more ›

Much has been made of the $2 billion Goldman Sachs lost in market value on Wednesday, the same day that the NY Times published an op-ed by a disgruntled employee who criticized the firm's new focus on money over clients. Now, Bloomberg News reports that the Times paid him $150 for his unsolicited views. more ›

Do you know who, besides Lloyd Blankfein, really wants the pile-on of Goldman Sachs to stop? Mayor Bloomberg! During his radio show this morning, he commented on the very NY Times op-ed written by a disgruntled ex-employee who said the firm put profits before clients: "I don't know whoever said what... But even if it was said, it's a few people and, you know, Goldman Sachs is a firm that's been around for well over a hundred years and it's a great firm... It's my job to stand up and support companies that are here in the city that bring us a tax base that employ our people and I'm going to do that." more ›

The first rule of being a Vampire Squid is that you do not jam your blood funnel into the Queen. Yet that is exactly what former head of Goldman Sach's U.S. equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa did today in a scathing resignation letter in the New York Times. "I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity," Greg Smith begins. "And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it." more ›

After seeing the menu presented to Eliot Spitzer, it's easy to understand how Manhattan Madam Anna Gristina reportedly made millions by charging clients thousands of dollars for each encounter. According to the Daily News, "Dream Model" girls cost $1,000, and the "Ultimate Elite Model" experience could be more than $2,000. Friend of Gothamist and CNBC reporter John Carney's Wall Street sources don't buy it. "Maybe this was true in 2006. No one is paying $2000 these days. I'm not even sure anyone ever did. Not for one girl." But our own sources say this pricing is alive and well. "Those expensive women are the ones you actually want to be seen with," a source says. more ›

Cash bonuses on Wall Street are expected to drop by 14 percent during this year's "bonus season," according to a new report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. And, sadly, there isn't a laboratory in the world with the nanotechnology capable of constructing a violin tiny enough for the bankers quoted in this Bloomberg News article by Max Abelson. Headlined "Wall St. Bonus Drop Means Trading Aspen for Discount Cereal," the story was bravely filed from the war-torn front lines of the financial industry, where Abelson traveled to get the untold story of those hit hardest by the Great Recession: the financial industry workers who made the recession happen. more ›

A week after managing to cross the 13,000 mark but falling back into the 12,000-zone, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 13,005 points today. The Wall Street Journal says, "The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13000 points for the first time in nearly four years Tuesday, before the financial crisis and global slowdown sent markets reeling." The NY Times notes, "The index, which tracks 30 of the biggest companies on Wall Street, last surpassed the milestone mark in a closing on May 19, 2008, when it ended trading at 13,028.16." more ›

Michael Douglas, for better or for worse, is best known as Gordon Gekko, the ruthless insider trader in Wall Street, whose lifestyle and power tempt an innocent named Bud Fox (played by Charlie Sheen). Gekko is, as Patton Oswalt pointed out, one of those characters who backfired, "Oliver Stone wrote Gordon Gekko to be the most ultimately evil guy, and then to his horror, everyone started going like, I’m gonna get my suspenders!" Now, Douglas is trying to right wrongs by doing a PSA about insider trading for the FBI: more ›

John Kinnucan is a hedge fund analyst accused of insider trading. Out on bail after his arrest on Thursday, Kinnucan isn't allowed to drink, use a computer, or even pick up a telephone. According to Business Insider, that's because for several months he sent extremely racist, homophobic emails to prominent business journalists blasting his perceived enemies. In one addressed to Assistant US Attorney Avi Weitzman, Kinnucan wrote: “People like you make me think that Hitler was right after all.” more ›

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 13,000 mark today, in the wake of the Greek bailout deal. The Wall Street Journal reports, "It was the first time the Dow reached the 13000 level on an intraday basis since May 20, 2008. The last time the Dow closed above that level was May 19, 2008. Shares pulled back a bit in late morning. The Dow was up 46 points, or 0.4%, at 12996." more ›

We just stumbled across this footage of a man baiting and trapping pigeons on Wall Street last week... you know, during our afternoon search for fresh pigeon videos. The uploader, who did an amazing job soundtracking the video with "Free Bird," writes: "The Crocodile Hunter has got nothing on The Pigeon Trapper, as he does a little food shopping on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan." It's safe to say these pigeons are either being trained to race, or have been cooked up, squirrel style by now... what do you think? more ›

Some office workers tossed whole pieces of paper out of their windows during the Giants' ticker tape parade on Tuesday—and some of those papers included medical information with Social Security numbers. Other companies probably thought they were fine because they used shredded paper... but this photo shows that one firm probably needs a cross shredder, because this is clearly a stock call option. Probably with enough digging and tape, you could put together the whole document! more ›

A new report came out today from the Special Inspector General charged with auditing the government's TARP program for foundering financial institutions. According to the report, which you can read in full below, the "Special Master" appointed to curb executive pay at companies getting TARP money wasn't all that special after all. Although President Obama and Congress wanted pay caps of $500K for executives at seven companies that got bailed out, 49 fat cats still got paid $5 million or more between 2009 and 2011. Here's why, according to the audit: more ›

Following tomorrow night's worldwide candlelight vigil for Martin Luther King Jr., a group of African American faith leaders will join Occupy Wall Street in a march at 10 a.m. Monday from the Financial District to Madison Square Garden in an effort to "reclaim the dream" and further the slain civil rights leader's fight for economic justice. more ›

Have you heard? There is a momentous contest between two sporting teams of toned millionaires tomorrow, one of which hails from the Excelsior State! And 57-year-old Peter Serafin won't miss a minute, thanks to his $240,000, 20-hour trip across the country to Lambeau Field. Serafin, who shockingly works in finance, has filled a 70-foot RV with "two beautiful waitresses, a driver and even the executive chef at Old Homestead Steakhouse" to ferry himself and five friends to Wisconsin for the game. "It's exciting," he tells the Post, "It's like a dream come true." Yes, all our dreams involve 20 hours of being trapped in a metal box on the highway with fried chicken and "10 live lobsters." more ›

According to the WSJ, Wall Street's end-of-year bonuses will shrink drastically thanks to dismal fourth-quarter figures. Around 400 partners at Goldman Sachs will see their net pay cut in half, while Morgan Stanley's bonuses may dip from 40% to 30%. Some socialist bankers (they exist) might suggest that a falling tide sinks all boats, but those idiots clearly haven't stepped aboard the Serene. Never ones to take fairness lying down, a group of executives at the brokerage firm Jefferies Group are threatening to sue or quit or both if their pay isn't up to par. more ›