Results tagged “wamu”

Biggest U.S. bank failure ever: Washington Mutual, which struggled to find a buyer, was closed by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision and the FDIC, for "insufficient liquidity" and being "unsound." The government orchestrated JPMorgan Chase's purchase of WaMu deposits for just $1.9 billion. WaMu's is the country's biggest savings and loan and has $310 billion in assets, but was affected by the mortgage crisis. Also, while shareholders and bondholds will be wiped out, the NY Times says Wamu customers "are unlikely to be affected." (Also, the FDIC insures deposits up to $100,000). Earlier this year, WaMu rejected JPMorgan's takeover at $4/share--an analyst told Bloomberg News, "JPMorgan is getting a steal compared with what they were going to pay. It's very tragic.''

An influential group of rabbis have put the kibosh on a concert planned for next Sunday at MSG’s WaMu theater. Billed as The Big Event, the show was to be headlined by popular Hasidic pop singer Lipa Schmeltzer and raise money for an Israeli charity that finances weddings for orphans. But after an edict was issued against the event, Schmeltzer dropped out, saying, “I have to get out of the fire.”

We've come around on Hot Chip in a big way over the last few years as they've risen to stateside popularity. Their latest album is a total burner, highlighted by a killer lead single, Ready for the Floor, and the last few times we've seen them live it's been a blast. So needless to say, our expectations for last Saturday night's show at Highline were through the roof. Did they live up to them? Nearly. It was a great time, the crowd was into it and the songs still rule. The band, however, seemed a touch off that night. It may have been a due to the band not having played these songs a whole lot live before, but, especially with the new jams, it didn't seem to flow as well as we'd hoped. Obviously you don't go see a band live to hear them play the songs exactly as they are on record, but their minor tinkering seemed slightly for the worse. That said, a mostly great show, and we can't wait for them to return to Terminal 5 in a few months. (Pic via Ryan Dombal's Flickr)

Sure, with the All Points West Fest announced, Coachella may not have the same appeal for east coasters this year, but the lineup announcement is still an exciting annual event. Over the last few years, it has established itself as the granddaddy and standard bearer of the American festival circuit. Unfortunately, most people are finding this year's lineup is a bit of a dud. Coachella's been operating at such a high level since 2003 that it was really only a matter or time before the lineups would stop exciting everyone, and while last year had it's plusses and minuses, this year seems to have really fallen off. Many of the smaller acts played the fest recently, something they used to try and avoid, and the headliners seem to be all over the place. Sure, a Portishead reunion is a treat, but how many Roger Waters fans are into Jack Johnson? Is a Love and Rockets reunion and Death Cab for Cutie really above the fold top draws? Doesn't seem like it. While we can't speak for their bottom line, which surely is doing okay, it might serve them well to try and scale back a bit in the future if this year has a bit of a drop off. Two days in the desert is more than enough for most, and to pack those days full with bands everyone can get excited about is a much more appealing scenario.

OMG OPRAH! After weeks of anticipation - and insane craigslist listings - a few thousand lucky fans got to watch the season premiere of Oprah from the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The show featured David Letterman and a performance from Lisa Marie Presley. And, yes, Oprah Winfrey did start off the show with "Hellloooo, New York."

Yesterday tickets went on sale for the two Oprah Winfrey show tapings next month (September 10th and 11th) at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The internet went into overload immediately, shutting down the ticket websites.

The relatively recent boom of opening bank branches in Manhattan is examined in amNew York. With a 36% increase in Manhattan bank branches between 2000 and 2006, it's hard for many people to walk a block or two without passing at least one (though there are more in places like Midtown or the intersection of Second Avenue and 10th Street). Banks will pay higher rents, which makes landlords less willing to continue to rent spaces to mom-and-pop businesses. And basically, a pun explains why there are so many:

Chase spokesman Tom Kelly...pointed out that "economies of scale" make operating 120 bank branches not that much more expensive than running just 90...

Continue reading "Bank On It"

Whichever stadium/arena/field/theater/concert hall had the worst name, that title has been passed along. We're not sure what it was, but it now belongs to the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Not only is the official name obscenely long, but its short form, WaMu Theater, is just plain silly sounding. The Washington Mutual Theater has a much nicer ring to it, no? Madison Square Garden and Washington Mutual announced that they inked a long term agreement for the naming rights of the MSG venue formerly known as just The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Terms of the multi-year contract were not disclosed, but Cablevision and the Dolans probably padded their wallets pretty nicely. Maybe they can blow the money on the Knicks!