Trustee for Liquidation of Madoff Investment Securities Seeks $9 Billion in Recoveries, and Additional Damages at Trial, From HS

Source: Tradingmarkets

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Irving H. Picard, the Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC ("BLMIS") today announced the filing of a complaint in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging 24 counts of financial fraud and misconduct against HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC Bank plc, and affiliated entities (collectively "HSBC").

The complaint alleges that HSBC enabled Madoff's Ponzi scheme through the creation, marketing and support of an international network of a dozen feeder funds based in Europe, the Caribbean, and Central America, which are also named in the complaint (collectively, the "Feeder Fund Defendants"). Other Defendants named in the filing include the management companies and service providers of those feeder funds, as well as certain of their directors and managers, namely Sonja Kohn,Genevalor,Mario Benbassat and his sons, Albert and Stephane, as well as Bank Medici andUnicredit,who together with other defendants helped fuel and extend Madoff's Ponzi scheme across international borders.

From these Defendants, the Trustee seeks to recover at least $9 billion based on theories of contribution to Madoff's scheme; aiding and abetting Madoff's fraud; unjust enrichment in the form of millions of dollars; and over $2.3 billion in fraudulent transfers. All monies recovered will be deposited in the Customer Fund for equitable distribution to BLMIS customers with valid claims.

According to the complaint, the Defendants directed more than $8.9 billion into BLMIS's fraudulent investment advisory business. The Defendants also earned hundreds of millions of dollars by selling, marketing, lending to, and investing in financial instruments designed to substantially assist Madoff by pumping money into BLMIS and prolonging the Ponzi scheme.

The complaint alleges that the Defendants were well aware of the indicia of fraud surrounding BLMIS. HSBC twice retained KPMG to identify concerns with BLMIS, and KPMG twice reported serious risks already known to HSBC.

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"Had HSBC and the Defendants reacted appropriately to such warnings and other obvious badges of fraud outlined in the complaint, the Madoff Ponzi scheme would have collapsed years, billions of dollars, and countless victims sooner," said Mr. Picard. "The Defendants were willfully and deliberately blind to the fraud, even after learning about numerous red flags surrounding Madoff."

"All of the Defendants are financial institutions, hedge funds, investment advisers, managers, and promoters whose financial sophistication gave them insight into Madoff's fraud long before his confession and arrest in 2008," said David J. Sheehan, counsel to the Trustee and a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP, the court appointed counsel for Mr. Picard. "Each possessed a strong financial incentive to participate in, perpetuate, and stay silent about Madoff's fraudulent scheme."

"The Defendants engineered a labyrinth of hedge funds, management companies, and service providers that, to unsuspecting outsiders, seemed to compose a formidable system of checks and balances," said Oren Warshavsky, a partner at Baker & Hostetler LLP. "Yet the purpose of this complex architecture was just the opposite: the Defendants wanted to provide different modes for directing money to Madoff in order to avoid scrutiny and generate more fees. At the core of this architecture was a remarkably small group of individuals and the bank on which they all relied to help project an air of credibility: HSBC. HSBC alone performed due diligence in its multiple capacities giving it a level of insight into BLMIS that was unsurpassed."

In addition to Mr. Sheehan and Mr. Warshavsky, the Trustee acknowledges the contributions of the Baker & Hostetler LLP team of attorneys who worked on the preparation of the extensive filing against HSBC and the other Defendants: Anjula Garg, Adam Oppenheim, Jennifer Walrath, Geoffrey North, Marco Serrano, Jessie Schweller, Peter Shapiro, Dominic Gentile, Anthony Stark, Jessica Schichnes, Jocelyn Burgos, Madiha Zuberi and Jacqlyn Rovine. The Trustee also acknowledges Tatiana Markel and Maryanne Stanganelli for their work on the matter.

Media Contact:

Kevin McCue

kmccue@bakerlaw.com

216-861-7576

SOURCE Irving H. Picard

Every woman should learn these money lessons

Source: USNews
5 Money Lessons Every Woman Should Learn
By Kimberly Palmer
Manisha Thakor, co-author of On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance, wants you to be financially secure. Specifically, she wants all women, and not just the high net-worth ones catered to by the financial services industry, to have access to the same personal finance lessons that have helped her earn security at age 40. That’s why she developed a new online course, Money Rules, designed to help women get on top of their money. I recently spoke with Thakor about money myths and facts, and five money lessons every woman should learn. Excerpts:


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First let’s clear one thing up… are women worse with money than men?

Women absolutely, hands down, are not worse with money. That's an outdated, 1960s Mad Men era myth. The truth is, most people are bad with money—and not through any fault of their own. Thanks to product proliferation, the financial landscape has grown geometrically more complex than it was before. Yet financial education has not kept pace. Whether it's the alphabet soup of mortgages or the fact that there are more mutual funds than stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange, there's just so much for women and men to wade through. It's as if we've all been thrown into this roadless jungle—and we've got no map or GPS.

So then why do you focus on women?

I choose to focus my work specifically on women for two simple reasons: First, it's even more important for us to get this money stuff right given the brutal financial headwinds we face that men currently do not—earning $0.78 on the male dollar and spending about 11 less years in the paid work force than men due to caring for children and elderly parents. Second, because we're the ones left holding the bag at the end of the day when poor household financial decision are made... simply because we live longer than men on average; they kick the can and we're stuck with the often paltry leftovers.


What is different for women when it comes to money?

The only piece of financial advice that I think differs for women than men is what the "age appropriate" asset allocation should be. Since women live longer, I think at any given age, women should have slightly more exposure to stocks than men. John Bogle is noted for his excellent rule of thumb saying the ideal percent of a portfolio to be in stocks is 100 minus your age. For women I suggest they use 110 minus their age. That's the only tactical difference in advice in my opinion.

However, it's clear to me that the root problem when it comes to financial literacy isn't lack of advice. Pretty much every financial pundit says the same thing: Save at least 15 percent, pay off your high-interest consumer debt, start investing early on, yadda yadda yadda. The right information is out there. It's just not being heard or acted upon by enough people of both genders.

Importantly, as demonstrated by the popularity of timeless books like Deborah Tannen’s You Just Don’t Understand, or John Gray’s Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, men and women often learn, hear, and interpret the same information differently. Ergo, it make total sense to me that there may be some women who prefer to learn the same things about money as men, but in a different way.

Tell us five things women need to know.

Big picture: With this course I seek to present the 80 percent of basic personal finance information that is "the same" for everyone and then help students understand which kind of advisors (percent of asset under management, hourly fee-based, salaried firm-based, CPAs, etc.) are right to help them address the inevitable 20 percent of personal finance that is unique to them. My hope is that after taking this course students will be able to more effectively manage their money on their own and more confidently work with the advisor that is right for their situation.

Here are five key takeaways: 1) How to prioritize saving versus paying off debt: This is a classic dilemma faced by both genders in an era where it's normal to be carrying huge student loan burdens into your late thirties and beyond.

2) How to create a powerful, keep-it-simple investment portfolio: Understanding the effect of fees, the importance of diversification, and the best types of accounts to utilize for short and long-term savings.

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3) The types of financial advisors out there and how to find the right one for you, including what questions to ask, what fee ranges are normal, how to prepare for a meeting with an advisor.

4) How to handle money in the context of a romantic relationship: This is increasingly important as the percent of female breadwinners hits 40 percent... the money dynamic on many home fronts has shifted dramatically in the so-called “He-Session.”

5) Rules of thumb for how much home, car, or education you can comfortably afford: So much of the current financial crisis was caused by people not knowing how much was reasonable to spend on key life expenditures.

Kimberly Palmer is the author of the new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to......read more on USNews

Most expensive cities in the world

Strong yen makes Japanese cities costlier: survey
Agence France-Presse
The stronger yen has made Japanese cities even more expensive for expatriates to live in and their cost gap with other Asian locations is widening, a global survey showed Thursday.

Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe dominate the list of the five most costly cities in the world, the study by ECA International, a management and executive relocation consultancy, found.

"The ever strengthening yen means Japanese locations dominate the top of the ranking," ECA said in a statement.

"Tokyo maintains its position as the most expensive location in Asia and worldwide for international assignees," it said.

The Angolan capital of Luanda was second due to the fact that the city's damaged infrastructure means expats there have to rely on imported goods.

The four Japanese cities were all up from last year, illustrating the impact of the yen's strength over the past 12 months.


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Rounding out the world top 10 were Oslo, Zurich, Geneva, Stavanger in Norway and Bern.

The Asia list was topped by the four Japanese cities followed by Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Beijing and Busan in South Korea.

"The rebounding of the won means that cost of living for assignees to the South Korean capital has risen above Hong Kong for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis," ECA International said.

The cost-of-living differential between Tokyo and Hong Kong, a popular location for expatriates, has increased to 55 percent from 45 percent a year ago, it said.

The Japanese currency has surged in recent months with the yen hitting a 15-year high around 80.50 against the US dollar in November as investors dumped the greenback for better-yielding assets. The dollar fetched about 90 yen at the same point in 2009.

Across Asia, living costs for expatriates have gone up by an average 4.6 percent in the past 12 months, much faster than the 2.9 percent rise in Europe and 2.7 percent in North America.

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"Although inflation figures remain lower than the high levels we witnessed in 2008, we are seeing rises in many Asian locations," said Lee Quane, regional director with ECA International.

"When we look at Europe and North America where inflation rates are lower on average and currencies have weakened, Asia has become a comparatively more expensive region for international assignees over the last year."

ECA International carries out a twice-yearly survey by measuring a basket of common items purchased by expatriates in more than 400 locations globally.

The costs of the items, including groceries, clothing and miscellaneous purchases, are converted into US dollars to make a standard comparison.

They do not include housing, utilities.....read more on Yahoo!News

Do CEOs Need an MBA to Get Rich?

New research shows that fewer than half of the highest-paid CEOs at big companies have MBA degrees
By Francesca Di Meglio
Ever since the dot-com bust, and particularly after the financial meltdown that began in 2008, all anyone in business schools seems to talk about is whether or not the MBA is still a relevant and practical degree. Do people need MBAs—particularly degrees from elite b-schools—to become successful chief executive officers with hefty paychecks? Exclusive new research suggests the answer is "no".

Bloomberg Businessweek asked compensation consultancy Equilar to analyze the pay disclosures of companies with annual revenue of more than $1 billion and to compile a list of the highest-paid CEOs.Aaron Boyd, head of research at Equilar, reports that more than half of the 50 highest-paid executives on the list lacked MBAs.Of those who do hold them, surprisingly few attended top-tier schools.(For the complete list, view our slide show.)

In all, only nine of the 25 highest-paid executives with MBAs got them from B-schools with full-time MBA programs ranked in the top 10 by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2010.There were three apiece from Harvard Business School (Harvard Full-Time MBA Profile) and Columbia Business School (Columbia Full-Time MBA Profile).

Eighteen of the 25 highest-paid executives with MBAs got them from B-schools that ranked in Bloomberg Businessweek's top 30, including two from New York University's Stern School of Business (Stern Full-Time MBA Profile), and one each from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business (Darden Full-Time MBA Profile), Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business (Tuck Full-Time MBA Profile), and the University Texas-Austin's McCombs School of Business (McCombs Full-Time MBA Profile).

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Also on the list were executives from such lower-profile schools as Xavier University, Pace University (Pace Full-Time MBA Profile), and Bellarmine University.

Does Life Experience Outweigh an MBA?

One possible explanation for the preponderance of non-MBAs on the highest-paid list—one that B-schools might not want to hear—is that an MBA simply doesn't equip graduates better to run a big business. In a study recently published in the Journal of Applied Finance, Aron Gottesman and Matthew More of Pace University's Lubin School of Business found no relationship between company performance and the chief executive officer's educational credentials. Gottesman points out that executives without MBAs might have to work harder than MBAs to get ahead and says that at the CEO level, life experience may count for more than lessons learned in B-school.

"Business schools tend to focus on technical skills," Gottesman wrote in an e-mail, "while success at the executive level is a function of broader, more subtle skills such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to make bold decisions quickly."

There's no question that the 25 highest-paid executives made bundles, but how high is high? On average, the top 25 earned $22,847,350 in total compensation, a figure that includes salary, cash bonuses, and other compensation such as perks, as well as the grant-date fair value of options and the grant-date present value of stock awarded in the most recent fiscal year. Looked at another way, they averaged $14,440,827 in take-home pay, which excludes the value of new stock and option grants but includes the value realized from the vesting of previously awarded stock and the exercise of previously awarded options.

Those averages tell only half the story. Gregory B. Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media (LINTA) and a Harvard MBA, had the biggest haul—$87,489,469 in total compensation. (Maffei could not be reached for comment.) Michael S. Jeffries, chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and an alumnus of Columbia's MBA program, came in a distant second with $36,320,099 in total remuneration. At No. 3: Marc Casper, president and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO); this Harvard MBA earned $34,123,808.
No MBAs: Jobs, Bezos, Leahy

Morten T. Hansen, a professor of entrepreneurship at INSEAD (INSEAD Full-Time MBA Profile) and Haas School of Business (Haas Full-Time MBA Profile) at University of California, Berkeley, has researched the long-term performance of CEOs. He notes that some of history's most successful chief executives achieved their success without benefit of an MBA.

"You do not have to have an MBA to be a stellar CEO. Steve Jobs of Apple (AAPL), Jeff Bezos of Amazon (AMZN), and Terry Leahy of Tesco (TSCO:LN) don't have MBAs," wrote Hansen in an e-mail. "There are many ways of learning to lead and be an effective chief executive. The classroom is just one possible step in that direction."

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In research published with INSEAD colleagues Herminia Ibarra and Urs Peyer earlier this year in the Harvard Business Review, Hansen ranked chief executives around the world according to their long-term performance. Although Jobs, who has no MBA, topped the list of best performers, their research showed that an MBA can prove useful in the corner office. On average, just 32 percent of 1,109 CEOs they studied in Germany, Britain, France, and the U.S. had MBAs; on average, however, they ranked 40 places above the CEOs without the degree. "This finding suggests that MBA CEOs have not destroyed value, as some critics would have it," concluded the report.

A further factor to consider is that many executives on the highest-paid list received MBAs in the 1970s and 1980s, long before the degree became a near-certain ticket to instant riches—and long before brand-name schools such as the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile) and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management (Kellogg Full-Time MBA Profile) became synonymous with quality. With U.S. business schools alone churning out more than.....read more on businessweek

NASA discovers new life form

Arsenic-munching germ redefines "life as we know it"
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A strange, salty lake in California has yielded an equally strange bacterium that thrives on arsenic and redefines life as we know it, researchers reported on Thursday.

The bacteria do not merely eat arsenic -- they incorporate the toxic element directly into their DNA, the researchers said.

The finding shows just how little scientists know about the variety of life forms on Earth, and may greatly expand where they should be looking for life on other planets and moons, the NASA-funded team said.

"We have cracked open the door to what is possible for life elsewhere in the universe," Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and U.S. Geological Survey, who led the study, told a news conference.

The study, published in the journal Science, demonstrates that one of the most notorious poisons on Earth can also be the very stuff of life for some creatures.

Wolfe-Simon and colleagues found the strain of Halomonadaceae in California's Mono Lake, formed in a volcanic region and very dense in minerals, including arsenic.

The lake is teeming with life, but not fish. It also contains the bacteria.

"Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and phosphorus," the researchers write in Science.

These six elements make up the nucleic acids -- the A, C, T and G of DNA -- as well as proteins and lipids. But there is no reason in theory why other elements should not be used. It is just that science never found anything alive that used them.

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The researchers grew microbes from the lake in water loaded with arsenic, and only containing a little bit of phosphorus.

SCIENTISTS AMAZED

The GFAJ-1 strain of the Halomonadaceae grew when arsenic was in the water and when phosphorus was in the water, but not when both were taken away. And it grew even with "double whammy" of arsenic.

"It grew and it thrived and that was amazing. Nothing should have grown," Wolfe-Simon told a news conference.

"We know that some microbes can 'breathe' arsenic, but what we've found is a microbe doing something new -- building parts of itself out of arsenic."

Paul Davies of NASA and Arizona State said the bacterium is not a new life form.

"It can grow with either phosphorous or arsenic. That makes it very peculiar, though it falls short of being some form of truly 'alien' life belonging to a different tree of life with a separate origin," he said.

But it does suggest that astrobiologists looking for life on other planets do not need to look only for planets with the same balance of elements as Earth has.

"Our findings are a reminder that life-as-we-know-it could be much more flexible than we generally assume or can imagine," said Wolfe-Simon.

"If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we haven't seen yet? Now is the time to find out."

James Elser, an expert on phosphorus at Arizona State University, said such bacteria may be useful for generating new biofuels that do not requite phosphate fertilizers, treating wastewater or....read more on Yahoo!News

How much money does Demi Moore spend a year to look sexy?

Demi Moore spends $140,000 a year to look hot

Demi Moore may be one of the hottest 48-year-olds on the planet, but those looks come with one hefty price tag. Though she repeatedly denies having undergone plastic surgery (she does own up to her obvious boob job), new reports have emerged detailing…

Demi Moore

Demi Moore may be one of the hottest 48-year-olds on the planet, but those looks come with one hefty price tag. Though she repeatedly denies having undergone plastic surgery (she does own up to her obvious boob job), new reports have emerged detailing the extensive surgical and non-surgical treatments Moore has received over the years. Prepare to have your mind blown.

After turning 40, the mother of three allegedly spent around $311,000 on a head-to-toe overhaul, Heidi Montag style. She spent $25,000 on liposuction, $15,000 on breast implants, and $31,000 on facial work. She also became obsessed with the skin above her knees sagging, so she had them fixed.

More recently are Moore's Thermage skin-tightening treatments, which run around $3,000 a pop. This technique uses radio frequency to heat the deeper layers of the skin while cooling the skin's surface. This tightens collagen and stimulates growth, which makes your epidermis appear tighter and smoother. Apparently she likes the results, because she's been known to go in for treatments weekly.

Surely when you're a big celebrity maintaining your looks is a big part of the job, but the sheer amount of work Demi Moore has had done is unbelievable. Yes, her transformation may not have been as dramatic as Heidi Montag's and the overall results may look better, but she's still totally fake and that makes us sad. We love being able to look up to sexy, well-maintained women like Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep, so it's disheartening when we learn that gorgeous women like Moore have not.....read more on Shine

Thomas Cook has cut 500 jobs

Jobs go as Cook restructures UK business
Rob Gill

Thomas Cook has cut 500 jobs as part of a major shake-up of its UK division in a bid to make annual savings of £50 million.

The UK operation has also been split into three divisions - mainstream, independent and retail – which have been created following a “comprehensive review” of the UK business after Cook endured a "tougher than anticipated" last 12 months due to the ash cloud and weak summer sales.

Cook chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said: “Given the challenges experienced in the UK this year, and the uncertain outlook, we undertook a comprehensive review of the UK cost base and the structure of our UK operations towards the financial year end. “

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He said that the restructure would “simplify and streamline” the UK business and make savings of £40-£50 million through cutting 500 managerial and support roles, renegotiating supplier contracts and consolidating its IT systems.

Around 350 employees including 120 senior managers, mostly from Cook's head office in Peterborough, have left the company while another 150 vacant roles have not been filled. None of the job losses have affected agents.

The new retail division will include the merged Cook and Co-operative Travel shops, once the deal is given approval by.....read more on ttglive