Kweku Adoboli – UBS’s Latest Rogue Trader – Had the Balls To Lose $2 Billion (Allegedly) (Insider Monkey)
Kweku Adoboli, a 31 year old trader, has been arrested over a rogue trading binge that resulted in a $2 Billion loss for his employer, UBS. London’s Telegraph says the picture above is of him, although that picture on Facebook, also of a guy named Kweku Adoboli, just mentions his love of photography and that he’s not a terrorist.
Groupon Back on Track for Its I.P.O. (DealBook)
Groupon is planning to put its initial public offering back on track even as markets remain rocky.
After postponing presentations to potential investors early this month, the online coupon giant is now aiming to go public in late October or early November, according to people briefed on the matter. That would mean that Groupon could embark on its investor roadshow by the middle of next month, these people said.
Head of Goldman’s Computer-Trading Shop to Step Down (DealBook)
Katinka Domotorffy, the head of Goldman Sachs’s quantitative investment strategies group, will retire from the firm at the end of the year, according to a letter the bank’s asset management division sent to investors on Wednesday.
Her position as head of the group, which oversees about $56 billion in mutual funds, hedge funds and institutional accounts, will be split into several roles. Goldman has appointed Armen Avanessians to head up the global quantitative business, while Ron Hua will take over as chief investment officer of the equity alpha business. Mr. Hua joined Goldman from PanAgora Asset Management. Two other Goldman executives, Bill Fallon and Don Mulvihill, will also oversee investment strategies within the group.
Europe Lending Woes Deepen (WSJ)
Europe’s financial crisis intensified Wednesday as banks moved to obtain more dollars for loans to their U.S. customers, and some nervous corporate clients began looking to banks outside the euro zone for loans.
Tensions in the 17-nation euro zone are increasing despite attempts by central banks to pump badly needed dollars into the region, as U.S. sources have shrunk. On Wednesday, the European Central Bank said two banks had tapped it for $575 million, only the second time in six months the ECB has doled out dollar funding. The names of banks that tap the ECB are kept confidential.
Values for Home-Equity Loans Face U.S. Scrutiny (Bloomberg)
U.S. regulators are examining whether the nation’s home lenders have accurately valued $845 billion of home-equity and other second-lien mortgages, according to seven people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have teams checking on default risks at the biggest banks and whether they’ve set aside enough reserves to cover the loans, according to the people. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is continuing and examinations aren’t public.
