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HomeTune in Sunday Evening to NoQuarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 19th, 2009 7:34 AM |
Please join me Sunday evening from 8-9 p.m. ET for NoQuarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle. 
The developments in the markets, economy, global finance, Wall Street, and Washington are occurring at breakneck speed. I will try to slow things down a bit and provide a sense of perspective. What did we learn in the markets over the last week and what does that mean for the weeks and months ahead? We will address a wide range of issues, including: transparency and quality of earnings, Goldman’s and JP Morgan’s initiative to pay back TARP, and upcoming bank stress test results.
In addition, my guest Sunday night will be Chris Lowney. Lowney, formerly a Jesuit, was named a Managing Director of J.P. Morgan while still in his thirties and held senior positions in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London until leaving the firm in 2001. He served successively on Morgan’s Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Investment Banking Management Committees. Lowney’s first book, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World, was the #1 ranked bestseller of the CBPA (Catholic Book Publishers Association) and was named a finalist for a 2003 Book of the Year Award from ForeWord magazine. It has been translated into ten languages. (more…)
The Scarlet Letter
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 16th, 2009 12:44 PM |
Competitive people by their very nature like to win. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, our country was built upon risk taking entrepreneurs who blazed trails and opened markets in the pursuit of profit.
Clearly, we have experienced enormous abuses in many parts of our economy over the last decade. The fact that rating agencies and regulatory authorities have been negligent – if not complicit – in the process has only added to the turmoil. In my opinion, our legislators have been as much a part of the problem as the solution.
For many of those who have either mismanaged their business or abused business ethics along the way, the government has stepped in with billions in support. Our markets have suffered as a result.
Against this backdrop, the major rub in the world of finance is distinguishing between the strong banks and the weak banks. Well, Jamie Dimon issued as aggressive an assessment as I have ever seen on this specific topic. In a Bloomberg report on JP Morgan’s earnings,
Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who today reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ expectations, said his firm could repay U.S. government rescue funds “tomorrow.”
Dimon, called money received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program “a scarlet letter.”
Let’s Meet Chris Lowney
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 15th, 2009 7:08 PM |
I am thrilled to have Chris Lowney join me this Sunday evening on NoQuarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle. I learned about Chris from my daughter who heard him speak at her college. My daughter had the good fortune of receiving a complimentary copy of Chris’ book, Heroic Leadership.
Upon reading Chris’ bio, I knew I had to have him on Sense on Cents. Chris possesses qualities we need not only in our private enterprises, but truly throughout our society.
Chris Lowney, formerly a Jesuit, was named a Managing Director of J.P. Morgan & Co. while still in his thirties and held senior positions in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London until leaving the firm in 2001. He served successively on Morgan’s Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Investment Banking Management Committees, accumulating extensive multinational experience at a company regularly ranked one of “America’s Most Admired Companies” by Fortune magazine.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Lowney was a Jesuit seminarian for seven years. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University, where he also received his M.A. and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is holder of honorary Doctoral degrees from St Louis University, Marymount Manhattan University, and from the University of Great Falls.
His first book, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World was the #1 ranked bestseller of the CBPA (Catholic Book Publishers Association) and was named a finalist for a 2003 Book of the Year Award from ForeWord magazine. It has been translated into ten languages.
In writing Heroic Leadership, Lowney displays how the Jesuits eschewed a “flashy” leadership style in favor of a holistic approach focusing on four unique values: self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism. Lowney explores the four principles in detail, illustrating each with anecdotes from Jesuit history. He examines the Jesuit success formula of attacking real-world opportunities with real-world leadership strategies, showing how their formula can be used today to practice effective, whole-person leadership.
“Entertaining and well researched, Heroic Leadership is a must-read for any business leader, and an inspirational read for anybody who wants to be a better human being.”
— Walter Gubert, Chairman Investment Bank, JP Morgan
I look forward to my conversation with Chris Lowney this coming Sunday evening on NQR’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle.
LD
Will Jamie Dimon be the Next Treasury Secretary?
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 20th, 2009 9:02 PM |
The pressure on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is increasing from within the Democratic Party, across the aisle, and the media. Will Tim be fed to the lions? Well, the standard procedures of implementing change seem to be occurring. What are those steps?
JP Morgan Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon
1. A vote of confidence by the Administration. Always a kiss of death!
2. Leak the name of a strong prospective secretary.
Who might that be? JP Morgan Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon.
Dimon is enormously well respected in Washington and Wall Street. He can quickly build a team. He has run very large organizations. He has been a longtime Democratic supporter and publicly promoted President Obama and his plans.
I find it interesting that Dimon’s name was bandied about last October as a prospective leader of Treasury. Market Watch highlighted this fact in reporting The Next Treasury Secretary Is…
As the firestorm over the prospective legislation to restrict Wall Street bonuses grows, do not be surprised to see Dimon ride in on the white horse to broker peace between Washington, the financial community, and the public at large.
LD
AIG Contracts a Brain Freeze
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 17th, 2009 9:27 AM |
Given the public outrage over the millions in bonus payments at AIG, is there any doubt that there has been a massive failure to perform by all involved?
When AIG was on the verge of bankruptcy last September, I am willing to bet the topic of employment contracts was not the lead item on the agenda. In fairly short order, though, as AIG was moving ahead with its attempt to sell divisions and repay the government loan, I have to believe outstanding liabilities, such as employment contracts, became a topic of discussion.
Let’s bring the main players at that point in the process back to the table. What does Hank Paulson have to say? How about Robert Willumstad, former AIG CEO? How about current AIG CEO, Edward Liddy?
Make no mistake, both the government and AIG executives could have imposed their will to renegotiate – if not outright dismiss – any outstanding contracts. How? When an entity such as the government takes over a company, a change of control occurs. That change of control does not unilaterally extinguish outstanding liabilities, but it certainly opens them for renegotiation. The fact that these contracts were not seriously renegotiated is a massive failure to perform on behalf of the government officials and AIG executives. (more…)
Lessons from Bear Stearns
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 16th, 2009 10:37 AM |
It was one year ago that the Federal Reserve and Treasury delivered Bear Stearns into the hands of JP Morgan for $2 a share. Bear Stearns stock had traded above $170 a share in 2006. With the passage of time, what are some of the lessons learned and what questions remain unanswered.
1. Although Bear Stearns employees and shareholders may not qualify a price of $2 a share (revised to $10 a few weeks later) as being saved, would the financial system have been better off letting Bear totally fail? Why? If Bear had failed, many people do not believe we would have had the breakdowns in our financial systems that occurred because of Lehman’s failure.
2. Did Dick Fuld, CEO of Lehman, assume that the Fed and Treasury would save Lehman much as they did Bear? Was he less aggressive in pursuing increased capital injections during the Summer 2008 as a result? Many people believe this to be the case. (more…)
