Bankers of the 1% have heard the cries of the 99%, and several of them have decided it's time to fight back.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, hedge fund manager John Paulson and John Allison, former chairman of North Carolina-based BB&T Corp., are just a few of the finance industry's big names who are defending wealthy businesspeople. They argue that the current banking system, and the rich who are a part of it, benefit society and create a healthier economy.
Dimon, who earned $23 million in 2010, recently spoke out on the subject at a New York City investors' conference, according to Bloomberg. "Acting like everyone who's been successful is bad and because you're rich you're bad, I don't understand it," Dimon is quoted in Bloomberg as saying. "Sometimes there's a bad apple, yet we denigrate the whole."
Career success, they argue, shouldn't be vilified or disparaged. New regulations within the Dodd-Frank Act that require publicly traded firms to indicate the CEO-to-average-employee pay ratio in their earnings, Allison argues, are an "attack on the productive."
While some of the finance industry's affluent executives, most notably Warren Buffett, have called for tax increases on the wealthiest, voices from the top speaking out against the 99% have grown louder as the "Occupy Movement" has burgeoned from its humble beginnings in Lower Manhattan this fall.
Cake, anyone?
Not Your Average Banker Bar Tab (FINS)
While some firms opted to cut holiday parties altogether, JPMorgan decided to keep its festivities going this season by allocating approximately $20 per person for company-sponsored events.
A new report indicates that many of the proprietary and commodities traders who have been forced to leave their firms due to stricter government regulations have found themselves a new home in hedge funds.
For the second time since he was charged with fraud and false accounting, UBS's former "rogue trader" Kweku Adoboli had his case adjourned by a London court after he did not enter a plea. He will return to court on Jan. 30, at which time the judge says Adoboli will receive no additional deferrals.
New York City-based investment bank Jefferies confirmed that it cut 10% of the jobs in its equities division. The firm's top executives also announced they won't take bonuses this year.
As the number of Indian and Chinese applicants to U.S. business schools climbs, the rate of rejection among these groups is climbing as well.
Two managing directors at New York City-based investment bank Greenhill & Co., Jeffrey Buckalew and Rakesh Chawla, were killed in a small-plane crash in New Jersey yesterday. Buckalew's wife and two children, who were also aboard the plane, did not survive the crash.
Two New York City-based FBI agents talk about their "Perfect Hedge," the project that helped them infiltrate Manhattan's tight-knit hedge fund industry to find and eliminate insider trading operations.
At this time of year, while children have visions of sugarplums in their heads, many M.B.A. hopefuls are juggling visions of acceptance and rejection letters. The Wall Street Journal spoke with the admissions director at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business about the selection process.
Buzz Around the Office
No Regard (YouTube)
Note to the FedEx guy: Look out for cameras before you toss someone's package.
List of the Day: Staying Well
Getting sick this time of year is a miserable and time-consuming experience. Take these steps to stop a cold before it starts:
1. Gargle with apple cider vinegar, salt water or Listerine.
2. Take an olive leaf supplement at the first sign of a cold.
3. Drink green tea to boost your immune system.
(Source: AOL Jobs)
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