Easy Refcome, easy Refco
I've been tagging stories about the Refco situation for days, but haven't had the focus to put anything together on it just yet. But, considering it is supposed to be the 4th largest bankruptcy in American history, and the tantalising tangle of Goldman Sachs alumni that surrounds it, and the seemingly sordid past of some of its major players, and that it plays in that Neverland world of futures and derivatives, and the way it attracted the biggest honey-pots on Wall Street to advise it and shape it and poke and pick at it and provide legal documents through to an Initial Public Offering just a few months ago in what is supposed to be a rigorous "due diligence" shake-down that attracts some obscenely huge fees to everyone involved, it just seems like something that ought to be followed.
And maybe I'll get round to it.
But just to start the ball rolling, it is worth understanding that the yarn began to unwind when it was found out that the CEO had an outstanding loan from the company in the amount of well over $400million that he kept shuffling from one entity to another from calendar quarter after quarter for maybe as much as seven years it seemed, and no one picked it up, or if they did, bothered to disclose. Or otherwise account for on its official books.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2005/nf20051017_2461_db016.htm
And that "Robert Trosten, a former chief financial officer for Refco Inc., received a whopping $46 million severance payment when he left the commodities brokerage last October...." (http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5052118?f=home_breakingnews)
And maybe I'll get round to it.
But just to start the ball rolling, it is worth understanding that the yarn began to unwind when it was found out that the CEO had an outstanding loan from the company in the amount of well over $400million that he kept shuffling from one entity to another from calendar quarter after quarter for maybe as much as seven years it seemed, and no one picked it up, or if they did, bothered to disclose. Or otherwise account for on its official books.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2005/nf20051017_2461_db016.htm
And that "Robert Trosten, a former chief financial officer for Refco Inc., received a whopping $46 million severance payment when he left the commodities brokerage last October...." (http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5052118?f=home_breakingnews)
Labels: Financial duplicity, Financial Wizardry
posted by Guambat Stew at Thursday, October 20, 2005
2 Comments:
Hafa adai! Quite an interesting blog you've got here. I'm curious - I'm from Guam and I wanted to know what made you choose Guambat Stew for your name? Quite obviously, bat stew is a rare delicacy on my island, so I'm wondering if that's the slant you're taking?! Well, I am intrigued...I'll sure to visit this site often. :)
Hafa back atcha. I moved to Guam in 1982, lived there 7 years, moved to Sydney but stayed employed on Guam and will be moving back next year. Never actually ate fanihi but did see it on the menu at the Grand Hotel on Saipan many years ago. You'd be interested to know that there are literally thousands of them living right here in the heart of Sydney.
Don't know why I named it Guambat Stew. I like the alliteration of guambat and wombat (an Australian marsupial). The stew idea came about because stews are often made of bits and pieces of this and that. It just happened.
You can see the various references to Guam in Guambat Stew by going to the "search this blog" facility on my site and typing in the word "guam". I also link to a couple of Guam sites.
Thanks and si yuus ma'ase for dropping in. Come again, and bring your friends!
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