Tremont Group Funds had $3.3 Billion with Madoff

***12/19/08 Update–Was Made-off Legit As Late As 2001?-Questions on Tremont

***Update 12-16-08: From Bloomberg: Tremont Invested More Than Half Its Assets With Bernard Madoff 

Tremont Group Funds (owned by OppenheimerFunds) Invested $3.3 Billion With Madoff.

From Bloomberg: http://bit.ly/znEB

Tremont’s Rye Investment Management unit had $3.1 billion, virtually all of its assets, invested with Madoff, said the person, who declined to be identified because the information is private. 

**UPDATES BELOW**

Also from Bloomberg (list of investors & amounts): Madoff’s Investors Had More Than $34 Billion: Table

For info on what’s happening with the leftovers of Madoff’s business:
Madoff.com

On December 15, 2008, the Honorable Louis L. Stanton, a Federal Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, appointed Irving Picard as Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investments Securities LLC (“BMIS”) pursuant to the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”) as set forth in the attached order. LINK

Mr. Picard supersedes Lee S. Richards, the previously appointed Receiver for BMIS and all claims by customers of BMIS will be processed by Mr. Picard as SIPA Trustee. Customers and claimants should refer to the website of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation for information about the processing of claims. SIPC.ORG

Mr. Richards continues to serve as Receiver for Madoff Securities International Ltd. pursuant to the attached order. LINK

Should you have further questions, please contact the Trustee at the following number: 888-727-8695.

Attorney Info for investors: 

Seeger Weiss LLP

MADOFF AND THE SIPC – Law Firm Sonn & Erez Attorneys Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Want to see the details of the case?  U.S. v. Madoff, 08-mag-2735
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/madoff.html

Order Freezing Assets and Granting Other Relief

This fallout is going to be very very bad.  Did ya hear?  It’s the Dow dropping, as hedge funds continue to unwind or just disappear.

Aimee
“Aim for Something” 

Bernie Madoff on the modern stock market [VIDEO]

YouTube – Bernie Madoff on the modern stock market.

Video Details:

Bernard Madoff, former NASDAQ chaiman now implicated in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, at a 2007 roundtable discussion with Justin Fox, Ailsa Roell, Robert A. Schwartz, Muriel Seibert, and Josh Stampfli. 

These are some excerpts featuring Madoff, recently implicated in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The full video is at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gclja-…

The date of the confererence was Oct. 20, 2007, shortly after the sub-prime crisis started to become evident in August, although world markets were still riding high.

Madoff & (the lack of) Investor Confidence

From CLUSTERSTOCK: The Madoff Effect: Investor Confidence Crushed.

There are far more losers in the Bernie Madoff Affair than just those wealthy individuals, banks and hedge funds whose money he apparently squandered. His scam threatens to damage the entire investment business. [Read more]

With Madoff, Dreier, and oh, yeah the economy sinking, I believe the Dow will find a new bottom and I think that bottom is 4000.  Oh, no.

So what will the rich do now? Even if they can get their money back from the hedge funds, where will they put it? In Treasury bills? I think they’re already doing that.

Aimee
“Aim for Something” 

Lost Wealth

From The New York Times: A Palm Beach Enclave, Stunned by an Inside Job

At the exclusive Palm Beach Country Club, trust extended to a fellow member turns to angst after the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff’s suspected $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

And:  The 17th floor of Madoff’s office, where wealth went to vanish

The tally of reported losses climbed through the weekend to nearly $20 billion, with a giant Spanish bank, Banco Santander, reporting on Sunday that clients of one of its Swiss subsidiaries have lost $3 billion. Some of the biggest losers were members of the Palm Beach Country Club, where many of Mr. Madoff’s wealthy clients were recruited.

From CNN Money: Report: Saudi’s Prince Alwaleed lost $4B this year – Dec. 14, 2008 

The Saudi billionaire, who recently raised his bet on struggling Citigroup, has been hurt by financial crisis. But he’s still worth $17 billion.

From Forbes: Economy Shakes Wealthy’s Confidence

America’s rich grew even more pessimistic last month.

Sounds like there’s a lot of  Forbes 400 folks hurting, but with all their wealth they won’t go hungry.

Aimee
“Aim for Something” 

The Big Money: Presentation Tools (funny stuff)

The Big Money Presentation Tools
(from Slate Magazine):

Fun Free Slides about the Economy.  It’s a must have for you next presentation.

Billy the ‘Small Business Owner’

Unlike Joe the Plumber, my husband Billy runs a small business with his mom and is not worried about the possible tax implications his business may face under Obama’s tax plan.

Rather, Billy is quite concerned about the direction of the country and he wants a president who believes in government programs and support in times of recession.  He knows that government investment in people and infrastructure is key to bringing back prosperity in our economy.

You see, Billy’s business is in commercial construction.  He works with engineers and contractors to meet safety code standards on schools, hospitals and other emergency facilities.  As you might imagine, it is essential for federal, state and local governments to continue to invest in infrastructure for Billy’s business to survive and grow.

Billy feels, if he’s fortunate enough to make a quarter million dollars in profit next year, he won’t mind the higher tax bracket. Once the economy turns around, he plans to hire additional employees, and with Obama’s plan he will receive tax credits for hiring and expansion. 

He told me, “Paying taxes is patriotic. It’s my duty as an American.”

Aimee
“Aim for Aimee’s Blog“

The Rise and Fall of the American Empire

Too bad our government couldn’t move a little faster. Ideology clouded Paulson’s decision making.  He wanted to solve the crisis with some convoluted plan aimed at purchasing bad assets from banks, rather than just injecting liquidity directly (in exchange for stock). He lost precious time.

It’s hard to avoid the sense that Mr. Paulson’s initial response was distorted by ideology. Remember, he works for an administration whose philosophy of government can be summed up as “private good, public bad,” which must have made it hard to face up to the need for partial government ownership of the financial sector.

Luckily for the world economy, however, Gordon Brown and his officials are making sense. And they may have shown us the way through this crisis.

[Gordon Does Good THE NEW YORK TIMES]

This is the beginning of the end of American world dominance. In my opinion, our decline has come from poor and inadequate leadership.  This crisis proves to me that all U.S. government officials from the President to Congress are at fault.  Failing to act quickly, rationally, and directly in the global economic crisis is shameful and sad.  

It is reality-check time for America.  We must get it together or be left behind.

Aimee
“Aim for Understanding” 

“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.” (The Economist, 1929)

Abbott, Berenice (October 25, 1935)

Reactions of the Wall Street Slump appeared in The Economist on November 23rd, 1929.

It gives a unique perspective of the problems on Wall Street at that time and offers forecasts of what could come (without the advantage of hindsight).

…what will be the economic effect of the slump on business in the United States?

…speculation in the United States has been so widespread that persons of all classes deceived by, in some cases, real, but in many more cases, purely paper profits from their investments, have been living beyond their means, or, at all events, mortgaging their future by purchasing luxury goods up to, or even beyond, the full limit of their incomes.

How far this will extend must at present be a matter of conjecture. A great deal must in any case depend upon the situation of the banks.

It remains to consider what effect a setback, whether great or small, in the United States will have upon other countries.

If we are justified in assuming that the setback in American industry will only be temporary, we may look forward to steady development in 1930…[Read more]

**Update 1-4-09: I published this post back at the end of September and it keeps getting hits.  Makes me wonder. I’m not the only one worried.  I think we are waking up to the harsh reality.  It’s so obvious, but no one wants to see.  

I hope I’m wrong, but I think the Dow is headed to 4,000 and unemployment (in U.S.) will eventually reach 20%.  How long will this downturn last?  Perhaps 5 years and I hope not 10.  Please tell me we won’t need a world war to complete the cycle.

Aimee
“Aim for a History Lesson”

“When America Sneezes, the Rest of World Catches a Cold.”

“When America Sneezes, the Rest of World Catches a Cold.”

That was a remark I heard last night on The BBC in regard to our financial crisis and the inability of Congress to pass the proposed Bailout Bill.

The BBC: US failure hits European shares

The New York Times: Authorities Aid Banks in Europe

The turmoil that has rocked the United States banking system spread to Europe on Monday, buffeting institutions in at least four countries with a chain of new failures.

As more banks fail in Europe, we should be mindful that we live in a Global Economy.

Aimee
“Aim for Understanding”