Big banks are giving their junior workers time off just in time for the Super Bowl. This week we’re looking at quotable National Football League stars and Wall Street financier counterparts.
“Omaha!†- Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
Manning, the highest paid player in the N.F.L. is due $15 million next season, on par with Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, who was granted restricted shares worth almost as much as part of his 2013 pay package. Mr. Blankfein’s total compensation is expected to be around $23 million. The Oracle of Omaha, Warren E. Buffett, famously takes only a $100,000 salary. That’s less than the $405,000 rookie minimum salary for the N.F.L.
“I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree that’s the result you’re gonna get! Don’t you ever talk about me!†- Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
Sherman, a Stanford University graduate, was called a “thug†and worse for his trash talking after the N.F.C. championship game. Endorsements offers of $5 million soon followed, the player’s agent told CNNMoney.
Bitcoin advocates Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss also grabbed attention this week for taking a swipe at their opponents: the traditional banking industry. “Solutions don’t really come from the current industry,†Cameron Winklevoss said.  The Harvard graduates have made of career of public feuds, having made their early reputation battling Mark Zuckerberg over ownership of Facebook.
“I’m just ’bout that action, boss.†- Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
Lynch, the running back known as “Beast Mode,†doesn’t speak to the media very often, but when he does the world listens to every word.
The hedge fund titan Paul E. Singer has his own nickname - “vulture capitalist†- and is famously shy about speaking with the financial press. The billionaire does his talking through conferences like the World Economic Forum in Davos and his letters to shareholders of Elliott Management. In a 2013 letter obtained by ValueWalk, Mr. Singer attacked big banks saying that if “a law is ignored in thousands of subtle ways, then over time the rule of law will be replaced by corruption and whim.â€
A look back on our reporting of the past week’s highs and lows in finance.
FRIDAY
Judge Approves Bank of America Mortgage Settlement | A New York State judge on Friday approved most of an $8.5 billion agreement by Bank of America to settle claims by nearly two dozen mortgage securities investors. DealBook »
THURSDAY
Goldman Gives Chief $14.7 Million Stock Bonus | Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, was awarded company stock worth $14.7 million as part of his 2013 package, about 10.5 percent more than in the previous year. DealBook »
Former Chief of S.E.C. to Shift Consulting Job | Mary L. Schapiro is leaving a full-time role at the Promontory Financial Group and said her time would be spent on an array of university lectures, speaking engagements and corporate board work. DealBook »
Over Just 7 Days, Lenovo Wraps Up Two Deals Totaling $5.2 Billion | Lenovo, already the world’s biggest PC maker, is a company in a hurry. It bought a business of low-end servers that will remain in demand for years, and Motorola Mobility, which makes it the trusted partner of Google. DealBook »
Goldman Deal Threatens Danish Government | When Denmark gave the company approval to buy a stake in its state utility, the Socialist People’s Party withdrew its ministers from the country’s governing coalition. DealBook »
Libyan Investment Fund Sues Goldman Over Loss | The Libyan Investment Authority claims that Goldman Sachs made more than $1 billion in derivatives trades that became worthless in value but left the bank with a profit of $350 million. DealBook »
News Analysis: Libya Says Goldman Didn’t Explain Options | The Libyan Investment Authority says Goldman did not provide confirmations of trades until weeks, or in some cases months, after they were made or require it to sign the normal agreement required to trade in derivatives. DealBook »
WEDNESDAY
After Big Bet, Google to Sell Motorola Unit | Though not a total financial loss, the announced sale of the smartphone unit for $2.91 billion, less than two years after Google paid $12.5 billion for it, is a sign of fits and starts at the company in the mobile age. DealBook »
Wall St.’s New Housing Bonanza | Banks have begun selling bonds backed by foreclosed homes turned into rentals in the United States, bringing calls for Congress to look into the deals. DealBook »
Wireless Mergers Will Draw Scrutiny, Antitrust Chief Says | William J. Baer, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division, also said any proposed merger among cable television companies would face similar scrutiny. DealBook »
Foundations Band Together to Get Rid of Fossil-Fuel Investments | Taking cues from old fights to end apartheid and oppose tobacco, several foundations are addressing the warming of the planet. DealBook »
Pressured By Investors, Sotheby’s Takes Steps | Sotheby’s outlined plans to pay $300 million to shareholders in the form of a special dividend, and said it would begin a $150 million share repurchase program. DealBook »
Senator Asks Veterans Agency to Review How Financial Advisers Are Accredited | A lax accreditation process is effectively giving “unscrupulous or unqualified individuals†an opportunity to waste taxpayer money and harm veterans, Senator Claire McCaskill said. DealBook »
A Former Regulator Returns to Private Practice | David Meister, who left the post of enforcement chief at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission last fall, will return to his old firm, Skadden, Arps. DealBook »
Colleague of SAC Leader Wasn’t Alerted to Trades | An associate of Steven A. Cohen said at the trial of Mathew Martoma, a former SAC Capital Advisors trader, that he was told of drug stock sales after the fact. DealBook »
Europe’s Bank Risk Plan Is Long Shot | The European Union revealed a long-awaited proposal to reduce the systemic risk posed by big banks like the Volcker Rule in the United States, but it may be a long time before the European Parliament considers it. DealBook »
Chinese Bank Buys Into London Trading | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is buying a controlling interest in Standard Bank’s global markets business in London, making it the first large Chinese lender to have a substantial trading operation in London. DealBook »
TUESDAY
News Analysis: Hedge Funds Sniff for Even Bigger Payouts From Banks | One hedge fund, Fir Tree Partners, is even trying to coax other investors out of participating in the $4.5 billion JPMorgan Chase settlement with private investors. DealBook »
A Swipe at Traditional Banking at a Forum on Bitcoin’s Future | A hearing on the regulatory future of Bitcoin gave advocates the chance to enumerate what they view as the advantages Bitcoin could provide over current systems of moving money around the world. DealBook »
SAC’s Counsel Testifies at Insider Trading Trial in Unexpected Move by the Defense | Testimony by the chief counsel at SAC could allow prosecutors to scrutinize compliance at the multibillion-dollar hedge fund founded by Steven A. Cohen. DealBook »
Deal Professor: Answers to a Puzzling Deal at Alibaba Remain in the Shadows | Alibaba’s acquisition of a sleepy technology company set of a flurry of speculation. After Alibaba’s public debut, scrutiny of its deals will only intensify, the Deal Professor writes. DealBook »
MONDAY
DealBook Column: Anxiety Rises Over Japan and China’s Relations | A major topic of discussion at the World Economic Forum was the ties of two Asian neighbors with a long history of strained interactions, writes Andrew Ross Sorkin. DealBook »
Bitcoin Figure Is Accused of Conspiring to Launder Drug Money | One of the most prominent players in the Bitcoin universe, Charles Shrem, was arrested on Sunday, accused of conspiring to facilitate drug transactions on the now-defunct online bazaar Silk Road. DealBook »
Past Sins Haunting Royal Bank of Scotland | The bank said it would set aside £3 billion, or nearly $5 billion, to cover litigation losses tied to soured mortgage-backed securities and other assets sold before the financial crisis began. DealBook »
Despite Spate of Deals, Vodafone Faces an Uncertain Future | Telecommunications analysts debate whether Vodafone can prosper on its own or whether it would be better off as a takeover target. DealBook »
SUNDAY
Banks’ Role in Payday Lending Is Target | Federal prosecutors are scrutinizing whether banks have allowed businesses to siphon billions of dollars from consumers’ accounts. DealBook »
WEEK IN VERSE
‘Halftime’ | Every Super Bowl halftime should feature Beyoncé. YouTube »
