ASSOCIATES OF MADOFF MAY FACE CHARGES  | Federal prosecutors in Manhattan, facing a December deadline to bring additional charges connected to Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, are considering criminal charges against several people connected to the case, DealBook’s Peter Lattman reports. Among those under scrutiny are Shana Madoff Swanson, a senior executive at the firm, and Paul J. Konigsberg, a longtime accountant in Mr. Madoff’s inner circle.
When Mr. Madoff confessed in December 2008, that started the clock on a five-year statute of limitations to bring securities fraud charges. Any new charges would come just weeks before a criminal trial on Oct. 7, when five former employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities â€" Daniel Bonventre, Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, Jerome O’Hara and George Perez â€" are scheduled to stand trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan on charges they aided the fraud. The defendants are expected to argue that they had no idea their boss was a crook, Mr. Lattman writes.
S.&P. BOND DEALS ON THE RISE WITH RELAXED CRITERIA  | Standard & Poor’s was hesitant in the wake of the financial crisis to rate most of the new bonds tied to residential mortgages. But last year, as banks began reviving the market for bonds, S.& P.’s tough stance was hurting the bottom line, Nathaniel Popper reports in DealBook.
At a meeting in the summer of 2012, analysts responsible for rating bonds tied to home loans were informed that their unit had sustained big losses in the previous quarter, Mr. Popper reports. The analysts were not told explicitly to relax their standards to win back business, according to an employee at the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity. But this person said the numbers made it clear that if the division wanted to stay afloat, the analysts would have to make changes.
A few months later, they did exactly that, and the changes seemed to work. More banks started choosing S.&P., and the ratings agency in turn faced criticism from industry participants. “It kind of blindsided all of us,†said one banker involved in the deals at the time, who was not authorized to speak publicly. “It turns out you could water these down and have them rated by S.& P.â€
DIMON VOWS TO FIX COMPLIANCE PROBLEMS  | With JPMorgan Chase poised to pay roughly $800 million to a host of government agencies over its multibillion-dollar trading loss last year, Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chief executive, offered an unvarnished message to employees on Tuesday, Jessica Silver-Greenberg reports in DealBook. He said in a companywide memo that JPMorgan is working to “face our issues, roll up our sleeves, and fix†the compliance and control problems throughout the bank.
Mr. Dimon said that “we are aggressively tackling these challenges.†He explained the contours of that strategy in his memo, including how the bank “deployed massive new resources and refocused critical managerial time†on the effort.
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â With questions swirling about the next Federal Reserve chairman, the central bank is set to release a statement about monetary policy and announce economic projections at 2 p.m. Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed chairman, holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m. FedEx announces earnings before the market opens, and Oracle announces earnings this evening. Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, is on CNBC at 8:30 a.m.
DOLE BUYOUT HAS FAMILIAR FLAVOR  | “Once is apparently not enough for David H. Murdock, the chief executive of the Dole Food Company,†Steven M. Davidoff writes in the Deal Professor column. Mr. Murdock, who has offered to acquire the fruit company for $13.50 a share in a buyout that has been approved by the board, has done this before, in 2003. “But a lawsuit brought by some shareholders in the Delaware Chancery Court is challenging the deal, contending that it is rife with conflicts as Mr. Murdock uses his previous experience at taking Dole private to his advantage.â€
Lofty Bids Emerge for New York Tower  | The real estate family that controls the Empire State Building could move ahead as soon as this week with plans to sell shares to the public through a real estate investment trust, The New York Times reports. But prospective buyers continue to come out of the woodwork.
NEW YORK TIMES
Onex Said to Plan a Sale of the Warranty Group  | The Canadian private equity firm Onex “is preparing to sell the Warranty Group, a provider of extended warranty contracts, which is expected to fetch more than $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said this week,†Reuters reports.
REUTERS
The Sound of Consolidation  | Pandora’s stock sale will give it a war chest of more than $200 million to pursue smaller rivals, Robert Cyran of Reuters Breakingviews writes.
REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS
Microsoft Increases Its Quarterly Dividend  | Microsoft said its board approved a 22 percent increase in the quarterly dividend in addition to a new $40 billion stock buyback program.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DealBook »
Occupy Has Mellow 2nd Birthday, With Appearance From the Hipster Cop  | The smaller turnout on Tuesday for the second anniversary of Occupy Wall Street caused some private grumbling among protesters, but they said the reasons for their movement remained relevant.
DealBook »
After Lehman, Getting the Band Back Together  | Three former “house bands†from Lehman Brothers planned to rock out Tuesday evening at an event to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the firm’s collapse.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
To Buff Its Image, A.I.G. Hires Marketing Officer From Goldman  | After 17 years at Goldman Sachs, David May is headed to the American International Group to be the insurer’s chief marketing officer, Bloomberg News reports.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Versace Mansion Sells for $41.5 Million  | Casa Casuarina, the mansion in Miami Beach where the fashion designer Gianni Versace was killed, sold at auction on Tuesday to a group that includes the owners of Jordache Enterprises, Bloomberg News reports.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
DealBook »
Talks to Begin Over Energy Future Holdings  | Groups of creditors and other investors are clashing over a possible bankruptcy filing for Energy Future Holdings, the company that was taken private in the biggest leveraged buyout ever. The creditor camps plan to meet on Friday for talks, The Wall Street Journal reports.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Safeway Puts Up Defense After Hedge Fund Amasses Stake  | The $6 billion hedge fund Jana Partners has disclosed a 6.2 percent stake in Safeway and has begun agitating for changes at the grocer.
DealBook »
Dutch Fund Calls for Change at Barrick Gold  | The Wall Street Journal reports: “A Dutch pension giant is leading the call from a group of European fund managers pressing for governance changes at Barrick Gold Corp., including a speedier boardroom shake-up and a succession plan for founder Peter Munk.â€
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Two Senior Employees to Leave Facebook  | Justin Shaffer, a product manager, and Ashley Zandy, a manager on the corporate communications team, are leaving Facebook, in “the latest exits for the still rapidly growing company,†The Wall Street Journal reports.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
J. Crew Chief to Join Warby Parker’s Board  | Warby Parker, the three-year-old start-up that is the purveyor of fashionable eyeglasses, plans to announce on Tuesday that it has named Millard S. Drexler, the chief executive of J. Crew, as a director.
DealBook »
An Advertising Innovator Has Seed Money for New Ones  | Alex Bogusky could be called the Johnny Appleseed of advertising, Stuart Elliott writes in the Advertising column in The New York Times.
NEW YORK TIMES
Ex-JPMorgan Trader Slams Government’s Case  | A lawyer for Julien Grout, a former JPMorgan Chase trader indicted on charges that he hid losses to protect his bonus, contends his client is being used as a scapegoat.
DEALBOOK
DealBook » | DealBook: Wielding Broader Powers, S.E.C. Visits Hedge Funds in London
DealBook »
Maker of Electric Car Charging Stations Files for Bankruptcy  | Ecotality, which won a $99.8 million grant from the Department of Energy four years ago, has filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to auction its assets, Reuters reports.
REUTERS
Former Broker Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud  | Reuters reports: “A former broker for Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley has pleaded guilty to wire fraud over what federal prosecutors called a $1.8 million check fraud scheme that cheated a widowed client in her 80s.â€
REUTERS
