Very, very frightening

If Frankenstein isn’t scary enough for you, the enterprising folks at benandhank.com have Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke masks ready just in time for Halloween!

That’s right — for the low, low price of $79.90 and you can get a latex mask of “Evil Hank” and “Evil Ben“. If you’re looking for a Halloween costume, though, move fast — Bernanke masks are sold out and only a handful of Paulson masks remain.

For the more thrifty consumer, Forbes has posted printable masks for its list of the scariest people of 2008. The magazine has included the Presidential candidates on this year’s list, as well as Paulson, Bernanke, Dick Fuld and Jimmy Cayne.

And if you’re still at a loss for a costume for Friday — how about going as the U.S. economy? Not much seems much scarier these days.

The 800lb albatross in the room

The logic behind Delta’s purchase of Northwest was based on the price of oil staying above $100 a barrel. This is what the parties sold to unions, shareholders, creditors and politicians when making the case for the deal; the airline industry was going to have to overhaul everything about its business to manage costs.

New high-efficiency jets were going to be rolling off Boeing’s assembly lines, and airlines would have to find billions of dollars to buy them. Yes, prices for carry-on luggage would keep rising, and free in-flight peanuts could become a thing of the past. Worries about an economic malaise derailing vacation plans and choking corporate travel budgets would grow to full-blown fear of the worst recession in generations by the time the Delta-Northwest deal was struck.

The new, larger Delta will be an international powerhouse with unparalleled scheduling and pricing strength with service to 375 cities worldwide, experts said. The company estimates $2 billion in cost savings and revenue enhancements annually from the merger.

With savings like that, it’s a whole lot easier to forget the high-oil-price argument. The deal is expected to reignite merger plans throughout the industry, as the logic shifts to competitiveness rather than cost. Oh sure, there may still be a recession to deal with, but cutbacks in capacity are already offsetting some of that. Airline investors are so beaten down that they’ll probably be willing partners — and heck, perhaps airlines can use their costly fuel hedging strategies to convince the Fed to lend a hand. There’s a place in the handout line right behind GM.

Deals of the day:

* Top miner BHP Billiton’s chief executive ruled out adding a cash sweetener to its all-share $69 billion offer for rival Rio Tinto, saying financial turmoil hitting commodity markets was no reason to change.

* Newcrest Mining, Australia’s largest gold producer, sees ample acquisition opportunities ahead and its low debt levels mean it has the firepower to take advantage of them, it said.

* The head of Mazda Motor > said he did not expect any change in the Japanese automaker’s relationship with Ford Motor, amid reports that the struggling U.S. automaker would sell part of its controlling stake.

* British billing and support systems company Intec Telecom Systems said it ended talks about a potential offer for the company, given current market volatility and the fact that it had not received a suitable offer.

* An Italian investor group planning to buy Alitalia was in a stand-off with unions, after failing to agree on new work contracts at late-night talks, unions said.

Are Tech Stocks Cheap Yet?

It’s not a day in the markets these days without a 400-point swing up and down, or maybe down then up, or maybe all of the above. We asked TechTicker contributor and noted author and investor Andy Kessler what he thought of tech stocks and the markets in

Forget your banking career – join the IRS

In yet another sign of tough times on Wall Street, dejected financial professionals were among those lined up yesterday for a shot to work for none other than the IRS, the New York Times reports. It’s a curious career move until you look at the circumstances: the battered banking sector has been cutthroat in its downsizing, leaving virtually no job safe. But can anyone remember the last time the IRS downsized?

“You could get a lucrative job in the financial market right now, but how long can you keep it?” says ex-Lehman Brothers staffer Jean Delice. “Everywhere I look, I see layoffs. If I take a $10,000 or $20,000 pay cut, in the long run, I’m ahead. The government is not in the trading business. It will be around.”

Now may be as good a time as any to cut and run, especially given NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s recent warning that it may be illegal for banks to pay bonuses with government money. In yet another blow to anyone dreaming of a fat bonus, a new study shows that nearly two-thirds of big U.S. companies have banned their chief executives from keeping hefty bonuses when there are questions over executive conduct.

Are you thinking of leaving Wall Street behind? If so, what career suits someone with a financial background? Share your thoughts below.

Goldman $ach$ names partner$

It’s not all bad news on Wall Street, at least not for those at the top of the heap.

Goldman Sachs, who pays out the most in bonuses each year, on Wednesday named 94 new members to its elite club of partner managing directors. This group of 443 men and women typically share a fifth of the firm’s bonus pool, which is nothing to sneeze at, even if compensation is down this year. 

Below is the memo and the list:

October 29, 2008

Goldman Sachs Announces the Partner Class of 2008
We are pleased to announce that the following individuals have been invited to become partners as of November 29, 2008, the start of our next fiscal year. These appointments recognize the contributions and potential of some of the firm’s most valued senior professionals.

 

Paul R. Aaron

Sean J. Gallagher

David M. Marcinek

Heather K. Shemilt

Sanggyun Ahn

Gonzalo R. Garcia

Blake W. Mather

Magid N. Shenouda

Philip S. Armstrong

Paul E. Germain

John J. McCabe

Suhail A. Sikhtian

Charles Baillie

Paul Graves

John J. McGuire Jr.

Gavin Simms

Philip R. Berlinski

E. Glenn Hadden

Milton R. Millman III

Marshall Smith

Robert A. Berry

Jonathan J. Hall

Christopher Milner

John D. Storey

Oliver R. Bolitho

Jan Hatzius

Christina P. Minnis

Patrick M. Street

Patrick T. Boyle

Martin Hintze

Takashi Murata

Ram K. Sundaram

Stephen Branton-Speak

Todd Hohman

Todd G. Owens

Robert J. Sweeney

Anne F. Brennan

James P. Houghton

Craig W. Packer

Michael J. Swenson

Samuel S. Britton

Paul J. Huchro

Gilberto Pozzi

Jeffrey M. Tomasi

Jason G. Cahilly

Hidehiro Imatsu

Lora J. Price

David G. Torrible

Martin Cher

Alan S. Kava

Lorin P. Radtke

Frederick Towfigh

Denis P. Coleman III

Dimitrios Kavvathas

Richard M. Ramsden

Greg A. Tusar

Kevin P. Connors

Larry M. Kellerman

Michael J. Richman

Andrea A. Vittorelli

James V. Covello

Hideki Kinuhata

Michael Rimland

Paul Walker

Jeffrey R. Currie

Michael E. Koester

Luigi G. Rizzo

Alasdair J. Warren

Albert F. Dombrowski

J. Christopher

A. Kojima

Scott A. Romanoff

Dominic A. Wilson

Thomas M. Dowling

Michiel P. Lap

Julian Salisbury

Steve Windsor

L. Brooks Entwistle

Brian J. Lee

Paul D. Scialla

Martin Wiwen-Nilsson

Stephan J. Feldgoise

David A. Lehman

Peter E. Scialla

Denise A. Wyllie

Benjamin W. Ferguson

Deborah R. Leone

Peter A. Seccia

Han Song Zhu*

Wolfgang Fink

John S. Lindfors

Rebecca M. Shaghalian

Timur F. Galen

H.C. Liu

Devesh P. Shah
* Employee of Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Limited

We congratulate all of those selected and wish them continued success in their careers. These decisions are extremely difficult and we would like to acknowledge the contributions of those who were not selected this year. We are confident that many of them will be selected in the future.
Lloyd C. Blankfein  Jon Winkelried  Gary D. Cohn