‘Bernie’ fashionably late to Twitter party

Peter Nicholson Margin Call Cartoon 24-04-2015 Version: (Original) COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications. Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

Has former Myer boss Bernie Brookes joined the Twitter revolution? Unkind souls might suggest it’d be typical of Brookes to get on a trend just after it’s peaked, but as Margin Call has zero social media presence there’ll be none of that from this quarter.

The mystery account, @Bernie93757741, has yet to tweet but follows accounts including comedian Chris Lilley and Fox Sports NRL. And the lack of output hasn’t stopped 13 brave souls following back.

Another puzzle is what the digits in the handle represent. It’s not the Melbourne-based retail mogul’s home phone number — in fact, the number belongs to ever-annoying plant purveyors Hello Hello, run, after run-ins with creditors, by self-proclaimed “tutu guru” Chris Lucas.

The normally voluble Brookes has yet to return Margin Call’s calls to his actual phone number.

Berman in new role

Lance Rosenberg associate Michael Berman has a new gig — he’s the new chief executive of retail forex outfit FXTG.

Berman, who couldn’t be reached, is a director of Gleneagle Asset Management, a leftover from Rosenberg’s old Tricom empire (which shocked the market in 2008 by becoming the first broker in 30 years to fail to settle its trades on time).

He replaces Stavro D’Amore, who became chief executive last year with a mandate from new owners to clean up operations.

Before D’Amore became boss, the company had been owned by people involved with unregulated website 4XP, which collapsed in July last year, and run by Yossef Ashkenazi, who these days is putting together new operation AGM Markets (once it serves out a six-month ASIC ban).

D’Amore told Margin Call he would help with the handover and was still the responsible manager on FXTG’s licence.

“At the moment I just want to have a bit of a break,” he said. “I haven’t had a holiday for six years.”

He said the decision to part ways was mutual and he remained responsible manager on the ASIC licence. “He (Berman) is a good character and he brings a good energy,” he said.

Missing in action

So where was Jovial Joe Hockey during the US trip that ended with him missing a budget razor gang meeting on Monday?

Naturally, he went to meetings of the G20 finance ministers and governors of the world’s central banks in Washington. But on the way, he dropped in to meet with investment bankers in New York.

They included the bosses of JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, Jamie Dimon and James Gorman, Margin Call hears.

That would be the same JPMorgan whose chief economist, Stephen Walters, earlier this month warned Joe that “the budget is in chronic deficit and public debt is ballooning, seemingly unchecked,” putting Australia’s cherished AAA rating at risk. Which is of course exactly what the meeting Joe missed was supposed to be dealing with.

Everett’s classy exit

He’s free from Goldman Sachs tentacles, kept the major deals and ditched his suit — Mike Everett has surely engineered one of the best exits from a major league investment bank in years.

Dressed in a casual sweater and jeans, the former Goldman head of equity capital markets was yesterday lunching at Sydney’s Bridge Street Garage, where it’s far more burgers and hot dogs than oysters and sashimi.

And no wonder he looks as happy as ever — his boutique Reunion Capital Parters is working on the MYOB float for vendor Bain, hot on the heels of snagging a piece of the $5.7 billion Medibank IPO late last year. Given Reunion only has a few mouths to feed compared to hundreds at his old shop Goldman, it’s tidy work if you can get it.

Zahra’s observations

Apparently he was “number one on the gAySX”.

Freed from manning the counters at David Jones after leaving the upmarket department store following its takeover by South African group Woolworths, former CEO Paul Zahra has told all to gay paper the Star Observer.

Australia’s ban on gay marriage leaves him “bewildered”, he told reporter Benedict Brook, a former spinner for the unrelated Australian Woolworths.

Zahra’s keeping busy: this week he also joined PwC’s diversity advisory board and he’s apparently also catching up on episodes of reality TV gold Real Housewives.