We know Charlie Gasparino can lay down a serious tongue lashing, but this is a lot even for him.

Yesterday, former Citi CEO (and one of the founders of the 'supermarket' bank concept) Sandy Weill announced that he thought Wall Street banks should be broken up.

Gasparino found Weill's comments laughable (and that's putting it gently).

Here's how he put it (not so gently) in the Huffington Post:

"... it's hard to take Weill seriously. First this is a man with an ego the size of the bank he created. People who know him say he needs media attention like an alcoholic needs a stiff drink, and he's gotten precious little of it since retiring from the banking business six years ago. Yesterday made him feel like the same old Sandy again."

That's quite a personal attack, now here's the professional one (more from HuffPo).

"...Citigroup wasn't just big. It was bad -- literally bad. The firm under Weill financed frauds like Worldcom and Enron without a second thought. Its stock market analyst Jack Grubman -- who was supposed to be dispensing unbiased advice to investors -- would moonlight as an investment banker, thus raking in fees from companies whose shares he was touting to unsuspecting investors.

Weill himself was in the middle of the muck; he prodded Grubman to upgrade shares of AT&T, where he was a board member. He did it at a time when the firm was vying for a lucrative role as an AT&T underwriter. When Grubman did as he suggested, and his bankers won the deal, he then got Grubman's kids into a fancy pre-school in Manhattan, which Grubman once lamented was harder to get into than "Harvard."

You can't make this kind of sleaze up. Nor can you make up what happened next; Weill resigned as chief executive at Citi, but remained as its chairman until 2006, and the firm began to ramp up risk as a way to pay for running such a costly operation."

For the rest of Charlie's take-down, head to The Huffington Post> Or maybe like us, after reading that you now want to help an old lady across the street, get a cat out of a tree, or do something else nice for the community.

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Shares of Knight Capital are continuing to get spanked this afternoon following a weird technical glitch this morning.

Shortly after the opening bell, there was a lot of trader chatter that an algo problem at Knight was causing some wild swings in a bunch of stocks.  

The company's stock fell following those initial reports and has continued to decline even more throughout the trading day. 

Knight later released a statement saying it was a "technology issue occurred in the company’s market-making unit related to the routing of shares of approximately 150 stocks to the NYSE."

This afternoon, the New York Stock Exchange said it was going to cancel six different trades associated with the glitch. 

The stock was last down more than 30% in late trading.  

Also, this news was just Tweeted by Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino... 

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Both Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino and CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer and other media outlets agree that Vikram Pandit was forced out as CEO of Citigroup.

According to DJ FX Trader, Pandit told Dow Jones that the resignation was his own decision. 

Gasparino speculatively Tweets that the board thought the Morgan StanleySmith Barney deal was the "last straw." 

If you're not familiar with the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney deal, last month Citigroup and Morgan Stanley agreed to value the retail brokerage joint venture at $13.5 billion, Dealbook's Michael J. De La Merced reported.

With that valuation, Morgan Stanley won the pricing battle against Citi and was able to start purchasing Citi's stake in Stanley Smith Barney closer to its valuation estimate.  

Citi had believed that Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was worth $22 billion, according to Bloomberg News.

So basically the thinking is that in such a crucial deal, Citi got hosed.

Term Sheet banking beat reporter, Stephen Gandel agrees. Here's what he told fellow reporter Dan Primack over I.M. this morning:

Here’s a gut take (via IM) from Stephen Gandel, who covers banks for the Term Sheet section of Fortune.com:

My guess is that it was three things:

The fact that Morgan Stanley got the best of them on the Smith Barney valuation, the fact that they missed the housing market and the huge swing and miss on pay all came together.

Apparently, Micheal O'Neill, chairman of the board, and Pandit were not getting along. And it could be that the board just made its decision that it wasn't going to back Pandit's pay package after the shareholder vote. But apparently there has been some tension between Pandit and the board for some time. Also, on a recent trip to Asia, Pandit apparently spent a lot of time with Corbet, who was running the region. So move may have been in the works, but timing of the resignation seems weird.

Citigroup said in its third-quarter earnings release yesterday that it took a pre-tax loss of $4.7 billion ($2.9 billion after-tax) on the sale of a 14% interest and other-than-temporary impairment of the carrying value of Citi’s remaining 35% interest in the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB) joint venture.

UPDATE: This just in from Bloomberg News... 

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Fox Business reporter Charlie Gasparino just tweeted out this scoop about the insider trading case against former SAC Capital subsidiary portfolio manager Mathew Martoma.

Gasparino went on Fox Business to explain shortly after this tweet, and pointed out that it isn't strange for companies to pay for their employees' legal fees. However, Martoma hasn't been a SAC employee for years.

He added that Martoma's lawyer charges $1,300 an hour.

Definitely a pretty penny.

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When Michael Bloomberg ends his 3-term stint as Mayor of New York City, it will be the end of an era.

So let the speculation on who will replace his powerful political machine begin.

Charlie Gasaparino, usually a Wall Street reporter, took a stab at speculating in today's NY Post. He endorsed Joe Lhota, a Goldman Sachs alum, Giuliani administration deputy mayor, and current head of the MTA.

Gasparino points out that the Bronx born bureaucrat is no normal Goldmanite. Though Lhota was in high demand  on Wall Street for his help raising money for municipal infrastructure projects, Lhota hated it at the bank.

Another plus: Lhota helped the city recover from September 11th while working in the Giuliani administration.

As a former budget director, Gasparino thinks Lhota would reign in costs by curbing the power of unions that other candidates for mayor are already cozying up to (a quote from Lhota in the NY Post):

“The first priority, no matter who is mayor, will be dealing with the unions, because all collective-bargaining agreements are ending and they’re just waiting for the next mayor to make their move.” They’ll want concessions the city can’t afford; higher taxes would make New York even less welcoming to businesses than it already is...

“We have to create jobs,” he says. “Without jobs, there are no revenues and without revenues we don’t have the money to pay for all this stuff. It’s pretty simple.”

Here's the thing, though, Lhota is going to face some fierce competition. Perhaps he can get through a Republican primary, but once he's done with that, he's likely to face fierce competition from entrenched NYC establishment politicians — like City Council Speaker and West Village Councilwoman Christine Quinn.

Quinn has been a staunch ally of Mayor Bloomberg since he took office and it's rumored that she'll have his backing in her bid for his old seat.

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Charlie Gasparino reports that Morgan Stanley is in for some deep cuts on Monday.

Bloomberg is reporting 1600 job cuts at the bank next week as well.

None of this should come as a surprise. Morgan Stanley's CEO James Gorman has always made it clear that Wall Street had to downsize and that he wasn't afraid to have his own employees feel the pain.

That goes for compensation (down 9% since last year) and layoffs. The truly ugly year was 2011, when the firm was running layoff scenarios in the several thousands. At the beginning of last year, Gasparino (again) reported that by June 5,000 more people would be gone.

This falls in line with some dark predictions about what would happen all over the Street that we've been tracking for some time. When Detusche Bank announced 1900 layoffs this summer, Meredith Whitney swooped in and said it was just the beginning.

She predicted 50,000 job cuts and lower compensation across the board even though the financial meltdown was, at that point, 4 years in the past.

In the long run this is a good thing for the Street, according to Whitney. Banks simply aren't making enough cash to support the staffs they used to have, and shareholders aren't going to stand for banks that "over capitalized and sluggish."

That's what's causing the voluntary downsizing you see here (from Whitney, this summer):

"You can make great money in a utility type of business by borrowing cheaply and lending sensibly but that's not what's being done. The basic bank model has, is, and will be attractive. It's just you're combining everything and undercutting pricing in one place and trying to make up for it, effectively having loss leading businesses... it's not a business that works."

Strong words — and then she really dug in.

"You're either making money or you're not. If you're not making money get out of the business."

When Detusche Bank made its announcement this summer, the company's stock jumped. Morgan Stanley's is creeping up as well.

The news from Gasparino's Twitter feed:

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Fox Business News senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino, who has a reputation for getting big scoops and exclusives on Wall Street, is known for busting chops.

Even Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein once said he's "tired of Gasparino" and that he wishes he would quit.

Still, Gasparino manages to get the biggest names to talk to him.

And if you're brave enough to go on air with him, he even admits that's going to be an a–hole.

Cigar Aficionado's Mervyn Rothstein reports: 

When he’s reporting a story, when he’s doing a TV interview, he’s tough and persistent. “You come on the air, and I’m there, I’m going to break your chops,” he says. "I’m going to be an asshole. A lot of times, TV invites these people on and they’re considered guests. I don’t look at you as a guest."

You've been warned.

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It's official, Tim Geithner is writing a book. And the twitterverse is going nuts with suggestions for what its title should be.

But Charlie Gasparino's suggestions take the cake:

@cgasparino#Geithnerbooktitles: how i threw tony james resume in the garbage; why cnbc is always the last to find out stuff

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#Geithnerbooktitles @cgasparino: how to screw up a perfectly good bailout; unemployment never felt so good; i hate @cgasparino

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#Geithnerbooktitles: how i wasted 4 years of my life; whats its like to take orders from a community activist; why didnt i go to law school

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#geithnerbooktitles cgasparino @thestalwart what i saw at the (socialist) revolution; how did i get myself in this mess;

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

#geithnerbooktitles @cgasparino: me and a special friend; living and loving the guy in the white house

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) February 6, 2013

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Fox Business Network's senior correspondent is featured in the New York Times' Diner's Journal.

The Wall Street reporter dishes on how he likes his meatballs and martinis. 

From the NYTimes: 

How to make great meatballs “Listen, I think you need good Italian bread. And you need breadcrumbs. And I think you put a little onion in it. And if you really want to kick it up, put milk, whole milk, with the bread, to soften the bread up. And here’s the thing: don’t overseason. People mess it up — I’ve noticed this with non-Italians making meatballs: too much oregano, way too much salt, and too much garlic. Those three things. Italian is, like, less. Italians from Italy use very little garlic.”

We'll keep that in mind. 

Read the whole thing here >

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We hear that there are "very early stage" talks about doing a movie on Fox Business Network senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino's 2007 book, "King Of The Club." 

We reached out to Gasparino and he sent us the following response: "your lips to God's ears." 

Gasparino's book is about the life and career of former NYSE CEO/Chairman Richard "Dick" Grasso, which is full of moments of  celebration and controversy.  

Sources say that Grasso is scared that a movie could be made based on the book. 

Gasparino, who was working correspondent for CNBC at the time, had great access to Grasso and folks from his inner circle when he was writing the book. He portrayed both the positives and the negatives from Grasso's career.  

Here's an excerpt from the New York Times' Harry Hurt III's review of the book: 

“King of the Club” documents Mr. Grasso’s early years as a working-class youth from Queens who originally aspired to become a New York City police officer, only to fail the eye exam. Although he had almost no college education, Mr. Grasso managed to get a job in 1968 as an entry-level listings clerk at the New York Stock Exchange.

According to Mr. Gasparino, Mr. Grasso had a “chip on his shoulder” because he was short in stature (5 feet 6 inches), and because he was a hot-headed striver of Italian descent in a financial “club” dominated by WASPs and Jews. But he tutored himself in the exchange’s history and its operations with an unquenchable passion.

“For all his foibles, his bad temper and ego, Grasso understood what made the stock exchange work better than anyone else in the world,” Mr. Gasparino writes.

Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, Grasso was seen as a hero for reopening the stock exchange.   

Just a couple years later, though, he became "the poster boy for overpaid chief executive,"Gasparino wrote in "King Of The Club."

It was Grasso's compensation package that led to his demise.  

Following a spate of recent big corporate scandals (WorldCom, Tyco and Enron), it was disclosed that Grasso had been awarded a deferred retirement compensation package worth about $139.5 million.

A few weeks later, Grasso resigned after spending 36 years at the stock exchange. The same board that approved his compensation package pressured him to step down. 

Then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer prosecuted Grasso in 2004 over the compensation.  The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed in 2008.  

Sources say that Grasso is still worried about his image and that's why he wouldn't want a film to come out.   

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SkyBridge Capital, a fund-of-funds run by Anthony "The Mooch" Scaramucci, has taken most of SkyBridge's money out of embattled SAC Capital Advisors, Fox Business Network's senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino Tweeted.

According to Gasparino, it's up to SkyBridge investors to pull out the rest of the money, but Scaramucci expects them to do so.

Earlier today, the $14 billion Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund run by Steve Cohen was hit with a federal indictment on criminal charges of insider trading.  Cohen was not charged or named explicitly in the indictment. 

Moments later, SkyBridge's Scaramucci called into CNBC's "Halftime Report" to weigh in on the indictment.  It wasn't clear what SkyBridge was going to do about its money it has invested in SAC. 

"So I think right now I think we just have to feel bad for the employees there and for the families associated with this. I have said long ago that if they have a case and it's a substantial one, let's bring it. Obviously, the presumption is still on innocence both for the firm and for Steve. That's the way our criminal justice system works. But the government has that case. I hope Steve and his team will get the opportunity to say their side of the story as well. But as it relates to public policy and things like that, fraud is a terrible thing, and I hope to God that they will be innocent, but if they're not, obviously we'll do what's prudent for our investors as everyone else would."

Scaramucci, who has personal money invested with SAC, also defended Cohen.

"...at the end of the day, I like Steve. He's a friend of mine. I have tried to teach my children and my employees and people around me you stick by your friends when they're in trouble, and if he's obviously done something wrong here, hopefully it gets settled very quickly," Scaramucci said on CNBC via telephone from his vacation.

"I say to my other friends out there on Wall Street, you know, let's not cut and run from people that we've been close to for a very long period of time," he added later during the interview. 

Here are Gasparino's Tweets: 

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Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino, who has written a book on insider trading called "Circle of Friends,"has a piece in TIME following today's criminal indictment of $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors. 

One of Gasparino's sources, who is friends with SAC's founder Steven Cohen, said that the billionaire hedge fund manager has been putting on lbs. lately.

From TIME: 

A friend of mine ... who knows Cohen personally said he ran into him at the MLB All-Star game at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, in which Cohen owns a small stake. Cohen “looked terrible…and he’d gained 15 pounds” since the time the two met just a month or so earlier. More than that, my source told me, Cohen conceded that his business was basically finished and “at this point my No. 1 goal is not getting personally indicted.”

Although Cohen wasn't explicitly named in the indictment today, Gasparino writes "don’t be surprised if you see an indictment of Cohen in the coming weeks as well." 

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This just in from Fox Business Network's senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino... 

FBN NEWS: what a way to end a slow week on wall street: stevie cohen telling friends he's resigned to running a family office more at 330

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) August 30, 2013

FBN NEWS: SAC Capital expects all outside $ to leave the fund by years end Steve Cohen is now "resigned" to running a "family office" FBN330

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) August 30, 2013

Back in July, Cohen's $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors was hit with criminal charges of insider trading.

U.S. prosecutors charged SAC "with criminal responsibility for insider trading offenses committed by numerous employees and made possible by institutional practices that encouraged the widespread solicitation and use of illegal inside information," the indictment stated.  

Two of SAC's former portfolio managers have insider trading trials coming up in November. 

The SEC also civilly charged Cohen last month with failing to supervise the two portfolio managers. 

Cohen, 57, launched SAC in 1992.  The hedge fund employs about 900 people worldwide.

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A group of anonymous traders provoked Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino into an odd Twitter spat this morning.

The fight began with the always sardonic and often hysterical cadre of traders mocking Gasparino for being a "troll" and probably "walking in the Bronx yelling obscenities."

That's when Gasparino, who had been going back and forth with a few accounts for a few days now, responded in kind.

@CGasparino@nopat@muckbearpig@Tags_ZH@convert_trader@VgsJake@CalConfidence@cr3dit@zerohedge lol Like reporting noise? No not yet

— MarketPlunger (@MarketPlunger) September 5, 2013

@MarketPlunger might have been referring to this recent Gasparino dispatch about Preet Bharara having dinner, which raised eyebrows for being an article about Preet Bharara having dinner.

Gasparino went on to essentially call the traders poor. 

@nopat@MarketPlunger@MUCKTRADINGBEAR@muckbearpig@Tags_ZH@convert_trader to be young useless unemployed broke at least twitter is free

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) September 5, 2013

 And invoke a "your grandma" joke.

@nopat@MarketPlunger@CalConfidence@LeftHash@Tags_ZH@convert_trader not as good as that etrade acct ur working for grannie

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) September 5, 2013

And then back to the poor thing.

@convert_trader@nopat@cr3dit@MarketPlunger@CalConfidence@LeftHash@Tags_ZH just one problem im the only one w disposable income

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) September 5, 2013

"I'll admit I didn't like him b4 this but now I do. Fun times,"quipped one of Gasparino's Twitter adversaries.

You can't win, Charlie.

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According Charlie Gasparino, it's an absolute bloodbath at brokerage Lazard Capital Markets. He did a spot on the story on Fox Business this afternoon.

Gasparino's comments (via Street Insider):

"If you talk to anybody that works there they say the place is basically on its last legs."

“Sources are telling the FOX Business Network that there is a mass exodus out of Lazard Capital Markets by employees...They feel that the firm is either going to do one of three things: sell itself to somebody else where they’ll do a massive downsizing or basically look for refinancing which is very difficult or shut down. Lazard tells us they’re still open for business, there’s no plans to imminently close…if you talk to anybody that works there they say the place is basically on its last legs."

This conflicts with Bloomberg's 'business as usual' story at the end of last month, when A Lazard Capital Markets spokesperson said the firm had no plans to shut down.

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Fox Biz reporter Charlie Gasparino delivered the best possible insult to Forbes tech reporter Jeff Bercovici.

And here's the full conversation:

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There's nothing quite like a Twitter missive from Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino, the bomb-throwing print reporter-turned-anchor. 

Gasparino is lambasting his former employer, The Wall Street Journal, for failing to give FBN credit for a story about the case of Jordan Belfort, the real life "wolf" of Wall Street. The "rats" at the WSJ lifted FBN's story without the requisite props, which wouldn't have happened in Gasparino's Journal days, he said.

This isn't the first time Gasparino has gotten into a Twitter scrap, but we always seem to admire his tenacity. Especially this time, considering that The Journal is owned by News Corp. (and the former iteration of the company owned both the WSJ and Fox). But Gasparino never pulls punches. 

"There was a time when i worked at the WSJ when if u got beat u put ur head down and gave the other guy credit," Gasparino tweeted.

Here it is in all its glory:

@wsj folos @FoxBusiness on prosecutors warring with #wolfofwallstreet bums; dont know whats worse belfort or wsj failing to give FBN credit

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

there was a time when i worked at the @WSJ when if u got beat u put ur head down and gave the other guy credit

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

what clowns at the wsj; cant bring themselves to give @FoxBusiness credit for breaking this first: http://t.co/rh20e3UjsN

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

At this point, BI editor Henry Blodget chimes in.

@hblodget@WSJ they just ripped us off without crediting us on this story: http://t.co/elizHWD4wY

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

@hblodget@WSJ pathetic

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

im gonna borrow an acronym from @hblodget's analyst days to describe the WSJ rip-off artists: #POS

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

there was also a time when i worked at @WSJ when u didnt get beat all that much which might be why they dont give credit to @FoxBusiness

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

for the record, here's the story the rats at @wsj lifted: http://t.co/eDc2lI9O0r and taking @hblodget 's advice i have this to say: fuk'em

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

The Wall Street Journal's James Freeman enters the ring. Take it away James:

@CGasparino@mbaram@hblodget@WSJ Charlie didn't you see @marykissel interview him last week? http://t.co/dzY7cimgRX

— James Freeman (@FreemanWSJ) January 10, 2014

Back to you, Charlie:

@FreemanWSJ@mbaram@hblodget@WSJ@marykissel what we reported was the CURRENT battle w eastern district which THIS friggen ripoff foloed

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

Salt in the wounds:

will be interviewing mike bowe atty who deposed stevie cohen on FBN at 320pm memo to @WSJ: we get done around 330 call him then

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

heres how lame the @WSJ has become: theyre trying to take credit for story cause they interviewed the OLD usatty like others #lame

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

i'm trying to write a haiku on what dirt bags the @wsj has become

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

the funniest thing today is that @FreemanWSJ and @marykissel have now conceded the news hacks watch @FBN more than the opinion journal

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

btw i really like @FreemanWSJ and @marykissel

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 10, 2014

SEE ALSO: This Trailer For 'The Wolf Of Sesame Street' Will Change Your Memories Of Childhood Forever

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We came across this adorable photo of Fox Business Network Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino that was taken when he was five years-old. 

The future Wall Street reporter, who was rocking some black socks, already looked ready to hunt down a scoop. Then again, this picture was taken in Bronx, where Gasparino spent some of his childhood, so you have to have a little attitude.

Enjoy!

 Here's what Gasparino looks like now: 

SEE ALSO: What Financial TV Reporters Looked Like Back In The Day

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Fox Business Network's senior correspondent, Charlie Gasparino, shredded author Michael Lewis in an op-ed in the New York Post. 

This week Lewis released his newest book, "Flash Boys," which claims the markets are rigged because of high-frequency trading (HFT). 

Gasparino called Lewis' new book "completely and utterly disingenuous" and said that it has a "lefty interpretation" of the 2008 financial crisis. 

Gasparino writes that Lewis is "blowing smoke" and that his claim about HFT hurting the mom-and-pop retail investors is all wrong.

This was the best excerpt: 

What Lewis doesn’t tell anyone (and what Steve Kroft in his “60 Minutes” interview wasn’t smart enough to ask) is how this hurts the small investor.

Because it doesn’t. This isn’t traders vs. the little guy, it’s “Alien vs. Predator” — one set of financial insiders outsmarting another bunch.

The guy who buys Apple on an online-brokerage account gets the price he sees on his screen; that’s how the E*trades of the world fill orders. And if you have a mutual fund, your money manager should be smart enough to figure out (as many have) how not to be gamed by the HFT guys.

Read the full op-ed at the NYPost »

NOW WATCH: How To Invest Like Warren Buffett

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