Category: Review Comments

• Economists Oppose More Stimulus – Your rebuttal, Professor Krugman [WSJ]
• Fed’s Bullard Says He Doesn’t See Economic Recovery Faltering – “We are going to have just the right policy to get the right inflation rate,” Bullard said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. “I do not buy into the stories about the Fed making a mistake one way or the other going forward.” You got a like a guy with confidence I guess [Bloomberg]
• Madoff Trustee Says 15,400 Claims Were Filed – “The final tally of claims from victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s vast Ponzi scheme comes to more than 15,400, up from 8,800 claims filed at the end of June, according to an update provided on Thursday to the federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan.” Who’s putting this off? Did some just hear about this story? Not at the top of the do list to call Irv Picard and say “yeah, we had some cash in there”? [DealBook/NYT]

•Six charged in shares fraud case – “Six employees of the Wall Street firm Sky Capital Holdings have been charged with carrying out a $140m (£87m) investment fraud in the US and Britain.” [BBC]
•AIG in talks with MetLife over Alico – In case you didn’t hear, AIG owes some money [FT.com]
•Hedge Fund Buys Buffett Lunch A Year After Losing 66% – Guess they really need some pointers from the Oracle. [Clusterstock]

•Oil Price to Match Record $147 in Three Years, Pickens Says – And he says in ten years it will be $300 a barrel. Anyone listening? We didn’t think so [Bloomberg]
•Pope Calls for New Economic Structure – Shit your holiness, you want the job? [Washington Post]
•Greenberg’s Starr Prevails in AIG Court Fight – “A jury on Tuesday rejected claims that a sister company to American International Group Inc., at the direction of Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, AIG’s former chief executive, improperly seized control of millions of shares of the insurer’s stock.” [WSJ]

•New GM to Be ‘Fully Launched’ This Month, Rattner Says – “A new company containing General Motors Corp.’s top assets is expected to be ‘fully launched’ by month’s end under a new board and majority ownership of the U.S. and Canadian governments, President Barack Obama’s top auto adviser said Monday.” [WSJ]
•California Downgraded By Fitch – This could be the beginning of something bad…Moody’s, your move. [Clusterstock]
•Tribune Said to Finalize Deal to Sell Cubs – The new era of losing begins. [DealBook/NYT]

•In New York City, Fewer Murders on Rainy Days – It’s got to have something to do with those ubiquitous black $3 umbrellas. They’re like security blankets. [New York Times]
•U.S. marshals begin seizure of Madoff property in NY – Quaint penthouse, UES for those cool with living with the ghosts of charities and elderly Jews [Reuters]
•Arnie’s IOUs will pay 3.75 per cent – Ken Lewis will be making his counter-offer shortly [FT Alphaville]

•No Evidence Found to Charge Ruth Madoff – The aggression will obviously continue. [WSJ]
•Consumer Interest ‘Huge’ in Clunker Plan, LaHood Says – Call us party poopers but it seems like manufactured consumption. [Bloomberg]
•Pimco: Consumer “greed” hibernating, fear rules – Greed will be good again. Don’t you worry. [Reuters]

So You Say You Want To Be Melissa Francis’s Pool Boy? [DealBreaker]

Stanford Stays in Jail as Judge Revokes Bail [DealBook/NYT]

Bank of America accused of anti-consumer practices – If by, “anti-consumer practices”, you mean Ken Lewis hoarding the Maker’s Mark, then he pleads no contest. [Reuters]

Lewis Retains Support of Key BofA Executive – [DealBook/NYT]

What the Big 4 do – “I explained that in my opinion the Big 4 firms have two fundamental purposes in life when it comes to tax. First they exist to undermine the tax revenues of governments. Second they exist to redistribute the wealth of the world from those who are poorest in the communities in which they work to those who are the richest in the communities in which they work.” Ouch [Tax Research UK]
Madoff Family Feud: Ruth, Sons Won’t Attend Monday Sentencing – Probably not a bad move…[ABC News]

Beware the off-balance sheet return – [FT.com]

Confusion threat to global fair value – [Accountancy Age]

What Caused Our Burnout? – Google Reader for us [The Onion]

Get Ready, Folks, ‘Cause This Is The Greatest Late-To-Work Excuse You’ve Ever Heard – [The Onion]

Ex-Treasury Chief Paulson to Testify on Merrill Deal, Panel Says – Cue that Law & Order noise [Bloomberg]

Sanford Says He Had Extramarital Affair – Just a plain-jane affair. No hookers, no staffer’s wife. Just went to the Southern Hemisphere. Meh. [WSJ]

Judge Defers Ruling on Madoff’s Restitution – Sentencing still on for June 29. There might be some angry people there. [DealBook]

A Lost Decade for Jobs – [Business Week]

All-electric car-sharing debuts in Baltimore – Baltimore? [Miami Herald]

SEC eyes shorter maturity limits for money funds: source – Real reactionary. [Reuters]

White House to Abandon Spy-Satellite Program – This will not reduce the paranoia [WSJ]

The Public Is Losing Confidence That Stimulus Will Help Economy – Shoots/Shmoots [Clusterstock]

Google is evil – Or simply incorrect [Paul Krugman/NYT]

Beach reading: Chesapeake’s annual meeting transcript – Not the whole thing, obv. We wouldn’t do that to you. [footnoted.org]