• Retail Sales Dipped in July Despite Clunkers Program – “U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in July despite the debut of the government’s ‘cash for clunkers’ program meant to jump-start the auto business and help turn around the economy.” [WSJ]
• France and Germany exit recession – FTW. [BBC]
• U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Increased to 558,000 Last Week – “Applications rose to 558,000 in the week ended Aug. 8 from a revised 554,000 the week before, the Labor Department said today in Washington, while staying under 600,000 for a sixth time. ” Under 600k? Does that mean the recession is over? [Bloomberg]
• Cheney Uncloaks His Frustration With Bush “[Bush] showed an independence that Cheney didn’t see coming.” [Washington Post]
• Ex-AIG CEO, others to pay $115 million to settle lawsuit: source – Tough month for Hanky [Reuters]
• UBS shares climb further on U.S. tax case deal – Closure helps. [Reuters]
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Preliminary Analytics | 10.21.09
• Mets Win One: Owners Made Money on Madoff – “A partnership connected to the baseball team — which had widely been rumored to have lost money investing with Bernard Madoff — actually gained a net $48 million from its dealings with the convicted swindler, according to a bankruptcy-court filing.” [WSJ]
• Madoff adjusts to life in prison – Bottom bunk. He would’ve called the top but when you’re in your 70s, sometimes you just let things go. [BBC]
• CIT debt offer by obscure fund raises questions – Including: How desperate is CIT? [Reuters]
• A Sarah Palin Tax Problem? – Auctioning off a dinner with Governor Maverick makes for some IRS hoop jumping. [TPM]
Preliminary Analytics | 08.14.09
• Obama Considers Raising Fees on Larger Financial Institutions – In other news, the President giving consideration to anything appears to be news. [Bloomberg]
• Tax-Cheat Showdown: Fess Up or Stay Quiet? – The Journal seems to think that playing Russian roulette with the IRS is an option worth considering. [WSJ]
• Blackstone’s Schwarzman Tops Best-Paid Chiefs With $702 Million – In case you were wondering, it was only $2.3 mil in actual comp and $700 mil in vested options. Not too shab. [Bloomberg]
• Bernie Madoff’s biz partner Frank DiPascali beats drug and gun raps – Man. Dude would have been in some real trouble had this gotten slapped on him too. [NYDN]
Preliminary Analytics | 12.04.09
• Be fair to Bernanke – Steve Rattner, former car czar, makes the case for the Beard. [WP]
• New Jersey Losing $22,000-a-Day With Swap for Bonds Never Sold – The Garden State owes the Bank of Montreal $23.5 million: “The sum, about the same as the salaries for 113 teachers over three years, will allow it to avoid a $50 million penalty for canceling the contract, which was tied to planned sales of school-construction bonds.” [Bloomberg]
• Chávez Spurs Bank Fears – The next big mess? ‘It’s going to blow…It’s just a matter of time.’ [WSJ]
• Petters Plans Appeal of $3.5B Fraud Conviction – “Efforts to recover money to compensate victims will likely net only pennies on the dollar, and prosecutors have not ruled out new charges against others.” [AP via NYT]
• The PCAOB Wants an Increase in Its Allowance – JDA, always wanting to be helpful, has some suggestions for the PCAOB. [JDA]