• 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]
Related Posts
Preliminary Analytics | 12.14.09
• H.R. 4173, Summary of Accounting and Audit Related Provisions – Lots to digest here but it’s all important, including a possible GASP name change for the PCAOB. [FEI Financial Reporting Blog]
• Invitation to a Conversation: If the Auditors Were Missing from the Financial Crisis — Let’s Ask Why – Jim Peterson doesn’t mince words: “The simple if depressing reason is that their core product has long since been judged irrelevant. The standard auditor’s report is an anachronism — having lost any value it may once have had, except for legally-required compliance.” [Re: Balance/Jim Peterson]
• Accenture Makes Right Decision, Drops Tiger Sponsorship – The awkward inappropriateness of the whole situation is now hitting T. Dubs in the wallet, as Accenture jumps into the “your services are no longer needed” camp. He won’t starve. [The Big Four Blog]
• Open Letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (Part 5): Issuer Retaliation Complaint Against Overstock.com – Patrick Byrne’s attempt to develop his own Richard Nixon-esque enemies list has been met with fierce resistance. [Sam Antar/White Collar Fraud]
• CPA firms face pricing pinch – “After years of gains since the government started keeping track in December 2003, overall prices for CPA firm services plummeted with the onset of recession in December 2007.” [CPA Trendlines]
• Citigroup to Repay $20 Billion of Government Bailout – $25 bil to go. Get on it. [Bloomberg]
Preliminary Analytics | 10.06.09
• Burned Bondholders Demand Movie, Bowling Alley Claims for Junk – “Blockbuster Inc. sold $675 million of debt on Sept. 17, agreeing to pay a 15.2 percent yield and pledge movies and video games as collateral. Brunswick Corp. used its bowling alleys and headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois, to back a $350 million bond sale in August.” [Bloomberg]
• United States calls for rigorous IMF surveillance – ‘Cause were sure as hell not able to do it, TImmay [Reuters]
• PwC asks: When will banks learn? – Around the same time as accounting firms, probably. [Reuters]
• Justices Turn Down Appeal From Qwest’s Nacchio – Does this mean that this story is over? [Reuters via NYT]
• United Airlines to get $35.8 million in city incentives for Willis Tower move – Deloitte should have held out. [Chicago Tribune]
Preliminary Analytics | 11.23.09
• Jamie Dimon seen as good fit for Treasury – Seems possible since JD and BO go way back to when Dimon was at Bank One. Plus, according to some, JD would ‘love to serve his country’ but according to others, he plans on staying at JPM for ‘six or seven years.’ This is a toss up at best. [NYP]
• These Men Could Kill SarbOx – And they’re doing it pro bono. [BW]
• Aluminum Bubble Concerns Mount as Surplus May Add 29% – ‘There’s a disconnect between the price and reality.’ That sounds familiar. [Bloomberg]
• Zynga May Be Valued at $1 Billion Feeding Off Facebook Craze – Zynga is movin’ up in Farmville bitches but there are no plans for a public offering, according to the CEO. That would be a distraction from developing new $3 chicken coops and the like. [Bloomberg]
• G.M. Is Taking Taxpayers for a Ride – In case you weren’t convinced. [DealBook]