Preliminary Analytics | 11.11.09

• Why Paper Receipts Won’t Die – Tax return preparers wouldn’t have any shoeboxes jammed with them dropped off on their desks anymore. It’s sad to imagine that. [Idea of the Day/NYT]
• FDIC’s 20% Shorter ‘Merit’ Reviews Preceded Banking Failures – “At least three U.S. banks failed in the past year after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. deemed them healthy enough to qualify for a program that reduced the time examiners spent on reviews by at least 20 percent.” [Bloomberg]
• Deal to Buy Sun Meets Opposition From EU Although, those pesky Europeans are a little more curious about Oracle dominating the database universe, it won’t necessarily put the kibosh on the deal. In other news, Larry Ellison likes boats. [WSJ]
• Bear Trial Jurors Ask for Evidence and Day Off – Doing your civic duty includes observing federal holidays. [DealBook]
• Madoff’s Crap Sold Off in “Garage Sale” Victims Benefit – Including a Mets jacket and post-it notes. [JDA]

• Stanford lawyer complains over level of care in prison – Apparently its not too good, as Stan is looking a little gaunt these days, sayeth the FT. [FT]
• Elk Grove Village man accused of stealing millions from investors in Ponzi scheme – “Authorities said that between Jan. 1, 2007, and Oct. 9, 2008, Carney duped investors by creating the false impression that he had cutting-edge software designed for buying and selling securities. According to one investor, Carney claimed the program received market information three minutes before other traders.” [Chicago Tribune]
• Limbaugh Dropped From Bid to Buy Rams – You know who’s to blame dontcha? [NYT]
• An Apartment Complex Teeters – “The sprawling Manhattan apartment complex known as Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town — acquired for $5.4 billion in 2006 by a venture of Tishman Speyer Properties and a unit of BlackRock Inc. — is running out of cash. As of the end of September, it had $33.7 million left of the $400 million in interest reserves set up to service its debt, according to the people familiar with the matter. At its current burn rate of about $16 million per month, the reserve could be depleted before the end of the year, the people said.” [WSJ]
• Goldman Shows Strength While Citi Limps Along – Moving on to… [DealBook]
• Capital One credit card defaults rise in September – “Credit card defaults usually track unemployment, which rose to a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. The jobless rate is expected to peak at more than 10 percent by year-end.” [Reuters]

• Geithner’s New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure – “AIG said in a draft of a regulatory filing that the insurer paid banks, which included Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA, 100 cents on the dollar for credit-default swaps they bought from the firm. The New York Fed crossed out the reference, according to the e-mails, and AIG excluded the language when the filing was made public on Dec. 24, 2008.” [Bloomberg]
• Climbing the Finance Ladder: Landing a Promotion [FINS]
• Canadian Police Seek Man Accused of Ponzi Scheme – According to the SEC, the self-dubbed, “Chinese Warren Buffet” sent a letter to investors admitting that he was running a Ponzi scheme. That was easy. [AP via NYT]
• Economic Consequences and the Political Nature of Accounting Standard Setting – “For decades it has been taught in every graduate accounting program in the country that accounting standards have economic consequences. As a result, I contend it is natural and predictable that competing economic interest attempt a political solution to proposed accounting standards.” [The Summa]
• Accounting rules over M&A spread confusion – IFRS 3 is disappointing many. [FT]