•California in ‘fiscal emergency’ – Can’t really decide which state capital has more clowns per capita, Sacramento or Albany [BBC]
•Former HealthSouth executive gets prison time – 3 months. Meh [AP via Miami Herald]
•Big Pay Packages Return to Wall Street – Paging Congressman Frank [WSJ]
Related Posts
Scoping | 07.16.09
• JPMorgan Earnings Soar as It Finds Profit in Slump – “Even as it weathers the worst economic downturn in decades, JPMorgan Chase on Thursday announced a $2.7 billion second-quarter profit from stellar trading and investment banking results.” BO-NUS! BO-NUS! BO-NUS! [New York Times]
• U.S. Regulators to BofA: Obey or Else – “Bank of America Corp. is operating under a secret regulatory sanction that requires it to overhaul its board and address perceived problems with risk and liquidity management, according to people familiar with the situation.” Obviously the FDIC’s idea of double-secret probation. [WSJ]
• Citi close to secret deal with regulator – Wow! What a co-inky-dink! Citi is on double-secret probation too! [FT.com]
Scoping | 07.17.09
• What’s email? – Paulson doesn’t use it, thanks for asking. Next question. [FT Alphaville]
• Bank of America Posts a Profit on Trading Gains – “Bank of America, one of the nation’s largest and most troubled banks, announced on Friday a $3.2 billion second-quarter profit, a figure that exceeded analyst expectations.” Ken Lewis will be starting happy hour a little earlier than usual on this Friday. Circa now. [New York Times]
• Citigroup profit soars on Smith Barney sale – “Citi’s profit was not driven by improved trading like other banks, and instead came from the gain on the sale of its Smith Barney unit and the increasing values of some of its riskier assets that had plunged during the credit crisis. The New York-based bank recorded an after-tax gain of $6.7 billion on the sale of a majority stake in its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley.” Selling profitable assets usually ends up looking good. This should not be surprising. [AP via Miami Herald]
Scoping | 06.24.09
Antigua fires finance regulator – Not exactly the most surprising news of the day. [BBC]
Cuomo’s Money Manager Received Funds Linked to Pension Scandal – “EnTrust Capital Inc., a hedge fund firm that’s handled New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s personal and campaign money, received state pension funds to invest from a company he has identified as paying possible illegal kickbacks.” Um, awkward. [Bloomberg]
Missing Governor Was in Argentina – Getting some South American tail no doubt. Deadbeat Dad. [WSJ]