$$$ Paul Volcker: Obama Plans To Maintain ‘To Big To Fail’ [HP]
$$$ Mafia boss used crocodile to extort money [CNN Money]
$$$ Goldman Sachs Helped Michael Moore Make His Anti-Capitalist Film [BI]
$$$ Court to Decide Fate of Madoff Claims in February [Dealbook]
$$$ Prosecuting Paupers Over Princes [WSJ]

The Reserve Bank of Australia says the land down under simply has higher standards and that is what set its apart from the US. While you might think the RBA was talking about how Amanda Drury measures up to some of her in-house competition, the topic at hand was actually lending standards and the country’s ability to avoid the full brunt of the economic crisis. But the US is not a country that takes kindly to being told it has no standards. We set the standard- the global standard. So your reasons for believing you’ve got superior benchmarks had better be good.

Lending standards were higher here, with the banks largely avoiding the subprime borrowers that lit the fuse of the financial crisis in the US.
Interest rates, as well, did not reach the low levels that put home ownership within reach for many people offshore who had limited repayment capacity. Australian mortgages are also full recourse to the borrower, and the legal environment puts a stronger obligation on local banks to make responsible lending decisions.
Finally, the prudential regulator stress-tested mortgage portfolios and required more capital to be put aside for high-risk housing loans.

Congratulations. You’re now 2-for-2.
Higher standards saved us, says RBA [The Australian]

The chair of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee spoke at a derivatives conference in London today and, as you’d expect, anybody who is head gatekeeper for derivatives legislation in Europe added more fuel to the derivatives vilification campaign.

“They [OTC derivatives] were not a major factor in the crisis although, of course, a lot of politicians had worried they might be a cause of a crisis for quite a long time,” said Sharon Bowles, whose committee is responsible for passing any new European Union rules on derivatives.

Wait a second! OTC derivatives were not a major factor in the crisis?! Maybe it’s just a case of British sarcasm not coming through very well on paper. Did she not tune into the Congressional panels filled with experts who explained once and for all that derivatives do nothing but cause destruction? Ask the Oracle. He’ll tell you what bespoke derivatives can do. But maybe that was just a slip up on her part. Please continue Sharon.

“Where bespoke OTC products are retained and needed then it seems there should be proper analysis to see what risk those pose rather than make a blanket assumption concerning their risk and penalize them all,” she said.

In the words of Al Michaels, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!”
EU Econ Committee: Derivatives Not Big Factor In Crisis [WSJ]

The ‘Dick Fuld owes me’ line runs over 16,000 deep and seeks over $1 trillion for the wide range of inconveniences experienced resulting from Lehman’s rendering of Titanic last September. It started out with Joseph Gregory showing up looking for a quarter of a billion in deferred comp. Now Lehman alumnus and New Jersey Devils owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek is coming forward with his tale of horror and hardship whereby the firm is about $60 million light on his 2004 separation agreement.
Clearly time does not heal all wounds when it comes to former Lehman executives going after their old employer. If everybody from the Giants to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to the guys who helped Lehman make it the success it is today wants a piece of the carcass, there’s virtually nobody left other than the firm itself without a pending claim.

Administrators representing Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s main European unit have made the first of several claims they plan to make against the U.S. parent company that are expected to total about $150 billion.

WSJ: European Lehman Administrators To Claim $150B Vs US Parent [WSJ]