BP Reveals Crucial ‘Mistake’ (WSJ)
A document released to two lawmakers yesterday describes a wide array of mistakes in the fateful final hours aboard the Deepwater Horizon—but the main revelation is that BP now says there was a clear warning sign of a “very large abnormality” in the well, but work proceeded anyway, with the rig exploding two hours later.
Greek ‘Death Spiral’ May Make Default Unavoidable, Hanke Says (Bloomberg)
“Greece’s death spiral will end with debt restructuring or the outright default of its sovereign debt,” Hanke, also a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington, wrote in an article yesterday. “While politicians and bureaucrats from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and Greece tell us that the bailout package will defuse Greece’s time bomb, don’t believe their ‘cheerful Charlie’ chant.”
Can Geithner Unite Divided Europe? (CNBC)
And more importantly, can he beat all their 8 year-olds in a pick-up game?
Banks Trim Debt, Obscuring Risk (WSJ)
Blowing your mind: “Over the past 10 quarters, Deutsche Bank, Citi and Bank of America have lowered their net borrowings in the “repurchase,” or repo, market by an average of 41% at the ends of the quarters, compared with their average net repo borrowings for the entire quarter, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data. Once a new quarter begins, they boost those levels.”
Barney Frank Names Democratic Candidates for FinReg Conferees (CNBC)
Frank, who will chair the conference, has recommended Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (NY), Paul E. Kanjorski (Pa.), Luis V. Gutierrez (Ill.), Melvin L. Watt (N.C.), Gregory W. Meeks (N.Y.), Dennis Moore (Kan.), and Maxine Waters (Calif.).
Qatar Eyes Treasury’s Citi Stock (FT)
A person familiar with the matter said the sale of the first tranche should be completed in the coming days. People involved in the process said the QIA had been approached about buying Citi shares, but would not say by whom, highlighting the political sensitivities in such a deal.
Kerviel Says SocGen Superiors ‘Helped’ Him Make Disputed Trades (Bloomberg)
“I’m innocent,” Kerviel, 33, said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday outside his lawyer’s Paris office. “I want to prove to everybody that my superiors knew what I was doing and helped me to do it, to make more money for the bank.”
WaMu Shareholders Want To Investigate JPMorgan (Reuters)
Shareholders focused their investigation request on what it said was an untapped source of information — the pre-seizure business records of Washington Mutual Inc, or WMI, and its bank. JPMorgan took control of those documents when it bought the seized bank. Shareholders said those records could contain information about JPMorgan’s supposed interest in Washington Mutual Bank prior to its seizure and “intelligence about market rumors concerning WMI’s financial condition that JPMC (JPMorgan) may have had a hand in generating.”
IG report: Meth, porn use by drilling agency staff (AP)
SEC staffers are not alone! “Staff members at an agency that oversees offshore drilling accepted tickets to sports events, lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies and used government computers to view pornography, according to an Interior Department report alleging a culture of cronyism between regulators and the industry. In at least one case, an inspector for the Minerals Management Service admitted using crystal methamphetamine and said he might have been under the influence of the drug the next day at work, according to the report by the acting inspector general of the Interior Department.”
Dodgers Sue Jon Lovitz (AP)
The lawsuit claims Lovitz and 100 other individuals entered into a written agreement in March 2008 to buy three dugout club seats for all baseball games played at Dodger Stadium in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The lawsuit alleges the group refused to pay $95,400 for the 2010 season.
Tax Cheats Add To Greece’s Nightmare (NYP)
As many as 234 of the Finance Ministry’s officials haven’t paid a penny in taxes since 2007 or earlier, the ministry said. Another 70 highly paid senior officials who each own homes worth an average of $1.6 million filed phony tax reports claiming relatively modest incomes of $67,000.
Steep Losses At UK Fund (HFN)
So going from $5 billion in assets under management to $300 million is bad?
Bernanke Fights More Fed Scrutiny (WSJ)
Leave Bernanke alone!
if Qatar wants to take Citi off our (the US taxpayers hands), why not let them buy FNM and FRE too!
meth:(tranny)porn::cake:frosting?
This morning on the patty winters show a cheerio sat in a very small chair and was interviewed for close to an hour.
You can have Citi, but you will have to pry Raymond James from my cold dead hands!
A Patriot and a Gentleman
She wakes up early every morning
Just to do her hair now
Because she cares yeah
Her day oh wouldn’t be right
Without her make up
She’s never had a make up
She’s just like you and me
But she’s homeless, she’s homeless
As she stands there singing for money.
La da dee la dee da
La da dee la dee da
La da dee la dee da
La da dee la dee da
La da dee la dee da
La da dee la dee da
What does Meth have to do with poor drilling? I drill amazingly well when I’m on meth.
-Barney’s BFFL
That kind of bad behavior would have never been tolerated at the Denver office of the MMS!!
~Alcoholic, Divorced Petroleum Geologist on Valtrex
Denver, CO
#6 made me smile.
“WHO IS YOUR CDO…err..CEO?”
What’s up with John Lovitz lately? I’ve been on a meth binge the last two weeks.
–MMS Quant
@8 – why, does it bring up memories of you and Barney?
WSJ said “trim.”
@6 Thank you! Finally some appreciation, you’ve lowered my suicide points by 3. Thank you.
#6
@11, No, more because the double-entendre paints a vivid image of a person in power mocked for his human frailty, because it joined two otherwise unrelated threads in today’s opening bell, because it “tags” popular commentariat memes and because I’m a sick fuck.
-8
Luis Gutierrez? are you fucking kidding? nice choice Bawney –
Criminals all-
Kagan: Well, I’m just gonna tell him no. I can’t be on the Supreme Court.
Timmy G: Whoa, whoa. Can’t? When did that word enter your vocabulary? What, is the job too difficult? (Summers nods) What, you don’t have enough experience? (Summers shakes his head) Oh, you’re not smart enough? (Summers shakes his head) Where’s your confidence? (Summers shrugs his shoulders) Look,let me tell you a story. When I first studied karate…
Kagan: Karate?
Timmy G : Yeah, karate. I had no support. Not from Volcker, not from Barack, no one. The first time I sparred with an opponent, I was terrified. My legs, they were like noodles. But then I looked inside, and I found my katra.
Kagan: Katra?
TG: Yeah, your spirit, your, uh, being. The part of you that says, “Yes, I can!”
Summers: Sammy Davis had it.
TG: So I listened to my katra and now I’m dominating the dojo. I’m class champion.
….
[New scene.
Timmy G's karate class. Timmy G is beating his opponent, a little girl. Kagan walks in, surprised.]
Kagan: Timmy!
Kramer: Oh, hey.
Kagan: What are you doing?
TG: Oh, well, I-I-I’m dominating.
Kagan: You never said you were fighting children.
TG: Well, it’s not the size of the opponent, it’s, uh, the ferocity.
Kagan: This is what you used to build me up? This is where you got all that stupid katra stuff?
TG: No, no. That’s from, uh, Star Trek III… The Search for Spock.
Kagan: Search… for Spock?!
TG: Yeah, I know Summers will tell you that The Wrath of Khan is the better picture, but for me, I always…
Kagan: (pushes him) You doofus!
[As Geithner is knocked down, there is amazed murmuring among his peers.]
Lovitz’ attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss, citing an obscure clause in the contract that permits Lovitz to pay for the seats using cash, credit card or “The Critic” DVD box sets
@16 that would have been a win if you said TG was beating up a blind black racist midget instead of a girl. Or at least a chinky girl woulda been better.
@4 – ftw.
Memo to the Dept of the Interior: Drilling, laying pipe, dry holes, spudding and gushers are not necessarily p0rn0graphic terms.
Subduction leads to orogeny. Directional drillers do it sideways. Porn goes much faster on meth, saving the taxpayers millions.
Should I ever incur a severe head injury (with requisite brain damage) and find myself unemployed with an insatiable urge to literally jerk off in an office environment during regular business hours (perhaps it’s the thrill of possibly getting caught), it’s reassuring to know that an ever increasing armada of government regulators stand ready to hire me (at least so long as BEP’s printing presses don’t break).