Orszag To Step Down In July (WSJ)
The president had wanted a decision from Mr. Orszag before the fall, when the administration will begin the arduous process of putting together the fiscal 2011 budget amid some of the greatest budget pressures in modern U.S. history. Mr. Orszag will also be marrying Bianna Golodryga, an ABC News business reporter, in September, and “restarting his life,” a person close to the budget director said.

JP Morgan Names Doug Braunstein CFO in Shake-Up (CNBC)
The bank announced a shake up to its management team giving new responsibilities for three senior members. Heidi Miller, head of Treasury & Securities Services, has been named President of International. Michael Cavanagh, Chief Financial Officer, will succeed Miller as Chief Executive Officer of TSS. Doug Braunstein, head of Investment Banking, Americas, will succeed Cavanagh as Chief Financial Officer.

Kerviel Could Have Forced Societe Generale Into Bankruptcy, Trader Says (Bloomberg)
The bank lost 4.9 billion euros ($6 billion) in the process of liquidating Kerviel’s accounts over three days in January 2008 as markets worldwide fell. The timing was “bad luck,” said Maxime Kahn, who liquidated the positions. “It was impossible to wait,” said Kahn, now head of European trading at Societe Generale. “There was a potential for the bank to go bankrupt.”

Moody’s: Spanish Banks Healthier Than Markets Think (Reuters)
“As long as the ECB provides the funding to keep the cost down … the Spanish banking system is not as bad as the current market seems to believe,” Johannes Wassenberg, managing director of Moody’s financial institutions group told reporters. Moody’s estimated Spanish banks have 108 billion euros ($133 billion) in bad debt of which 75 percent have been provided for by the banks.

Barclays chief says Lehman was a risk (FT)
BREAKING: “Our financial people had no idea there would be a gain on this transaction,” Mr Diamond said in a federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. “We were taking an incredible risk at an incredibly risky time of the market.”

World Cup French “Revolution” Sparks Anger, Fear (Reuters)
Les Bleus’ troubled World Cup campaign descended into chaos on Sunday, when the players walked out of a routine training session to protest against a decision to expel star striker Nicolas Anelka for his foul-mouthed abuse at the coach. The French media rounded on the team, branding the players a bunch of overpaid brats who had brought shame on France. Many politicians saw something more profound in the revolt. “As far as I am concerned, the shipwreck of the French team tells us something about the weaknesses of France, of a model of society that is based above all on money, which is adulated,” centrist leader Francois Bayrou told RTL radio.

Feinberg Ramps Up Compensation Fund (WSJ)
In seven weeks, BP has written 31,000 checks worth $104 million to Gulf Coast fishermen, shrimpers and others whose work has been cut short by the spill. A team of nearly 1,000 clerks and adjusters are processing claims in 33 field offices from Louisiana to Florida. “BP deserves a fair amount of credit here,” Mr. Feinberg says. “This is the first time I know of where a company has implemented a whole process like this in the midst of an ongoing crisis.”

Showdown Over Strippers (WSJ)
With a three-story atrium at the entrance and state-of-the-art lighting and sound, Bazooka’s does about 60% of its business after midnight, Mr. Snow said. His dancers earn most of their money not on stage but from socializing and providing customers with “booth dances” that would be illegal under the new law because they usually involve touching. During these tough economic times, Mr. Snow said, crimping a legal business that backers claim employs about 3,000 people and brings in some $4.5 million of state sales taxes “makes no sense.” Continue reading »