Grübel’s Exit Leaves UBS in Lurch (WSJ)
The surprise resignation of Mr. Grübel deprives UBS of a veteran banker who had gone a long way in restoring the fortunes of a bank that was among the hardest hit by the financial crisis. Since his arrival at UBS in February 2009, he pulled the bank back from 19.7 billion Swiss francs ($21.8 billion) in 2008 losses. He also resolved a bruising tax-evasion scandal involving allegations by U.S. authorities that UBS bankers helped Americans evade taxes; UBS admitted wrongdoing as part of a sweeping settlement. And he stemmed the outflow of wealthy investors at UBS’s huge private bank. But Mr. Grübel had yet to completely stabilize a bank that has lurched from one crisis to another since 2007.

Trader Pay May Face Limits Under Volcker Rule (Bloomberg)
The rule, which aims to ban most proprietary trading by banks with federally insured deposits, would exempt trades related to market-making as long as the activity met at least seven standards, or principles. One principle would be that traders get paid from fees and the spread of the transactions rather than the appreciation or profit from their positions.

China Central Bank Sets Yuan Post At Record (WSJ)
Monday’s move by the PBOC is “a signal to the market that China will keep letting the yuan appreciate despite the risk aversion in the rest of the world,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, Hong Kong-based senior economist at Credit Agricole CIB. “As China continues to focus on fighting inflation, a stronger yuan is a quick way to bring down inflationary pressures,” he said.

Betting On Bernanke Returns 28% For Treasury (Bloomberg)
Treasuries due in 10 or more years have returned 28 percent in 2011, exceeding the 24.4 percent gain in all of 2008 during worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. Not since 1995, when the securities soared 30.7 percent, have investors done so well owning longer-dated U.S. government debt.

Cocaine To Blow Economy (NYP)
Here’s another sign of the stalled economy — New Yorkers are ditching their coke habits. Cocaine-related emergency-room admissions, overdoses and requests for rehab have declined since the economy started its 2008 decline, according to data obtained by The Post. “It is sort of on a slight but steady downward trend,” said Dr. Stephen Ross, director of NYU’s Langone Center of Excellence on Addiction. “I treat patients in private practice. Many cocaine addicts tell me stories they don’t have enough money to buy it anymore.”

SEC May Recommend Legal Action Against S&P (AP)
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering recommending civil legal action against the Standard & Poor’s debt ratings agency over its rating of a 2007 collateralized debt offering…McGraw-Hill, which owns S&P, said Monday that it received a Wells Notice from the SEC’s staff on Thursday.

Central Bankers the Only Defense Against Apocalypse (CNBC)
Under pressure from the United States and IMF to act, European politicians do not appear ready to take immediate action, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel warning on Sunday night that allowing Greece to default would destroy investor confidence in Europe.

Economist: Euro Facing ‘Outright’ Recession (CNBC)
“The euro zone will enter a recession by the fourth quarter of this year with contractions in growth for this quarter and the first quarter of next year, which in the current environment could be very damaging,” said Silvio Peruzzo, European economist at RBS.

Congress Forced To Stay As Shutdown Looms (WSJ)
Congress was scheduled to be off this week, but lawmakers must stay in Washington because they made no progress over the weekend in settling a dispute over spending that threatens a possible government shutdown.

New Way To Build A Snowman: Patented! (TechDirt)
Anyway, go ahead and check out patent # 8,011,991 for inventor Ignacio Marc Asperas of Melville, NY, which is technically for an “Apparatus for facilitating the construction of a snow man/woman.” The patent itself declares: “The following is not a joke patent. Its completely serious and is a serious undertaking to obtain a patent.” Here’s Asperas’ pitch: The history of the snow man or snow woman is unknown. But, I have to say this. Whoever the first person was to think to form snow into a human figure was a genius. For untold years thereafter, children and adults alike have been thrilled and received joy in making and watching others make snowmen, err women. You know what I mean. At any rate, what is remarkable is that no one has ever thought, or at least reduced to practice, a way to make snow people easy and fun. I have done an abbreviated patent search and there is nothing relating to the subject of creating a snowman. Unbelievable since it is so much fun and considering the effort involved. But, if no one has thought of it, well, no one has thought of it.