US Wants Criminal Charges For RBS (WSJ)
U.S. authorities are pushing for a settlement of interest-rate-rigging allegations with Royal Bank of Scotland that would result in a unit of the big British bank pleading guilty to criminal charges in addition to paying a penalty, according to people briefed on the negotiations. RBS executives are resisting any guilty plea, fearful that it could lead clients to cut off activity with the bank and that it could increase exposure to costly litigation, some of these people said. The negotiations reflect a newly tough stance by U.S. authorities, who until recently have faced criticism for rarely pursuing criminal action against big banks.U.S. authorities are pushing for a settlement of interest-rate-rigging allegations with Royal Bank of Scotland Group RBS.LN +0.52% PLC that would result in a unit of the big British bank pleading guilty to criminal charges in addition to paying a penalty, according to people briefed on the negotiations. RBS executives are resisting any guilty plea, fearful that it could lead clients to cut off activity with the bank and that it could increase exposure to costly litigation, some of these people said. The negotiations reflect a newly tough stance by U.S. authorities, who until recently have faced criticism for rarely pursuing criminal action against big banks.
IRS can seek UBS records for taxpayers hiding income at Wegelin (Reuters)
A federal judge on Monday authorized the Internal Revenue Service to seek records from UBS AG of U.S. taxpayers suspected of hiding their income in accounts with Swiss bank Wegelin. Wegelin, the oldest Swiss private bank, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on January 3 to charges of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes through secret accounts and then announced it would close down as a result.
Little Debbie Maker to Buy Drake’s Brand, Hostess Says (Bloomberg)
Hostess Brands Inc. said McKee Foods Corp., maker of Little Debbie snacks, agreed to pay $27.5 million for its Drake’s brand and United States Bakery Inc. offered to buy certain bread brands for $28.9 million. “The contemplated purchase prices for Drake’s and the four bread brands, together with our previous announced stalking- horse bid for the majority of our bread business, means we have agreements to sell these assets for at least $440 million,” Hostess Chief Executive Officer Gregory F. Rayburn said today in a statement. United States Bakery agreed to buy the Sweetheart, Eddy’s, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie’s bread brands, four bakeries and 14 depots, plus certain equipment, according to court papers.
Iceland Wins Case On Deposit Guarantees (WSJ)
Iceland won a sweeping victory in a court fight over its responsibilities to foreign depositors in Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which failed in 2008. The court of the European Free Trade Association on Monday said Iceland didn’t breach European Economic Area directives on deposit guarantees by not compensating U.K. and Dutch depositors in Landsbanki’s online savings accounts, known as Icesave accounts. The EFTA Surveillance Authority, or ESA, which brought the case against Iceland, had claimed that Iceland should have made sure U.K. and Dutch savers who lost money on Icesave got repaid from deposit insurance.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler engaged to Lenny Dykstra’s son (NYDN)
The actress who played Meadow Soprano announced on Twitter Monday that she’s engaged to Cutter Dykstra, a baseball player with the Washington Nationals. “So this just happened,” she tweeted along with a photo showing off her huge new diamond alongside her smiling fiancé. “Thank you so much for all the love everyone. I am so happy and more importantly lucky,” Sigler, 31, said in a follow-up tweet. “She said yes!!” Cutter, 23, wrote on his own Twitter feed. Sigler was by Cutter’s side last month when family members filed into a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles for Lenny Dykstra’s sentencing in his bankruptcy fraud case.
Yahoo Profit Drops But Revenue Rises (WSJ)
For Ms. Mayer, the results were enough that the “honeymoon period is going to last at least a couple of more quarters” while investors wait to see progress, said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co.
Mayor Bloomberg Has Opinions (NYDN)
In a New York Magazine profile about Christine Quinn, the City Council Speaker and candidate for mayor, the author recalled being introduced to Bloomberg at what he described as “a Christmas party for the rich” on the Upper East Side. “My friend and I followed the host over, shook Bloomberg’s hand, and my friend thanked him for his position on gun control,” the author writes. “Without even acknowledging the comment, Bloomberg gestured toward a woman in a very tight floor-length gown standing nearby and said, ‘Look at the ass on her.’” According to the article, Bloomberg also has strong opinions about Quinn’s appearance – turning up his nose when she wears flats or waits too long before coloring her hair. “The mayor has no use for flat shoes,” Quinn told the reporter. “I was at a parade with him once and he said, ‘What are those?’ and I said, ‘They’re comfortable,’ and he said, ‘I never want to hear those words out of your mouth again,’” she recalled. “He likes me in high heels.” “Another big thing with the mayor, when I am rooting … like, the couple of days a week before I need to get my hair colored, he’ll say, ‘Do you pay a lot to make your hair be two colors? Because now it’s three with the gray,’” Quinn continued.
TARP Firms’ Pay Unchecked (WSJ)
Christy Romero, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, on Monday said the Treasury failed to look out for taxpayers by relying “to a great extent on the companies’ proposals and justifications without conducting its own independent analysis.” Ms. Romero also said the Treasury hasn’t put in place policies that would ensure salaries are within guidelines designed to discourage excessive risk taking by companies receiving bailout aid.
Bridgewater’s Dalio Sees ‘Game Changer’ as Money Shifts (Bloomberg)
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates LP, the world’s biggest hedge fund, said 2013 will be a “game changer” for the economy as investors reallocate money after risks such as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis receded. “There’s a lot of money in a place that’s getting a very bad return and in this particular year there’s going to be, in my opinion, a shift,” Dalio said at a Bloomberg panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The complexion of the world will change as that money goes from cash into other things. The landscape will change, particularly later in the year and beyond.”
Will the New BlackBerry Win Back Corporate Customers? (WSJ)
Survey says: probably not but maybe, who knows.
Credit Suisse Said to Seek to Sublet at Hong Kong Skyscraper (Bloomberg)
If you know anyone who’s interested: Credit Suisse is seeking to sublet as much as 64,000 square feet of office space in Hong Kong’s tallest skyscraper, as prime office vacancies rise in the city amid job cuts by global financial services companies. The Zurich-based bank is looking for tenants to take up two floors, or about a fifth of the space it currently occupies at the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Woman accused of putting poison in her privates in bid to kill husband (Mirror)
A woman is being sued by her husband for allegedly trying to kill him by putting poison in her genitals and then asking him to perform oral sex. The Brazilian wife is accused of planting a toxic substance on her genitals before luring her husband to bed. Reports in the South American country suggest he was ready and willing, and only escaped death because he noticed a strange smell. The curious husband then took his wife to hospital in Sao Jose do Rito Preto to find out the cause of the unusual odour. The alleged attempt on his life was exposed when tests on his wife discovered traces of a poisonous substance down below.
Turtle must be PISSED
UBS, dirty vaginas, and oral sex? Shit is about to get out of hand in the comment section.
Hey!
Check the stink before eating the pink
That poison, that cunnilingus they're part of the tender trap…
- The Ghost of Frank Sinatra
Naw he's pulling community college chicks like crazy with all his Avion money…
- Guy who is Queens Boulevard
My wife doing that would definitely put me in a sour mood, but the guy can't complain: he was snatched out of the jaws of death. Sure, her actions were a bit extremity; but what happens in the bedroom between a man and woman is privates and should be handled as such. Still, it pays to remain vigilant when something smells fishy.
I love my new veneers.
Who requested the story on bread?
Vagina dentata and now this
Speaking of Jamie Lynn what ever happened to Britney Spears little sis? Remember her? Knocked up around 15. Chick probably sucks D like she 30 now. Holla
Lemme tell ya sum'n, this is how dem bad bizzys do it down in THA DURRTY BOOT.
Tha durrty boot aint for hipster bitches that shop at Lennox. If you a real commintarist then fuck with me.
Cutter's next move is undoubtedly to buy Paulina Greetzky's house and devastate it.
'Look at the ass on her…'
‘I never want to hear those words out of your mouth again'
‘Do you pay a lot to make your hair be two colors? Because now it’s three with the gray…'
FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!
Furiously hoping for a "Hotel Receipt Guy"-style wedding registry for the Dykstra-Sigler event.
Come'on Shaz, ctrl+c, ctrl+v, get it right!
-Guy looking for any excuse to rip Shazar
Think there's a groupon for ESL courses, might want to grab that.
Jon says he prefers to use the mouse instead of learning shortcuts, he also claims to have a girlfriend in Canada and says he'll debate Matt about centrally cleared swaps just as soon as his Chihuahua stops eating his notes.
Bloomsy is a nasaly tool.
The comment section is worse than usual today.
Im coming out
I want the world to know
Got to let it show
Jonny Shazz
Step up to the plate, hombre.
Please don't do that.
Now that all those UBS and RBS traders don't spend their mornings IMing about colluding to rig Libor they've got an awful lot of spare time on their hands to comment on DB.
Ladies and Gentleman, Mr. Conway Twitty
Sounds like it was a …tainted love.
Suck me.
It's bee. Trending lower all year…course look at the opening bell today. Zzzzz
I sucked and still do
"<img src=""http://www.ladyoffice.com/new/images/yue.jpg""/> not really, i never really got that story, but thanks for letting us know… <img src=""http://www.ladyoffice.com/new/images/lyue.jpg""/>
"
As usual, Shazar can't even manage to cut and paste correctly for an Opening Bell. Like seriously, I know two year olds who could do a better job AND you could pay them in crayons. Is your life so bad that you need to tug one out while you're CRTL-V'ing before Bess gets into the office? As usual, Shazar can't even manage to cut and paste correctly for an Opening Bell.
I think Cutter's going to be pissed when he realizes his wife is 40 and he's still 32.
Conway Twitty's greatest song title was, "Something Strange Got Into Her Last Night".
The attending doctor examined the Brazilian lady's private parts closely and said, "You have a very toxic smell in there. ……… You have a very toxic smell in there……"
The Brazilian woman said, "You didn't have to say that twice…….!"
Doctor said, "I didn't…."
Dude was named after a propane distribution center in Kansas.
You think the poison affected her cognitive abilities and is hearing things?
When Jamie Lynn spears 40 she gunna S da D like she 55. Hommie just turning 30 and getting dat granny. Holla
C2 was the best Vette
I don't like the way you think..
Putting your lack of humor aside for now, I feel the need to point out to you that Jamie Lynn Spears and Jamie-Lynn Sigler are not the same person. I wouldn't want you to continue living in such a state of profound confusion.
You know how I know….
"Dykstra's brothers Sinker, Slurve, Two Seam and CC congratulated the engaged couple via Twitter."
Nervous Jew will be working from home today
Love me some Harold Jenkins. Greatness.
Who do you know that's giving out this compensation in crayons, are they Crayola or store brand? If the former, please let me know where I can forward my resume.
Wow that seems a little bit strong.. ins't this a financial blog?
We need more of THIS from Bloomie and less pontificating about the evils of smoking, coca-cola and fatty foods.
BlackBerry's epic downfall will be studied at every business school for the next century. How to squander market domination. The BB 10 is about 5 years too late, eh.
BlackBerry's epic downfall will be studied at every business school for the next century. How to squander market domination. BB 10 is about 5 years too late, eh.
Don't interrupt when the adults are talking.
See also: Motorola, Kodak, General Motors, Schlitz Brewing, RCA, Westinghouse Electric, Bethlehem Steel, Baldwin Locomotive Works, etc.
-Schumpeter
The Canadians thought mobile users didn't want the ability to view websites on their phones. A failure of epic proportions.
I think Lenny would have gone with Knuckler and Screwball before any of those
Well, I'm guessing the ass in question wasn't built on KFC and Big Gulps.
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