$$$ More Probes Add to Barclays's Woes [WSJ] $$$ Corzine Searches for What's Next [WSJ] $$$ London Whale’s Boss Martin-Artajo Sued by JPMorgan [Bloomberg] $$$ “The growth in [European government bond] futures volumes is unbelievable,” said one senior credit trader. “The same short interest still exists – economically it’s identical. If you thought the short interest was hurting the market then it makes no sense to say cleared derivatives are good and OTC derivatives are bad.” [IFRE] $$$ Remember: it's not Halloween if you're in New Jersey [nj.gov via Counterparties] $$$ Dear College Kids, If You Dress in an Ironically Racist or Insensitive Costume, You May Get Punched In the Nose Like I Did [Gawker Updates] $$$ A private equity firm is looking for an associate in San Francisco [DBCC] $$$ When Is There a Strong Transfer Risk from the Sovereigns to the Corporates? Property Rights Gaps and CDS Spreads [NY Fed] $$$ Citigroup Staff Uprooted for Weeks as Sandy Slams Wall Street [Bloomberg] $$$ On Mayor Bloomberg's sign-language interpreter: "The perception that we non-signers have that these hand movements and facial expressions are particularly 'animated' and 'expressive' is precisely due to our lack of experience with them as linguistic features." [LL] $$$ Bloomberg on hurricane sushi, part 2 [BBW, earlier] $$$ Baby walrus rides out hurricane at NYC aquarium WITH VIDEO [MSNBC]

China; Puerto Rico; Glencore; Ex-Citigroup trader doesn't care if you can't handle the truth; "Selfie Stick Fail: Jeep Driver Films Himself Crashing"; and more.

$$$ Plans to Ease Euro Crisis Are Ambitious but Long-Term [NYT] $$$ European fiscal union and adverse selection [Scott Sumner] $$$ The twilight of the central banker [Economist / Ryan Avent] $$$ Best Buy Founder Weighs Buyout [WSJ] $$$ The crown prince of Dubai came to New York and ate a $1,000 ice cream sundae [NYP] $$$ BlackRock is looking for a real estate securities portfolio manager [DBCC] $$$ As Nomura Investors Meet, Strategy, Insider-Trade Probe to Take Center Stage [WSJ] $$$ Qatar turns on Glencore-Xstrata terms [FT] $$$ What’s been pushing up US repo rates? [FTAV] $$$ Man Charged with Felony Assault with a Dangerous Weapon for Throwing McDonald’s French Fries in Stepdaughter’s Face [Gawker]

Titleist golf unit considering IPO; Morgan Stanley done with energy stocks; Glencore shares plunge; Qatar Fund Loses $5.9 billion; "Marijuana falls from the sky, puts hole in Arizona family's carport"; and more.

Rajat Gupta goes home; "Meet the Energy Hedge Funds That Made Money While Oil Plunged"; Icahn v AIG; White Castle offering Valentine's Day reservations; and more.

$$$ Athens faces tough bail-out terms [FT] $$$ ECB to Exchange Greek Bonds [WSJ] $$$ I give up, what would you do about Greece? [Crooked Timber] $$$ Yelp Sets Terms for March IPO [WSJ, possibly related] $$$ Goldman hires Harvard students because Harvard is bad at educating them [Bloomberg / Ezra Klein, possibly related] $$$ Australia's richest person wrote the universe's worst poem ("Develop North Australia, embrace multiculturalism and welcome short term foreign workers to our shores / To benefit from the export of our minerals and ores" etc.) [Telegraph via The Jane Dough] $$$ You could be a Credit Risk Senior Analyst at Genworth in Stamford [eFinancialCareers] $$$ Icahn Offers to Buy CVR Energy in at Least $2.6 Billion Deal [Bloomberg] $$$ The SEC raised the qualifications for being charged 2 and 20 [SEC] $$$ Merrill brokers are fine selling bad advice but draw the line at selling BofA banking services [Reuters / Felix Salmon] $$$ Welcome to six months ago Art Cashin. Some tips: buy NFLX; don't take any Tuscan cruises. [MarketBeat] $$$ Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore wants to end the default practice of quarterly earnings guidance and explore issuing loyalty-driven securities as part of an overhaul of capitalism which he says has turned many of the world's largest economies into hotbeds of irresponsible short-term investment. [Reuters] $$$ Toddler Rescued From Inside Claw Game [ABC]

$$$ Behind Credit Default Swaps Market, a Cartel Left Open to Collusion [Dealbook] $$$ Jim Chanos: Hewlett Packard Is 'Ultimate Value Trap' [CNBC] $$$ Ackman Takes Activist Stance on P&G [CNBC] $$$ Goldman CEO Blankfein Said To Meet With Obama Adviser Lew [Bloomberg] $$$ Racketeering Charges Filed in Hedge Fund Divorce [NYO] $$$ Banker Tattoos [BuzzFeed] $$$ ...every so often, Ackman and his wife whirl through their Rolodexes and invite their unattached friends to come on over to their place and spend a few hours meeting other singles. In this day and age of internet dating, the Ackmans like to give that stressful process a personal touch. And last night was one of those nights when the man who runs $10 billion Pershing Square Capital Management and his wife Karen, who trained as a landscape architect, threw open the doors and hoped for the best. While no officials statistics have been kept, people who have attended the events say plenty of people have found their mates here. At this week’s event? Roughly 200 people attended, according to someone who was there. [Reuters, earlier] $$$ "Dozens of traffic signs have been destroyed by prostitutes performing pole-dances in the street to attract clients, officials in New Zealand's biggest city have revealed." [Telegraph] $$$ Charlie Gasparino: U.S. Insider Trading Investigation Winding Down (Maybe) [FBN] $$$ Ex-JPMorgan Banker Admits Role in Muni Bid-Rigging Scheme [Reuters] $$$ Paulson, Rubin Warn on Dangers of 'Fiscal Cliff' [CNBC] $$$ WWII Shipwreck Yields $38 Million of Silver From Atlantic [Bloomberg] $$$ High school kid accused of running in a potential $3 million marijuana ring. [CP]

$$$ RBS speeds up investment arm split [Telegraph] $$$ How much value does the finance industry create? [Noahpinion] $$$ Leverage can increase volatility and diversification can reduce risk [WSJ] $$$ Why London hedge fund wives don’t do Switzerland [EFC] $$$ Cheese fire causes traffic meltdown in Norway tunnel [Reuters] $$$ Registration for the 5th annual Decathlon starts today! This year’s competition takes place on July 28th, and also includes monthly “Throw Downs” where all registered Decathletes compete in 1-2 Decathlon events and collect charity bets on head-to-head match-ups (40 yard dash! Pull-ups! Bench press!). All proceeds benefit the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. $$$ A hedge fund in New York is looking for a quantitative macro strategist/economist [DBCC] $$$ Wells Fargo Lifts Quarterly Dividend 14% [FBN] $$$ Deutsche Bank Said to Be Asked by Bafin to Simulate Split [Bloomberg] $$$ Schroders Worker Among FSA Insider-Trading Probe Arrests [Bloomberg] $$$ Is seducing executives in order to get and trade on inside information illegal? [NetNet / John Carney] $$$ ‘Your Cat Is Not Innocent’: New Zealand Man Launches Campaign to Rid Country of Cats [Gawker]