- White House Ponders Bernanke’s Future
- Cyber Blitz Hits U.S., Korea
- Exit Package for Wagoner in Works
- GM Will Exit Bankruptcy With $48 Billion in Debt
- Buffett eBay Auction Was Won by Canadian Firm
- Lehman Pays Its Bankruptcy Advisers $262.6 Million for 9 Months
- 13 Real Estate Professionals Are Indicted on Mortgage Fraud Charges
- Subprime Resurfaces as Housing-Market Woe
- Senators Push SEC To Rein In Naked Short Selling
- Concerns Grow as CIT Debt Rating Cut
- BATS to enter US options market
- Murdoch reporters accused of phone hacking
- Twitter talk probably wasn’t to co-founder’s liking
- Blowout Ratings for a Farewell, Online and Off
White House Ponders Bernanke’s Future – Wall Street Journal
As the White House begins to ponder whether to reappoint or replace Ben Bernanke when his term expires in January, the Federal Reserve chairman’s standing on Wall Street is on the rise while attacks on him from Congress mount.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to play a key role in advising President Barack Obama on whether to reappoint Mr. Bernanke. Mr. Geithner has worked closely both with Mr. Bernanke and with the leading alternative for the powerful post — Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary, who is currently the president’s top economic adviser….
Cyber Blitz Hits U.S., Korea – Wall Street Journal
U.S. and South Korean computer networks were besieged for days by a series of relatively unsophisticated attacks, possibly from North Korea, that were among the broadest and longest-lasting assaults perpetrated on government and commercial Web sites in both countries.
In the U.S., the main effect was to disrupt the public’s ability to access Web sites temporarily. A deeper concern, some cyber-security specialists said, is that the attacks point to weaknesses in defenses erected by the government and corporations that could indicate vulnerability to more-sophisticated attacks in the future on vital functions such as transportation and finance….
Exit Package for Wagoner in Works – Wall Street Journal
Rick Wagoner, who is still employed by General Motors Corp. almost four months after his ouster as chief executive, will learn “very soon” when he’ll be cut loose from the company and what he’ll receive as an exit package, an Obama administration official said Wednesday.
Mr. Wagoner, forced out of his job by President Barack Obama amid a federal rescue, remains on GM’s payroll making $1 a year and receiving the same benefits afforded to him during his tenure as chief executive….
GM Will Exit Bankruptcy With $48 Billion in Debt – Bloomberg
General Motors Corp., which is preparing to sell its best assets to a streamlined new entity, will carry with it liabilities of $48.4 billion, a bankruptcy judge said.
The new GM agreed to take on those obligations to benefit creditors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber in New York said yesterday. They will be offset by GM’s most competitive assets, such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC….
Buffett eBay Auction Was Won by Canadian Firm – Wall Street Journal
…..It turns out that the person who spent $1,680,300 for lunch with the investment guru wasn’t a person at all: it was Canadian wealth-management firm Salida Capital. It went public about its purchase Wednesday.
Courtenay Wolfe, Salida’s CEO, said that she and a handful of other employees will all share the lunch, which the firm’s partners paid for…..
Lehman Pays Its Bankruptcy Advisers $262.6 Million for 9 Months – Bloomberg
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, paid its advisers $262.6 million for nine months of work, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The best-paid firm through June was New York-based restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal LLC, which has taken $115 million in fees since Lehman declared bankruptcy in September, according to papers filed yesterday. Lehman’s primary law firm, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP of New York, received $63.7 million through June for a team headed by partner Harvey Miller…..
13 Real Estate Professionals Are Indicted on Mortgage Fraud Charges – NY Times
The Manhattan district attorney announced the indictment of 13 people on Wednesday in what he called a multimillion-dollar mortgage-fraud scheme that victimized lenders and low-income homeowners.
The 13, employed in nearly every profession in the real estate industry — including lawyers, real estate agents, appraisers and bank workers — were accused of participating in 19 sham real estate transactions…..
Subprime Resurfaces as Housing-Market Woe – Wall Street Journal
The U.S. housing market is facing new downward pressure as holders of subprime-mortgage bonds flood the market with foreclosed homes at prices that are much lower than where many banks are willing to sell.
While nationwide figures are scarce, a review of thousands of foreclosures in the Atlanta area shows that trusts managing pools of securitized mortgages sold six times as many properties as banks during the six months ended March 31. And homes dumped by subprime bondholders sold for thousands of dollars less on average than bank-owned properties, the data show….
Senators Push SEC To Rein In Naked Short Selling – Wall Street Journal
A senator with close ties to the White House and hands-on experience in stock trading is leading the push to have the Securities and Exchange Commission take action against naked short selling, an abuse that he and other lawmakers argue was a key contributor to the financial crisis.
“If the SEC doesn’t move because they can’t get three votes, I will have to do something,” said Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., in an interview with MarketWatch. “It is pretty clear that there are people in the marketplace driving down stocks in an abusive manner and something should be done about that.”….
Concerns Grow as CIT Debt Rating Cut – Wall Street Journal
CIT Group Inc.’s outlook darkened on Wednesday and concerns grew about the commercial lender’s ability to survive.
CIT stocks and bonds tumbled and the cost to protect its debt against default rose as analysts at CreditSights said the company’s prospects are dim and Fitch Ratings cut CIT’s debt rating deeper into junk territory…..
BATS to enter US options market – Financial Times
BATS Global Markets, the upstart Kansas-based electronic exchange group, plans to launch an options market in the US next year.
The move may unnerve the big established players in the US options business, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the International Securities Exchange, which is owned by Eurex, the derivatives arm of Deutsche Boerse…..
Murdoch reporters accused of phone hacking - Financial Times
Journalists working for News Group Newspapers, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, paid for private investigators to conduct multiple illegal “hacks” on mobile telephones, it was alleged on Wednesday night.
The incidents, investigated by the Metropolitan police, ended in at least three civil actions by well-known personalities whose privacy was violated, which lawyers for News Group settled for sums running into hundreds of thousands of pounds, The Guardian newspaper claimed…..
Twitter talk probably wasn’t to co-founder’s liking – LA Times
Though Malone and other old-time media moguls think their content is worth something, they’re not so sure about Twitter. The social networking site that has exploded this year has been the hot topic at Sun Valley. Everyone seems to love it, but no one is sure about how to make money off of it.
Both Malone and IAC Chief Executive Barry Diller both expressed doubts about the website’s prospects as a cash machine during a panel moderated by the New Yorker’s Ken Auletta that also featured Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger….
Blowout Ratings for a Farewell, Online and Off – NY Times
….Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday that the 18 channels that simulcast the service had a combined average of 31 million at-home viewers during the nearly three-hour event. The service drew a bigger TV crowd than the funerals for two former presidents, Ronald Reagan in 2004 and Gerald Ford in early 2007. Princess Diana’s funeral drew about 33 million viewers in 1997. (In comparison, the combined audience total was only slightly higher than an average episode of Fox’s “American Idol” singing competition.)
Mr. Jackson’s memorial also attracted millions of online viewers. Citing internal data, CNN.com said it served 4.4 million live video streams during the service; MSNBC.com said it counted 3.1 million. Yahoo reported 5 million total streams…..
Tags: Autos, Bankruptcy, Ben Bernanke, Ebay, Fed, GM, Lehhman Brothers, Real Estate, Rupert Murdoch, SEC, Subprime, Twitter, Warren Buffett
